General Assembly Proposed Bill No. 312
January Session, 2015 LCO No. 2767
*02767*
Referred to Committee on COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN
Introduced by:
SEN. BYE, 5th Dist. REP. WALKER, 93rd Dist.
General Assembly
Proposed Bill No. 312
January Session, 2015
LCO No. 2767
*02767*
Referred to Committee on COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN
Introduced by:
SEN. BYE, 5th Dist.
REP. WALKER, 93rd Dist.
AN ACT CONCERNING THE PROTECTION OF PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE CHILDREN.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
That title 17a of the general statutes be amended to require the Department of Children and Families, in consultation with the Office of Early Childhood, the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, the Department of Public Health, the Office of the Child Advocate, and the child fatality review panel, to adopt policies and procedures not later than October 1, 2015, to protect particularly vulnerable children from unexpected death or critical injury, based on any external or internal reviews and reports of unexpected child deaths. Said policies and procedures shall include, but not be limited to: (1) Appropriate risk assessment for particularly vulnerable children, including risk of death or critical injury from unsafe sleeping conditions, as defined in the Department of Children and Families policy; (2) appropriate procedures for determining whether to accept a case for child protection services, including consulting with hospital staff caring for newborns; (3) heightened investigation protocols; (4) increased visitation standards; (5) provision of or referral to appropriate evidence-based in-home services; (6) heightened supervision and quality assurance protocols; (7) protocols to ensure appropriate expertise and multidisciplinary planning; (8) development of a team of early childhood experts, including experts external to the agency, to inform such policies and practice protocols; (9) procedures for ensuring consistency, across cases and regional offices, in decisions whether to substantiate abuse or neglect and whether to file neglect petitions with the appropriate juvenile court; and (10) the ability to collect and disaggregate reportable outcomes regarding the efficacy and implementation of said policies and procedures in protecting children ages birth to three.
Statement of Purpose:
To require policies and procedures to reduce fatalities in children ages birth to three.