Representative JIm Neely's Capitol Report

Greetings, friends of the 8th District!

House Approves Legislation to Improve Well-Being of Foster Care Children (HCB 11)

This week the House approved a wide-ranging bill, that I sponsored, meant to make life better for children who are in, and who leave, foster care in the state.  

House Speaker Todd Richardson in January created the Special Committee to Improve the Care and Well-Being of Young People, which I chair, to focus on improving the state’s child welfare system. The Department of Social Services is responsible for nearly 13,000 children this year.

The legislation approved by the House is a combination of provisions originally found in 11 separate bills. Several of the things in the bill are fixes that could have significant, positive impacts on foster children who have been described as “falling through the cracks.”

One portion of the bill would enable investigations of abuse of children in foster care in Missouri when it happens outside of the state. Current law prevents Missouri Social Services workers from investigating reports of abuse of children in foster care in Missouri if it doesn’t happen in Missouri, and prevents them from communicating with counterparts in other states about abuse or potential abuse. The sponsor of the provision said it would remove those barriers and fix what he called a “bureaucratic technicality.”

Another portion of HCB 11 would update background checks on foster families so that the Children’s Division would know immediately if a foster parent is charged with a crime that would disqualify him or her from being a foster parent. Current law only allows checks every two years. The bill would allow the Department of Social Services to utilize the RAPBACK program. Use of the program would provide a faster update if a foster care parent or someone who resides in the home has been charged with a crime. The sponsor of the provision said it’s important to make sure that foster children are in the safest environment possible.

The legislation would also expand assessment and treatment services for children in foster care. It would require such services for all children in foster care – currently it is required only for those under the age of ten – and would require that those services be completed in accordance with the American Academy of Pediatrics’ periodicity schedule. Currently children are screened every two years. The goal with the provision is to ensure that children in foster care receive more appropriate care and comprehensive screenings that will in turn save the state money by catching medical conditions earlier and aiding in preventative care.

Other parts of HCB 11 would:

•  Provide free birth certificates to children in foster care, making it easier for them to become independent;
•  Allow more time for a case management plan to be developed for a child entering foster care;
•  Allow foster children 16 years and older to open a checking or savings account with the consent of the Children’s Division or juvenile court, giving them the ability to cash paychecks and better access to jobs;
•  Make closed under law any records regarding placement of children into foster care or kinship placements, and specify who can access those records and when;
•  Allow children who are homeless or in the custody of the Children’s Division 30 days after enrolling in school to begin receiving necessary immunizations;
•  Define when juvenile courts have jurisdiction over a child under 21, streamlining situations in which a child is in a safe situation but juvenile court involvement is interfering with the family;
•  Establish guidelines for educating children in court-ordered group homes or institutions for delinquent or neglected children; and
•  Create the “Trauma-Informed Care for Children and Families Board,” which would use a private-public partnership to promote family support systems and cooperation between agencies.

The bill now heads to the Senate for discussion. I am proud to sponsor HCB 11 and believe it will go a long way in improving the lives of foster children across the state.

Thank you for your continued support!

Yours in service,

Representative Jim Neely

Proudly Serving the 8^th House District
Clinton, Caldwell, Ray, & Clay Counties

Missouri House of Representatives
573-751-0246