Authorizes child care assistance to be made available to certain victims of domestic violence who are in need of assistance in order for a parent or caretaker relative to engage in work or participate in work activities.
Modifies the existing exemption from requiring a determination of what constitutes prima facie evidence of neglect where a parent or guardian engages in substance abuse or substantial manifestation of irrationality but is voluntarily and regularly participating in a recognized rehabilitative program so as to require the parent or guardian to have voluntarily participated in and to have successfully completed such a program and to have been verifiably rehabilitated for an uninterrupted period of one year immediately prior to the hearing date, before such exemption applies.
Exempts certain child day care grant awards such as child stabilization grants from taxation; allows child day care providers an extension of time of the original 90 day period to make necessary changes or accommodations to their facility to meet licensing requirements; grants the office of children and family services authority to grant additional extensions of time, if necessary.
Requires statewide training for mandated reporters to include how to identify an abused or maltreated child with an intellectual or developmental disability.
Provides for the protection of the air quality at licensed day care centers and head start day care centers funded pursuant to federal law; requires the office of children and family services to consult with the commissioners of environmental conservation and health regarding the air quality and environmental hazards that may be involved with any new day care center or head start day care center; requires such office to consult with the department of health if any new environmental or environmental health hazard arises.
Requires child protective services to document every home visit or contact with the child as part of a treatment plan, supervision and monitoring, with photographs of the child.
Establishes the office of the child welfare advocate to provide support to youth, biological parents, kinship caregivers and foster parents including prospective kinship caregivers or foster parents.
Requires additional investigation when three or more claims of abuse or maltreatment of a child are made relating to the same person; requires such person to be investigated and evaluated at least once a year for the next five years from the date of the last report.
Relates to chemical testing for prospective foster parents; includes, but is not limited to drug and alcohol testing; authorizes office of children and family services to issue random chemical testing, including but not limited to, drug testing, to foster parents.
Authorizes the social services department to terminate the subsidies that may be provided to a parent who adopts a disabled or hard to place child under certain circumstances.
Expands the list of those able to commence proceedings alleging that a child is a destitute child to include the child in question, if over 14 years of age, and other persons on the court's direction; makes related provisions.
Provides that any person charged with enforcing laws prohibiting cruelty to animals shall cause a report to be made when, in the performance of his or her duties, such person has reasonable cause to believe that abuse or maltreatment of a child has also occurred; provides that a person charged with the responsibility of filing a report of child abuse or maltreatment shall also file a report of suspected animal cruelty.