General Assembly Raised Bill No. 152
February Session, 2010 LCO No. 791
*_____SB00152KIDHS_031010____*
Referred to Committee on Select Committee on Children
Introduced by:
(KID)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 152
February Session, 2010
LCO No. 791
*_____SB00152KIDHS_031010____*
Referred to Committee on Select Committee on Children
Introduced by:
(KID)
AN ACT CONCERNING TECHNICAL CHANGES TO THE GENERAL STATUTES CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 17a-98a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2010):
[(a)] The Department of Children and Families, in consultation with the Departments of Social Services, Mental Health and Addiction Services and Developmental Services, shall establish, within available appropriations, a kinship navigator program. Such program shall ensure that: (1) When the Department of Children and Families determines that it is in the best interest of the child to be placed with a relative for foster care, the department informs the relative regarding procedures to become licensed as a foster parent, and (2) grandparents and other relatives caring for a minor child are provided with information on the array of state services and benefits for which they may be eligible, including the subsidy program established pursuant to section 17a-126, as amended by this act. The Commissioner of Children and Families shall, within available appropriations, ensure that information on the array of services available under the kinship navigator program is accessible through the 2-1-1 Infoline program.
[(b) Not later than January 1, 2008, and annually thereafter, the Commissioner of Children and Families shall report, in accordance with section 11-4a, on the implementation of the kinship navigator program to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to human services.]
Sec. 2. Section 17a-6b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2010):
(a) The advisory group for the Connecticut Juvenile Training School, established pursuant to subsection (b) of section 17a-6, [and the Connecticut Juvenile Training School public safety committee, established pursuant to section 17a-27f,] shall provide an on-going review of the Connecticut Juvenile Training School with recommendations for improvement or enhancement. The review shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) The number, age, ethnicity and race of the residents placed at the training school, including the court locations that sentenced them, the number sentenced from each court location and the offenses for which they were sentenced;
(2) The percentage of residents in need of substance abuse treatment and the programming interventions provided to assist residents;
(3) A review of the program and policies of the facility;
(4) The educational and literacy programs available to the residents, including the educational level of residents, the number of residents requiring special education and related services, including school attendance requirements, the number of residents who are educated in the alternative school and the reasons for such education;
(5) The vocational training programs available to the residents and the actual number of residents enrolled in each training program, including all vocational attendance requirements;
(6) The delinquency recidivism rates of such residents, which shall include the number of children discharged to residential placement, the number of children discharged due to expiration of the period of commitment and the number of children returned to the Connecticut Juvenile Training School;
(7) The diagnosis of each resident after intake assessment;
(8) The costs associated with the operation of the training school, including staffing costs and average cost per resident; [and]
(9) Reintegration strategies and plans to transition the residents to their home communities; and
(10) A review of safety and security issues that affect the host municipality.
(b) The Department of Children and Families shall serve as administrative staff of the advisory group referred to in subsection (a) of this section.
(c) Not later than February 4, 2004, and annually thereafter, the Commissioner of Children and Families shall report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary and human services and to the select committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children with respect to the Connecticut Juvenile Training School.
(d) Each report required pursuant to subsection (c) of this section shall summarize the information and recommendations specified in subsection (a) of this section and shall also include such other information that the Department of Children and Families has identified as requiring immediate legislative action.
Sec. 3. Section 17a-101h of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2010):
Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes to the contrary, any person authorized to conduct an investigation of abuse or neglect shall coordinate investigatory activities in order to minimize the number of interviews of any child and share information with other persons authorized to conduct an investigation of child abuse or neglect, as appropriate. The commissioner shall obtain the consent of parents or guardians or other persons responsible for the care of the child to any interview with a child, except that such consent shall not be required when the department has reason to believe such parent or guardian or other person responsible for the care of the child or member of the child's household is the perpetrator of the alleged abuse or neglect. If consent is not required to conduct the interview, such interview shall be conducted in the presence of a disinterested adult unless immediate access to the child is necessary to protect the child from imminent risk of physical harm and a disinterested adult is not available after reasonable search.
Sec. 4. Section 17a-126 of the 2010 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2010):
(a) As used in this section, (1) "relative caregiver" means a person who is caring for a child related to such person because the parent of the child has died or become otherwise unable to care for the child for reasons that make reunification with the parent and adoption not viable options within the foreseeable future, and (2) "commissioner" means the Commissioner of Children and Families.
(b) The commissioner, shall establish a program of subsidized guardianship for the benefit of children in foster care who have been living with relative caregivers, who are licensed foster care providers pursuant to section 17a-114, and who have been in foster care [or certified relative care] for not less than six consecutive months. A relative caregiver may request a guardianship subsidy from the commissioner.
(c) If a relative caregiver who is receiving a guardianship subsidy for a related child is also caring for the child's sibling who is not related to the caregiver, the commissioner shall provide a guardianship subsidy to such relative caregiver [if the sibling has been in foster care for not less than eighteen months, and the commissioner shall, within available appropriations, provide a guardianship subsidy to such relative caregiver] in accordance with regulations adopted by the commissioner pursuant to subsection (e) of this section. For purposes of this subsection, "child's sibling" includes a stepbrother, stepsister, a half-brother or a half-sister.
(d) The commissioner shall provide the following subsidies under the subsidized guardianship program in accordance with this section and the regulations adopted pursuant to subsection (e) of this section: (1) A special-need subsidy, which shall be a lump sum payment for one-time expenses resulting from the assumption of care of the child and shall not exceed two thousand dollars; (2) a medical subsidy comparable to the medical subsidy to children in the subsidized adoption program if the child lacks private health insurance. The subsidized guardianship program shall also provide a monthly subsidy on behalf of the child payable to the relative caregiver that is based on the circumstances of the relative caregiver and the needs of the child and shall not exceed the foster care maintenance payment that would have been paid on behalf of the child if the child had remained in licensed foster care.
(e) The commissioner shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, implementing the subsidized guardianship program established under this section. Such regulations shall include all federal requirements necessary to maximize federal reimbursement available to the state, including, but not limited to, (1) eligibility for the program, (2) the maximum age at which a child is no longer eligible for a guardianship subsidy, including the maximum age, for purposes of claiming federal reimbursement under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, at which a child is no longer eligible for a guardianship subsidy, and (3) a procedure for determining the types and amounts of the subsidies.
(f) At a minimum, the guardianship subsidy provided under this section shall continue until the child reaches the age of eighteen or the age of twenty-one if such child is in full time attendance at a secondary school, technical school or college or is in a state accredited job training program. Annually, the subsidized guardian shall submit to the commissioner a sworn statement that the child is still living with and receiving support from the guardian. The parent of any child receiving assistance through the subsidized guardianship program shall remain liable for the support of the child as required by the general statutes.
(g) A guardianship subsidy shall not be included in the calculation of household income in determining eligibility for benefits of the relative caregiver of the subsidized child or other persons living within the household of the relative caregiver.
(h) Payments for guardianship subsidies shall be made from moneys available from any source to the commissioner for child welfare purposes. The commissioner shall develop and implement a plan that: (1) Maximizes use of the subsidized guardianship program to decrease the number of children in the legal custody of the commissioner and to reduce the number of children who would otherwise be placed into nonrelative foster care when there is a family member willing to provide care; (2) maximizes federal reimbursement for the costs of the subsidized guardianship program, provided whatever federal maximization method is employed shall not result in the relative caregiver of a child being subject to work requirements as a condition of receipt of benefits for the child or the benefits restricted in time or scope other than as specified in subsection (c) of this section; and (3) ensures necessary transfers of funds between agencies and interagency coordination in program implementation. The commissioner shall seek all federal waivers and reimbursement as are necessary and appropriate to implement this plan.
(i) In the case of the death, severe disability or serious illness of a relative caregiver who is receiving a guardianship subsidy, the commissioner may transfer the guardianship subsidy to a new relative caregiver who meets the Department of Children and Families foster care safety requirements and is appointed as legal guardian by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(j) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the commissioner from continuing to pay guardianship subsidies to those relative caregivers who entered into written subsidy agreements with the Department of Children and Families prior to October 5, 2009.
Sec. 5. Section 45a-709 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2010):
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of sections [17a-91,] 17a-112, 17a-113, 17a-148, 45a-187, 45a-606, 45a-607, 45a-706 to 45a-708, inclusive, 45a-715 to 45a-718, inclusive, 45a-724, 45a-727, 45a-732 to 45a-734, inclusive, and 52-231a, to the contrary, any adoption completed after October 1, 1973, in which the application and agreement of adoption were received by the Court of Probate before October 1, 1973, shall be valid, provided the adoption would have been valid under the general statutes in effect on September 30, 1973.
(b) Applications for termination of parental rights, appointment of statutory parents or for adoptions or any actions taken in accordance with the applications which were received by the Court of Probate prior to May 10, 1974, shall be valid if they conform to the provisions of sections [17a-91,] 17a-112, 17a-148, 45a-606, 45a-706 to 45a-708, inclusive, 45a-715 to 45a-718, inclusive, 45a-724, 45a-727, 45a-731 to 45a-734, inclusive, and 52-231a in effect on May 9, 1974.
Sec. 6. Sections 17a-22m, 17a-27f and 17a-91 of the general statutes are repealed. (Effective July 1, 2010)
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2010 17a-98a
Sec. 2 July 1, 2010 17a-6b
Sec. 3 July 1, 2010 17a-101h
Sec. 4 July 1, 2010 17a-126
Sec. 5 July 1, 2010 45a-709
Sec. 6 July 1, 2010 Repealer section
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
July 1, 2010
17a-98a
Sec. 2
July 1, 2010
17a-6b
Sec. 3
July 1, 2010
17a-101h
Sec. 4
July 1, 2010
17a-126
Sec. 5
July 1, 2010
45a-709
Sec. 6
July 1, 2010
Repealer section
KID Joint Favorable C/R HS
KID
Joint Favorable C/R
HS