SB0013 Summary

• Increases the Children and Family Services Advisory Council from 17 to 21 members appointed by the Governor, with authority to involve additional persons with specialized expertise for specific tasks.

• Expands the Council's advisory responsibilities to include reviewing child care facility monitoring, establishing safety standards, investigating child abuse allegations, and reviewing random samples of hotline call data.

• Requires the Council to file initial recommendations with the General Assembly and make them available to the public no later than March 1, 2017.

• Mandates that the Advisory Council include at least one youth from each regional youth advisory board and at least 2 adult former wards of the Department of Children and Family Services, beginning July 1, 2015.

• Makes all documents and records provided to Council members confidential and exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, with unauthorized disclosure constituting a Class A misdemeanor.