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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| HOUSE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY CASORIO, CALTAGIRONE, BELFANTI, BEAR, BEYER, BRENNAN, DONATUCCI, FRANKEL, GEIST, GINGRICH, GOODMAN, GRUCELA, HARHAI, HARKINS, HENNESSEY, JOSEPHS, KULA, MAHONEY, MANN, MOUL, M. O'BRIEN, PRESTON, PYLE, READSHAW, REICHLEY, SIPTROTH, SOLOBAY, VULAKOVICH AND WALKO, JANUARY 28, 2009 |
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| REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, JANUARY 28, 2009 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Amending the act of November 22, 1978 (P.L.1166, No.274), |
2 | entitled "An act establishing the Pennsylvania Commission on |
3 | Crime and Delinquency, providing for its powers and duties |
4 | establishing several advisory committees within the |
5 | commission and providing for their powers and duties," |
6 | providing for a task force on drug-endangered children. |
7 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
8 | hereby enacts as follows: |
9 | Section 1. The act of November 22, 1978 (P.L.1166, No.274), |
10 | referred to as the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and |
11 | Delinquency Law, is amended by adding a section to read: |
12 | Section 7.3. Task Force on Drug-Endangered Children. |
13 | (a) Establishment.--There is hereby established within the |
14 | Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency a task force on |
15 | drug-endangered children. |
16 | (b) Composition.--The task force shall be comprised of the |
17 | following members: |
18 | (1) The Secretary of Health, who shall act as |
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1 | chairperson of the task force. |
2 | (2) The Commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police or |
3 | a designee. |
4 | (3) The Secretary of Public Welfare or a designee. |
5 | (4) The Secretary of Education or a designee. |
6 | (5) The Secretary of Environmental Protection or a |
7 | designee. |
8 | (6) One representative of the Juvenile Court Judges' |
9 | Commission. |
10 | (7) The Victim Advocate. |
11 | (8) The Executive Director of the Commission on Crime |
12 | and Delinquency. |
13 | (9) Nine members to be appointed by the Governor to |
14 | include: |
15 | (i) A representative of local law enforcement |
16 | agencies. |
17 | (ii) A district attorney. |
18 | (iii) A county commissioner. |
19 | (iv) A representative of emergency medical services. |
20 | (v) A representative of fire and emergency services. |
21 | (vi) An emergency room physician. |
22 | (vii) A representative from county children and |
23 | youth services. |
24 | (viii) A representative from a county mental health |
25 | program. |
26 | (ix) A representative from a county drug and alcohol |
27 | program. |
28 | (c) Objectives.--The overall goal of the task force is to |
29 | improve the health of children exposed to chemicals associated |
30 | with methamphetamine production or other drug involvement by |
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1 | identifying the physical, psychological and sociological effects |
2 | on children and providing appropriate intervention. The task |
3 | force shall develop protocols establishing a Statewide response |
4 | system and a strategic plan related to helping children who may |
5 | have been endangered by circumstances involving the illegal |
6 | production of methamphetamine or other drugs or by trafficking |
7 | or abuse. The task force shall meet the following objectives: |
8 | (1) The establishment of medical protocols for the |
9 | treatment of children who have been endangered by |
10 | contamination from methamphetamine manufacturing or other |
11 | exposure to drug production, trafficking or abuse. |
12 | (2) The development of coordinated procedures by |
13 | agencies that quickly respond to the needs of children who |
14 | have been exposed to the contaminants of illegal drug |
15 | production to ensure their protection and safety. |
16 | (3) The elimination of any delays in the response that |
17 | would interfere with important child welfare outcomes aimed |
18 | at ensuring child protection and safety. |
19 | (4) The development of protocols for the sharing of |
20 | information among the various affected response agencies. |
21 | (5) The assurance that all affected children will |
22 | continue to be enrolled in school programs. |
23 | (d) Report.--The task force shall prepare a report |
24 | containing the strategic plan for the Statewide response system |
25 | and the strategic plan for the treatment of children who have |
26 | been endangered by contamination from methamphetamine |
27 | manufacturing, drug production, trafficking or abuse. This |
28 | report will serve as a blueprint for the development of |
29 | formalized training and education activities by the commission. |
30 | This report shall be submitted to the General Assembly within |
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1 | one year after the effective date of this section and |
2 | distributed to those State and local agencies that respond to |
3 | drug-endangered children. |
4 | (e) Training.--The commission shall develop training and |
5 | education programs that will be available to those agencies that |
6 | respond to drug-endangered children. The training shall reflect |
7 | the task force's plan to ensure that State and local agencies |
8 | are able to establish the necessary protocols for a coordinated |
9 | response to drug-endangered children. |
10 | (f) Expiration.--The provisions of subsections (a), (b), (c) |
11 | and (d) shall expire one year after the effective date of this |
12 | section. The commission shall continue to provide training and |
13 | education activities and act as a clearinghouse for information |
14 | in relation to its duties under this section on an ongoing |
15 | basis. |
16 | Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days. |
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