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HB 5346

AN ACT RELATING TO DELINQUENT AND DEPENDENT CHILDREN -- PROCEEDINGS IN FAMILY COURT

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Jose Batista and 9 co-sponsors

Prioritizes kinship placements and tightens adjudicatory timelines in RI Family Court while strongly limiting detention of children under age 12.

02/12/2025 Withdrawn at sponsor's request
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Bill Summary · HB 5346

Summary — HB 5346: Proceedings in Family Court (Delinquent and Dependent Children)

Status: Withdrawn at sponsor’s request (02/12/2025)
Introduced: (filed/introduced in early 2025; legislative record shows introduction 02/07/2025 and filing 03/14/2025)
Effective date in bill text: upon passage (if enacted)

Purpose

HB 5346 would amend Rhode Island’s Family Court statutes governing temporary detention, placement, and commitment of delinquent, wayward, dependent, or neglected children. The bill clarifies timelines for adjudicatory hearings, strengthens preference and procedures for placement with relatives, and reiterates limits on placing very young children in secure training school custody.

Key provisions and changes

  • Limits on secure detention/commitment of young children

    • Prohibits detaining or committing any juvenile under age 12 to the training school for youth except where charged with murder, first‑degree sexual assault, or an attempt to commit those offenses.
    • Even for those exceptions, the court may decline commitment if reasonable alternative placements exist that would protect safety.

  • Adjudicatory hearing timelines for detained children

    • If a child is detained, the family court must commence the adjudicatory hearing within 30 calendar days of the later of (a) petition service or (b) placement in detention, unless good cause is shown to delay.
    • The adjudicatory hearing must conclude within 15 calendar days of commencement unless good cause is shown to extend it.

  • Attorney General waiver/certification cases

    • Where the attorney general files an application to waive and/or certify a youth to adult court, the juvenile may be detained at the training school for up to 90 days.
    • DCYF must present a waiver report to the family court within 45 calendar days; the AG’s waiver/certification petition must be decided within 90 days unless extended for good cause.

  • Relative placement procedures and rights

    • When DCYF takes temporary custody for abuse/neglect/dependency, it must investigate placement with a fit and willing relative not residing with the parents and complete an assessment within 30 days of placement.
    • If a relative is determined fit, DCYF should place the child with that relative unless placement contradicts the child’s best interests.
    • All relative placements are subject to criminal-record checks (per § 14-1-34), applicable foster-care regulations, and Interstate Compact approval where necessary.
    • For proposed out‑of‑state relative placements, DCYF must notify the parent; the parent has 10 days to object and a hearing must be held before the out‑of‑state placement occurs.
    • A relative denied placement by DCYF may petition the court for review; the court must hold a suitability hearing within 5 days of the request.

  • Priority for permanency

    • Where permanent placement or adoption is in the child’s best interest, a fit and willing relative awarded placement is to be given priority over non‑relatives.

  • Commitment orders and procedures

    • The court may commit delinquent/wayward children to the training school until the youth’s 19th birthday.
    • Commitments must be issued by decree/order directed to designated persons; those persons act as officers for purposes of executing the order.
    • The court must transmit a summary of information about the child along with any order of commitment.

Who would be affected

  • Children and youth involved in Family Court delinquency, dependency, or neglect proceedings (notably those under age 12 and those subject to waiver/certification petitions)
  • Parents and relatives (including prospective kin caregivers)
  • Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF)
  • Family Court, Attorney General, and training school for youth
  • Private institutions/agencies that receive placed children

Procedural/timeline notes (legislative history)

  • Introduced in early 2025 and referred to House Judiciary (records show 02/07/2025 introduction).
  • Legislative record indicates the bill was withdrawn at the sponsor’s request on 02/12/2025. (Some later docket entries appear but the official status is withdrawn.)

Potential impacts (practical implications)

  • Establishes firm timelines designed to reduce lengthy pre‑trial detention of juveniles and expedite adjudicatory proceedings.
  • Strengthens presumption and procedural mechanisms favoring placement with relatives, which may increase kinship placements and reduce institutional placements.
  • Provides more structured oversight (assessments, criminal checks, parental notice/hearings) for out‑of‑state and relative placements.
  • Maintains strong limits on secure detention/commitment of very young children (under 12), reserving training-school confinement for the most serious offenses.

Note: Because the bill was withdrawn, its provisions are not enacted law.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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