HB1151

South Dakota's Department of Social Services must now make "active efforts"—defined as more intensive than current "reasonable efforts"—to keep children with their families or reunite them after abuse or neglect cases, including helping parents complete case plans and access needed resources. This new requirement applies to all child welfare proceedings involving the department and emphasizes working in partnership with parents, extended family, and tribes (for Native American children) using approaches tailored to each family's cultural circumstances. The bill raises the legal standard for how hard the state must work to preserve and reunite families rather than removing children or terminating parental rights.