Rhode Island 2025 Regular Session

Rhode Island House Bill H5396 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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5	5	2025 -- H 5396
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7	7	LC001191
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9	9	S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
10	10	IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11	JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
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13	13
14	14	A N A C T
15	15	RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN,
16	16	YOUTH AND FAMILIES
17	17	Introduced By: Representatives Casimiro, Noret, Spears, Donovan, Speakman, Carson,
18	18	Morales, Roberts, and Shanley
19	19	Date Introduced: February 07, 2025
20	20	Referred To: House Finance
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23	23	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
24	24	SECTION 1. Section 42-72-5.3 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-72 entitled "Department 1
25	25	of Children, Youth and Families" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
26	26	42-72-5.3. Accreditation. 3
27	27	(a)(1) The standards set by the Council on Accreditation (COA) are nationally recognized 4
28	28	as best practices for protecting and providing services to abused and neglected children; 5
29	29	(2) Achieving and maintaining these standards requires a solid commitment from the 6
30	30	legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government; 7
31	31	(3) It is the intent of the general assembly to provide the resources for the department of 8
32	32	children, youth and families to meet, achieve, and sustain accreditation by the Council on 9
33	33	Accreditation. 10
34	34	(b) The department of children, youth and families (the "department") shall initiate the 11
35	35	process for seeking COA accreditation no later than September 1, 2019, and shall submit an 12
36	36	accreditation plan to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the 13
37	37	senate, the chairperson of the house committee on health, education and welfare, the chairperson 14
38	38	of the senate committee on health and human services, the chairpersons of the finance committees 15
39	39	of the house and senate, and to the chairpersons of the judiciary committees of the house and senate 16
40	40	no later than October 1, 2020. Said plan shall include, at a minimum, the following: 17
41	41	(1) Inputs, including updated staffing requirements, a timetable for achieving those 18
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45	45	requirements, and any additional costs associated with achieving accreditation; 1
46	46	(2) Outcomes, including an assessment based on statistical and other evidence, of the 2
47	47	impact of accreditation on the number of abused and neglected children, the nature of their abuse, 3
48	48	and the relationships between such children and their families. 4
49	49	(c) Caseloads for department workers. 5
50	50	(1) Regardless of the status of COA accreditation, the department shall apply general 6
51	51	caseload limits for department workers in a manner similar to those contained in COA caseload 7
52	52	standards for public agencies. More specifically, caseloads for workers shall support the 8
53	53	achievement of child and family outcomes, shall be regularly reviewed, and generally shall not 9
54	54	exceed the following: 10
55	55	(i) Twelve (12) active investigations at a time, including no more than eight (8) new 11
56	56	investigations per month; 12
57	57	(ii) Fourteen (14) families receiving ongoing in-home services; 13
58	58	(iii) Twelve (12) children in out-of-home care, and their families; and 14
59	59	(iv) Eight (8) children in treatment foster care, and their families. 15
60	60	(2) By “generally,” it is understood that there may be circumstances under which caseloads 16
61	61	may exceed these limits, such as when the department is faced with temporary staff vacancies or 17
62	62	when administrative case functions are assigned to other personnel; however, the department shall 18
63	63	make all efforts to meet the caseload numbers set forth in this subsection. 19
64	64	(d) The department shall conduct a pay rate review annually for current employees, to 20
65	65	ensure the department is competitive with its compensation to employees. The department shall 21
66	66	conduct an analysis of New England states' salaries for similar employees, and shall compensate 22
67	67	current employees based on the data collected. The director is hereby authorized to promulgate 23
68	68	rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this section. 24
69	69	SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 25
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76	76	EXPLANATION
77	77	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
78	78	OF
79	79	A N A C T
80	80	RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN,
81	81	YOUTH AND FAMILIES
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83	83	This act would establish general caseload limits for DCYF workers similar to those 1
84	84	contained in the Council on Accreditation standards as well as require payment of employees based 2
85	85	on salaries in other New England States annually. 3
86	86	This act would take effect upon passage. 4
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