14-6-705.

14-6-705.

14-6-707. Placement of Indian children.

(a) In any adoptive placement of an Indian child under state law, and absent good cause to the contrary, preference shall be given to a placement with, in the following order:

(i) A member of the Indian child's extended family;

(ii) Other members of the Indian child's tribe;

(iii) Other Indian families;

(iv) Any other placement.

(b) Any Indian child accepted for shelter care or preadoptive placement shall be placed in the least restrictive setting that most approximates a family and in which the child's special needs, if any, may be met. The child shall also be placed within reasonable proximity to the child's home, taking into account any special needs of the child. In any shelter care or preadoptive placement and in the absence of good cause to the contrary, preference shall be given to a placement with, in the following order:

(i) A member of the Indian child's extended family;

(ii) Other members of the Indian child's tribe;

(iii) Other Indian families;

(iv) An institution for children approved by an Indian tribe or operated by an Indian organization that has a program suitable to meet the Indian child's needs;

(v) Any other placement.

(c) In the case of a placement under subsections (a) or (b) of this section, if the Indian child's tribe establishes a different order of preference by tribal resolution, the agency or court making the placement shall follow the tribal resolution as long as the placement is the least restrictive setting appropriate to the particular needs of the child. For purposes of this section, the preference of the Indian child and parent shall be considered, provided that if a parent consenting to a placement under W.S. 14-6-705 requests anonymity, the court or agency shall consider the parent's request in applying the preferences.

(d) The standards to be applied in meeting the preference requirements of this section shall be the prevailing social and cultural standards of the Indian community in which the parent or extended family resides or with which the parent or extended family members maintain social and cultural ties.

(e) A record of each placement of an Indian child shall be maintained by the court or agency making the placement. The record shall show the efforts made to comply with the order of preference specified in this section. Records maintained under this subsection shall be made available at any time upon the request of the Indian child's tribe or the United States secretary of the interior.

14-6-708. Return of custody.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when a final decree of adoption of an Indian child has been vacated or set aside, or the adoptive parents voluntarily consent to the termination of their parental rights to the child, a biological parent or prior Indian custodian may petition for the return of the Indian child to the parent's or Indian custodian's custody. The court shall grant the petition unless there is a showing, subject to W.S. 14-6-704, that return of custody is not in the child's best interests.

(b) When an Indian child is removed from a shelter care placement or institution for the purpose of further shelter care, preadoptive placement or adoptive placement, the placement shall be in accordance with this act unless an Indian child is being returned to the parent or Indian custodian from whose custody the child was originally removed.

14-6-709. Tribal affiliation information; other information of protection of rights from tribal relationships; application of subject of adoptive placement; disclosure by court.

Upon application by an Indian person who has reached age eighteen (18) and who was the subject of an adoption, the court that entered the final decree shall inform the person of the tribal affiliation, if any, of the person's biological parents and provide any other information as may be necessary to protect any rights resulting from the person's tribal relationship.

14-6-710. Agreements between the state and Indian tribes.

(a) The state, through the governor and in consultation with the department of family services, is authorized to enter into agreements with Indian tribes concerning the care and custody of Indian children and jurisdiction over child custody proceedings, including agreements that may provide for the orderly transfer of jurisdiction on a case-by-case basis and agreements that provide for concurrent jurisdiction between the state and Indian tribes.

(b) Any agreement made under this section may be revoked by either party upon notice of not less than one hundred eighty (180) days to the other party. Any revocation of an agreement under this section shall not affect any action or proceeding over which a court has already assumed jurisdiction unless the agreement provides otherwise.

14-6-711. Improper removal of Indian child from custody; declination of jurisdiction; return of child; exception. If any petitioner in an Indian child custody proceeding before a state court has improperly removed the child from custody of the parent or Indian custodian or has improperly retained custody after a visit or other temporary relinquishment of custody, the court shall decline jurisdiction over the petitioner's petition and shall forthwith return the child to his parent or Indian custodian unless the return would subject the child to a substantial and immediate danger or threat thereof.

14-6-712. Application of higher federal standard.

In any case where federal law applicable to an Indian child custody proceeding provides a higher standard of protection to the rights of the parent or Indian custodian than state law provides, the court shall apply the higher standard of protection as provided by federal law.

14-6-713. Emergency removal or placement of child; termination; appropriate action.

Nothing in this act shall be construed to prevent the emergency removal of an Indian child who is a resident of or is domiciled on a reservation, but temporarily located off the reservation, from his parent or Indian custodian or the emergency placement of the child in temporary protective custody or shelter care under state law in order to prevent imminent physical damage or harm to the child. The applicable state agency involved shall ensure that the emergency removal or placement terminates immediately when the removal or placement is no longer necessary to prevent imminent physical damage or harm to the child and shall expeditiously initiate a child custody proceeding subject to this act, transfer the child to the jurisdiction of the appropriate Indian tribe or restore the child to the parent or Indian custodian, as may be appropriate.

14-6-714. Reporting requirements; information availability; disclosure.

(a) Any state court entering a final decree or order in any adoption proceeding concerning an Indian child shall provide the department of family services and the United States secretary of the interior a copy of the decree or order and all other information necessary to show:

(i) The name and tribal affiliation of the child;  (ii) The names and addresses of the child's biological parents;

(iii) The names and addresses of the adoptive parents;

(iv) The identity of any agency having files or information relating to the adoptive placement.

(b) If the court's records contain an affidavit of the biological parent stating or requesting that the parent's identity remain confidential, the court shall include the affidavit with the information required under subsection (a) of this section. The court and the department of family services shall ensure that the confidentiality of information is maintained. Records submitted under this section shall remain confidential and shall not be subject to disclosure or inspection under the Public Records Act, except as provided under subsection (c) of this section.

(c) Upon the request of the adopted Indian child who is age eighteen (18) or older, the adoptive or foster parents of an Indian child or an Indian tribe, the department of family services shall disclose any information that may be necessary for the enrollment of an Indian child in the tribe in which the child may be eligible for enrollment or for determining any rights or benefits associated with that membership. If the documents requested include an affidavit from a parent requesting anonymity, the department shall certify to the Indian child's tribe, if the information warrants, that the child's parentage and other circumstances of birth entitle the child to enrollment under criteria established by the tribe.

14-6-715. Rulemaking; sunset.

(a) The department of family services shall promulgate all rules necessary to implement this act.

(b) This act is repealed July 1, 2027.

CHAPTER 7 - COUNCIL FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH

14-7-101. Repealed by Laws 1983, ch. 37, § 1.

14-7-102. Repealed by Laws 1983, ch. 37, § 1.

14-7-103. Repealed by Laws 1983, ch. 37, § 1.  14-7-104. Repealed by Laws 1983, ch. 37, § 1.

CHAPTER 8 - WYOMING CHILDREN'S TRUST FUND

14-8-101. Short title.

This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Wyoming Children's Trust Fund Act."

14-8-102. Legislative declaration.

(a) The legislature hereby finds that child abuse and neglect are a threat to the family unit and impose major expenses on society. The legislature further finds that there is a need to assist private and public agencies in identifying and establishing programs for the prevention of child abuse and neglect.

(b) It is the purpose of this article to promote prevention and education programs that are designed to lessen the occurrence and reoccurrence of child abuse and neglect and to reduce the need for state intervention in child abuse and neglect prevention and education.

14-8-103. Definitions.

(a) As used in this article:

(i) "Board" means the Wyoming children's trust fund board created in W.S. 14-8-104;

(ii) "Child abuse" means any act which reasonably may be construed to fall under the definition of "abuse" or "neglect" under W.S. 14-3-202(a)(ii) or (vii);

(iii) "Prevention program" means a program of direct child abuse prevention services to a child, parent or guardian and includes research or education programs related to the prevention of child abuse. The prevention program may be classified as a primary prevention program when it is available to the community on a voluntary basis and as a secondary prevention program when it is directed toward groups of individuals who have been identified as high risk;  (iv) "Recipient" means and is limited to a nonprofit or public organization which receives a grant from the income account created in W.S. 14-8-106(b);

(v) "Trust fund" means the Wyoming children's trust fund created in W.S. 14-8-106(a);

(vi) "Income account" means the Wyoming children's income account created by W.S. 14-8-106(b).

14-8-104. Wyoming children's trust fund board; creation; members.

(a) There is created a Wyoming children's trust fund board. The board shall consist of eight (8) members, as follows:

(i) The director of the department of family services or the director's designee;

(ii) The state superintendent of public instruction;

(iii) Five (5) persons appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate who are knowledgeable in the area of child abuse prevention and are representative of any one (1) or more of the following areas:

(A) Law enforcement;

(B) Medicine;

(C) Law;

(D) Business;

(E) Mental health;

(F) Domestic relations;

(G) Child abuse prevention;

(H) Education;

(J) Social work; and

(K) Parent organizations.  (iv) The director of the department of health or the director's designee.

(b) Each appointed member of the board shall serve for a term of three (3) years. A vacancy on the board shall be filled for the balance of the unexpired term.

(c) The board shall meet regularly. Members shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for expenses incurred in the performance of their duties in the manner and amounts provided by law for state employees.

14-8-105. Powers and duties of the board.

(a) The board shall:

(i) Provide for the coordination and exchange of information on the establishment and maintenance of prevention programs;

(ii) Develop and publicize criteria regarding grants from the trust fund, including the duration of grants and any requirements for matching funds which are received from the trust fund;

(iii) Review and monitor the expenditure of monies by recipients;

(iv) Prepare an annual report to the joint appropriations interim committee on the board's activities which include periodic evaluations of the effectiveness of the prevention programs funded by the trust fund;

(v) Accept grants from the federal government as well as solicit and accept contributions, grants, gifts, bequests and donations from individuals, private organizations and foundations for credit to the trust fund or the income account as directed by the terms of the contribution, grant, gift, bequest or donation;

(vi) Expend monies of the income account for the establishment, promotion and maintenance of prevention programs, for operational expenses of the board and to increase the balance of the trust fund corpus;

(vii) Exercise any other powers or perform any other duties which are consistent with the purposes for which the board was created and which are reasonably necessary for the fulfillment of the board's responsibilities;

(viii) Establish a classification system for potential recipients based upon need and shall award grants to those classified most needy.

14-8-106. Wyoming children's trust fund and income account; creation; source of funds.

(a) There is created the Wyoming children's trust fund. The fund shall be administered by the board and shall consist of monies appropriated or designated to the fund by law and all monies collected by the board pursuant to W.S. 14-8-105(a)(v) for credit to the trust fund. Funds deposited within the trust fund are intended to be inviolate and constitute a perpetual trust account. The state treasurer shall invest the account as authorized by law and in a manner to obtain the highest net return possible consistent with the preservation of the trust fund corpus.

(b) There is created the Wyoming children's income account. The account shall be administered by the board and shall consist of monies appropriated or designated to the account by law and all monies collected by the board pursuant to W.S. 14-8-105(a)(v) for credit to the income account. The state treasurer shall credit annually to the income account the income earned from investment of the trust fund corpus. All funds in the income account at the end of a biennium shall remain in the account for expenditure as authorized in this article.

14-8-107. Disbursement of grants from the income account.

(a) Grants may be awarded from the income account to provide monies for the start-up, continuance or expansion of prevention programs, to provide educational and public informational seminar and to study and evaluate prevention programs.

(b) Repealed by Laws 2019, ch. 114, § 2.

(c) Repealed by Laws 2019, ch. 114, § 2.

14-8-108. Biennial audit. The director of the department of audit or his designee shall audit the trust fund biennially. Copies of the audit shall be provided to the legislature.

CHAPTER 9 - COMMUNITY JUVENILE SERVICES

14-9-101. Short title.

This act shall be known as the "Community Juvenile Services Act".

14-9-102. Purpose.

(a) The purpose and intent of this act is to:

(i) Establish, maintain and promote the development of juvenile services in communities of the state aimed at allowing early identification and diversion of children at risk of entry into the juvenile court system and preventing juvenile delinquency; and

(ii) Allow decisions regarding juvenile services to be made at the local level.

14-9-103. Definitions.

(a) As used in this act:

(i) "Account" means the community juvenile services block grant account created by this act;

(ii) "Community board" means a community juvenile services board providing juvenile services under this act;

(iii) "Department" means the department of family services;

(iv) "Juvenile services" means programs or services provided to children at risk of coming under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. Programs or services may include:

(A) Needs screening and evaluation;

(B) Treatment planning and follow-up;

(C) Case management;  (D) Family preservation services;

(E) Mental health treatment;

(F) Substance abuse treatment;

(G) Mentor and tracker services;

(H) Community service and restitution programs;

(J) Out-of-home placement;

(K) Remedial education services;

(M) Pretrial diversion programs and graduated sanctions.

(v) Repealed By Laws 2008, Ch. 57, § 2.

(vi) Repealed By Laws 2008, Ch. 57, § 2.

(vii) "Advisory board" means a board established by a board of county commissioners which meets the requirements of W.S. 14-9-105(b);

(viii) "This act" means W.S. 14-9-101 through