Youth court; revise timeline for permanency hearings.
SB 2771 revises Mississippi's youth court process for children adjudicated abused or neglected, requiring permanency hearings within three months of either the abuse/neglect finding or the child's removal from their home, and every three months thereafter. This directly affects children in foster care under Mississippi's Department of Child Protection Services, ensuring courts regularly review their placement (e.g., returning home, adoption, or continued foster care) and confirm reasonable efforts were made toward permanency. The bill also authorizes the State Public Defender to represent youth in delinquency cases and clarifies training requirements for attorneys handling child welfare cases. These changes aim to expedite stable outcomes for vulnerable youth while updating procedural requirements.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Mar 2025
Senate Passage
Mar 2025
House Passage
Mar 2025
Signed into Law
Mar 2025
Introduced Feb 10, 2025
Signed Mar 24, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons
What changed between versions
As Passed the upper
→
Current version
·
5 edits
MODERATE
This bill expands legal representation rights for children and families in Mississippi juvenile court proceedings. It authorizes the State Public Defender to represent youth in delinquency cases and indigent parents in abuse/neglect cases, clarifies attorney training requirements, and creates a special fund to pay attorney fees for indigent parents.
Scope change
The bill's scope expanded from only revising permanency hearing timelines to include multiple new provisions covering legal representation, attorney training, and funding mechanisms for juvenile justice proceedings.
FISCAL
Created a new 'Juvenile Court Representation Fund' to pay attorney fees and expenses for indigent parents and guardians in dependency proceedings.
ELIGIBILITY
Authorized the Office of the State Public Defender to represent youth in delinquency and child in need of supervision proceedings.
REQUIREMENT
Clarified that attorneys representing children must complete annual juvenile justice training, with exemptions for those handling five to ten or fewer cases per year.
ENFORCEMENT
Established that attorneys who fail to complete required training within six months of appointment must be disqualified from serving in youth court cases.
TIMELINE
Extended permanency hearing requirements to continue annually for as long as children remain in Department of Child Protection Services custody.
Floor votes · Senate Feb 7, 2025 · House Mar 11, 2025
How they voted
50–0
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 51
Feb 7, 2025
D
Democratic16
100% Yea
R
Republican35
97% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
15
Key actions
7
Committee
4
Amendments
1
Mar 24, 2025
Signed into law
Approved by Governor
executive
Mar 13, 2025
Upper · Passed
Concurred in Amend From House
upper
Mar 11, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed As Amended
lower
Mar 11, 2025
Lower · Passed
Amended
lower
Mar 4, 2025
Lower · Passed
Title Suff Do Pass As Amended
lower
Feb 13, 2025
Committee
Referred To Youth and Family Affairs;Judiciary A
lower
Feb 10, 2025
Introduced
Transmitted To House
upper
Feb 7, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed
upper
Feb 4, 2025
Upper · Passed
Title Suff Do Pass Comm Sub
upper
Jan 20, 2025
Committee
Referred To Judiciary, Division A
upper
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
No sponsor information available.
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