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Committee advances bill to broaden legislative access to child-fatality reviews after emotional testimony
Summary
The House Family, Children and Human Affairs Committee passed HB 1257 as amended to expand legislative appointments to the state fatality review committee, codify definitions and speed limited public reporting of child-fatality timelines; families gave emotional testimony about cases they said were inadequately documented.
Representative Ann McGuire pressed the committee on HB 12 57, describing the measure as a transparency bill aimed at giving legislators and the public more useful information when children die or are nearly killed while known to the Department of Child Services. The bill would add four legislative appointments to the statewide fatality review committee, codify definitions such as "screened out," clarify reunification timelines, lower a post-adoption contact threshold from two years to one, and expand the items required in annual child-fatality reports.
"This bill does not assign blame," McGuire said in opening remarks, but "creates clarity" so lawmakers can understand where systems failed and learn how to prevent future tragedies. Sponsor amendments accepted by the committee allow DCS up to 10 days to provide prompt public reporting…
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