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| 5 | 5 | | 2025 -- S 0564 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC002149 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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| 9 | 9 | | S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025 |
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| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | A N A C T |
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| 15 | 15 | | RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- DCYF FAMILY FIRST |
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| 16 | 16 | | PREVENTION SERVICES ACT COMPLIANCE AND IMPACT REPORT |
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| 17 | 17 | | Introduced By: Senators de la Cruz, Rogers, Paolino, Burke, and Quezada |
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| 18 | 18 | | Date Introduced: February 26, 2025 |
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| 19 | 19 | | Referred To: Senate Judiciary |
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| 20 | 20 | | |
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| 21 | 21 | | |
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| 22 | 22 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 23 | 23 | | SECTION 1. Section 42-72-36.3 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-72 entitled 1 |
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| 24 | 24 | | "Department of Children, Youth and Families" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2 |
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| 25 | 25 | | 42-72-36.3. Reporting. 3 |
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| 26 | 26 | | (a) Annual reports showing progress in residential-care system reform and rebalancing 4 |
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| 27 | 27 | | shall be submitted by April 1, 2017, and annually thereafter on or before April 1 of each year by 5 |
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| 28 | 28 | | the department to the finance committees of both the senate and the house of representatives and 6 |
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| 29 | 29 | | shall include: 7 |
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| 30 | 30 | | (1) The number of congregate-care placements and associated funds; 8 |
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| 31 | 31 | | (2) The number of foster-care placements and associated funds; 9 |
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| 32 | 32 | | (3) The percentage of screenings completed within thirty (30) days of placement; 10 |
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| 33 | 33 | | (4) Recommendations to promote the expansion of foster homes and community-based 11 |
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| 34 | 34 | | service capacity, including payment methodology reforms, that increase access to foster homes and 12 |
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| 35 | 35 | | community-based services; and 13 |
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| 36 | 36 | | (5) Recommendations for options to pay for certain services and supports necessary to 14 |
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| 37 | 37 | | transition or divert children from restrictive settings and optimize their health and safety when 15 |
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| 38 | 38 | | receiving care in a home or the community. 16 |
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| 39 | 39 | | (b) The department shall, no later than January 1, 2026, submit a report to the governor, 17 |
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| 40 | 40 | | speaker of the house and president of the senate on the department's progress and accomplishments 18 |
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| 41 | 41 | | |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | LC002149 - Page 2 of 3 |
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| 44 | 44 | | in compliance with the family first prevention services act, Pub. L. 115-123 (“FFPSA”). The report 1 |
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| 45 | 45 | | shall assess the impact of evidence-based programs (“EBPs”) conducted in compliance with the 2 |
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| 46 | 46 | | FFPSA and analyze the department's success in keeping children out of the foster care system. The 3 |
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| 47 | 47 | | report shall be made publicly available on the DCYF website, and shall include, but not be limited 4 |
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| 48 | 48 | | to: 5 |
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| 49 | 49 | | (1) A detailed account of the increase in the availability of EBPs to high-risk families 6 |
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| 50 | 50 | | through the FFPSA, including the number of families served and a breakdown of the specific types 7 |
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| 51 | 51 | | of EBPs available; 8 |
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| 52 | 52 | | (2) The number of families identified as high risk for out-of-home placement prior to 9 |
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| 53 | 53 | | participation in an EBP who are now no longer considered high risk following their participation 10 |
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| 54 | 54 | | in the program, including any follow-up data on the continued stability of these families; 11 |
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| 55 | 55 | | (3) Data on families that were reunified, comparing the amount of time it took for 12 |
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| 56 | 56 | | reunification efforts to succeed for families that participated in EBPs funded through the FFPSA to 13 |
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| 57 | 57 | | those families that did not have access to or did not participate in EBPs. The report should also 14 |
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| 58 | 58 | | identify any patterns or trends in the timing and success of reunifications between the two (2) 15 |
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| 59 | 59 | | groups; and 16 |
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| 60 | 60 | | (4) Any other information deemed relevant by the department in evaluating the success or 17 |
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| 61 | 61 | | effectiveness of EBPs associated with FFPSA. 18 |
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| 62 | 62 | | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 19 |
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| 63 | 63 | | ======== |
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| 64 | 64 | | LC002149 |
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| 65 | 65 | | ======== |
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| 66 | 66 | | |
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| 67 | 67 | | |
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| 68 | 68 | | LC002149 - Page 3 of 3 |
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| 69 | 69 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 70 | 70 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 71 | 71 | | OF |
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| 72 | 72 | | A N A C T |
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| 73 | 73 | | RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- DCYF FAMILY FIRST |
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| 74 | 74 | | PREVENTION SERVICES ACT COMPLIANCE AND IMPACT REPORT |
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| 75 | 75 | | *** |
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| 76 | 76 | | This act would require DCYF to submit a one-time, detailed report on the effectiveness of 1 |
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| 77 | 77 | | evidence-based programs associated with the family first prevention services act in keeping 2 |
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| 78 | 78 | | children out of foster care, providing valuable data on the programs' impact on high-risk families, 3 |
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| 79 | 79 | | reunification outcomes, and program availability. 4 |
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| 80 | 80 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 5 |
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| 81 | 81 | | ======== |
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| 82 | 82 | | LC002149 |
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