(A) If the court finds at the probable cause hearing that the department made reasonable efforts to prevent removal of the child and that continuation of the child in the home would be contrary to the welfare of the child, the court may order expedited placement of the child with a grandparent or other relative of the first or second degree. In making this expedited placement decision, the court shall consider the totality of the circumstances including, but not limited to, the individual's suitability, fitness, and willingness to serve as a placement for the child. A parent who complies with these requirements must be the first relative considered by the court for expedited placement. The court shall require the department to check the names of all adults in the home against the Central Registry of Child Abuse and Neglect, other relevant records of the department, county sex abuse registers, and records for the preceding five years of law enforcement agencies in the jurisdiction in which the person resides and, to the extent reasonably possible, jurisdictions in which the person has resided during that period. The court may hold open the record of the probable cause hearing for up to twenty-four hours to receive these reports. Nothing in this section precludes the department from requesting or the court from ordering pursuant to the department's request either a full study of the individual's home before placement or the licensing or approval of the individual's home before placement.

(B) If the court orders expedited placement of the child with a grandparent or other relative of the first or second degree, the individual may be added as a party to the action for the duration of the case or until further order of the court.

HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2; 2013 Act No. 58, Section 1, eff June 12, 2013.

Effect of Amendment

The 2013 amendment rewrote the section.