41-3-302. Responsibility of providing protective services -- voluntary protective services agreement. (1) The department of public health and human services has the primary responsibility to provide the protective services authorized by this chapter and has the authority pursuant to this chapter to take temporary or permanent custody of a child when ordered to do so by the court, including the right to give consent to adoption.
     (2) The department shall respond to emergency reports of known or suspected child abuse or neglect 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
     (3) (a) The department may provide voluntary protective services by entering into a written voluntary protective services agreement with a parent or other person responsible for a child's welfare for the purpose of keeping the child safely in the home.
     (b) The department shall inform a parent or other person responsible for a child's welfare who is considering entering into a voluntary protective services agreement that the parent or other person may have another person of the parent's or responsible person's choice present whenever the terms of the voluntary protective services agreement are under discussion by the parent or other person responsible for the child's welfare and the department. Reasonable accommodations must be made regarding the time and place of meetings at which a voluntary protective services agreement is discussed.
     (4) A voluntary protective services agreement may include provisions for:
     (a) a family group decisionmaking meeting and implementation of safety plans developed during the meeting;
     (b) a professional evaluation and treatment of a parent or child, or both;
     (c) a safety plan for the child;
     (d) in-home services aimed at permitting the child to remain safely in the home;
     (e) temporary relocation of a parent in order to permit the child to remain safely in the home;
     (f) a 30-day temporary out-of-home protective placement; or
     (g) any other terms or conditions agreed upon by the parties that would allow the child to remain safely in the home or allow the child to safely return to the home within the 30-day period, including referrals to other service providers.
     (5) A voluntary protective services agreement is subject to termination by either party at any time. Termination of a voluntary protective services agreement does not preclude the department from filing a petition pursuant to 41-3-422 in any case in which the department determines that there is a risk of harm to a child.
     (6) If a voluntary protective services agreement is terminated by a party to the agreement, a child who has been placed in a temporary out-of-home placement pursuant to the agreement must be returned to the parents within 2 working days of termination of the agreement unless an abuse and neglect petition is filed by the department.

     History: En. 10-1315 by Sec. 11, Ch. 328, L. 1974; R.C.M. 1947, 10-1315; amd. Sec. 13, Ch. 543, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 511, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 42, Ch. 609, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 167, Ch. 546, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 555, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 54, Ch. 130, L. 2005.