The Department of Children's Advocacy shall:

(1) ensure that children under the care of a state agency, particularly children served by the child welfare or juvenile justice systems, receive timely, safe, and effective services and shall safeguard the health, safety, and well-being of all children receiving services;

(2) examine, on a system-wide basis, the care and services that state agencies provide children and shall provide recommendations to improve the quality of those services in order to give each child the opportunity to live a full and productive life;

(3) develop and promote a broad vision for reform, driven by the values and goals of child-serving agencies, to make the services and programs provided by state agencies more effective for children, youth, families, and communities;

(4) receive and investigate complaints related to the provision of services to children by a state agency, shall review and monitor the complaints that reasonably cause the department to believe that a child may be in need of assistance, and shall ensure that the complaints are resolved. If a complaint is not resolved by the relevant state agency within a reasonable period of time in light of the circumstances, if the resolution is determined to be unsatisfactory to the State Child Advocate, or if the complaint reasonably causes the State Child Advocate to believe that a child may be in need of immediate assistance, then the State Child Advocate may conduct an investigation of the complaint;

(5) receive and investigate complaints from children in the care of the State, shall assist such children in resolving problems and concerns associated with their placement and plans for lifelong adult connections and independent living, shall ensure that relevant state agencies have been alerted to the complaints, and shall facilitate intra-agency cooperation, if appropriate;

(6) undertake activities designed to educate the public regarding the services and the independent role of the department and the mission of state agencies in providing services to children and families;

(7) annually submit a report to the Governor, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children detailing the State Child Advocate's activities; and

(8) have access at any and all reasonable times to any facility, residence, program, or portion thereof that is operated, licensed, or funded by a state agency and shall have unrestricted access to all electronic information systems records, reports, materials, and employees in order to better understand the needs of children in the custody of the State or children who are receiving services from a state agency. The Department of Children's Advocacy shall also have access to relevant records held by the clerks of the family courts and the clerks of the probate courts and shall also have the right to inspect and copy such records, without cost.

HISTORY: 2018 Act No. 160 (S.805), Section 1, eff July 1, 2019.

Editor's Note

2018 Act No. 160, Sections 18.A and 18.B, provide as follows:

"SECTION 18. A. Where the provisions of this act transfer duties, programs, or services of the Department of Administration to the Department of Children's Advocacy, the employees, authorized appropriations, and assets and liabilities of these divisions, services, and programs also are transferred to and become part of the Department of Children's Advocacy. All classified or unclassified personnel employed by the divisions, programs, services, or initiatives transferred from the Department of Administration, either by contract or by employment at will, become on July 1, 2019, employees of the Department of Children's Advocacy, with the same compensation, classification, and grade level, as applicable. Before the transfer of the applicable divisions, programs, services, or initiatives of the Department of Administration pursuant to this act, these agencies and organizations shall cause all necessary actions to be taken to accomplish this transfer in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations."

"B. Applicable regulations promulgated by the Department of Administration are continued and are considered to be promulgated by the Department of Children's Advocacy. Applicable contracts entered into by the Department of Administration are continued and are considered to be devolved upon the Department of Children's Advocacy at the time of the transfer."

2019 Act No. 1, Section 97, provides as follows:

"SECTION 97. The Code Commissioner is directed to change all references to 'President Pro Tempore', 'President Pro Tempore of the Senate', or 'President of the Senate Pro Tempore' not specifically addressed in this act to 'President of the Senate'."