Sec. 45a-8b. Extended family guardianship and assisted care pilot program. Report.
Sec. 45a-8b. Extended family guardianship and assisted care pilot program.
Report. (a) The Probate Court Administrator shall establish, within available appropriations, an extended family guardianship and assisted care pilot program in the regional
children's probate court for the district of New Haven, established pursuant to section
45a-8a, for the purpose of reducing the number of children who are placed out of their
communities and in foster care due to abuse and neglect. The program shall be designed
to (1) provide outreach to extended family members in the community and appoint such
family members as guardians, and (2) seek volunteers to act as assisted care providers
to assist guardians in caring for children. Under the program, each guardian appointed
by the court shall be eligible to receive a maximum grant of five hundred dollars per child.
(b) The Probate Court Administrator shall adopt regulations, in accordance with
chapter 54, to implement the provisions of this section. The regulations shall establish
the eligibility criteria for (1) becoming a guardian or an assisted care provider under the
program, and (2) the awarding of grants pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
(c) On or before January 1, 2009, the Probate Court Administrator, or a designee,
shall report, in accordance with section 11-4a, to the joint standing committee of the
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary and the select
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children,
on the status and effectiveness of the pilot program established pursuant to subsection
(a) of this section.
(June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-4, S. 6.)