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Oversight committee adopts DCA report and asks audit of 24-hour critical-incident reporting
Summary
The Senate oversight committee adopted a subcommittee report on the Department of Children's Advocacy and voted to request a Legislative Audit Council performance audit of 24-hour critical-incident notification delays cited in the report.
The Senate Legislative Oversight Committee on Wednesday adopted its subcommittee report reviewing the Department of Children's Advocacy and agreed to ask the Legislative Audit Council to conduct a performance audit focused on delays in 24-hour critical-incident notifications.
Senator Hutto, co-chair of the DCA subcommittee, said the department (established in 2018) serves as an independent watchdog for nine child-serving agencies and organized its work into four divisions, including a Guardian ad Litem program and a continuum-of-care for children with intensive needs. The report found ambiguous statutory authority, conflicts of interest, gaps in coordination with partner agencies, and persistent shortages of volunteers and foster families.
"The subcommittee noted that the department's ambiguous statutory authority hinders its ability to fully execute its mission," Hutto said, recommending statutory cleanup, increased funding for operations, and better training and volunteer recruitment. The report also recommends moving the continuum-of-care program to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities to reduce conflicts and centralize services.
A committee member pointed to a recommendation on page 16 asking the Legislative Audit Council to examine delays in 24-hour critical-incident notification and to make recommendations to the General Assembly. The member moved that the oversight committee formally request the LAC perform a performance audit; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.
The committee adopted the DCA subcommittee report by voice vote. Members asked staff to refer statutory cleanup proposals to the committee of jurisdiction and to report back to the oversight subcommittee if no follow-up legislation is drafted in a timely fashion.
The committee plans to follow the LAC findings and consider legislative or oversight steps if the audit uncovers systemic reporting delays or statutory barriers to timely action.
