H.P. 392 - L.D. 523
An Act to Implement Recommendations of the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission Relating to Child Welfare Services for Indian Children
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §4062, sub-§1, as amended by PL 1985, c. 521, is further amended to read:
1. Payments by department. The department shall provide payments to facilities caring for children to meet the costs of clothing, board and care, within the limits of available funds. The department may establish, by rule, different categories of facilities, levels of need and care and flat-rate or reimbursement methods to distribute these funds. The department may provide child care and travel expense payments to foster and adoptive parents and trainers participat-ing in foster and adoptive parent training programs and volunteers participating in the administrative case review program.
Notwithstanding section 4061, subsection 3, any federally recognized Indian tribe in this State or any Indian foster family home is eligible for benefits and reimbursement under any state or federally funded program administered by the State for the benefit of Maine children, including, but not limited to, children within the jurisdiction of the Passamaquoddy Tribe or Penobscot Indian Nation under the Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 United States Code, Section 1901, et seq.
Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §7801, sub-§1, as amended by PL 1995, c. 670, Pt. B, §5 and affected by Pt. D, §5, is further amended to read:
1. License required. Except as provided in subsection 3 or section 7805, no a person, firm, corporation or association may not operate any of the following without having, subject to this subtitle Subtitle and to the rules promulgated adopted by the department under this subtitle Subtitle, a written license therefor from the department:
A. A residential care facility;
A-1. In accordance with subparagraphs (1) and (2), a congregate housing services program either directly or by contract providing to its residents any of the following services: personal care assistance, the administration of medication or nursing services.
(1) A congregate housing services program may directly provide to its residents meals, housekeeping and chore assistance, case management and personal care assistance delivered on the site of congregate housing without obtaining a separate license to do so.
(2) A congregate housing services program licensee may hold at any one time only one license under section 7901-B, subsection 2. A qualified congregate housing services program may obtain a license for a different category under section 7901-B, subsection 2, upon application and surrender of the previous license;
B. A drug treatment center;
C. A children's home;
D. A child placing agency;
E. A day care facility;
F. A nursery school; or
G. An adult day care program.
Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §7805, as enacted by PL 1975, c. 719, §6, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
§7805. Tribally licensed facilities
With respect to the placement care and funding of care of any Indian child as defined in the Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 United States Code, Section 1901, et seq., this Subtitle does not apply to any Indian foster family home, adoptive home or other facility licensed by a federally recognized Indian tribe in this State pursuant to that Act.
Sec. 4. 22 MRSA §8101, sub-§3, as amended by PL 1987, c. 778, §2, is further amended to read:
3. Family foster home. "Family foster home" means a children's home, other than an Indian foster family home, that is a private dwelling where substitute parental care is provided within a family on a regular, 24-hour a day, residential basis. The total number of children in care may not exceed 6, including the family's legal children under 16 years of age, with no more than 2 of these children under the age of 2. Family foster homes licensed by the Department of Human Services or relatives' homes approved by the Department of Human Services as meeting licensing standards are eligible for insurance pursuant to Title 5, section 1728-A. In any action for damages against a family foster home provider insured pursuant to Title 5, section 1728-A, for damages covered under that policy, the claim for and award of those damages, including costs and interest, shall may not exceed $300,000 for any and all claims arising out of a single occurrence. When the amount awarded to or settled for multiple claimants exceeds the limit imposed by this section, any party may apply to the Superior Court for the county in which the governmental entity is located to allocate to each claimant that claimant's equitable share of the total, limited as required by this section. Any award by the court in excess of the maximum liability limit shall must be automatically abated by operation of this section to the maximum limit of liability. Nothing in this subsection may be deemed to make the operation of a family foster home a state activity nor may it expand in any way the liability of the State or foster parent.
Sec. 5. 22 MRSA §8101, sub-§3-A is enacted to read:
3-A. Indian foster family home. "Indian foster family home" means a foster home licensed, approved or specified by the Indian child's tribe where substitute parental care is provided for an Indian child as definedin the Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 United States Code, Section 1901, et seq.
Effective September 18, 1999, unless otherwise indicated.
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