CHAPTER 36
Substitute for HOUSE BILL No. 2673
An Act concerning children in need of care; amending
K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 38-1502
and repealing the existing section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 2001 Supp.
38-1502 is hereby amended to read as
follows: 38-1502. As used in this code, unless the context
otherwise in-
dicates:
(a) ``Child in need of care'' means a
person less than 18 years of age
who:
(1) Is without adequate parental care,
control or subsistence and the
condition is not due solely to the lack of financial means of the
child's
parents or other custodian;
(2) is without the care or control
necessary for the child's physical,
mental or emotional health;
(3) has been physically, mentally or
emotionally abused or neglected
or sexually abused;
(4) has been placed for care or adoption
in violation of law;
(5) has been abandoned or does not have a
known living parent;
(6) is not attending school as required
by K.S.A. 72-977 or 72-1111,
and amendments thereto;
(7) except in the case of a violation of
K.S.A. 41-727, subsection (j)
of K.S.A. 74-8810 or subsection (m) or (n) of K.S.A. 79-3321, and
amend-
ments thereto, or, except as provided in subsection (a)(12) of
K.S.A. 21-
4204a and amendments thereto, does an act which, when committed
by
a person under 18 years of age, is prohibited by state law, city
ordinance
or county resolution but which is not prohibited when done by an
adult;
(8) while less than 10 years of age,
commits any act which if done by
an adult would constitute the commission of a felony or misdemeanor
as
defined by K.S.A. 21-3105 and amendments thereto;
(9) is willfully and voluntarily absent
from the child's home without
the consent of the child's parent or other custodian;
(10) is willfully and voluntarily absent
at least a second time from a
court ordered or designated placement, or a placement pursuant to
court
order, if the absence is without the consent of the person with
whom the
child is placed or, if the child is placed in a facility, without
the consent
of the person in charge of such facility or such person's
designee;
(11) has been residing in the same
residence with a sibling or another
person under 18 years of age, who has been physically, mentally or
emo-
tionally abused or neglected, or sexually abused; or
(12) while less than 10 years of age
commits the offense defined in
K.S.A. 21-4204a and amendments thereto.
(b) ``Physical, mental or emotional
abuse'' means the infliction of
physical, mental or emotional injury or the causing of a
deterioration of
a child and may include, but shall not be limited to, maltreatment
or
exploiting a child to the extent that the child's health or
emotional well-
being is endangered.
(c) ``Sexual abuse'' means any act
committed with a child which is
described in article 35, chapter 21 of the Kansas Statutes
Annotated and
those acts described in K.S.A. 21-3602 or 21-3603, and
amendments
thereto, regardless of the age of the child.
(d) ``Parent,'' when used in relation to
a child or children, includes a
guardian, conservator and every person who is by law liable to
maintain,
care for or support the child.
(e) ``Interested party'' means the state,
the petitioner, the child, any
parent, any grandparent and any person found to be an interested
party
pursuant to K.S.A. 38-1541 and amendments thereto.
(f) ``Law enforcement officer'' means any
person who by virtue of
office or public employment is vested by law with a duty to
maintain
public order or to make arrests for crimes, whether that duty
extends to
all crimes or is limited to specific crimes.
(g) ``Youth residential facility'' means
any home, foster home or struc-
ture which provides 24-hour-a-day care for children and which is
licensed
pursuant to article 5 of chapter 65 of the Kansas Statutes
Annotated.
(h) ``Shelter facility'' means any public
or private facility or home
other than a juvenile detention facility that may be used in
accordance
with this code for the purpose of providing either temporary
placement
for the care of children in need of care prior to the issuance of a
dispos-
itional order or longer term care under a dispositional order.
(i) ``Juvenile detention facility'' means
any secure public or private
facility used for the lawful custody of accused or adjudicated
juvenile
offenders which must not be a jail.
(j) ``Adult correction facility'' means
any public or private facility, se-
cure or nonsecure, which is used for the lawful custody of accused
or
convicted adult criminal offenders.
(k) ``Secure facility'' means a facility
which is operated or structured
so as to ensure that all entrances and exits from the facility are
under the
exclusive control of the staff of the facility, whether or not the
person
being detained has freedom of movement within the perimeters of
the
facility, or which relies on locked rooms and buildings, fences or
physical
restraint in order to control behavior of its residents. No secure
facility
shall be in a city or county jail.
(l) ``Ward of the court'' means a child
over whom the court has ac-
quired jurisdiction by the filing of a petition pursuant to this
code and
who continues subject to that jurisdiction until the petition is
dismissed
or the child is discharged as provided in K.S.A. 38-1503 and
amendments
thereto.
(m) ``Custody,'' whether temporary,
protective or legal, means the
status created by court order or statute which vests in a
custodian,
whether an individual or an agency, the right to physical
possession of
the child and the right to determine placement of the child,
subject to
restrictions placed by the court.
(n) ``Placement'' means the designation
by the individual or agency
having custody of where and with whom the child will live.
(o) ``Secretary'' means the secretary of
social and rehabilitation serv-
ices.
(p) ``Relative'' means a person related
by blood, marriage or adoption
but, when referring to a relative of a child's parent, does not
include the
child's other parent.
(q) ``Court-appointed special advocate''
means a responsible adult
other than an attorney guardian ad litem who is appointed by
the court
to represent the best interests of a child, as provided in K.S.A.
38-1505a
and amendments thereto, in a proceeding pursuant to this code.
(r) ``Multidisciplinary team'' means a
group of persons, appointed by
the court or by the state department of social and rehabilitation
services
under K.S.A. 38-1523a and amendments thereto, which has
knowledge
of the circumstances of a child in need of care. A
multidisciplinary team
may serve as a community services team.
(s) ``Jail'' means:
(1) An adult jail or lockup; or
(2) a facility in the same building or on
the same grounds as an adult
jail or lockup, unless the facility meets all applicable standards
and licen-
sure requirements under law and there is (A) total separation of
the ju-
venile and adult facility spatial areas such that there could be no
haphaz-
ard or accidental contact between juvenile and adult residents in
the
respective facilities; (B) total separation in all juvenile and
adult program
activities within the facilities, including recreation, education,
counseling,
health care, dining, sleeping, and general living activities; and
(C) separate
juvenile and adult staff, including management, security staff and
direct
care staff such as recreational, educational and counseling.
(t) ``Kinship care'' means the placement
of a child in the home of the
child's relative or in the home of another adult with whom the
child or
the child's parent already has a close emotional attachment.
(u) ``Juvenile intake and assessment
worker'' means a responsible
adult authorized to perform intake and assessment services as part
of the
intake and assessment system established pursuant to K.S.A.
75-7023, and
amendments thereto.
(v) ``Abandon'' means to forsake, desert
or cease providing care for
the child without making appropriate provisions for substitute
care.
(w) ``Permanent guardianship'' means a
judicially created relationship
between child and caretaker which is intended to be permanent and
self-
sustaining without ongoing state oversight or intervention by the
secre-
tary. The permanent guardian stands in loco parentis and exercises
all the
rights and responsibilities of a parent. A permanent guardian may
be
appointed after termination of parental rights or without
termination of
parental rights, if the parent consents and agrees to the
appointment of
a permanent guardian. Upon appointment of a permanent guardian,
the
child shall be discharged from the custody of the secretary.
(x) ``Aggravated circumstances'' means
the abandonment, torture,
chronic abuse, sexual abuse or chronic, life threatening neglect of
a child.
(y) ``Permanency hearing'' means a notice
and opportunity to be
heard is provided to interested parties, foster parents,
preadoptive parents
or relatives providing care for the child. The court, after
consideration of
the evidence, shall determine whether progress toward the case plan
goal
is adequate or reintegration is a viable alternative, or if the
case should
be referred to the county or district attorney for filing of a
petition to
terminate parental rights or to appoint a permanent guardian.
(z) ``Extended out of home placement''
means a child has been in the
custody of the secretary and placed with neither parent for 15 of
the most
recent 22 months beginning 60 days after the date at which a child
in the
custody of the secretary was removed from the home.
(aa) ``Educational institution'' means
all schools at the elementary and
secondary levels.
(bb) ``Educator'' means any
administrator, teacher or other profes-
sional or paraprofessional employee of an educational institution
who has
exposure to a pupil specified in subsection (a) of K.S.A. 2001
Supp. 72-
89b03 and amendments thereto.
(cc) ``Neglect'' means acts or omissions
by a parent, guardian or per-
son responsible for the care of a child resulting in harm to a
child or
presenting a likelihood of harm and the acts or omissions are not
due
solely to the lack of financial means of the child's parents or
other cus-
todian. Neglect may include but shall not be limited to:
(1) Failure to provide the child with
food, clothing or shelter neces-
sary to sustain the life or health of the child;
(2) failure to provide adequate
supervision of a child or to remove a
child from a situation which requires judgment or actions beyond
the
child's level of maturity, physical condition or mental abilities
and that
results in bodily injury or a likelihood of harm to the child;
or
(3) failure to use resources available to
treat a diagnosed medical
condition if such treatment will make a child substantially more
com-
fortable, reduce pain and suffering, correct or substantially
diminish a
crippling condition from worsening. A parent legitimately
practicing re-
ligious beliefs who does not provide specified medical treatment
for a
child because of religious beliefs shall not for that reason be
considered
a negligent parent; however, this exception shall not preclude a
court from
entering an order pursuant to subsection (a)(2) of K.S.A. 38-1513,
and
amendments thereto.
(dd) ``Community services team'' means a
group of persons, ap-
pointed by the court or by the state department of social and
rehabilita-
tion services for the purpose of assessing the needs of a child who
is
alleged to be a child in need of care.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 38-1502 is hereby
repealed.
Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force
from and after its
publication in the statute book.
Approved April 5, 2002.
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