Kinship foster care; training and approval processes.

Requires local boards of social services to request a waiver of training requirements necessary for the approval of a kinship foster parent upon determining that training requirements are a barrier to placement with the kinship foster parent and that such placement is in the child's best interest. The bill prohibits local boards from requiring that a child be removed from the physical custody of a kinship foster parent during such approval process, provided that placement with the kinship foster parent remains in the child's best interest. The bill requires the Department of Social Services to (i) develop a training program that is tailored to persons seeking approval as a kinship foster parent, (ii) develop a document that provides comprehensive information regarding kinship foster care, and (iii) provide training to local boards regarding the process through which a person may be approved as a kinship foster parent without requiring removal of the child from the physical custody of such person.

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