(a)  The department of children, youth and families shall petition the family court and request the care, custody, and control of any child who is voluntarily placed with the department for the purpose of foster care by a parent or other person previously having custody and who remains in foster care for a period of twelve (12) months. However, there shall be no requirement for the department to seek custody of any child with an emotional, behavioral or mental disorder or developmental or physical disability if the child is voluntarily placed with the department by a parent or guardian of the child for the purpose of accessing an out-of-home program for the child in a program which provides services for children with disabilities, including, but not limited to, residential treatment programs, residential counseling centers, and therapeutic foster care programs.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 14-1-11.1

  • Adult: means a person eighteen (18) years of age or older. See Rhode Island General Laws 14-1-3
  • Child: means a person under eighteen (18) years of age. See Rhode Island General Laws 14-1-3
  • court: means the family court of the state of Rhode Island. See Rhode Island General Laws 14-1-3
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • Voluntary placement agreement for extension of care: means a written agreement between the state agency and a young adult who meets the eligibility conditions specified in § 14-1-6(c), acting as their own legal guardian that is binding on the parties to the agreement. See Rhode Island General Laws 14-1-3
  • Young adult: means an individual who has attained the age of eighteen (18) years but has not reached the age of twenty-one (21) years and was in the legal custody of the department on their eighteenth birthday pursuant to an abuse, neglect or dependency petition; or was a former foster child who was adopted or placed in a guardianship after attaining age sixteen (16). See Rhode Island General Laws 14-1-3

(b)  In a hearing on a petition alleging that a child is dependent, competent and creditable evidence that the child has remained in foster care for a period of twelve (12) months shall constitute prima facie evidence sufficient to support the finding by the court that the child is “dependent” in accordance with § 14-1-3.

(c)  In those cases where a young adult who meets the eligibility criteria in § 14-1-6(c) wishes to continue in foster care after age eighteen (18), the young adult and an authorized representative of DCYF shall, before the youth reaches age eighteen (18), discuss the terms of a voluntary placement agreement for extension of care to be executed upon or after the young adult’s eighteenth birthday.

(d)  In those cases where a young adult who meets the eligibility criteria in § 14-1-6(c) exits foster care at or after age eighteen (18), but wishes to return to foster care before age twenty-one (21), DCYF shall file a petition for legal supervision of the young adult, with a voluntary placement agreement for extension of care, executed by the young adult and an authorized representative of DCYF attached.

History of Section.
P.L. 1979, ch. 190, § 1; P.L. 1996, ch. 149, § 1; P.L. 1996, ch. 196, § 1; P.L. 2018, ch. 47, art. 15, § 1.