Bill > H1432

This bill establishes an interagency child welfare task force, which will be co-chaired by the secretary of health and human services or their designee and the child advocate, and will include representatives from various state departments and agencies involved in child welfare, such as the Department of Children and Families (DCF), Department of Youth Services, and Department of Mental Health, as well as appointed members including parents and youth with experience in the foster care system. The task force's primary responsibility is to develop and annually update a comprehensive five-year plan with specific goals and benchmarks to coordinate system-wide strategies aimed at preventing child abuse and neglect by addressing issues like mental health, substance abuse, domestic violence, homelessness, and juvenile justice, and to identify and fill gaps in existing services to keep children safely at home and avoid out-of-home placements. Furthermore, the task force will implement a procedure requiring agencies to issue "children's impact statements" before reducing services that could prevent abuse and neglect, projecting the potential effects on child safety and DCF caseloads.