Study of the Establishment of an

Office of Children's Services Ombudsman

 

 

Study Overview

 

Study Mandate

• Legislators, child advocates and others have expressed the need for the establishment of an Office of Children’s Services Ombudsman.  At its November 2005 meeting, the Commission on Youth directed staff to develop a plan to study this issue.
• During the 2006 General Assembly Session, Senator Edwards introduced Senate Bill 208, which proposes to create the Office of Children's Services Ombudsman within the legislative branch.  Members of the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology reviewed Senate Bill 208 and expressed several concerns, particularly regarding the administration of child protection and child welfare laws.  Because of the testimony presented at the meeting, the Committee sent a letter requesting the Commission on Youth to study the impact of Senate Bill 208.  In order to accomplish this request, the Commission on Youth will need to:

 

• Evaluate the need for the establishment of an Office of Children's Services Ombudsman in Virginia.
• Identify the appropriate administrative structure of an Office of Children's Services Ombudsman.
• Determine the cost of the establishment of an Office of Children's Services Ombudsman.

 

Identified Issues

• The current welfare system does not provide a central point of contact for children's services wherein complaints can be filed and investigations can be conducted to ensure the health, safety and welfare of children.
• The current welfare system does not offer independent reviews of complaints that have been reported by foster children, foster parents, adoptive parents, family members, children and adolescents, members of the public, community organizations or other interested parties.
• There is a need to provide a mechanism for filing complaints that is external to the child welfare system and child-serving agencies.
• There is a need to protect children and parents from harmful agency action or inaction.
• There is a need to provide a system accountability mechanism and to protect the interests of children and their families who are parties in the child welfare system.
• There is a need to investigate the acts of state and local administrative agencies adversely affecting children.
• There is a need to recommend appropriate changes toward the goals of safeguarding the rights of children and parents.
• There is a need to promote higher standards of competency, efficiency and justice in the administration of child protection and child welfare laws, juvenile justice services and education of children.
• The need to ensure that the Office of Children's Services Ombudsman is not a duplication of services.

 

Study Activities

§         Convene an advisory group of stakeholders.

§         Conduct extensive background and literature reviews on the concept, purpose and various models of children's services ombudsman.

§         Compile and review the background issues of Senate Bill 208 (Edwards). 

§         Review key findings within reports, audits and studies.

§         Interview states which currently have a children's services ombudsman or a system that is similar to a children's services ombudsman. 

§         Compose a description of Virginia's existing system(s) for addressing children's services complaints. 

• Evaluate the need for the establishment of an Office of Children's Services Ombudsman.
• Determine the cost of the establishment of an Office of Children's Services Ombudsman.
• Identify the appropriate administrative structure of an Office of Children's Services Ombudsman.

§         Development of recommendations:

o       Administration changes,

o       Legislative changes, and/or

o       Budget amendments.

§         Present findings and recommendations to the Commission of Youth.

§         Write final report.

 

Alternative Education Options

Study Overview and workplan

 

Study Mandate

·        Concerns have been expressed about the ever-increasing number of school suspensions and expulsions within Virginia public schools.  The Commission on Youth approved the following recommendation at its November 2005 meeting:

 

o       Direct the Commission on Youth to explore data available at the Department of Education to determine whether a problem exists in Virginia regarding the number of school suspensions and expulsions within Virginia public schools and, if so, make recommendations to address the study findings.

 

Identified Issues

·        Variation of local school practices and reporting procedures based on local Codes of Student Conduct.

·        Impact of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Standards of Learning (SOLs) on the provision of alternative education.

·        Additional state requirements upon school divisions that may be cumbersome or inappropriate for the locality.

·        Acknowledgment of existing procedures, including appeals, for expulsion and exclusion.

·        Acknowledging how the availability of alternative education impacts a district's decision to utilize long-term suspension or expulsion.

·        Addressing the appropriate use of restorative justice to enhance student accountability.

 

Study Activities

Review of Expulsion and Suspension Data

·        Identify number of students in the Commonwealth, by locality, who have either been expelled or suspended.

·        Determine whether issues that need to be addressed regarding the use of school expulsion and suspensions.

·        Review various challenges facing school districts in the Commonwealth regarding expulsion or suspensions.

Review of Alternative Education Approaches

·        Clarify existing alternative educations policies and practices.

·        Review other states’ activities in the provision of alternative education to ascertain if they are appropriate for use in the Commonwealth.

·        Identify potential solutions, if appropriate, for school divisions to provide educational services to students who have been expelled.

·        Examine utilization of restorative justice and its potential as a solution for students facing disciplinary action by school divisions.

Federal Legislation/State Legislation Review

·        Review impact of NCLB.

·        Review impact of SOLs.

·        Impact of House Bill 347-General Educational Development Program.

Analysis of Virginia practices

• Review state and local Code of Student Conduct provisions.
• Review school boards' suspension, exclusion, expulsion and appeals policies.
• Review of school boards’ utilization of alternative education practices.
• Review existing alternative education programs.

Convene Workgroup

• Invite for participation a representative from impacted groups:

 

Secretary of Education	Board of Education
Superintendent of Public Instruction	Virginia PTA
Virginia School Boards Association	Virginia Education Association
Virginia Association of School Superintendents	Virginia Association of Elementary  School Principals
Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals	Virginia Counselors Association
Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police	Virginia Department of Education
National School Safety Center	School Resource Officers

 

• Develop consensus on issues.

Develop recommendations

·        Synthesize findings of statutory review and workgroup recommendations.

·        Solicit feedback to recommendations from constituents and DOE/Board of Education.

·        Refine Recommendations.

·        Present Recommendations to Commission on Youth.

·        Prepare final report.

 

 

Children's Behavioral Health/

Evidence-Based Treatments Conference

 

Conference Planning

 

Mandate

·        Senate Joint Resolution 358 (2003), directed the Virginia Commission on Youth to update biennially its publication, the Collection of Evidence-based Treatment Modalities for Children and Adolescents with Mental Health Treatment Needs (Collection) recognized as effective for the treatment of children, including juvenile offenders, with mental health treatment needs.  The resolution also required the Commission to disseminate the Collection 2nd Edition via web technologies and investigate various strategies for communicating evidence-based treatments to consumers, family members, advocates, mental health policy makers, and other interested persons.  The Commission on Youth approved the following recommendation at its November 2005 meeting:

 

o        Direct the Commission on Youth, in conjunction with the Virginia Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse Services, to convene a statewide conference with the express purpose of identifying and communicating to behavioral health care professionals evidence-based practices for children and adolescents with mental health disorders.  To plan for this conference, the Commission shall organize a Conference Planning Committee comprised of representatives from all of the Commonwealth’s child-serving agencies.  An update on the progress of the conference plan shall be reported to the Commission on Youth prior to the 2007 General Assembly Session.

 

Identified Issues

·        There is an identified need for training for local, state, and private providers, as well as consumers, on evidence-based treatments for children with mental health disorders.

·        Such trainings must balance the need for individualized services based on the unique strengths and needs of children and their families versus establishing certain services to the child based on diagnosis.

·        Any training activities must acknowledge the lack of providers in communities as well as a shortage of providers that offer evidence-based practices.

·        The conference plan must be tailored to address practices that do not yet have the rigorous research to classify them as evidence-based, yet - based on early data and results - are promising in treating children’s mental health disorders.

·        The accompanying cultural issues associated with treating children with mental health disorders.

·        The need to address the utilization and implementation of evidence-based treatments in diverse and numerous settings, with homes, schools, communities, and both public and private sector providers being targeted audiences.

·        The time constraints and limited budgets of all parties involved in the planning phase.

·        The existing gap between standard of care v. evidence-based treatments.

·        The limited flexibility the public and private service sectors, as well as families and school systems, have regarding the utilization of evidenced-treatments.

 

Proposed Activities

Ø      Commission on Youth staff will convene a Conference Planning Committee consisting of representatives from state and local child-serving agencies, private providers, organizations and others, including but not limited to:

 

 

Secretary of Health and Human Resources	Virginia Counselors Association
Virginia Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Service	American Academy of Pediatrics - Virginia Chapter
Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services	Virginia Association of Community Services Boards
Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice	State and Local Advisory Team
Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services	Comprehensive Services Act Coordinators
State Executive Council	Virginia Psychiatric Association
Virginia Department of Education	Private Providers
Virginia Department of Health	State Universities
Virginia Department of Social Services	Virginia Association of Private Providers
Office of Comprehensive Services	Voices for Virginia’s Children
Virginia Department of Health Professions	Other pertinent advocacy organizations

 

Ø    The Planning Committee shall assist Commission on Youth staff with the following tasks:

·     Coordinate with various agencies to ascertain specific tasks, roles & responsibilities, activities, potential partnerships, and utilization of resources.

·     Investigate available grants, as well as private or public funds, as well as contributions that may be available for funding the conference.

·     Develop proposed conference plan including the following:

o       Conference Target Audience,

o       Budget/Funding Plan,

o       Site selection,

o       Conference Agenda/Program,

o       Speakers and Presenters,

o       Continuing Education Credits, and

o       Promotion of Conference.

·        Develop consensus on conference plan.

·        Develop conference timeline.

·Formulate recommendations.

Ø       Staff will present recommendations to the Commission for approval.

Ø       The Commission shall commence planning for Statewide Conference in 2007, based on Commission approval.