Effective 28 Aug 2018

210.482. Background checks for emergency placements, requirements, exceptions — cost, paid by whom. — 1. If the emergency placement of a child in a private home is necessary due to the unexpected absence of the child's parents, legal guardian, or custodian, the juvenile court or children's division:

(1) May request that a local or state law enforcement agency or juvenile officer, subject to any required federal authorization, immediately conduct a name-based criminal history record check to include full orders of protection and outstanding warrants of each person over the age of seventeen residing in the home by using the Missouri uniform law enforcement system (MULES) and the National Crime Information Center to access the Interstate Identification Index maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and

(2) Shall determine or, in the case of the juvenile court, shall request the division to determine whether any person over the age of seventeen years residing in the home is listed on the child abuse and neglect registry. For any children less than seventeen years of age residing in the home, the children's division shall inquire of the person with whom an emergency placement of a child will be made whether any children less than seventeen years of age residing in the home have ever been certified as an adult and convicted of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to any crime.

2. If a name-based search has been conducted pursuant to subsection 1 of this section, within fifteen calendar days after the emergency placement of the child in the private home, and if the private home has not previously been approved as a foster or adoptive home, all persons over the age of seventeen residing in the home and all children less than seventeen residing in the home who the division has determined have been certified as an adult for the commission of a crime shall report to a local law enforcement agency for the purpose of providing fingerprints and accompanying fees, pursuant to sections 43.530 and 43.540. Results of the checks shall be provided to the juvenile court or children's division office requesting such information. Any child placed in emergency placement in a private home shall be removed immediately if any person residing in the home fails to provide fingerprints after being requested to do so, unless the person refusing to provide fingerprints ceases to reside in the private home.

3. If the placement of a child is denied as a result of a name-based criminal history check and the denial is contested, all persons over the age of seventeen residing in the home and all children less than seventeen years of age residing in the home who the division has determined have been certified as an adult for the commission of a crime shall, within fifteen calendar days, submit to the juvenile court or the children's division fingerprints in the same manner described in subsection 2 of this section, accompanying fees, and written permission authorizing the juvenile court or the children's division to forward the fingerprints to the state criminal record repository for submission to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

4. No person who submits fingerprints under this section shall be required to submit additional fingerprints under this section or section 210.487 unless the original fingerprints retained by the division are lost or destroyed.

5. Subject to appropriation, the total cost of fingerprinting required by this section may be paid by the state, including reimbursement of persons incurring fingerprinting costs under this section.

6. For the purposes of this section, "emergency placement" refers to those limited instances when the juvenile court or children's division is placing a child in the home of private individuals, including neighbors, friends, or relatives, as a result of a sudden unavailability of the child's primary caretaker.

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(L. 2004 H.B. 1453 merged with S.B. 762, A.L. 2007 S.B. 84, A.L. 2013 S.B. 110, A.L. 2018 H.B. 1350)