CAFCA
BRIEF UPDATECAFCA
BRIEF UPDATE
January 2003
The
difference between “involvement” and “commitment” is like a ham and egg
breakfast: the chicken was “involved” but the pig was “committed.”
Author Unknown
Legislative Highlights
HB
1004 (Rep. Rhodes) & HB 1169 (Rep. Jahn/Sen. Arnold) – Active Support
Both of these bills address methamphetamine manufacture and the dangers
to children who are exposed to such activities. HB 1004 adds manufacturing
or attempting to manufacture meth. to the child abuse statute. HB 1169
expands the definition of child abuse to include manufacturing controlled
substances or possession of precursors on the premises in the presence of a
child. Both bills have passed out of their respective committees.
HB 1024 (Rep. Jahn) – Active Support
Child Care & Child Placement Agencies
This bill clarifies several definitions of foster care (therapeutic,
respite, etc.), prohibits simultaneous certification of a foster home by both a
county and CPA, requires county departments of social services to comply with
the same statutes and regulations as CPAs.
It also limits monitoring and inspection of 24-hour facilities to the
State Department, permitting counties or independent contractors to monitor,
license, etc. only those facilities that provide less than 24-hour care.
The bill was initially heard on 1/22.
Testimony in the House HEWI committee will be completed on 2/3.
HB
1081 (Rep. Coleman) – Active Support with Amendments
The audit committee is behind this bill which prohibits a person from
operating a foster care home certified by a county if the person iss related to
an employee of the county and similarly prohibits a person from operating a
foster home certified by a CPA if the person is a relative of an employee,
officer, director, etc. of the CPA. The bill defines “relative” very
broadly. It also prohibits any of the persons described from holding an
interest in any property operated as a foster care home. As introduced,
counties would be allowed to withhold payment unilaterally if there is
“misuse” of funds. CAFCA supported the bill but proposed amendments to
allow a waiver to the CPA-relative prohibition based on certain criteria and the
addition of an appeal process for CPAs regarding allegations of misuse of funds.
The bill passed out of Local Government committee with these amendments.
HB
1151 (Rep. Boyd) – Support
This bill defines the term allows CDHS to develop rules to regulate
“out-of-home placement provider consortia” (e.g. CCM, RocNet). The
bill does not include regulation of counties. CAFCA is proposing an
amendment that would include all consortia whether they consist of nonprofits,
for-profits, counties or some combination thereof. The bill passed out of
House HEWI on 1/26. We will work with
the sponsor regarding our amendment.
HB
? (Rep. Hefley) – Active Support
Drafting was just completed on this bill and it has not yet been assigned
a number. CAFCA’s Adoption
Committee developed this bill to expedite the termination of parental rights
process for children under the age of one when parents voluntarily relinquish.
It allows a judge to conduct a “paper” review of the documents and
terminate parental rights without the need for a hearing.
HRJ
1006 (Rep. Borodkin/Sen. Takis) - Active Support
This Joint Resolution is not a bill, but is the Foster Care Child’s
Bill of Rights. The House may vote
to adopt it as a statement of its position.
SB
023 (Rep. Hefley/Sen. Keller) – Support
In counties with expedited procedures for permanent placement, requires
courts to hear motion to terminate parental rights within 90 days if the child
is under age 6. Amended to hear
case in 120 days and passed out of committee.
SB
083 (Sen. Keller) – Active Support
This bill extends the use of Children’s Mental Health Treatment Act (HB
1116) funds to include step-down services when a child is discharged from an RTC.
It does not increase the funds needed, but expands the permissible use of
funds to include other out-of-home placements and services.
Member
News
CAFCA welcomes
new individual members Stephanie Zaveral,
Deborah Cave and Tom
Edgar. Stephanie and her husband are establishing a group home for boys,
Trinity House. Deborah is an
adoptive parent who is active with the Colorado Coalition of Adoptive Families (COCAF).
Tom Edgar is a licensed therapist, formerly with Arapahoe House, Inc.
We regretfully said good-bye to Tom as Chair of the CTS committee, but
are thrilled to have his continued involvement with CAFCA.
Andrew Braun, Executive Director
of Devereux Cleo Wallace Centers, assumed the helm of the CTS committee in
January and will fill the remainder of Tom Edgar’s term through December 2003.
Please welcome Andrew as committee chair and newest CAFCA board member.
Reminder:
Important Events
The CAFCA
Legislative Luncheon is Monday,
February 10th at the Colorado History Museum, 11-1:00.
Have you invited your assigned legislators? RSVP’d?
At the General Membership Meeting on Friday,
February 21st, 9:00-10:30 a.m., Carol Hedges, attorney and Senior
Policy Analyst with the Bell Policy Center, will present “TABOR: Understanding
the Basics.” Carol will discuss
Arveschoug-Bird and TABOR and their impact on the child welfare budget.
Be sure to attend!
Brad
Bawmann of
The Bawmann Group is offering a media training for improving communication
skills. Participation in either the
March 1st or April 12th workshop (8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.,
breakfast and lunch included) will be limited to four people to allow for highly
individualized coaching and evaluation. Previous participants report a positive
change in their entire approach to communication. Cost is $1,500 per person.
Please contact Brad at 303 320-7790 if you are interested.
There is still space in the HIPAA workshop series that begins Thursday February 27th. When
you receive those contracts in the mail that require you to attest that your
agency is HIPAA-compliant, will you be able to do so?
Commit your agency to best practices and federal compliance.
Contact Peg or Mary for more information or to register.