Bill > S90

This bill establishes an interagency child welfare task force composed of various state agencies, the child advocate, and appointed members, including parents and youth formerly in state care, to coordinate services for children and families, with a focus on improving medical and mental health access, strengthening the child advocate's office, and addressing issues like domestic violence and children awaiting psychiatric discharge. It also mandates monthly meetings and collaborative goal-setting, with quarterly and annual reports to government officials on progress and recommendations, and aims to create a common identifier for children in the child welfare system to track recidivism while ensuring confidentiality. Furthermore, the bill enhances opportunities for foster children to participate in extracurricular activities, including summer and school vacation camps, and expands services for pre-adoptive and adoptive families. It also introduces a child abuse and neglect expert review panel to examine repeated entries into state care, mandates investigations of critical incidents by the child advocate, and requires the development of a life-skills curriculum for foster youth. The bill also ensures that children in foster care have a meaningful opportunity to participate in case plan development, receive free credit reports to combat identity theft, and that their educational stability is prioritized by allowing them to remain in their school of origin. Additionally, it allows children aged 12 and older to petition the court to vacate orders terminating parental rights if adoption is no longer the permanency plan, establishes a pilot mentoring program for youth aging out of care, and creates individual savings accounts for older youth in state custody.