HOUSE BILL NO. 1579 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE AMATO.
3214H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT To repeal sections 207.010, 207.030, 207.060, and 453.014, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof thirteen new sections relating to adoption, with a penalty provision.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 207.010, 207.030, 207.060, and 453.014, RSMo, are repealed 2 and thirteen new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 207.010, 207.030, 3 207.060, 207.100, 207.101, 207.102, 207.103, 207.104, 207.105, 207.106, 207.107, 207.108, 4 and 453.014, to read as follows: 207.010. The children's division, family support division, MO HealthNet division, 2 division of youth services, division of legal services, division of finance and administrative 3 services, and the state technical support team are an integral part of the department of social 4 services and shall have and exercise all the powers and duties necessary to carry out fully and 5 effectively the purposes assigned to them by the director of the department of social services 6 and by law and the department of social services shall be the state agency to: 7 (1) Administer state plans and laws involving aid to dependent children; 8 (2) Aid or relief in case of public calamity; 9 (3) Aid for direct relief; 10 (4) Child welfare services; 11 (5) Social services to families and adults; 12 (6) Pensions and services for the blind; [and] 13 (7) Coordinate and apply for services for expectant mothers and maintain a 14 system to match expectant mothers and fathers wishing to voluntarily place their 15 children for adoption with persons who are fit and proper to adopt such children; and
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language. HB 1579 2
16 (8) Any other duties relating to public assistance and social services which may be 17 imposed upon the department of social services. 207.030. The directors of the family support division, division of maternal and 2 child resources, and children's division shall be persons qualified by education and 3 experience to supervise the work of such divisions and shall be citizens and taxpayers of 4 Missouri. Before entering upon his or her duties, each director shall subscribe an oath or 5 affirmation to support the Constitution of the United States and of the state of Missouri and to 6 faithfully demean himself or herself in office. Each director shall enter into good and 7 sufficient bond, payable to the state of Missouri, conditioned upon the faithful discharge and 8 performance of official duties, and upon accountability for all property and funds coming 9 under such director's administration and control, said bond to be approved by the attorney 10 general as to form, and by the governor as to its sufficiency, the premium on said bond to be 11 paid by the state. The governor may remove the director of the children's division and the 12 director of the family support division for incompetence, misconduct, or neglect of duty. 207.060. 1. The directors of the family support division, division of maternal and 2 child resources, and children's division shall jointly operate and maintain a county office in 3 every county, which may be in the charge of a county welfare director who shall have been a 4 resident of the state of Missouri for a period of at least two years immediately prior to taking 5 office and whose salary shall be paid from funds appropriated for the family support division, 6 division of maternal and child resources, and children's division. 7 2. For the purpose of establishing and maintaining county offices, or carrying out any 8 of the duties of the divisions, the division directors may enter into agreements with any 9 political subdivision of this state, and as a part of such agreement, may accept moneys, 10 services, or quarters as a contribution toward the support and maintenance of such county 11 offices. Any funds so received shall be payable to the director of revenue and deposited in the 12 proper special account in the state treasury, and become and be a part of state funds 13 appropriated for the use of the family support division, division of maternal and child 14 resources, and children's division. 15 3. Other employees in the county offices shall be employed with due regard to the 16 population of the county, existing conditions and purpose to be accomplished. Such 17 employees shall be paid as are other employees of the family support division, division of 18 maternal and child resources, and children's division. 207.100. As used in sections 207.100 to 207.108, the following terms mean: 2 (1) "Adoption", a proceeding in any county of Missouri for the adoption of a 3 child under sections 207.100 to 207.108 or chapter 453; 4 (2) "Child" or "children", any offspring of a man and a woman existing upon 5 first detection of the mother being pregnant up to and after birth; HB 1579 3
6 (3) "Children's services providers and agencies", any public, quasi-public, or 7 private entity with the appropriate and relevant training and expertise in delivering 8 services to children and their families as determined by the children's division and 9 capable of providing direct services and other family services for children in the custody 10 of the children's division or any such entities or agencies that are receiving state moneys 11 for such services; 12 (4) "Director", the director of the Missouri division of maternal and child 13 resources within the department of social services; 14 (5) "Division", the Missouri division of maternal and child resources within the 15 department of social services; 16 (6) "Expectant mother", any woman currently pregnant with a child or 17 children; 18 (7) "Father", the legal, presumed, or biological father of an unborn child or 19 children; 20 (8) "Prospective adoptive parent", a person who is determined to be fit and 21 proper to adopt a child in Missouri after successfully completing screenings, 22 background checks, home studies, and other investigations. 207.101. 1. In addition to the powers, duties, and functions vested in the division 2 by other provisions of this chapter or by other laws of this state, the division shall have 3 the power: 4 (1) To sue and be sued; 5 (2) To make contracts and carry out the duties imposed upon it by sections 6 207.100 to 207.108 or any other law; 7 (3) To administer, disburse, dispose of, and account for funds, commodities, 8 equipment, supplies or services, and any kind of property given, granted, loaned, 9 advanced to, or appropriated by the state of Missouri for any of the purposes herein; 10 (4) To administer oaths, issue subpoenas for witnesses, examine such witnesses 11 under oath, and make and keep a record of same; 12 (5) To adopt, amend, and repeal rules and regulations necessary or desirable to 13 carry out the provisions of this chapter and that are not inconsistent with the 14 constitution or laws of this state; 15 (6) To cooperate with the United States government in matters of mutual 16 concern pertaining to any duties wherein the division is acting as a state agency, 17 including the adoption of such methods of administration as are found by the United 18 States government to be necessary for the efficient operation of state plans hereunder; 19 (7) To make reports in a form that contain information the United States 20 government may, from time to time, require, and comply with provisions the United HB 1579 4
21 States government may, from time to time, find necessary to ensure the correctness and 22 verification of reports; 23 (8) To coordinate and extend resources to an expectant mother seeking to carry 24 her child to term and voluntarily place such child for adoption with a person who is fit 25 and proper to adopt such child; 26 (9) To aid an expectant mother in applying for services and resources provided 27 by other state agencies to a similarly situated expectant mother in Missouri; 28 (10) To establish and maintain a system to match an expectant mother and 29 father wishing to voluntarily place their child for adoption with a person who is fit and 30 proper to adopt such child; 31 (11) To conduct investigations regarding any prospective adoptive parent 32 utilizing the services of the division to ensure such parent is fit and proper to adopt a 33 child in Missouri; 34 (12) Upon request, to cooperate with the juvenile court and furnish social studies 35 and reports of investigations regarding a prospective adoptive parent to the court in 36 support of an adoption petition filed; 37 (13) To appoint, when and if it may deem necessary, advisory committees to 38 provide professional or technical consultation with respect to barriers in facilitating the 39 adoption of children. The members of such advisory committees shall receive no 40 compensation for their services other than expenses actually incurred in the 41 performance of their official duties. The number of members of each such advisory 42 committee shall be determined by the division, and such advisory committees shall 43 consult with and advise the division with respect to problems and policies incident to the 44 administration of the particular function germane to the respective field of competence; 45 (14) To initiate or cooperate with other agencies in developing measures for the 46 reduction of abortions in Missouri through facilitating adoptions by persons who are fit 47 and proper to adopt children voluntarily placed with such persons by the children's 48 mothers and fathers for the purpose of adoption; 49 (15) To collect statistics, make special fact-finding studies, and publish reports in 50 reference to its duties; 51 (16) To establish or cooperate in research or demonstration projects relative to 52 sections 207.100 to 207.108, such as those relating to the reduction of abortion services 53 utilized in Missouri, barriers to adoption of children who would otherwise be aborted, 54 or that will aid in effecting coordination of planning between private and public 55 agencies, or that will help improve the administration and effectiveness of programs 56 carried on by the division and the programs related thereto; and HB 1579 5
57 (17) To accept gifts and grants of any property, real or personal, and to sell such 58 property and expend such gifts or grants not inconsistent with the administration of this 59 chapter and within the limitations imposed by the donor thereof. 60 2. All powers and duties of the division shall, so far as applicable, apply to the 61 administration of any other law wherein duties are imposed upon the division acting as 62 a state agency. 207.102. 1. The division shall establish a "Missouri Adoptive Resources Services 2 System" for the entire state. 3 2. The Missouri adoptive resources services system shall promote the safe and 4 healthy birth of children in Missouri through the utilization of existing resources for 5 expectant mothers and the adoption of children in Missouri by fit and proper persons 6 seeking to adopt. The system shall coordinate community resources and provide 7 assistance or services to expectant mothers identified to be at risk for seeking abortion 8 services and to prevent abortions through the adoption of children by fit and proper 9 persons seeking to adopt. 10 3. In furtherance of the Missouri adoptive resources services system, the division 11 shall: 12 (1) Maintain a directory of expectant mothers and fathers who have voluntarily 13 decided to place their unborn children for adoption and make the same available to 14 prospective adoptive parents who have completed screenings as provided under 15 subdivision (2) of this subsection; 16 (2) Maintain a directory of prospective adoptive parents who have successfully 17 completed screenings, background checks, home studies, and other investigations 18 determining the parents to be fit and proper to adopt children in Missouri and make the 19 same available to such expectant mothers and fathers who have voluntarily decided to 20 place their unborn children for adoption; 21 (3) Establish and maintain mechanisms as are necessary to facilitate the 22 introduction and mutual agreements of expectant mothers and fathers who have 23 voluntarily decided to place their unborn children for adoption and fit and proper 24 prospective adoptive parents and ensure that such mechanisms are limited in access to 25 expectant mothers and fathers who have voluntarily decided to place their unborn 26 children for adoption and fit and proper prospective adoptive parents; 27 (4) Facilitate adoptive proceedings wherein fit and proper prospective adoptive 28 parents adopt children from expectant mothers and fathers who have voluntarily 29 decided to place their unborn children for adoption; HB 1579 6
30 (5) Assist expectant mothers and fathers in applying for existing services and 31 resources provided by federal, state, and local government agencies to other persons 32 similarly situated; 33 (6) Collaborate with the community to identify comprehensive local services and 34 assure ensure to those services for expectant mothers and father; 35 (7) Maintain a record of services provided by the division and ensure such 36 records are kept confidential and used only for the limited purpose of evaluating the 37 efficacy of the system; and 38 (8) Whenever available and appropriate, contract for the provision of services 39 through children's services providers and agencies in the community. In all legal 40 proceedings involving the adoption of a child facilitated by the division, the division 41 shall be represented in court by either division personnel or persons with whom the 42 division contracts with for such legal representation. All providers and agencies of 43 services under this section shall be subject to criminal background checks under chapter 44 43 and shall submit names of all employees to the family care safety registry. 207.103. 1. It is the policy of this state and its agencies to implement a system to 2 reduce the number of preventable abortions in Missouri by assisting an expectant 3 mother in identifying and accessing existing resources for daily needs and prenatal care 4 to ensure the health of both the expectant mother and the child and facilitating the 5 adoption of a child by a fit and proper person in Missouri. The division shall implement 6 such system subject to the following principles: 7 (1) The safety and welfare of expectant mothers and children are paramount; 8 (2) All records pertaining to children, expectant mothers and fathers, and 9 prospective adoptive parents shall be maintained in accordance with all federal and 10 state privacy laws and shall be released only with express authorization by the parties to 11 whom such records pertain or as otherwise required by law; 12 (3) All expectant mothers and fathers shall be treated with respect and shall not 13 be penalized for seeking services from the division; 14 (4) All providers of direct services to expectant mothers, fathers, and children 15 shall be evaluated in a uniform, transparent, objective, and consistent basis based on an 16 evaluation tool established in this section; 17 (5) Services to expectant mothers, fathers, and children shall be provided in a 18 timely manner to maximize the opportunity for successful outcomes, and such services 19 shall be tracked and routinely evaluated through a quality assurance program; 20 (6) Any provider of direct services to expectant mothers, fathers, and children 21 shall have the appropriate and relevant training, education, and expertise to provide the HB 1579 7
22 highest quality of services possible that shall be consistent with federal and state 23 standards; and 24 (7) Resources and efforts shall be committed to pursue the best possible 25 opportunity for a successful outcome for each expectant mother, father, and child. 26 Successful outcomes may include assistance in accessing available resources for daily 27 needs and prenatal care, identifying resources and preparing expectant mothers, 28 fathers, and prospective adoptive parents for the adoption process, and the provision of 29 continued assistance to expectant mothers, fathers, and prospective adoptive parents 30 during the children's first year of life. 31 2. (1) In conjunction with the response and evaluation team established under 32 subsection 3 of this section, as well as other individuals the division deems appropriate, 33 the division shall establish an evaluation tool that complies with state and federal 34 guidelines. 35 (2) The evaluation tool shall include metrics supporting best practices for case 36 management and service provision including, but not limited to, the frequency of face- 37 to-face visits with any person to whom services are provided. 38 (3) There shall be a mechanism whereby providers may propose different 39 evaluation metrics on a case-by-case basis if such case may have circumstances far 40 beyond those that would be expected. Such cases shall be evaluated by the response and 41 evaluation team under subsection 3 of this section. 42 (4) Data regarding all evaluation metrics shall be collected by the division on a 43 monthly basis, and the division shall issue a quarterly report regarding the evaluation 44 data for each provider, both public and private, by county. The response and evaluation 45 team shall determine how to aggregate cases for the division and large contractors so 46 that performance and outcomes may be compared effectively while also protecting 47 confidentiality. Such reports shall be made public and shall include information by 48 county, provided that no client-identifiable information is released with such reports. 49 (5) The standards and metrics developed through this evaluation tool shall be 50 used to evaluate competitive bids for future contracts established under subsection 4 of 51 this section. 52 3. The division shall create a response and evaluation team. Membership of the 53 team shall be composed of three staff members from the division with experience in 54 prenatal care, adoption proceedings, or community resources for expectant mothers 55 appointed b