Evaluation of family team meetings and 72-hour time period for commencement of shelter care hearing.

At intervals no later than 6 months, 18 months, and 30 months after [April 12, 2005], the Agency shall commission an independent process and impact evaluation of the family team meetings authorized in section 16-2312(a-1) and the 72-hour period authorized in section 16-2312(a)(1) . Each evaluation shall, at a minimum, assess the following processes and outcomes of the family team meetings: Rates of participation in the meetings for different types of participants, including parents, children, and relatives; Demographic information about children and families who participated in the meetings; The percentage of meetings resulting in approved safety plans; The supports and services included in approved safety plans; The extent to which supports and services included in approved safety plans actually were provided; The percentage of meetings that resulted in the filing of a petition in the Family Court to remove a child from the home, and the percentage of meetings that resulted in a decision not to file a petition in Family Court; The placement outcomes for children who were the subject of the meetings, including: The percentage of children living with parents; The percentage of children living with relatives; The percentage of children who have been adopted; The percentage of children living in foster care; and Other applicable placements; The percentage of children who received a permanent placement and whose cases were closed; The percentage of children who were the subject of subsequent reports to the Agency’s abuse and neglect reporting line; and The effect of the 72-hour time frame for the commencement of a Family Court hearing on families’ legal protections and due-process rights.