(a) Within 60 days after an officer or agency of this state, or its political subdivision, receives a request from another state to conduct a study of a home environment for purposes of assessing the safety and suitability of placing a child, who is in the custody of the requesting state, in the home, the county child welfare agency shall, directly or indirectly, do both of the following:

(1) Conduct and complete the home study.

(2) Return to the requesting state a report on the results of the home study, which shall address the extent to which placement in the home would meet the needs of the child.

(b) A licensed private adoption agency may agree to provide the services listed in subdivision (a), and upon that agreement, shall comply with the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a).

(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), in the case of a home study commenced on or before September 30, 2008, if the county fails to comply with subdivision (a) within the 60-day period as a result of circumstances beyond the control of the state, including, but not limited to, failure by a federal agency to provide the results of a background check or failure of any entity to provide completed medical forms requested by the state at least 45 days before the end of the 60-day period, the county shall have 75 days to comply with subdivision (a) if the county documents the circumstances involved and certifies that completing the home study is in the best interest of the child.

(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the county to have completed, within the applicable period, those portions of the home study concerning the education and training of the prospective foster parent or adoptive parent.

(e) The county shall treat any report described in subdivision (a) that is received from another state, an Indian tribe, or a private agency under contract with another state, as meeting any requirements imposed by the state for the completion of a home study before placing a child in the home, unless, within 14 days after receipt of the report, the county determines, based on grounds that are specific to the content of the report, that making a decision in reliance on the report would be contrary to the welfare of the child.

(f) A county is not restricted from contracting with a private agency for the conduct of a home study described in subdivision (a).

(Added by Stats. 2007, Ch. 583, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2008.)