Requires foster care records of incarcerated individual to be sent to a correctional facility

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Brian Cunningham and 3 co-sponsors

The bill requires sending foster care records of incarcerated individuals to the correctional facility to inform intake, risk assessment, and service planning.

REFERRED TO CORRECTION

Overview and Intent

Bill A 696 would require the foster care records of incarcerated individuals to be sent to a correctional facility. The primary focus is on ensuring that information from a person’s foster care history is transmitted to the correctional system that oversees or houses the incarcerated individual. The bill was introduced on January 8, 2025 and has been referred to the Correction committee.

Key Provisions (as indicated by the bill’s title and status)

Obligation to transmit foster care records: The bill would require foster care records pertaining to incarcerated individuals to be sent to a correctional facility.

Scope and recipients: The exact sender (likely a child welfare agency) and the exact recipient (the correctional facility or the corrections authority) would be defined in the bill’s text. The summary reflects the core mandate to move relevant foster care documentation to the corrections system.

Note: The specific procedures, definitions, disclosures, consent requirements, exceptions, and timelines would be detailed in the full text of the bill, which is not provided here.

Affected Parties

Incarcerated individuals with foster care histories: Individuals who have been in foster care and are currently incarcerated would be impacted by the requirement to have those records transmitted to the correctional facility.

Child welfare/juvenile services agencies and foster care administrators: Agencies responsible for maintaining and issuing foster care records would be responsible for transmitting them under the bill.

Correctional facilities and staff: Facilities housing incarcerated individuals would receive the foster care records, potentially affecting intake, risk assessments, case planning, and reentry services.

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

Introduction: January 8, 2025.

Status: Referred to Correction (indicating the bill is being considered by the Corrections committee but has not advanced to passage as of the latest action).

Legislative actions recorded: The bill was referred to Correction on January 8, 2025 (listed twice, likely a duplicate entry in the record).

Sponsors and Related Legislation

Primary sponsor: Eddie Gibbs

Cosponsors: Brian Cunningham, Deborah Glick, Al Taylor

Related/companion bills: S 6451 (companion); multiple related Assembly bills from prior sessions (e.g., A 9982, A 2861, A 2720, A 3623, A 11778, A 1136, A 9858, A 652, A 2162) referenced as related or prior-session equivalents.

Potential Implications

Operational: Could streamline access to a person’s past foster care information for corrections staff, potentially informing intake, risk assessments, and service planning.

Privacy and governance: Raises questions about who can access foster care records, how data is shared with corrections, and safeguards to protect sensitive information.

Reentry considerations: May influence support planning and coordination between child welfare and corrections for individuals transitioning back into the community.

This summary reflects the bill’s stated purpose and the information available in the bill record. The full text would clarify definitions, procedures, privacy protections, and any exceptions or timelines.

Bill