Permanency hearing timelines; revise for children adjudicated abused or neglected.

HB 1454 changes Mississippi's court timeline for permanency hearings for children in foster care due to abuse or neglect. It requires youth courts to hold the first hearing within 90 days (instead of 120 days) after a court finds a child was abused/neglected or after the child's removal from a parent/custodian, and then every 90 days afterward. This directly affects children in Mississippi's child welfare system who have been adjudicated abused or neglected, their parents/custodians, and the Department of Child Protection Services. The bill aims to ensure more frequent court reviews to determine a child's long-term living situation, such as returning to a parent, placement with relatives, adoption, or continued foster care. The bill was referred to committee but died in 2025 and was never enacted.