House Health and Welfare committee reports Senate Bill 237 favorably after adopting amendment packages

The House Committee on Health and Welfare on April 20 reported Senate Bill 237 favorably with amendments after adopting two amendment packages and withdrawing a previously adopted set.

Chairman Miller opened the committee and, after reading motions and taking roll, allowed Mr. Christman to read the bill and the amendment sets into the record. The bill, carried for the Senate by Senator Barrow, would revise duties for the state child ombudsman and the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS); set procedures for public reporting of fatalities and near-fatalities; create a critical incident review team and multidisciplinary investigative teams; establish rules for forensic interviews; and revise mandatory reporter training and other definitions.

Senator Barrow said the negotiators had narrowed several provisions after meetings with the department and the ombudsman’s office. "We did remove like the liaisons of the police department actually being a part of the bill. We only have one instead of nine for each region," Barrow said, noting the change was intended to streamline participation by law enforcement. He also said the bill now limits which legislators are automatically notified about fatalities to the president pro tem, and the chairs of the House and Senate Health and Welfare committees; district members would be notified after a case is substantiated.

Committee staff described how the Attorney General’s office will house a review function to coordinate professional and law enforcement participation in critical-incident reviews, and said multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) will be required to review a case before it is closed. The sponsor and staff added a requirement that a quality-improvement employee be part of the review team so that recommendations from reviews can be implemented.

A staff speaker explained several operational and reporting clarifications: the ombudsman will have access to online records and, with permission, physical files; near-fatalities will be certified by a medical provider (not necessarily the treating physician); and public reporting on the website will occur only after administrative appeals are exhausted. On school-originated reports, the committee restored the previous approach: "anything that happens that's being reported at a school is reported to law enforcement," and law enforcement — as the recipient of school reports — will initiate investigations, staff said.

The committee also amended language to give agencies discretion when the alleged perpetrator is a child, replacing the statutory "shall" with "may" in some provisions to avoid automatically treating routine incidents among young children as required DCFS investigations. On fiscal impacts, Barrow and staff said changes are expected to reduce the bill’s fiscal note from earlier estimates, and that the fiscal note in circulation did not reflect the latest amendment work.

After discussing the detailed amendment numbers and technical edits with Representative Spell and others, the committee adopted amendment set 5 9 2 1 and then amendment set 5 9 3 4 (the latter includes language to recreate DCFS and technical changes). Representative (Rev.) Dickerson moved the committee report Senate Bill 237 favorably as amended; with no objections the motion carried. There was no roll-call vote recorded in the transcript; outcomes were taken by voice and "no objection."

The committee adjourned after Representative Fisher moved to close the meeting.

What happens next: The committee reported the bill favorably with amendments and it will advance in the legislative process with the adopted changes. The sponsor said he will seek to include a member of this House committee on the task force that oversees interim work and receives updates between sessions.