Georgia § 15-11-133 - 1. Temporary alternatives to foster care; orders; minimal preliminary assessments; preliminary protective hearing; time for hearings.

§ 15-11-133. 1. Temporary alternatives to foster care; orders; minimal preliminary assessments; preliminary protective hearing; time for hearings.

Temporary alternatives to foster care may be ordered by the court ex parte, prior to a preliminary protective hearing, or may be ordered following a preliminary protective hearing. A temporary alternative to foster care may include one or more of the following: A temporary order authorizing the child to be cared for by a relative or fictive kin; A temporary protective order pursuant to the provisions of Code Section 15-11-29; or An order that the DFCS investigate and report to the court whether removal is necessary. An order pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Code section requiring the child to be cared for by a relative or fictive kin shall be based upon a finding by the court that continuation of the child in his or her home would be contrary to his or her welfare. Such findings shall be made on an individualized basis and shall be documented in the court's written order. When entering an order pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Code section, the court shall order a preliminary assessment of the person who is to provide care for the child by a probation officer, or such other individual or agency as the court may designate, which shall include, at a minimum: A walk-through of such person's residence to identify safety hazards; An in-state criminal record check, pursuant to subsection (a) or (c) of Code Section 35-3-34, of such person and all other adults living in such person's residence; A search of the Georgia Sex Offender Registry for the name of such person and all other adults living in such person's residence; and A search of data provided electronically to the public by the Department of Community Supervision and the Department of Corrections for information concerning such person and all adults living in such person's residence. Such preliminary assessment shall be completed no later than 72 hours after the time such order is entered except that if such order is entered on a weekend, such preliminary assessment may be completed no later than five days after the order is entered. Upon issuance of an order for a temporary alternative to foster care, a preliminary protective hearing shall be completed as provided in Code Section 15-11-145, except that such preliminary protective hearing shall be held within five days of the order for a temporary alternative to foster care. Unless modified by the court, temporary alternatives to foster care ordered by the court in accordance with this Code section shall remain in effect until modified by the court or until the court has held the preliminary protective hearing. The court may continue to impose the temporary alternatives to foster care after the preliminary protective hearing in accordance with subsection (b) of Code Section 15-11-146 . (Code 1981, § 15-11-133.1 , enacted by Ga. L. 2019, p. 67, § 4/HB 472; Ga. L. 2020, p. 181, § 1/HB 993.) Effective date. - This Code section became effective April 18, 2019. The 2020 amendment, effective July 1, 2020, added "and" at the end of paragraph (c)(3), substituted a period for "; and" at the end of paragraph (c)(4), and deleted former paragraph (c)(5), which read: "If DFCS is conducting the assessment, a search of the child abuse registry."