Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 931 – The Child Protection Accountability Commission
(a) The Delaware Child Protection Accountability Commission is hereby established. The Commission shall consist of 24 members with the at-large members and the Chair appointed by the Governor. Members of the Commission serving by virtue of position may appoint a designee to serve in their stead. The Commission shall be comprised of the following:
(1) The Secretary of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families.
(2) The Director of the Division of Family Services.
(3) Two representatives from the Attorney’s General Office, appointed by the Attorney General.
(4) Two members of the Family Court, appointed by the Chief Judge of the Family Court.
(5) One member of the House of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker of the House.
(6) One member of the Senate, appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
(7) The Secretary of the Department of Education.
(8) The Director of the Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health Services.
(9) The Chair of the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council.
(10) The Superintendent of the Delaware State Police.
(11) The Chair of the Maternal and Child Death Review Commission.
(12) The Investigation Coordinator, as defined in § 902 of this title.
(13) One youth or young adult who has experienced foster care in Delaware, appointed by the Secretary of the Department.
(14) One representative from the Office of Defense Services, appointed by the Chief Defender.
(15) Eight at-large members appointed by the Governor with 1 person from the medical community, 1 person from the Interagency Committee on Adoption who works with youth engaged in the foster care system, 1 person from a law-enforcement agency other than the State Police, and 5 persons from the child protection community. The law-enforcement representative may designate a proxy as needed.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 931
- Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
- Child: means any person who has not reached that person's own eighteenth birthday. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Death: means the loss of life of a child. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
- Department: means the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
- Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
- Director: means the Director of the Division of Family Services or the Director of the Division of Management Support Services of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
- Division: means the Division of Family Services of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
- Investigation: means the collection of evidence in response to a report of abuse, neglect, or risk of maltreatment of a child by a person responsible for that child's care, custody or control in order to determine if a child has been abused, neglected, or is at risk of maltreatment. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
- President pro tempore: A constitutionally recognized officer of the Senate who presides over the chamber in the absence of the Vice President. The President Pro Tempore (or, "president for a time") is elected by the Senate and is, by custom, the Senator of the majority party with the longest record of continuous service.
- Report: means the communication of an allegation of child abuse or neglect to the Department pursuant to § 903 or § 905 of this title. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
- Secretary: means the Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services or such persons as may be designated by the Secretary. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 101
- State: means the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
(b) The Commission is designated as a “citizen review panel” as required under the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, 42 U.S.C. § 5106a(c) and the “state task force” as required under the federal Children’s Justice Act, 42 U.S.C. § 5106c(c). The Commission may delegate tasks to its committees, workgroups, and panels as necessary to accomplish its duties. The Commission’s purpose is to monitor Delaware’s child protection system to best ensure the health, safety, and well-being of Delaware’s abused, neglected, and dependent children. To that end, the Commission shall meet on a quarterly basis and shall:
(1) Examine and evaluate the policies, procedures, and effectiveness of the child protection system and make recommendations for changes therein, focusing specifically on the respective roles in the child protection system of the Division of Family Services, the Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health Services, the Office of the Attorney General, the Family Court, the medical community, and law-enforcement agencies.
(2) Recommend changes in the policies and procedures for investigating and overseeing the welfare of abused, neglected, and dependent children.
(3) Advocate for legislation and make legislative recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly.
(4) Access, develop, and provide quality training to the Division of Family Services, Deputy Attorneys General, Family Court, law-enforcement officers, the medical community, educators, day-care providers, and others on child protection issues.
(5) Review and make recommendations concerning the well-being of Delaware’s abused, neglected, and dependent children including issues relating to foster care, adoption, mental health services, victim services, education, rehabilitation, substance abuse, and independent living.
(6) Provide the following reports to the Governor:
a. An annual summary of the Commission’s work and recommendations, including work of the Office of the Child Advocate, with copies thereof sent to the General Assembly.
b. A quarterly written report of the Commission’s activities and findings, in the form of minutes, made available also to the General Assembly and the public.
(7) Investigate and review deaths or near deaths of abused or neglected children solely for the purposes provided in § 932 of this title.
(8) Coordinate with the Maternal and Child Death Review Commission to provide statistics and other necessary information to the Maternal and Child Death Review Commission related to the Commission’s investigation and review of deaths of abused or neglected children.
(9) Meet annually with the Maternal and Child Death Review Commission to jointly discuss any findings or recommendations released to the public from reviews conducted under § 932 of this title. This meeting shall be open to the public.
(10) Administer the Ivyane D.F. Davis Scholarship Fund as required by § 3463 of Title 14 and the federal Chafee Educational and Training Vouchers as requested by the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families.
(11) Adopt rules or regulations for the administration of its duties or this subchapter, as it deems necessary.
(c) The Child Advocate shall serve as the Executive Director of the Commission, and the Office of the Child Advocate shall provide staff support to the Commission. The Office of the Child Advocate shall assist the Commission in investigating and reviewing the deaths or near deaths of abused or neglected children under § 932 of this title and in administering scholarship funds, in addition to performing any other duties assigned by the Commission. The Child Advocate shall hire employees or contract for services as necessary to assist the Commission in performing its duties under this subchapter, within the limitations of funds appropriated by the General Assembly or obtained from other sources.
71 Del. Laws, c. 199, § ?6; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § ?1; 73 Del. Laws, c. 116, §§ ?1-3, 5[4]; 76 Del. Laws, c. 97; 77 Del. Laws, c. 327, § ?210(a); 77 Del. Laws, c. 383, §§ ?1-3; 79 Del. Laws, c. 322, § ?1; 80 Del. Laws, c. 26, § ?5; 80 Del. Laws, c. 187, § ?8; 81 Del. Laws, c. 143, § ?1; 81 Del. Laws, c. 280, § 55; 83 Del. Laws, c. 364, § 2; 83 Del. Laws, c. 413, § 6;