HCS SS SCS SB 551, 410, 539, 528 & 296 -- GRANDPARENTS AS FOSTER
PARENTS PROGRAM

SPONSOR:  Sims (Barry)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on Children,
Families and Health by a vote of 12 to 1.

The substitute contains provisions pertaining to grandparents,
pregnant women, and children.

GRANDPARENTS AS FOSTER PARENTS

The provisions of the program are made subject to appropriations.

Eligibility guidelines are revised to require eligible
grandparents to have an annual household income of less than
200% of the federal poverty level.

The Grandparents as Foster Parents Program may:

(1)  Provide reimbursement up to the current foster care payment
schedule to eligible grandparents;

(2)  Establish program requirements;

(3)  Provide continuing counseling for the child and grandparent;

(4)  Provide Medicaid services to the child; and

(5)  Provide ancillary services as contained in the substitute.

Grandparents who refuse to participate in the program may apply
to the division for foster care reimbursement and assistance.

GRANDPARENT VISITATION

The substitute allows a court to grant grandparent visitation
when a child has resided with the grandparent for at least 6
months within the previous 24 months.  Unreasonable denial of
visitation for a period exceeding 90 days is eliminated as a
basis for awarding grandparent visitation if the natural parents
are married to each other and living together with the child.
The substitute also creates a rebuttable presumption that
natural parents married to each other and living together with a
child know what is in the best interest of the child.

CHILDHOOD LEAD TESTING PROGRAM

The substitute requires all managed care deliveries and entities
which offer individual and group health insurance policies and
indemnity-type contracts issued by a health services corporation
to offer coverage for testing pregnant women for lead poisoning
and for all testing for lead poisoning authorized by Sections
701.340 to 701.349, RSMo, pertaining to the abatement of lead
and the prevention of lead poisoning.  Coverage for this testing
is also required if the Department of Health develops rules as
authorized by the substitute.  This provision is effective
January 1, 2002.

Health care services contained in the substitute are prohibited
from requiring any greater deductible or co-payment than any
other health care service provided by the policy, contract, or
plan.  Specified insurance policies are exempted from the
provisions of the substitute.

The substitute also revises provisions pertaining to the
abatement of lead and the prevention of lead poisoning.  In its
main provisions, the substitute:

(1)  Requires fees for laboratory testing of blood specimens for
lead content completed by the Department of Health to be
deposited in the Childhood Lead Testing Fund;

(2)  Requires the Director of the Department of Health to report
cases of lead poisoning to local boards of health, public health
agencies, and other persons and organizations;

(3)  Beginning January 1, 2002, requires the department to
implement a Childhood Lead Testing Program subject to
appropriations.  Each child less than 6 years of age will be
tested for lead poisoning.  Health care facilities serving
children less than 6 years old, including hospitals and clinics
licensed under Chapter 197, are required to take appropriate
measures to ensure that their patients receive lead poisoning
testing;

(4)  Allows a parent or guardian to object to lead testing;

(5)  Requires the department to identify geographic areas of the
state that are at high risk for lead poisoning;

(6)  Requires the Department of Health, in conjunction with the
Department of Social Services, to develop a questionnaire in
order to assess children who may be at a high risk for lead
poisoning;

(7)  Requires laboratories who provide test results for lead
poisoning to notify the department of any child who tests
positive for lead poisoning.  The department is required to
develop rules pertaining to follow-up testing;

(8)  Specifies the duties of the department concerning childhood
lead testing;

(9)  Requires the department to develop a task force to
investigate the imposition of a fee on manufacturers who produce
products containing lead;

(10)  Requires every child care facility and every child care
facility affiliated with a school system, business organization,
or non-profit organization to request that a child's parent or
guardian provide evidence of lead poisoning testing if these
entities are located in high risk areas for lead poisoning;

(11)  Prohibits children from being denied access to education
or a child care facility for failure to comply with provisions
of the substitute;

(12)  Creates the Childhood Lead Fund in the state treasury and
contains provisions concerning the deposit and use of the funds
for the administration of childhood lead programs;

(13)  Requires the department to develop rules to implement the
provisions of the substitute;

(14)  Permits political subdivisions to adopt equivalent or more
stringent ordinances or laws pertaining to childhood lead
testing; and

(15)  Contains a severability provision.

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Net Increase to Insurance Dedicated Fund
of $10,000 in FY 2002, $0 in FY 2003, and $0 in FY 2004.  Net
Estimated Effect on Childhood Lead Fund of $0 in FY 2002, FY
2003, and FY 2004.  Estimated Net Effect on General Revenue of
an income of Unknown to less than $4,223,953 in FY 2002, a cost
of Unknown to exceeds $4,133,908 in FY 2003, and a cost of
Unknown to exceeds $9,780,652 in FY 2004.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that due to increased expenditures,
the bill is an attempt to increase the fiscal oversight of the
Grandparents as Foster Care Program.

Testifying for the bill was Senator Sims.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Joseph Deering, Legislative Analyst

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated November 26, 2001 at 11:48 am