SECOND REGULAR SESSION
95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE GRISAMORE.
5482L.02I D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To repeal sections 210.101 and 210.102, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections relating to the Missouri children's services commission.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 210.101 and 210.102, RSMo, are repealed and two new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 210.101 and 210.102, to read as follows:
210.101. 1. There is hereby established the "Missouri Children's Services Commission", which shall be composed of the following members:
(1) The director or [deputy director of the department of labor and industrial relations and the director or deputy director of each state agency, department, division, or other entity which provides services or programs for children, including, but not limited to, the department of mental health, the department of elementary and secondary education, the department of social services, the department of public safety and the department of health and senior services] the director's designee of the following departments: corrections, elementary and secondary education, higher education, health and senior services, mental health, public safety, and social services;
(2) One judge of a family or juvenile court, who shall be appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court;
(3) [One judge of a family court, who shall be appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court;
(4) Four] Two members, [two] one from each political party, of the house of representatives, who shall be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;
[(5) Four] (4) Two members, [two] one from each political party, of the senate, who shall be appointed by the president pro tempore of the senate;
(5) Five at-large members who shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate and who represent one of the following: pediatricians, family physicians, hospital administrators, children's advocacy organizations, and parents of minor children.
All members shall serve for as long as they hold the position which made them eligible for appointment to the Missouri children's services commission under this subsection. All members shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for all actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties for the commission.
2. All meetings of the Missouri children's services commission shall be open to the public and shall, for all purposes, be deemed open public meetings under the provisions of sections 610.010 to 610.030, RSMo. The Missouri children's services commission shall meet no less than once every two months[, and shall hold its first meeting no later than sixty days after September 28, 1983]. Notice of all meetings of the commission shall be given to the general assembly in the same manner required for notifying the general public of meetings of the general assembly.
3. The Missouri children's services commission may make all rules it deems necessary to enable it to conduct its meetings, elect its officers, and set the terms and duties of its officers.
4. The commission shall elect from amongst its members a chairman, vice chairman, a secretary-reporter, and such other officers as it deems necessary.
5. The services of the personnel of any agency from which the director or deputy director is a member of the commission shall be made available to the commission at the discretion of such director or deputy director. All meetings of the commission shall be held in the state of Missouri.
6. The officers of the commission may hire an executive director. Funding for the executive director may be provided from the Missouri children's services commission fund or other sources provided by law.
7. The commission, by majority vote, may invite individuals representing local and federal agencies or private organizations and the general public to serve as ex officio members of the commission. Such individuals shall not have a vote in commission business and shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for all actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties for the commission.
210.102. 1. It shall be the duty of the Missouri children's services commission to:
(1) Make recommendations which will encourage greater interagency coordination, cooperation, more effective utilization of existing resources and less duplication of effort in activities of state agencies which affect the legal rights and well-being of children in Missouri;
(2) Develop an integrated state plan for the care provided to children in this state through state programs;
(3) Develop a plan to improve the quality of children's programs statewide. Such plan shall include, but not be limited to:
(a) Methods for promoting geographic availability and financial accessibility for all children and families in need of such services;
(b) Program recommendations for children's services which include child development, education, supervision, health and social services;
(c) Goals with measurable outcomes for state agencies with respect to children's services;
(d) Policy recommendations to the governor and general assembly;
(4) Design and implement evaluation of the activities of the commission in fulfilling the duties as set out in this section;
(5) Report annually to the governor with five copies each to the house of representatives and senate about its activities including, but not limited to the following:
(a) A general description of the activities pertaining to children of each state agency having a member on the commission;
(b) A general description of the plans and goals, as they affect children, of each state agency having a member on the commission;
(c) Recommendations for statutory and appropriation initiatives to implement the integrated state plan;
(d) A report from the commission regarding the state of children in Missouri.
2. There is hereby established within the children's services commission the "Coordinating Board for Early Childhood", which shall constitute a body corporate and politic, and shall include but not be limited to the following members:
(1) A representative from the governor's office;
(2) A representative from each of the following departments: health and senior services, mental health, social services, and elementary and secondary education;
(3) A representative of the judiciary;
(4) A representative of the family and community trust board (FACT);
(5) A representative from the head start program;
(6) Nine members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate who are representatives of the groups, such as business, philanthropy, civic groups, faith-based organizations, parent groups, advocacy organizations, early childhood service providers, and other stakeholders. The coordinating board may make all rules it deems necessary to enable it to conduct its meetings, elect its officers, and set the terms and duties of its officers. The coordinating board shall elect from amongst its members a chairperson, vice chairperson, a secretary-reporter, and such other officers as it deems necessary. Members of the board shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for actual expenses necessary to the performance of their official duties for the board.
3. The coordinating board for early childhood shall have the power to:
(1) Develop a comprehensive statewide long-range strategic plan for a cohesive early childhood system;
(2) Confer with public and private entities for the purpose of promoting and improving the development of children from birth through age five of this state;
(3) Identify legislative recommendations to improve services for children from birth through age five;
(4) Promote coordination of existing services and programs across public and private entities;
(5) Promote research-based approaches to services and ongoing program evaluation;
(6) Identify service gaps and advise public and private entities on methods to close such gaps;
(7) Apply for and accept gifts, grants, appropriations, loans, or contributions to the coordinating board for early childhood fund from any source, public or private, and enter into contracts or other transactions with any federal or state agency, any private organizations, or any other source in furtherance of the purpose of subsections 2 and 3 of this section, and take any and all actions necessary to avail itself of such aid and cooperation;
(8) Direct disbursements from the coordinating board for early childhood fund as provided in this section;
(9) Administer the coordinating board for early childhood fund and invest any portion of the moneys not required for immediate disbursement in obligations of the United States or any agency or instrumentality of the United States, in obligations of the state of Missouri and its political subdivisions, in certificates of deposit and time deposits, or other obligations of banks and savings and loan associations, or in such other obligations as may be prescribed by the board;
(10) Purchase, receive, take by grant, gift, devise, bequest or otherwise, lease, or otherwise acquire, own, hold, improve, employ, use, and otherwise deal with real or personal property or any interests therein, wherever situated;
(11) Sell, convey, lease, exchange, transfer or otherwise dispose of all or any of its property or any interest therein, wherever situated;
(12) Employ and fix the compensation of an executive director and such other agents or employees as it considers necessary;
(13) Adopt, alter, or repeal by its own bylaws, rules, and regulations governing the manner in which its business may be transacted;
(14) Adopt and use an official seal;
(15) Assess or charge fees as the board determines to be reasonable to carry out its purposes;
(16) Make all expenditures which are incident and necessary to carry out its purposes;
(17) Sue and be sued in its official name;
(18) Take such action, enter into such agreements, and exercise all functions necessary or appropriate to carry out the duties and purposes set forth in this section.
4. There is hereby created the "Coordinating Board for Early Childhood Fund" which shall consist of the following:
(1) Any moneys appropriated by the general assembly for use by the board in carrying out the powers set out in subsections 2 and 3 of this section;
(2) Any moneys received from grants or which are given, donated, or contributed to the fund from any source;
(3) Any moneys received as fees authorized under subsections 2 and 3 of this section;
(4) Any moneys received as interest on deposits or as income on approved investments of the fund;
(5) Any moneys obtained from any other available source. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 33.080, RSMo, to the contrary, any moneys remaining in the coordinating board for early childhood fund at the end of the biennium shall not revert to the credit of the general revenue fund.
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