SB23-210 Summary

• Repeals the community board requirement for the Division of Youth Services that previously mandated regional boards to promote transparency, community involvement, and youth relationship-building with adult role models.

• Restructures the child welfare grievance resolution process by replacing citizen review panels with referrals to the Office of the Child Protection Ombudsman, while requiring county departments to post grievance process information on public websites.

• Changes the grievance resolution timeline from unspecified to within 35 days of receipt and allows complainants to bypass the initial process and file directly with the Child Protection Ombudsman.

• Updates multiple human services board and commission statutes to clarify that members serve without compensation but may receive reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in performing their duties.

• Repeals the definition of "citizen review panel" from the child welfare code and removes references to citizen review panels as gatekeepers of child abuse and neglect records.