| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: |
|
| | Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §4062, sub-§1, as amended by PL 1985, c. 521, is | further amended to read: |
|
| | 1. Payments by department. The department shall provide | payments to facilities caring for children to meet the costs of | clothing, board and care, within the limits of available funds. | The department may establish, by rule, different categories of | facilities, levels of need and care and flat-rate or | reimbursement methods to distribute these funds. The department | may provide child care and travel expense payments to foster and | adoptive parents and trainers participating in foster and | adoptive parent training programs and volunteers participating in | the administrative case review program. |
|
| Any federally recognized Indian tribe in this State or any other | person or facility providing foster care for a child who is a | member, or eligible to be a member of any of those tribes is | eligible for benefits and reimbursement under any state or | federally funded program administered by the State for the | benefit of Maine children, including without limitation for the | benefit of children within the jurisdiction of the Passamaquoddy | Tribe or Penobscot Nation under the Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 | United States Code, Section 1901, et seq. |
|
| | Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §8101, sub-§3, as amended by PL 1987, c. 778, §2, is | further amended to read: |
|
| | 3. Family foster home. "Family foster home" means a | children's home, including an Indian family foster home, that is | a private dwelling where substitute parental care is provided | within a family on a regular, 24-hour a day, residential basis. | The total number of children in care may not exceed 6, including | the family's legal children under 16 years of age, with no more | than 2 of these children under the age of 2. Family foster homes | licensed by the Department of Human Services or relatives' homes | approved by the Department of Human Services as meeting licensing | standards are eligible for insurance pursuant to Title 5, section | 1728-A. In any action for damages against a family foster home | provider insured pursuant to Title 5, section 1728-A, for damages | covered under that policy, the claim for and award of those | damages, including costs and interest, shall may not exceed | $300,000 for any and all claims arising out of a single | occurrence. When the amount awarded to or settled for multiple | claimants exceeds the limit imposed by this section, any party | may apply to the Superior Court for the county in which the | governmental entity is located to allocate to each claimant that | claimant's equitable share of the total, limited as required by | this section. Any award by the court in excess of the maximum |
|
|