WHEREAS, The General Assembly finds that the practice of night to night placement of youth is contrary to the principles that underlie the child welfare system; and

WHEREAS, Night to night placement is disruptive to the stability and mental health of youth; and

WHEREAS, The practice of night to night placement is an expensive and wasteful drain on the budgetary resources allocated to the Department of Children, Youth and Families; and

WHEREAS, Despite legislative oversight and federal court action, the department has failed to resolve the problem which has recurred many times over the past fifteen years; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations respectfully requests that the Department of Children, Youth and Families present a plan to the General Assembly on or before May 1, 2002 which will eliminate night to night placement in Fiscal Year 2002, and thereafter: increase the number of placements in the State of Rhode Island available to youth; triple the number of foster homes available to accept adolescents; create a rapid response crisis intervention team that will act in concert with a diagnostic assessment facility to stabilize volatile family situations and promote reunification through intervention with families, school systems and other community facilities; and add outreach and tracking slots as well as aftercare services to avoid the placement of youth in state care; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Director of the Department of Children, Youth and Families.