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Legislative hearing on restoring citizen review boards to oversee child-protection cases
Summary
Senate Bill 367 would reestablish and expand citizen review boards to examine child-protective services and case outcomes; proponents argued boards would reduce time children spend in foster care and provide neutral community oversight, while child-welfare administrators urged time to plan and raised federal compliance and fiscal concerns.
A hearing Feb. 24 considered Senate Bill 367, sponsored by Senator Dennis Lenz, which would revive and revise Montana's citizen review boards (CRBs) to provide community oversight of child-protective services and foster-care cases.
Proponents said CRBs would supplement existing foster-care review processes and give families a vetted community forum to raise concerns when other remedies have failed. Matt Furlong, representing the Montana Child Protection Alliance, told senators the state ombudsman receives roughly 300 calls a year and opens about 30 cases; he said many callers fear retaliation and want a confidential but community-facing mechanism for independent review. Denise Johnson of the Montana Child Protection Alliance and other advocates said CRBs can shorten foster-care timelines, reduce court burdens and help families achieve permanency faster.
Opponents and informational witnesses urged caution and transition time. Nikki Grossberg, division administrator for Child and Family Services, described the existing statewide foster-care review structure (about 30 committees across the state), federal Title IV-E requirements that mandate regular reviews, and the administrative lift of reconstituting CRBs. Grossberg said the current system must remain compliant with federal reporting and that a phased transition would likely be required to sustain reviews every six months for each child in foster care. Tom Billteen of the Office of Court Administrators told senators the office is available for questions and that fiscal analysis and operational planning were underway.
Senators asked about fiscal impacts and interaction with federal requirements. Senator Smith asked whether a fiscal note existed; the sponsor said one was likely in progress. Bill proponents estimated CRBs could be cost-effective in reducing judicial and county expenses tied to prolonged foster-care cases, but state administrators said more detailed fiscal modeling would be needed.
Ending: The hearing closed with senators indicating a need for additional information on implementation, federal compliance (Title IV-E) and financial impacts before taking action.
