BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD STANDARDS

Summary

The bill rewrites the purpose of the Children’s Code to place a child’s health and safety above all other considerations and requires courts, guardians ad litem, and child attorneys to prioritize the child’s best interests in abuse and neglect cases. It adds new definitions for abandonment, abused child, aggravated circumstances, and related terms, and mandates written findings and rulemaking to enforce the standard. The measure aims to protect children while still encouraging family stability when possible.

AI-generated summary — may be incomplete or inaccurate. Verify against the official bill text.

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