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Bill 4667

                    Current Status

Bill Number:                      4667
Type of Legislation:              General Bill GB
Introducing Body:                 House
Introduced Date:                  20020206
Primary Sponsor:                  Allison
All Sponsors:                     Allison, Lourie and Carnell
Drafted Document Number:          l:\council\bills\nbd\11169ac02.doc
Residing Body:                    House
Current Committee:                Judiciary Committee 25 HJ
Subject:                          Children's Justice Task Force Act


                        History

Body    Date      Action Description                     Com     Leg Involved
______  ________  ______________________________________ _______ ____________
House   20020206  Introduced, read first time,           25 HJ
                  referred to Committee


              Versions of This Bill

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ENACTING THE SOUTH CAROLINA CHILDREN'S JUSTICE TASK FORCE ACT, SO AS TO ADD SECTION 20-7-497 TO ESTABLISH THIS TASK FORCE AS AN ADVISORY BODY TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND THE GOVERNOR ON ISSUES RELATED TO THE INVESTIGATIVE, ADMINISTRATIVE, AND JUDICIAL HANDLING OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT CASES AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE TASK FORCE AND ITS POWERS AND DUTIES.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    This act may be cited as the "South Carolina Children's Justice Task Force Act".

SECTION    2.    The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

    "Section 20-7-497.    (A)    The South Carolina Children's Justice Task Force is established as an advisory body to the General Assembly and Governor on issues related to the investigative, administrative, and judicial handling of child abuse and neglect cases.

    (B)    The task force must be composed of professionals with knowledge of and experience with the criminal justice system or systems handling child physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse and exploitation, and child maltreatment related fatalities and shall include:

        (1)    a law enforcement officer;

        (2)    a criminal court judge;

        (3)    a family court judge;

        (4)    a solicitor or assistant solicitor;

        (5)    a defense attorney;

        (6)    a volunteer guardian ad litem;

        (7)    an attorney for children;

        (8)    a health professional;

        (9)    a mental health professional;

        (10)    a child protective services worker;

        (11)    individuals experienced in working with children with disabilities;

        (12)    a representative of a parent group.

    Members must be appointed by the Governor to serve terms of three years.

    Procedures for the election of officers, establishment of committees, and other operational matters must be established and amended as necessary by a majority vote of the task force, provided that proposed changes are distributed to members at least thirty days in advance.

    (C)    Every three years the task force shall conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the state's systems related to child abuse and neglect cases and develop training and policy recommendations for improving those systems in each of these categories:

        (1)    investigative, administrative, and judicial handling of cases of child abuse in family court and in circuit court, including child sexual abuse cases and cases involving child maltreatment related fatalities, in a manner which reduces the additional trauma to the child victim and which also ensures procedural fairness to the accused;

        (2)    experimental, model, and demonstration programs for testing innovative approaches and techniques which may improve the prompt and successful resolution of civil and criminal court proceedings or enhance the effectiveness of judicial and administrative action in child abuse cases;

        (3)    changes to state laws, regulations, protocols, and procedures to provide comprehensive protection for children from abuse.

    A report summarizing the evaluation, including the task force recommendations, must be submitted to the General Assembly and to the Governor.

    (D)    Annually, the task force shall submit to the General Assembly and to the Governor a report on the state's progress toward implementation of its recommendations.

    (E)    The task force shall issue a binding recommendation to the Department of Social Services for utilization of Children's Justice Task Force funds, authorized under Section 1404A of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984, to implement task force recommendations."

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