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2 Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau Councilmember Janeese Lewis George
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6 Councilmember Christina Henderson Councilmember Trayon White, Sr.
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10 Councilmember Vincent C. Gray Councilmember Anita Bonds
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14 Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. Councilmember Brooke Pinto
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17 ______________________________
18 Councilmember Zachary Parker
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21 A BILL
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23 _________________________
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26 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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28 _________________________
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31 To amend the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Act of 1977 to require the Child and
32 Family Services Agency to provide new luggage to youth in foster care, establish and
33 maintain a supply of new luggage, and develop procedures for the storage and
34 distribution of new luggage, to establish that such new luggage shall be the property of
35 the youth, to require the Child and Family Services Agency to consult with youth in
36 foster care and consider multiple factors when providing new luggage, to authorize the
37 Agency to solicit and accept gifts of new luggage, and to require the Agency to submit an
38 annual report.
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40 BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
41 act may be cited as the “Luggage for All Youth in Foster Care Amendment Act of 2024 (Lisa’s
42 Law)”.
43 Sec. 2. Title III of the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Act of 1977, effective
44 September 23, 1977 (D.C. Law 2-22; D.C. Official Code § 4-1303.01 et seq.), is amended by
45 adding a new section 313 to read as follows:
46 “Sec. 313. Luggage for youth in Agency custody
47 “(a)(1) For purposes of this section, the term “new luggage” means a rolling suitcase,
48 duffle bag, backpack, or carrying bag that is designed to hold and transport an individual’s
49 personal belongings and has not been previously used.
50 “(2) The term does not include disposable bags, including trash bags.
51 “(b) The Agency shall:
52 “(1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (e) of this section, provide new
53 luggage to a youth in foster care who is:
54 “(A) entering foster care;
55 “(B) moving from one foster care placement to another; or
56 “(C) exiting foster care;
57 “(2) Establish and maintain a supply of new luggage to be used to transport the
58 personal belongings of youth in foster care; and
59 “(3) Develop procedures through rulemaking for the storage and distribution of
60 new luggage.
61 “(c) All new luggage provided to a youth under this section shall be considered the
62 personal property of the youth and may not be reclaimed by the Agency or retained by any
63 individual with whom the youth lives while in foster care.
64 “(d) When providing new luggage to a youth in foster care, the Agency shall consult with
65 the youth on their options for new luggage and consider:
66 “(1) The youth’s age;
67 “(2) The youth’s mobility;
68 “(3) The number, size, and weight of personal belongings to be transported; and
69 “(4) The youth’s personal preferences.
70 “(e) The Agency shall not be required to provide additional new luggage to a youth who
71 is in possession of luggage previously provided by the Agency unless the previously provided
72 luggage is unsuitable to hold and transport the youth’s personal belongings due to:
73 “(1) Poor condition of the luggage or;
74 “(2) A change in the conditions listed in subsection (d) of this section.
75 “(f) The Agency may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and donations of any kind and from
76 any source to carry out the provisions of this section.
77 “(g) Beginning on January 31 of the year after the applicability date of this section, and
78 no later than January 31 of each year thereafter, the Agency shall submit a report to the Mayor,
79 the Council, and the Ombudsperson for Children, and publicly post the report on the Agency’s
80 website, that includes the following information:
81 “(1) The number of instances in the 2 most recent preceding calendar years in
82 which the Agency provided new luggage to a youth in foster care;
83 “(2)(A) The number of instances in the two most recent preceding calendar years
84 in which the Agency did not provide new luggage to a youth in foster care;
85 “(B) The reason for each instance in the previous calendar year in which
86 the Agency did not to provide youth in foster care with new luggage;
87 “(3)(A) The number of instances in the 2 most recent preceding calendar years in
88 which a disposable bag was used to transport the personal belongings of a youth in foster care
 89 because the Agency did not provide new luggage to the youth in foster care; and
90 “(B) The reason for each instance in the previous calendar in which a
91 disposable bag was used to transport the personal belongings of a youth in foster care;
92 “(4) The number of instances in the 2 most recent preceding calendar years in
93 which the Agency did not provide new luggage to a youth who was already in possession of
94 luggage previously provided to the youth by the Agency due to the luggage being unsuitable to
95 hold and transport a youth’s personal belongings pursuant to subsection (e) of this section; and
96 “(5) The Agency’s:
97 “(A) New luggage supply inventory, including a comparison to the 2 most
98 recent preceding calendar years;
99 “(B) Solicitation procedures, including identification of and reasoning for
100 procedural changes from the previous calendar year; and
101 “(C) Inventory management procedures, including identification of and
102 reasoning for procedural changes from the previous calendar year.”.
103 Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement.
104 The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal
105 impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975,
106 approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a).
107 Sec. 4. Effective date.
108 This act shall take effect after approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the
109 Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto) and a 30-day period of congressional review
110 as provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December
111 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)).