Foster care; DSS to establish and implement a collaborative local board placement program.

Foster care; local boards of social services;collaborative placement program. Directs the Department of SocialServices to establish and implement a collaborative local board placementprogram to increase kinship placements and the number of locallyapproved foster homes. The bill provides that such program shall require local boards of social services (local boards) to enter intopartnership agreements with other local boards to work collaborativelyto (i) facilitate approval of kinship foster parents through engagement,assessment, and training; (ii) increase the capacity of local boardsto recruit, train, and develop foster parents; and (iii) expand thepool of available foster homes within and across the localities ofsuch local boards. The bill also requires local boards, when placinga child, to seek placement with a foster family within the localityof the local board or a nearby locality through the collaborative local board placement program.