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2017 Regular Session
SENATE BILL NO. 66
BY SENATOR BARROW
Prefiled pursuant to Article III, Section 2(A)(4)(b)(i) of the Constitution of Louisiana.
CHILDREN. Provides relative to the Children's Cabinet and the Child Poverty Prevention
Council of Louisiana. (8/1/17)
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 36:4(B)(8) and R.S. 46:2402(3) and (6), 2403(A), (D)(1) and (E),
3 2404(A), (B)(1) and (2) and (G), 2405, 2406(A), (B), (D), (E), (F) and (G), 2407,
4 2605(A)(6) and 2607, to enact R.S. 46:2404(H), 2603(A)(7) and 2605(A)(7), and to
5 repeal R.S. 36:478(F) and (K) and 802.9 and R.S. 46:450.4 and 2801, relative to the
6 Children's Cabinet; to provide for extension of the Cabinet; to provide for duties of
7 the Children's Cabinet Advisory Board; to provide for the repeal of the Child Poverty
8 Prevention Council for Louisiana; to provide for the transfer of the Children's Trust
9 Fund to the Children's Cabinet; to provide for duties of the Children's Cabinet
10 relative to the Children's Trust Fund; to provide for Children's Trust Fund staff
11 reallocation; and to provide for related matters.
12 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
13 Section 1. R.S. 36:4(B)(8) is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:
14 §4. Structure of executive branch of state government
15 * * *
16 B.
17 * * *
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1 (8) The Children's Cabinet and the Children's Cabinet Advisory Board, as
2 more specifically provided in R.S. 46:2601 through 2607, the Children's Trust
3 Fund, as more specifically provided in R.S. 46:2401 through 2407, and the
4 Council on the Status of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, as more specifically
5 provided in R.S. 46:2605.1 through 2605.3, shall be placed within the office of the
6 governor.
7 * * *
8 Section 2. R.S. 46:2402(3) and (6), 2403(A), (D)(1) and (E), 2404(A), (B)(1) and (2)
9 and (G), 2405, 2406(A), (B), (D), (E), (F) and (G), 2407, 2605(A)(6) and 2607 are hereby
10 amended and reenacted and R.S. 46:2404(H), 2603(A)(7) and 2605(A)(7) are hereby enacted
11 to read as follows:
12 §2402. Definitions
13 Except where the context clearly indicates otherwise, in this Chapter:
14 * * *
15 (3) "Department" means the Department of Children and Family Services.
16 "Cabinet" means the Children's Cabinet, as provided for in R.S. 46:2601 et seq.
17 * * *
18 (6) "Office" means the office of children and family services the governor.
19 * * *
20 §2403. Creation of the Children's Trust Fund
21 A. There is hereby established a special fund in the state treasury to be known
22 as the "Children's Trust Fund", consisting of monies provided by the legislature and
23 monies received from any other sources, including funds derived from donations of
24 income tax refunds as provided in R.S. 47:120.33 47:120.35 and funds derived from
25 fees as provided in Subsection B hereof. The legislature shall make yearly
26 appropriations to the fund for the purposes set forth in this Chapter to the extent that
27 state funds are available.
28 * * *
29 D.(1) The monies in the fund shall be used solely for programs designed to
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1 prevent the physical and sexual abuse and gross neglect of children. Disbursement
2 of the amount appropriated each year shall be made as determined by the Children's
3 Cabinet with consideration of recommendations made by the Children's Trust
4 Fund Board. All unexpended and unencumbered monies in this fund at the end of the
5 fiscal year shall remain to the credit of the fund.
6 * * *
7 E. The board Children's Cabinet shall determine the eligibility of programs
8 to receive funding based upon a nonbiased scoring system by a volunteer grant
9 reviewer and recommendations by the Children's Trust Fund Board, and the
10 administration of the fund shall be exercised by the office of children and family
11 services of the Department of Children and Family Services the governor in
12 accordance with the directives of the board cabinet and the provisions of R.S.
13 36:802.9 36:4(B)(8) and R.S. 46:2407.
14 §2404. Louisiana Children's Trust Fund Board; created; membership
15 A. There is hereby established the Louisiana Children's Trust Fund Board
16 within the office of children and family services of the Department of Children and
17 Family Services the governor, which shall serve as a subcommittee of the
18 Children's Cabinet.
19 B. The Louisiana Children's Trust Fund Board shall be composed of fifteen
20 members as follows:
21 (1) The secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services, or his
22 designee. The executive director of the Children's Cabinet, or his designee.
23 (2) The assistant secretary of the office of children and family services of the
24 Department of Children and Family Services, or his designee.
25 * * *
26 G. The board shall make recommendations to the Children's Cabinet on
27 the following:
28 (1) Promulgate rules Rules and regulations necessary to implement the
29 provisions of this Chapter.
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1 (2) Review, evaluate, adopt, coordinate, and revise the The comprehensive
2 state plan for child abuse prevention, as provided in R.S. 46:2406 and funded
3 through the Children's Trust Fund.
4 (3) Have the authority to contract, in accordance with applicable provisions
5 of state law, for the provision of services needed to coordinate, develop, and write
6 a comprehensive state plan for child abuse prevention.
7 (4) Review, evaluate, and award grants Funding amounts of grant
8 proposals from the fund for child abuse and neglect prevention programs as
9 provided in R.S. 46:2407.
10 (5) Prepare and submit an annual report to the legislature and to the governor
11 sixty days prior to each regular legislative session.
12 (6)(4) Adopt the budget request Budget requests for the board that if
13 approved by the cabinet shall be presented by the executive director of the
14 cabinet to the and present it to the office of children and family services, the
15 governor and the executive budget office, and the Joint Legislative Committee on
16 the Budget.
17 (7)(5) Monitor, evaluate, and review the The development and quality of
18 services and child abuse prevention programs funded through the Children's Trust
19 Fund.
20 (8) Develop, implement, and administer a community-based family center
21 program in accordance with R.S. 46:450.4.
22 H. The board shall prepare and submit to the cabinet for review an
23 annual report regarding the status of the fund that, once approved by the
24 cabinet, shall be submitted to the legislature sixty days prior to each regular
25 legislative session.
26 §2405. Louisiana Children's Trust Fund Board; staff; duties
27 A. The board, with the approval of the secretary of the department executive
28 director of the Children's Cabinet, shall appoint an executive director a
29 coordinator for the board who shall be in the unclassified service and who shall
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1 report to the executive director of the Children's Cabinet.
2 B. The commissioner of administration shall make available one additional
3 position to the table of organization of the office of children and family services the
4 governor in order to provide for the position of executive director Children's Trust
5 Fund coordinator.
6 C. The director coordinator shall perform duties and functions as
7 required by the board and under the direction of the executive director of the
8 cabinet.:
9 (1) Prepare the annual budget request for the board for adoption by the board.
10 (2) Act as agent for the board in the performance of its duties and subject to
11 its direction and serve as secretary of the board.
12 §2406. Comprehensive state plan for child abuse prevention
13 A. The board shall review and adopt make recommendations to the cabinet
14 regarding the comprehensive state plan and any revision thereof, prior to transmittal
15 of the plan as provided in this Section.
16 B. On or before January 1, 1989, the board The cabinet shall transmit the
17 comprehensive state plan for child abuse prevention programs funded through the
18 Children's Trust Fund to the governor, the president of the Senate, and the speaker
19 of the House of Representatives every five years beginning on January 1, 2018,
20 and shall be reviewed for necessary changes by the cabinet annually.
21 * * *
22 D. The board shall by rule recommend rules to the cabinet that establish
23 procedures for preparation and adoption of the plan.
24 E. Prior to adoption of the state plan, the board cabinet shall submit the plan
25 it proposes to adopt to the Committees on Health and Welfare of the Senate and
26 House of Representatives for their approval as provided in R.S. 49:968. The
27 comprehensive state plan shall be subject to approval as provided in R.S. 49:968.
28 F. The board shall review the state plan at least biennially and the board shall
29 adopt make recommendations to the cabinet regarding any needed revision.
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1 G. The Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of
2 Public Safety and Corrections, and the Department of Education shall participate and
3 cooperate in the development of the state plan as deemed necessary by the cabinet.
4 §2407. Funding of children's trust fund programs
5 A. The board in its annual budget request, cabinet shall identify the amount
6 of funds necessary for the implementation of this Chapter.
7 B. Monies appropriated or otherwise made available to the board cabinet to
8 implement the provisions of this Chapter shall be disbursed as follows:
9 (1) The board cabinet shall adopt a formula based on a recommendation
10 by the board for the distribution of funds from the Children's Trust Fund for
11 programs and services for child abuse prevention which shall provide for the
12 allocation of funds in each state planning district based upon the percentage of the
13 total state reported cases of abuse and neglect reported in the state planning district
14 and the percentage of the total state population under the age of eighteen years and
15 upon the service and program needs of the district, and after January 1, 1989, the
16 comprehensive state plan.
17 (2) Any funds which are not utilized within a state planning district shall be
18 reallocated to the remaining districts in accordance with the formula required by
19 Paragraph (1) of this Subsection.
20 (3) Ten percent of the amount appropriated to the board cabinet may be used
21 for administrative costs of the board. This ten percent limitation shall not apply to
22 costs for plan development and shall include provisions for staff support.
23 C. Appropriations made for distribution by the board cabinet for programs
24 and services shall be deposited in the fund and shall be disbursed by the office of the
25 governor in accordance with directives of the board cabinet.
26 D. The board shall develop and, once approved by the cabinet, publish
27 solicitations for grant proposals for grants to be funded from the Louisiana Children's
28 Trust Fund for child abuse prevention programs and services which are designed to
29 meet identified priorities.
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1 (1) After January 1, 1989, these priorities Priorities shall be based upon
2 information contained in the comprehensive state plan.
3 (2) A priority ranking shall be made based upon the extent to which a
4 proposal meets identified needs, criteria for cost effectiveness, an evaluation
5 component providing outcome data, and a determination that the proposal provides
6 a mechanism for coordinating and integrating preventive services with other services
7 deemed necessary for working effectively with families who are at risk of child
8 abuse or neglect. Priority shall be given to primary and secondary prevention
9 programs and services.
10 E. The office board shall review and evaluate all proposals submitted for
11 grants for children's trust fund programs funding and services and make
12 recommendations to the cabinet regarding grant awards. The cabinet will make
13 the final approval on grant awards.
14 F. On and after January 1, 1989, all All budget requests submitted by any
15 private nonprofit agency to the legislature for funding of programs related to child
16 abuse prevention shall conform to the comprehensive state plan application process
17 and any subsequent revision of the plan adopted pursuant to the provisions of this
18 Chapter. The services and programs of the Department of Children and Family
19 Services or any other public agency shall not be subject to the provisions of this
20 Subsection.
21 * * *
22 §2603. Children's Cabinet; powers and duties
23 A. In order to carry out the purposes of this Chapter and the purposes for
24 which it is created, the Children's Cabinet shall:
25 * * *
26 (7) Administer the Children's Trust Fund provided for in R.S. 46:2401
27 et seq.
28 * * *
29 §2605. Children's Cabinet Advisory Board
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1 A. The Children's Cabinet Advisory Board, hereinafter referred to as the
2 "advisory board", is hereby created. The purpose of the advisory board shall be to
3 provide information and recommendations from the perspective of advocacy groups,
4 service providers, and parents. Primary responsibilities of the Children's Cabinet
5 Advisory Board are:
6 * * *
7 (6) To make recommendations to the Children's Cabinet, through the
8 executive director, as to specific programs with the greatest potential for
9 reducing child poverty and funding opportunities for the implementation of
10 such programs.
11 (7) To make an annual report to the legislature, Senate Committee on Health
12 and Welfare, the House Committee on Health and Welfare, Select Committee on
13 Women and Children and any other legislative committee requesting a copy of the
14 annual report, by January thirty-first summarizing the well-being of Louisiana's
15 children, the accomplishments of the past year, and specific goals and priorities for
16 the next fiscal year.
17 * * *
18 §2607. Termination
19 The existence of the Children's Cabinet shall terminate, all legal authority
20 therefor shall cease, and this Chapter shall be repealed on August 15, 2018 August
21 1, 2022.
22 Section 3. R.S. 36:478(F) and (K) and 802.9 and R.S. 46:450.4 and 2801 are hereby
23 repealed.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Christine Arbo Peck.
DIGEST
SB 66 Engrossed 2017 Regular Session Barrow
Proposed law extends the termination date of the Children's Cabinet from August 15, 2018,
to August 1, 2022, and provides for recommendations for programs to reduce child poverty.
Proposed law repeals the Child Poverty Prevention Council and transfers fulfillment of its
mission to the Children's Cabinet Advisory Board.
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Present law establishes the Children's Trust Fund in the Department of Children and Family
Services and creates a board to administer the fund.
Proposed law transfers the Children's Trust Fund from the Department of Children and
Family Services to the office of the governor and makes them answerable to the Children's
Cabinet. Proposed law transfers all responsibilities of the fund to the Children's Cabinet and
establishes advisory responsibilities for the board with final decision making authority by
the Children's Cabinet.
Effective August 1, 2017.
(Amends R.S. 46:2605(A)(6) and 2607; adds R.S. 46:2605(A)(7); repeals R.S. 46:2801)
Summary of Amendments Adopted by Senate
Committee Amendments Proposed by Senate Committee on Health and Welfare to
the original bill
1. Transfers the Children's Trust Fund and the Children's Trust Fund board from
the Department of Children and Family Services to the office of the governor
and makes them answerable to the Children's Cabinet.
2. Establishes a process whereby programs receiving funding from the
Children's Trust Fund are determined based on a nonbiased scoring system
by a volunteer grant reviewer and recommendation by the board.
3. Removes the assistant secretary of the Department of Children and Family
Services as a trust fund board member and includes the executive director of
the Children's Cabinet or his designee.
4. Deletes the requirement that budget requests of the board shall be presented
to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget.
5. Requires the cabinet to submit their comprehensive state plan to the
governor, president of the Senate and speaker of the House every five years
beginning on January 1, 2018, and requires a minimum of annual review by
the cabinet for necessary changes.
6. Provides that the cabinet has final approval on all grant awards.
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