CARTER (Co-sponsors), AND McCLELLAND.
Read 1st time January 11, 2000, and 1000 copies ordered printed.
ANNE C. WALKER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To amend chapter 210, RSMo, relating to child protection by adding thereto one new section relating to a newborn visitation program.
Section A. Chapter 210, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be known as section 210.175, to read as follows:
210.175. 1. There is hereby established a voluntary comprehensive home-visiting prevention program for first-time parents under the age of twenty-one with newborns in the state of Missouri. Services shall be administered and evaluated through the Missouri children's trust fund pursuant to sections 210.170 to 210.174. Programs shall use a standardized process to systematically identify every first-time parent under the age of twenty-one and assess the family's needs.
2. Services shall be provided by, but not limited to, trained and supervised parent aides, family advocates, social workers, developmental educators, health professionals and volunteers. Home visitors shall receive ongoing training. Community-based agencies shall be selected to provide services through a competitive bidding process.
3. The voluntary comprehensive home-visiting prevention program shall include all of the following:
(1) Services shall be initiated prenatally or at birth;
(2) Programs shall be comprehensive in nature and integrated with community resources, such as health care, family support centers, child care providers and local school systems. Depending on the family's needs, home visiting programs may provide links to other services such as WIC, early intervention and job training programs;
(3) Services shall promote health parent-child interaction and child development;
(4) Parents' participation shall be voluntary. Families shall be recruited though active outreach efforts to build family trust;
(5) Services shall be culturally competent and respectful of cultural differences. Materials used and distributed to families shall reflect the cultural and linguistic diversity of the population served;
(6) Services shall assure that all young mothers have access to primary health care, nutritional information, family planning and pregnancy prevention programs;
(7) Service availability shall continue until the child reaches age three. Services shall reflect ongoing assessments of the family's needs, and shall be flexible in frequency, intensity and duration in response to such needs;
(8) The children's trust fund shall submit a report annually of evaluation results to the Missouri general assembly and the director of the department of social services.
4. The children's trust fund shall provide annual written evaluations of home visiting programs conducted by nationally known experts in the fields of family support and evaluation. Evaluations shall ensure appropriate service delivery and measure outcomes using data provided by:
(1) The department of social services on reported rates of child abuse and neglect; and
(2) Birth certificate records maintained by the department of health.
Missouri House of Representatives