§ 5903. Conditions for placement—Article III [Contingently repealed; effective until contingency
met]
(a) No sending agency shall send, bring, or cause to be sent or brought into any other
party state any child for placement in foster care or as a preliminary to a possible
adoption unless the sending agency shall comply with each and every requirement set
forth in this article and with the applicable laws of the receiving state governing
the placement of children therein.
(b) Prior to sending, bringing, or causing any child to be sent or brought into a receiving
state for placement in foster care or as a preliminary to a possible adoption, the
sending agency shall furnish the appropriate public authorities in the receiving state
written notice of the intention to send, bring, or place the child in the receiving
state. The notice shall contain:
(1) the name, date, and place of birth of the child;
(2) the identity and address or addresses of the parents or legal guardian;
(3) the name and address of the person, agent or institution to or with which the sending
agency proposes to send, bring, or place the child;
(4) a full statement of the reasons for such proposed action and evidence of the authority
pursuant to which the placement is proposed to be made.
(c) Any public officer or agency in a receiving state which is in receipt of a notice
pursuant to subsection (b) of this article may request of the sending agency, or any
other appropriate officer or agency of or in the sending agency’s state, and shall
be entitled to receive therefrom such supporting or additional information as it may
deem necessary under the circumstances to carry out the purpose and policy of this
compact.
(d) The child shall not be sent, brought, or caused to be sent or brought into the receiving
state until the appropriate public authorities in the receiving state shall notify
the sending agency, in writing, to the effect that the proposed placement does not
appear to be contrary to the interest of the child. (Added 1971, No. 219 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 4, 5, eff. April 5, 1972.)
§ 5903. Applicability [Contingently enacted]
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, this Compact shall
apply to:
(1) the interstate placement of a child subject to ongoing court jurisdiction in the sending
state, due to allegations or findings that the child has been abused, neglected, or
deprived as defined by the laws of the sending state; provided, however, that the
placement of such a child into a residential facility shall only require notice of
residential placement to the receiving state prior to placement;
(2) the interstate placement of a child adjudicated delinquent or unmanageable based on
the laws of the sending state and subject to ongoing court jurisdiction of the sending
state if:
(A) the child is being placed in a residential facility in another member state and is
not covered under another compact; or
(B) the child is being placed in another member state and the determination of safety
and suitability of the placement and services required is not provided through another
compact; and
(3) the interstate placement of any child by a public child placing agency or private
child placing agency as defined in this Compact as a preliminary step to a possible
adoption.
(b) The provisions of this Compact shall not apply to:
(1) the interstate placement of a child in a custody proceeding in which a public child
placing agency is not a party; provided, however, that the placement is not intended
to effectuate an adoption;
(2) the interstate placement of a child with a non-relative in a receiving state by a
parent with the legal authority to make such a placement; provided, however, that
the placement is not intended to effectuate an adoption;
(3) the interstate placement of a child by one relative with the lawful authority to make
such a placement directly with a relative in a receiving state;
(4) the placement of a child, not subject to section 5903 of this title, into a residential facility by the child’s parent;
(5) the placement of a child with a noncustodial parent, provided that:
(A) the noncustodial parent proves to the satisfaction of a court in the sending state
a substantial relationship with the child; and
(B) the court in the sending state makes a written finding that placement with the noncustodial
parent is in the best interests of the child; and
(C) the court in the sending state dismisses its jurisdiction in interstate placements
in which the public child placing agency is a party to the proceeding;
(6) a child entering the United States from a foreign country for the purpose of adoption
or leaving the United States to go to a foreign country for the purpose of adoption
in that country;
(7) cases in which a U.S. citizen child living overseas with family, at least one of whom
is in the U.S. Armed Forces and is stationed overseas, is removed and placed in a
state; or
(8) the sending of a child by a public child placing agency or a private child placing
agency for a visit as defined by the rules of the Interstate Commission.
(c) For purposes of determining the applicability of this Compact to the placement of
a child with a family in the U.S. Armed Forces, the public child placing agency or
private child placing agency may choose the state of the service member’s permanent
duty station or the service member’s declared legal residence.
(d) Nothing in this Compact shall be construed to prohibit the concurrent application
of the provisions of this Compact with other applicable interstate compacts, including
the Interstate Compact for Juveniles and the Interstate Compact on Adoption and Medical
Assistance. The Interstate Commission may in cooperation with other interstate compact
commissions having responsibility for the interstate movement, placement, or transfer
of children, promulgate like rules to ensure the coordination of services, timely
placement of children, and the reduction of unnecessary or duplicative administrative
or procedural requirements. (Contingently added 2021, No. 101 (Adj. Sess.), § 2.)