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PRINTER'S NO. 1974
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
1245
Session of
2018
INTRODUCED BY GREENLEAF, EICHELBERGER, FONTANA, SCHWANK AND
RAFFERTY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2018
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2018
AN ACT
Amending the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), entitled "An
act to consolidate, editorially revise, and codify the public
welfare laws of the Commonwealth," in preliminary provisions,
further providing for definitions; in children and youth,
providing for purpose, further providing for payments to
counties for services to children, establishing the Juvenile
Justice Reinvestment Fund and providing for strategic plan to
coordinate prevention programs and utilization of evidence-
based programs.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 102 of the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31,
No.21), known as the Human Services Code, is amended to read:
Section 102. Definitions.--Subject to additional definitions
contained in subsequent articles of this act, the following
words when used in this act shall have, unless the context
clearly indicates otherwise, the meanings given them in this
section:
"Department" means the Department of Human Services of this
Commonwealth.
"Evidence-based practices" means practices that are grounded
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in scientific research and have measured success.
"Secretary" means the Secretary of Human Services of this
Commonwealth.
Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
Section 701.1. Purpose.--(a) The purpose of this article
is:
(1) To protect children from abuse and neglect.
(2) To provide for the care, protection, safety and
wholesome mental and physical development of children coming
within the provisions of 42 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63 (relating to juvenile
matters), or children who are receiving services enumerated in
this article.
(3) To preserve the unity of the family whenever possible or
to provide an alternative permanent family as soon as possible
when the unity of the family cannot be maintained.
(4) Consistent with the protection of the public interest,
to provide to children committing delinquent acts programs of
supervision, care and rehabilitation that provide balanced
attention to the following goals:
(i) Protection of the community.
(ii) Imposition of accountability for offenses committed.
(iii) Development of competencies to enable children to
become responsible and productive members of the community.
(5) To achieve these goals in a family environment, whenever
possible, with separation of children from their parents only
when necessary for the children's welfare, safety or health or
in the interests of public safety.
(b) In accordance with the purposes and the mandate in 42
Pa.C.S. Ch. 63, when a court, upon finding a child to be a
dependent child, enters an order of disposition that is best
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suited to the safety, protection and physical, mental and moral
welfare of the dependent child, the department shall seek to
accomplish the following objectives with respect to the
dependent child:
(1) To increase the use of nonplacement services designed to
prevent child abuse and neglect and to strengthen families so
that the dependent child's safety is increased and the risk to
the dependent child is minimized.
(2) When placement is necessary, to use kinship care as the
first priority or, if kinship care is not available or
appropriate, to use family foster care as an alternative.
(3) To reduce the use of congregate-living and institutional
placements.
(4) To improve permanency for the dependent child and to
reduce the duration of out-of-home placement.
(c) In accordance with the purpose specified in subsection
(a), and the mandate in 42 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63, when a court, upon
finding a child to be a delinquent child, enters an order of
disposition that is determined to be consistent with the
protection of the public interest, best suited to the child's
treatment, supervision, rehabilitation and welfare, and that
provides balanced attention to the protection of the community,
the imposition of accountability for offenses committed and the
development of competencies to enable the child to become a
responsible and productive member of the community, the
department shall seek to accomplish the following objectives
with respect to the delinquent child:
(1) To increase the use of in-home services when consistent
with the protection of the public and the rehabilitation needs
of the delinquent child.
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(2) With respect to the placement of the delinquent child:
(i) To encourage use of the least restrictive placements
that are consistent with the protection of the public and the
treatment, supervision and rehabilitation needs of the
delinquent child.
(ii) To operate and encourage the development of placement
resources that provide for a duration of placement that is
consistent with the protection of the public and the treatment,
supervision and rehabilitation needs of the delinquent child.
(iii) To encourage use of community-based residential
resources as alternatives to institutional placements when
consistent with the protection of the public and the treatment,
supervision and rehabilitation needs of the delinquent child.
(iv) To encourage the development of services and
programming to facilitate the successful transition of the
delinquent child to the community from periods of residential
placement.
Section 3. Section 704.1(a) of the act is amended to read:
Section 704.1. Payments to Counties for Services to
Children.--(a) The department shall reimburse county
institution districts or their successors for expenditures
incurred by them in the performance of their obligation pursuant
to this act and [the act of December 6, 1972 (P.L.1464, No.333),
known as the "Juvenile Act,"] 42 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63 (relating to
juvenile matters) in the following percentages:
(1) Eighty percent of the cost of an adoption subsidy paid
pursuant to subdivision (e) of Article VII of this act.
(2) No less than seventy-five percent and no more than
ninety percent of the reasonable cost including:
(i) staff costs of child welfare services, informal
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adjustment services provided pursuant to [section 8 of the act
of December 6, 1972 (P.L.1464, No.333), known as the "Juvenile
Act," and] 42 Pa.C.S. § 6323 (relating to informal adjustment),
such services approved by the department, including but not
limited to, foster home care, group home care, shelter care,
community residential care, youth service bureaus, day treatment
centers and service to children in their own home and any other
alternative treatment programs approved by the department[.];
and
(ii) the cost of providing year-round educational
programming for children receiving group home care, shelter
care, community residential care or care by a public or private
agency included in clause (4), in excess of costs reimbursed by
the school district of a child's residence or the Commonwealth
and to a maximum of two hundred fifty days of instruction per
year, as well as the cost of providing remedial educational
support to children, including remedial career and technical
education support, not otherwise available through basic
education programs.
(3) Sixty percent of the reasonable administrative costs
approved by the department except for those staff costs included
in clause (2) of this section as necessary for the provision of
child welfare services.
(4) Fifty percent of the actual cost of care and support of
a child placed by a county child welfare agency or a child
committed by a court pursuant to [the act of December 6, 1972
(P.L.1464, No.333), known as the "Juvenile Act,"] 42 Pa.C.S. Ch.
63, to the legal custody of a public or private agency approved
or operated by the department other than those services
described in clause (2). The Auditor General shall ascertain the
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actual expense for fiscal year 1974-1975 and each year
thereafter by the Department of Public Welfare for each of the
several counties and each city of the first class whose children
resident within the county or city of the first class directly
received the benefit of the Commonwealth's expenditure. The
Auditor General shall also ascertain for each Commonwealth
institution or facility rendering services to delinquent or
deprived children the actual average daily cost of providing
said services. The Auditor General shall certify to each county
and city of the first class the allocated Commonwealth
expenditures incurred on behalf of its children and notify the
Secretary of Public Welfare and each county and city of the
first class of same.
(5) Fifty percent of the [reasonable cost of medical and
other examinations and treatment of a child ordered by the court
pursuant to the act of December 6, 1972 (P.L.1464, No.333),
known as the "Juvenile Act," and the expenses of the appointment
of a guardian pendente lite, summons, warrants, notices,
subpoenas, travel expenses of witnesses, transportation of the
child, and other like expenses incurred in proceedings under the
act of December 6, 1972 (P.L.1464, No.333), known as the
"Juvenile Act."] following costs incurred in proceedings under
42 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63:
(i) the reasonable cost of medical and other examinations
and treatment of a child ordered by the court;
(ii) the appointment of a guardian ad litem for a child in
the context of dependency proceedings;
(iii) the appointment of counsel for a child in the context
of dependency proceedings;
(iv) the appointment of counsel for an indigent child in the
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context of delinquency proceedings;
(v) summons and warrants, notices, subpoenas, travel
expenses of witnesses and transportation of a child in such
proceedings; and
(vi) other like expenses incurred in such proceedings.
(6) Effective July 1, 1991, the department shall reimburse
county institution districts or their successors one hundred
percent of the reasonable costs of providing adoption services.
(7) Effective July 1, 1993, the department shall reimburse
county institution districts or their successors eighty percent
of the reasonable costs of providing foster home care, community
residential care, supervised independent living and community-
based alternative treatment programs.
(8) The department shall reimburse county institution
districts or their successors for the reasonable costs of
institutional services for dependent and delinquent children
other than detention services for delinquents in accordance with
the following schedule:
(i) Effective July 1, 1992, fifty-five percent.
(ii) Effective July 1, 1993, sixty percent.
(9) The department shall reimburse county institution
districts or their successors for the reasonable costs of
institutional services for delinquent children ordered by the
court following the court's consideration of the results of a
validated risk and need assessment in accordance with the
following schedule:
(i) Effective July 1, 2019, seventy percent.
(ii) Effective July 1, 2020, eighty percent.
* * *
Section 4. The act is amended by adding sections to read:
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Section 709.5. Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Fund.--(a) The
Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Fund is established in the State
Treasury. The money in the fund is hereby appropriated on a
continuing basis to the department for distribution as provided
in this section, provided that all expenditures shall be
utilized to support evidence-based practices that enhance the
effectiveness of juvenile justice services within this
Commonwealth as well as implementing the provisions of this act.
(b) Beginning with the 2019-2020 fiscal year and continuing
each fiscal year through the 2022-2023 fiscal year:
(1) The Office of the Budget shall calculate the amount of
savings to the department in the prior fiscal year associated
with reduced juvenile delinquency placement expenditures.
(2) The amount determined under clause (1) shall be
transferred from the General Fund to the Juvenile Justice
Reinvestment Fund and shall be distributed and used as follows:
(i) Seventy-five percent of the amount, not to exceed five
million dollars ($5,000,000), shall be distributed by the
department to the Juvenile Court Judges' Commission for use in
juvenile probation services.
(ii) Twenty-five percent of the amount shall be used by the
department to implement the provisions of section 704.1.
Section 726. Strategic Plan to Coordinate Prevention
Programs and Utilization of Evidence-Based Programs.--The
Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency shall develop a
comprehensive interdepartmental strategic plan, through the
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Committee, to
coordinate the administration and delivery of all Commonwealth
programming designed to prevent delinquency, youth violence and
other adolescent problem behaviors, including substance abuse,
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school failure and teen pregnancy. The plan shall be developed
in partnership with, and shall include the relevant programming
and appropriations of, the department, Department of Drug and
Alcohol Programs, Department of Education, Department of Health,
Juvenile Court Judges' Commission and the Pennsylvania Liquor
Control Board. Any State agency that provides grants or funding
as part of the strategy shall ensure that the programs and
services provided employ evidence-based practices whenever
possible.
Section 5. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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