2024 -- S 2705 | |
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LC004840 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024 | |
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A N A C T | |
RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN, | |
YOUTH AND FAMILIES | |
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Introduced By: Senators DiMario, DiPalma, and Lawson | |
Date Introduced: March 01, 2024 | |
Referred To: Senate Health & Human Services | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Section 42-72-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-72 entitled "Department |
2 | of Children, Youth and Families" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
3 | 42-72-5. Powers and scope of activities. |
4 | (a) The department is the principal agency of the state to mobilize the human, physical, and |
5 | financial resources available to plan, develop, and evaluate a comprehensive and integrated |
6 | statewide program of services designed to ensure the opportunity for children to reach their full |
7 | potential. The services include prevention, early intervention, outreach, placement, care and |
8 | treatment, and after-care programs; provided, however, that the department notifies the state police |
9 | and cooperates with local police departments when it receives and/or investigates a complaint of |
10 | sexual assault on a minor and concludes that probable cause exists to support the allegation(s). The |
11 | department also serves as an advocate for the needs of children. Additionally, on or before October |
12 | 1, 2023, the department shall implement the hiring process developed by the director pursuant to |
13 | subsection (f) of this section. |
14 | (b) To accomplish the purposes and duties, as set forth in this chapter, the director is |
15 | authorized and empowered: |
16 | (1) To establish those administrative and operational divisions of the department that the |
17 | director determines is in the best interests of fulfilling the purposes and duties of this chapter; |
18 | (2) To assign different tasks to staff members that the director determines best suit the |
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1 | purposes of this chapter; |
2 | (3) To establish plans and facilities for emergency treatment, relocation, and physical |
3 | custody of abused or neglected children that may include, but are not limited to, |
4 | homemaker/educator child-case aides, specialized foster-family programs, daycare facilities, crisis |
5 | teams, emergency parents, group homes for teenage parents, family centers within existing |
6 | community agencies, and counseling services; |
7 | (4) To establish, monitor, and evaluate protective services for children including, but not |
8 | limited to, purchase of services from private agencies and establishment of a policy and procedure |
9 | manual to standardize protective services; |
10 | (5) To plan and initiate primary- and secondary-treatment programs for abused and |
11 | neglected children; |
12 | (6)(i) To evaluate the services of the department and to conduct periodic, department’s |
13 | child welfare, juvenile justice, and children’s behavioral health services by conducting a |
14 | comprehensive-needs assessment; to be completed before each reprocurement period and no longer |
15 | than every five (5) years, with the initial assessment to be completed no later than March 31, 2026. |
16 | These assessments shall be completed by an in-state academic institution or in-state consulting firm |
17 | or, if one is not available with sufficient capacity, by an independent third party. The assessments |
18 | shall: |
19 | (A) Determine whether the department’s programs and services meet the needs of children |
20 | and families in the care of the department; |
21 | (B) Assess client accessibility; and |
22 | (C) Collect data to develop goals and measurable objectives for new and existing programs |
23 | and services. |
24 | (ii) To assist the department in fulfilling its responsibilities pursuant to this subsection, |
25 | there is hereby established a committee that shall advise the entity conducting the comprehensive |
26 | needs assessments. The members of the committee shall consist of the DCYF director, or designee; |
27 | no more than eight (8) and no less than three (3) additional members of the DCYF staff, appointed |
28 | by the director; the child advocate, or designee; the executive director of Rhode Island Kids Count |
29 | or designee; two (2) designees from community provider agencies contracted with DCYF, |
30 | appointed by the RI Coalition for Children and Families; a state senator, or designee, appointed by |
31 | the senate president; a state representative, or designee, appointed by the speaker of the house; two |
32 | (2) individuals with experience in the Rhode Island child welfare system, one of whom was a youth |
33 | or parent (foster, adoptive or birth) formerly involved in the state child welfare system, appointed |
34 | by the DCYF director; and the chief judge of the family court, or designee. The committee may |
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1 | appoint two (2) additional members by a majority vote of all members. The committee shall elect |
2 | a chair from the membership. Committee members shall serve three (3) year terms and may serve |
3 | more than one term. The department shall furnish space for the committee. All committee meetings |
4 | are subject to chapter 46 of title 42 ("open meetings"). |
5 | (iii) The committee shall meet once a month throughout the time a comprehensive needs |
6 | assessment is being conducted, and as needed, to provide advice and guidance to the party or parties |
7 | conducting the assessment. |
8 | (iv) Upon completion of the comprehensive needs assessments, the department shall post |
9 | the report on its website and submit the report to the governor, the senate president, the speaker of |
10 | the house and the child advocate; |
11 | (7) To license, approve, monitor, and evaluate all residential and non-residential group |
12 | homes, foster homes, and programs; |
13 | (8) To recruit and coordinate community resources, public and private; |
14 | (9) To promulgate rules and regulations concerning the confidentiality, disclosure, and |
15 | expungement of case records pertaining to matters under the jurisdiction of the department; |
16 | (10) To establish a minimum mandatory level of twenty (20) hours of training per year and |
17 | provide ongoing staff development for all staff; |
18 | (11) To establish procedures for reporting suspected child abuse and neglect pursuant to |
19 | chapter 11 of title 40; |
20 | (12) To promulgate all rules and regulations necessary for the execution of departmental |
21 | powers pursuant to the administrative procedures act, chapter 35 of this title; |
22 | (13) To provide and act as a clearinghouse for information, data, and other materials |
23 | relative to children; |
24 | (14) To initiate and carry out studies and analysis that will aid in solving local, regional, |
25 | and statewide problems concerning children; |
26 | (15) To represent and act on behalf of the state in connection with federal-grant programs |
27 | applicable to programs for children in the functional areas described in this chapter; |
28 | (16) To seek, accept, and otherwise take advantage of all federal aid available to the |
29 | department, and to assist other agencies of the state, local agencies, and community groups in taking |
30 | advantage of all federal grants and subventions available for children; |
31 | (17) To review and coordinate those activities of agencies of the state, and of any political |
32 | subdivision of the state, that affect the full and fair utilization of community resources for programs |
33 | for children, and initiate programs that will help ensure utilization; |
34 | (18) To administer the pilot juvenile-restitution program, including the overseeing and |
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1 | coordinating of all local community-based restitution programs, and the establishment of |
2 | procedures for the processing of payments to children performing community service; |
3 | (19) To adopt rules and regulations that: |
4 | (i) For the twelve-month (12) period beginning on October 1, 1983, and for each |
5 | subsequent twelve-month (12) period, establish specific goals as to the maximum number of |
6 | children who will remain in foster care for a period in excess of two (2) years; and |
7 | (ii) Are reasonably necessary to implement the child-welfare services and foster-care |
8 | programs; |
9 | (20) May establish and conduct seminars for the purpose of educating children regarding |
10 | sexual abuse; |
11 | (21) To establish fee schedules by regulations for the processing of requests from adoption |
12 | placement agencies for adoption studies, adoption study updates, and supervision related to |
13 | interstate and international adoptions. The fee shall equal the actual cost of the service(s) rendered, |
14 | but in no event shall the fee exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000); |
15 | (22) To be responsible for the education of all children who are placed, assigned, or |
16 | otherwise accommodated for residence by the department in a state-operated or -supported |
17 | community residence licensed by a Rhode Island state agency. In fulfilling this responsibility, the |
18 | department is authorized to enroll and pay for the education of students in the public schools or, |
19 | when necessary and appropriate, to itself provide education in accordance with the regulations of |
20 | the council on elementary and secondary education either directly or through contract; |
21 | (23) To develop multidisciplinary service plans, in conjunction with the department of |
22 | health, at hospitals prior to the discharge of any drug-exposed babies. The plan requires the |
23 | development of a plan using all healthcare professionals; |
24 | (24) To be responsible for the delivery of appropriate mental health services to seriously |
25 | emotionally disturbed children and children with functional developmental disabilities. |
26 | Appropriate mental health services may include hospitalization, placement in a residential |
27 | treatment facility, or treatment in a community-based setting. The department is charged with the |
28 | responsibility for developing the public policy and programs related to the needs of seriously |
29 | emotionally disturbed children and children with functional developmental disabilities; |
30 | In fulfilling its responsibilities the department shall: |
31 | (i) Plan a diversified and comprehensive network of programs and services to meet the |
32 | needs of seriously emotionally disturbed children and children with functional developmental |
33 | disabilities; |
34 | (ii) Provide the overall management and supervision of the state program for seriously |
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1 | emotionally disturbed children and children with functional developmental disabilities; |
2 | (iii) Promote the development of programs for preventing and controlling emotional or |
3 | behavioral disorders in children; |
4 | (iv) Coordinate the efforts of several state departments and agencies to meet the needs of |
5 | seriously emotionally disturbed children and children with functional developmental disabilities |
6 | and to work with private agencies serving those children; |
7 | (v) Promote the development of new resources for program implementation in providing |
8 | services to seriously emotionally disturbed children and children with functional developmental |
9 | disabilities. |
10 | The department shall adopt rules and regulations that are reasonably necessary to |
11 | implement a program of mental health services for seriously emotionally disturbed children. |
12 | Each community, as defined in chapter 7 of title 16, shall contribute to the department, at |
13 | least in accordance with rules and regulations to be adopted by the department, at least its average |
14 | per-pupil cost for special education for the year in which placement commences, as its share of the |
15 | cost of educational services furnished to a seriously emotionally disturbed child pursuant to this |
16 | section in a residential treatment program that includes the delivery of educational services. |
17 | “Seriously emotionally disturbed child” means any person under the age of eighteen (18) |
18 | years, or any person under the age of twenty-one (21) years, who began to receive services from |
19 | the department prior to attaining eighteen (18) years of age and has continuously received those |
20 | services thereafter; who has been diagnosed as having an emotional, behavioral, or mental disorder |
21 | under the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual and that disability has been |
22 | ongoing for one year or more or has the potential of being ongoing for one year or more; and the |
23 | child is in need of multi-agency intervention; and the child is in an out-of-home placement or is at |
24 | risk of placement because of the disability. |
25 | A child with a “functional developmental disability” means any person under the age of |
26 | eighteen (18) years or any person under the age of twenty-one (21) years who began to receive |
27 | services from the department prior to attaining eighteen (18) years of age and has continuously |
28 | received those services thereafter. |
29 | The term “functional developmental disability” includes autism spectrum disorders and |
30 | means a severe, chronic disability of a person that: |
31 | (A) Is attributable to a mental or physical impairment or combination of mental physical |
32 | impairments; |
33 | (B) Is manifested before the person attains age eighteen (18); |
34 | (C) Is likely to continue indefinitely; |
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1 | (D) Results in age-appropriate, substantial, functional limitations in three (3) or more of |
2 | the following areas of major life activity: |
3 | (I) Self-care; |
4 | (II) Receptive and expressive language; |
5 | (III) Learning; |
6 | (IV) Mobility; |
7 | (V) Self direction; |
8 | (VI) Capacity for independent living; and |
9 | (VII) Economic self-sufficiency; and |
10 | (E) Reflects the person’s need for a combination and sequence of special, interdisciplinary, |
11 | or generic care, treatment, or other services that are of life-long or extended duration and are |
12 | individually planned and coordinated. |
13 | Funding for these clients shall include funds that are transferred to the department of human |
14 | services as part of the managed healthcare program transfer. However, the expenditures relating to |
15 | these clients shall not be part of the department of human services’ caseload estimated for the semi- |
16 | annual, caseload-estimating conference. The expenditures shall be accounted for separately; |
17 | (25) To provide access to services to any person under the age of eighteen (18) years, or |
18 | any person under the age of twenty-one (21) years who began to receive child welfare services |
19 | from the department prior to attaining eighteen (18) years of age, has continuously received those |
20 | services thereafter, and elects to continue to receive such services after attaining the age of eighteen |
21 | (18) years. The general assembly has included funding in the FY 2008 DCYF budget in the amount |
22 | of $10.5 million from all sources of funds and $6.0 million from general revenues to provide a |
23 | managed system to care for children serviced between 18 to 21 years of age. The department shall |
24 | manage this caseload to this level of funding; |
25 | (26) To initiate transition planning in cooperation with the department of behavioral |
26 | healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals and local school departments for any child who |
27 | receives services through DCYF; is seriously emotionally disturbed or developmentally delayed |
28 | pursuant to subsection (b)(24)(v); and whose care may or shall be administered by the department |
29 | of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals after the age of twenty-one (21) |
30 | years; the transition planning shall commence at least twelve (12) months prior to the person’s |
31 | twenty-first birthday and shall result in a collaborative plan submitted to the family court by both |
32 | the department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals and the |
33 | department of children, youth and families and shall require the approval of the court prior to the |
34 | dismissal of the abuse, neglect, dependency, or miscellaneous petition before the child’s twenty- |
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1 | first birthday; |
2 | (27) To develop and maintain, in collaboration with other state and private agencies, a |
3 | comprehensive continuum of care in this state for children in the care and custody of the department |
4 | or at risk of being in state care. This continuum of care should be family centered and community |
5 | based with the focus of maintaining children safely within their families or, when a child cannot |
6 | live at home, within as close proximity to home as possible based on the needs of the child and |
7 | resource availability. The continuum should include community-based prevention, family support, |
8 | and crisis-intervention services, as well as a full array of foster care and residential services, |
9 | including residential services designed to meet the needs of children who are seriously emotionally |
10 | disturbed, children who have a functional developmental disability, and youth who have juvenile |
11 | justice issues. The director shall make reasonable efforts to provide a comprehensive continuum of |
12 | care for children in the care and custody of DCYF, taking into account the availability of public |
13 | and private resources and financial appropriations and the director shall submit an annual report to |
14 | the general assembly as to the status of his or her efforts in accordance with the provisions of § 42- |
15 | 72-4(b)(13); |
16 | (28) To administer funds under the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence and |
17 | Educational and Training Voucher (ETV) Programs of Title IV-E of the Social Security Act [42 |
18 | U.S.C. § 677] and the DCYF higher education opportunity grant program as outlined in chapter |
19 | 72.8 of this title, in accordance with rules and regulations as promulgated by the director of the |
20 | department; and |
21 | (29) To process nationwide criminal record checks on prospective foster parents and any |
22 | household member age 18 or older, prospective adoptive parents and any household member age |
23 | 18 and older, operators of childcare facilities, persons seeking to act as volunteer court-appointed |
24 | special advocates, persons seeking employment in a childcare facility or at the training school for |
25 | youth or on behalf of any person seeking employment at DCYF, who are required to submit to |
26 | nationwide criminal background checks as a matter of law. |
27 | (c) In order to assist in the discharge of his or her duties, the director may request from any |
28 | agency of the state information pertinent to the affairs and problems of children. |
29 | (d) [Deleted by P.L. 2008, ch. 9, art. 16, § 2.] |
30 | (e) [Deleted by P.L. 2008, ch. 9, art. 16, § 2.] |
31 | (f) On or before October 1, 2023, the director shall establish a process for hiring individuals |
32 | seeking employment at the department as a social caseworker or child protective investigator. The |
33 | department shall be provided with funding for one full-time employee, or the equivalent, to support |
34 | the implementation of the hiring process. The process shall be in effect through September 30, |
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1 | 2024. |
2 | (1) Generally, the process shall include, but need not be limited to: |
3 | (i) Screening and reviewing candidates for eligibility criteria including education and |
4 | experience; |
5 | (ii) Administering the requisite civil service examinations; |
6 | (iii) Conducting in-person interviews; |
7 | (iv) Determining which applicants will be offered employment; and |
8 | (v) Determining the order in which employment offers will be given. |
9 | (2) Specifically, the process shall include, but need not be limited to, the following |
10 | elements: |
11 | (i) Eligibility criteria. Candidates must meet the minimum job requirements as defined in |
12 | the specification with social caseworker IIs and child protective investigators as approved by the |
13 | department of administration. |
14 | (ii) Civil service examinations. |
15 | (A) Examinations shall be offered by the department at least three (3) times per month to |
16 | individuals who meet the eligibility criteria and at times that shall include a weekend, a weekday, |
17 | and a weeknight option. |
18 | (B) The director shall determine the process and administration of the exam. The director |
19 | is not obligated to schedule an examination if there are no current applicants for the position |
20 | available by the deadline set by the director pursuant to this subsection. |
21 | (C) If an applicant does not pass the examination, the department shall notify the applicant |
22 | as soon as is practicable. Applicants wishing to re-take the examination are not eligible to do so |
23 | until sixty (60) days have passed from the date the notification was sent. |
24 | (iii) In-person interviews. |
25 | (A) Applicants who pass the civil service examination shall be invited to an in-person |
26 | interview. |
27 | (B) The interview shall be conducted by at least two (2) current employees of the |
28 | department. |
29 | (I) One of whom shall have a culturally or racially diverse background; and |
30 | (II) One of whom is currently in a supervisory role over social caseworkers or child |
31 | protective investigators for at least three (3) years. |
32 | (III) Satisfying the requirements of subsections (f)(2)(iii)(B)(I) and (f)(2)(iii)(B)(II) of this |
33 | section does not necessarily require two (2) individuals. One individual may satisfy both |
34 | requirements. |
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1 | (C) There shall be a good faith effort to accommodate the availability of the applicant and |
2 | the individuals on the panel when scheduling the interview. |
3 | (iv) Offering employment. |
4 | (A) Prior to offering employment, an applicant shall pass both the civil service exam and |
5 | the in-person interview. Nothing herein is a guarantee of employment to an applicant who meets |
6 | these criteria. |
7 | (B) Determining whether an applicant successfully completes the in-person interview shall |
8 | be based on criteria established by the director. |
9 | (I) The department of administration shall score the civil service exams and provide a |
10 | pass/fail listing of all candidates to DCYF within five (5) business days of receipt of the exams |
11 | from DCYF. |
12 | (II) The director may create a method of scoring interviews to provide objectivity and |
13 | uniformity when assessing applicants. |
14 | (g) On or before March 15, 2024, the department shall provide an interim report to the |
15 | senate president and the speaker of the house regarding the hiring process developed and |
16 | implemented pursuant to subsection (f) of this section. The report shall include, but is not limited |
17 | to, the following data concerning social caseworkers and child protective investigators at the |
18 | department: |
19 | (1) The number of social caseworkers hired using the process developed pursuant to |
20 | subsection (f) of this section; |
21 | (2) The number of child protective investigators hired using the process developed pursuant |
22 | to subsection (f) of this section; |
23 | (3) The number of terminations or resignations since October 1, 2023; |
24 | (4) The number of vacancies that existed on October 1, 2023, and the number of vacancies |
25 | that exist as of the date of the report; and |
26 | (5) Any identified barriers to hiring that exist in spite of, or because of, the process |
27 | developed pursuant to subsection (f) of this section. |
28 | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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LC004840 | |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN, | |
YOUTH AND FAMILIES | |
*** | |
1 | This act would require the department of children, youth and families (DCYF) to conduct |
2 | periodic comprehensive needs assessments to determine whether the department’s programs and |
3 | services meet the needs of children and families in the care of the department, assess client |
4 | accessibility and collect data to develop goals and measurable objectives for new and existing |
5 | programs and services. The act would also create a committee that shall advise the entity conducting |
6 | the comprehensive needs assessments. |
7 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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LC004840 | |
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