PRINTER'S NO. 3333
No. 2218 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY GINGRICH, ARGALL, BAKER, CALTAGIRONE, CAPPELLI,
CIVERA, GEIST, HARKINS, MANN, McGEEHAN, MENSCH, R. MILLER,
PARKER, PYLE, RUBLEY, STERN, THOMAS, TRUE, WATSON AND MOYER,
MARCH 10, 2008
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, MARCH 10, 2008
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of November 22, 1978 (P.L.1166, No.274),
2 entitled "An act establishing the Pennsylvania Commission on
3 Crime and Delinquency, providing for its powers and duties
4 establishing several advisory committees within the
5 commission and providing for their powers and duties,"
6 providing for a task force on drug-endangered children.
7 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8 hereby enacts as follows:
9 Section 1. The act of November 22, 1978 (P.L.1166, No.274),
10 referred to as the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and
11 Delinquency Law, is amended by adding a section to read:
12 Section 7.3. Task Force on Drug-Endangered Children.
13 (a) Establishment.--There is hereby established within the
14 Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency a task force on
15 drug-endangered children.
16 (b) Composition.--The task force shall be comprised of the
17 following members:
18 (1) The Secretary of Health, who shall act as
19 chairperson of the task force.
1 (2) The Commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police or
2 a designee.
3 (3) The Secretary of Public Welfare or a designee.
4 (4) The Secretary of Education or a designee.
5 (5) The Secretary of Environmental Protection or a
6 designee.
7 (6) One representative of the Juvenile Court Judges'
8 Commission.
9 (7) The Victim Advocate.
10 (8) The Executive Director of the Pennsylvania
11 Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
12 (9) Nine members to be appointed by the Governor to
13 include:
14 (i) A representative of local law enforcement
15 agencies.
16 (ii) A district attorney.
17 (iii) A county commissioner.
18 (iv) A representative of emergency medical services.
19 (v) A representative of fire and emergency services.
20 (vi) An emergency room physician.
21 (vii) A representative from county children and
22 youth services.
23 (viii) A representative from a county mental health
24 program.
25 (ix) A representative from a county drug and alcohol
26 program.
27 (c) Objectives.--The overall goal of the task force is to
28 improve the health of children exposed to chemicals associated
29 with methamphetamine production or other drug involvement by
30 identifying the physical, psychological and sociological effects
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1 on children and providing appropriate intervention. The task
2 force shall develop protocols establishing a Statewide response
3 system and a strategic plan related to helping children who may
4 have been endangered by circumstances involving the illegal
5 production of methamphetamine or other drugs or by trafficking
6 or abuse. The task force shall meet the following objectives:
7 (1) The establishment of medical protocols for the
8 treatment of children who have been endangered by
9 contamination from methamphetamine manufacturing or other
10 exposure to drug production, trafficking or abuse.
11 (2) The development of coordinated procedures by
12 agencies that quickly respond to the needs of children who
13 have been exposed to the contaminants of illegal drug
14 production to ensure their protection and safety.
15 (3) The elimination of any delays in the response that
16 would interfere with important child welfare outcomes aimed
17 at ensuring child protection and safety.
18 (4) The development of protocols for the sharing of
19 information among the various affected response agencies.
20 (5) The assurance that all affected children will
21 continue to be enrolled in school programs.
22 (d) Report.--The task force shall prepare a report
23 containing the strategic plan for the Statewide response system
24 and the strategic plan for the treatment of children who have
25 been endangered by contamination from methamphetamine
26 manufacturing, drug production, trafficking or abuse. This
27 report will serve as a blueprint for the development of
28 formalized training and education activities by the commission.
29 This report shall be submitted to the General Assembly within
30 one year after the effective date of this section and
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1 distributed to those State and local agencies that respond to
2 drug-endangered children.
3 (e) Training.--The commission shall develop training and
4 education programs that will be available to those agencies that
5 respond to drug-endangered children. The training shall reflect
6 the task force's plan to ensure that State and local agencies
7 are able to establish the necessary protocols for a coordinated
8 response to drug-endangered children.
9 (f) Expiration.--The provisions of subsections (a), (b), (c)
10 and (d) shall expire one year after the effective date of this
11 section. The commission shall continue to provide training and
12 education activities and act as a clearinghouse for information
13 in relation to its duties under this section on an ongoing
14 basis.
15 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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