Best Interests of the Child

Statute: Mont. Code Ann. § 41-3-101 (WESTLAW through Mont. 2003 Legis. Serv., Ch. 504)

Law:

It is the policy of the State of Montana to:
Provide for the protection of children whose health and welfare are or may be adversely affected and further threatened by the conduct of those responsible for the children's care and protection;

Achieve these purposes in a family environment and preserve the unity and welfare of the family whenever possible;

Ensure that there is no forced removal of a child from the family based solely on an allegation of abuse or neglect unless the department has reasonable cause to suspect that the child is at imminent risk of harm;

Recognize that a child is entitled to assert the child's constitutional rights;

Ensure that all children have a right to a healthy and safe childhood in a permanent placement; and

Ensure that whenever removal of a child from the home is necessary, the child is entitled to maintain ethnic, cultural, and religious heritage whenever appropriate.

It is intended that the mandatory reporting of abuse or endangerment cases by professional people and other community members to the appropriate authority will cause the protective services of the State to seek to prevent further abuses, protect and enhance the welfare of these children, and preserve family life whenever appropriate.

In implementing this chapter, whenever it is necessary to remove a child from the child's home, the department shall, when it is in the best interests of the child, place the child with the child's non-custodial birth parent or extended family, including adult siblings, grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, and uncles, when placement with the extended family is approved by the department, prior to placing the child in an alternative protective or residential facility. Prior to approving a placement, the department shall investigate whether anyone living in the home has been convicted of a crime involving serious harm to children.

In implementing the policy of this section, the child's health and safety are of paramount concern.

Concurrent Planning

Statute: Mont. Code Ann. § 41-3-102(8) (WESTLAW through Mont. 2003 Legis. Serv., Ch. 555)

Law:

'Concurrent planning' means to work toward reunification of the child with the family while at the same time developing and implementing an alternative permanent plan.

Statute: Mont. Code Ann. § 41-3-423(6) (WESTLAW through Mont. 2003 Legis. Serv., Ch. 555)

Law:

Reasonable efforts to place a child permanently for adoption or to make an alternative out-of-home permanent placement may be made concurrently with reasonable efforts to return a child to the child's home. Concurrent planning may be used.