Governor Mark Dayton recently signed into law the omnibus health and human services policy bill. Within this bill are a few statutory changes that essentially add up to “no smoking in foster homes/in the vicinity of children and youth in foster care.”
Prevention of Secondhand Smoke Exposure for Children in Foster Care
The main statutory change is the addition of subdivision 9, “Preventing exposure to secondhand smoke for children in foster care,” under Minn. Stat. 260C.215. This new subdivision explicitly states that “a child in foster care shall not be exposed to any type of secondhand smoke” and lists areas in which this applies: any enclosed space connected to the home (e.g. garages and porches) and vehicles in which the child in foster care is transported. Smoking in outdoor areas is allowed provided that the child in foster care is not present at the time.
If a foster parent is unable to provide a smoke-free environment, the agency is required to ask the foster parent to comply with a plan that includes training on the health risks of secondhand smoke exposure for children. If the foster parent is still unable to provide a smoke-free environment and the environment poses a health risk to the child in foster care, the agency is then required to reassess whether the placement is still based on the child’s best interests.
There are certain exceptions to the new provision. For example, agencies cannot delay placements with relatives based on their inability to provide a smoke-free environment right away, unless it interferes with the child’s immediate health needs (for example, if the child has severe asthma). Additionally, if a child’s best interests are most effectively served in a home that is unable to provide a smoke-free environment, agencies cannot deny placement based on this inability alone, (which basically means that this factor does not supercede all other factors in determining placement based on the best interests of the child). Finally, this new law is not meant to interfere with religious or spiritual Native American or religious ceremonies involving the use of tobacco, nor with provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act or Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act.
Another Area of Change: Written Home Studies
Written home studies that assess the capacities and needs of foster and adoptive parents must now include (at least in the case of prospective foster parents) the capacity of the prospective foster parent to provide a safe, healthy, smoke-free home environment. This statutory change does not include ‘prospective adoptive parent.’
Another statutory change modifies slightly the requirements under “placement decisions based on the best interests of the child.” Prior to approval of a foster or adoptive placement in a related or unrelated home, a review of the aforementioned written home study must be completed in order to ensure that the placement will meet the needs of the individual child.