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Committee debates citizen review boards study; SJ32 fails concurrence and is tabled
Summary
Senate Joint Resolution 32, proposing to revive and study citizen review boards as child-protection oversight, drew opposition from Child and Family Services leadership who said it would duplicate existing foster care review processes; a concurrence motion failed and the resolution was tabled.
Senate Joint Resolution 32, an interim study to consider reestablishing citizen review boards for child protection oversight, was discussed in the House Human Services Committee and ultimately tabled after members and witnesses raised concerns about duplication and cost.
Senator Lentz described SJ32 as a renewal of an earlier pilot and said citizen review boards could reduce court involvement and add oversight. Nikki Grossberg, Division Administrator for Child and Family Services, opposed the study on the grounds that the foster care review process under Title 41 already provides community review and that reintroducing citizen review boards would duplicate efforts and add inconsistent layers of oversight.
Members asked whether citizen review boards resemble CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates); the sponsor said they would be different, focused on case review and system recommendations. Ms. Grossberg explained that foster-care-review committees examine each foster child’s case every six months and include attorneys, CASA volunteers and other stakeholders; she said previous citizen review board pilots duplicated that process and incurred additional cost.
In executive action, the committee voted on concurrence for SJ32; the roll call was 4 ayes and 17 nays and the motion failed. The committee then voted to place SJ32 on the table.
