FIRST REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
92ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Reported from the Committee on Children and Families, March 12, 2003, with recommendation that the House Committee Substitute for House Bill No. 575 Do Pass by Consent.
STEPHEN S. DAVIS, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To repeal section 210.001, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to child assessment centers.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 210.001, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 210.001, to read as follows:
210.001. 1. The department of social services shall address the needs of homeless, dependent and neglected children in the supervision and custody of the division of family services and to their families-in-conflict by:
(1) Serving children and families as a unit in the least restrictive setting available and in close proximity to the family home, consistent with the best interests and special needs of the child;
(2) Insuring that appropriate social services are provided to the family unit both prior to the removal of the child from the home and after family reunification;
(3) Developing and implementing preventive and early intervention social services which have demonstrated the ability to delay or reduce the need for out-of-home placements and ameliorate problems before they become chronic.
2. The department of social services shall fund only regional child assessment centers known as:
(1) The St. Louis City child assessment center;
(2) The St. Louis County child assessment center;
(3) The Jackson County child assessment center;
(4) The Buchanan County child assessment center;
(5) The Greene County child assessment center;
(6) The Boone County child assessment center;
(7) The Joplin child assessment center;
(8) The St. Charles County child assessment center;
(9) The Jefferson County child assessment center;
(10) The Pettis County child assessment center;
(11) The southeast Missouri child assessment center;
(12) The Camden County child assessment center;
(13) The Clay-Platte County child assessment center; [and]
(14) The Lakes Area child assessment center; and
(15) The Ozark Foothills child assessment center; provided the other approved assessment centers included in this section submit to the department of social services a modified funding formula for all approved child assessment centers, which would require no additional state funding.