(a) The Delaware Child Protection Accountability Commission is hereby established. The Commission shall consist of 24 members with the at-large members and the Chair appointed by the Governor. Members of the Commission serving by virtue of position may appoint a designee to serve in their stead. The Commission shall be comprised of the following:
(1) The Secretary of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families.
(2) The Director of the Division of Family Services.
(3) Two representatives from the Attorney's General Office, appointed by the Attorney General.
(4) Two members of the Family Court, appointed by the Chief Judge of the Family Court.
(5) One member of the House of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker of the House.
(6) One member of the Senate, appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
(7) The Secretary of the Department of Education.
(8) The Director of the Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health Services.
(9) The Chair of the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council.
(10) The Superintendent of the Delaware State Police.
(11) The Chair of the Child Death Review Commission.
(12) The Investigation Coordinator, as defined in § 902 of this title.
(13) One youth or young adult who has experienced foster care in Delaware, appointed by the Secretary of the Department.
(14) One representative from the Office of Defense Services, appointed by the Chief Defender.
(15) Eight at-large members appointed by the Governor with 1 person from the medical community, 1 person from the Interagency Committee on Adoption who works with youth engaged in the foster care system, 1 person from a law-enforcement agency other than the State Police, and 5 persons from the child protection community. The law-enforcement representative may designate a proxy as needed.
(b) The Commission is designated as a “citizen review panel” as required under the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, 42 U.S.C. § 5106a(c) and the “state task force” as required under the federal Children's Justice Act, 42 U.S.C. § 5106c(c). The Commission may delegate tasks to its committees, workgroups, and panels as necessary to accomplish its duties. The Commission's purpose is to monitor Delaware's child protection system to best ensure the health, safety, and well-being of Delaware's abused, neglected, and dependent children. To that end, the Commission shall meet on a quarterly basis and shall:
(1) Examine and evaluate the policies, procedures, and effectiveness of the child protection system and make recommendations for changes therein, focusing specifically on the respective roles in the child protection system of the Division of Family Services, the Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health Services, the Office of the Attorney General, the Family Court, the medical community, and law-enforcement agencies.
(2) Recommend changes in the policies and procedures for investigating and overseeing the welfare of abused, neglected, and dependent children.
(3) Advocate for legislation and make legislative recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly.
(4) Access, develop, and provide quality training to the Division of Family Services, Deputy Attorneys General, Family Court, law-enforcement officers, the medical community, educators, day-care providers, and others on child protection issues.
(5) Review and make recommendations concerning the well-being of Delaware's abused, neglected, and dependent children including issues relating to foster care, adoption, mental health services, victim services, education, rehabilitation, substance abuse, and independent living.
(6) Provide the following reports to the Governor:
a. An annual summary of the Commission's work and recommendations, including work of the Office of the Child Advocate, with copies thereof sent to the General Assembly.
b. A quarterly written report of the Commission's activities and findings, in the form of minutes, made available also to the General Assembly and the public.
(7) Investigate and review deaths or near deaths of abused or neglected children solely for the purposes provided in § 932 of this title.
(8) Coordinate with the Child Death Review Commission to provide statistics and other necessary information to the Child Death Review Commission related to the Commission's investigation and review of deaths of abused or neglected children.
(9) Meet annually with the Child Death Review Commission to jointly discuss any findings or recommendations released to the public from reviews conducted under § 932 of this title. This meeting shall be open to the public.
(10) Adopt rules or regulations for the administration of its duties or this subchapter, as it deems necessary.
(c) The Child Advocate shall serve as the Executive Director of the Commission, and the Office of the Child Advocate shall provide staff support to the Commission. The Office of the Child Advocate shall assist the Commission in investigating and reviewing the deaths or near deaths of abused or neglected children under § 932 of this title, in addition to performing any other duties assigned by the Commission. The Child Advocate shall hire employees or contract for services as necessary to assist the Commission in performing its duties under this subchapter, within the limitations of funds appropriated by the General Assembly or obtained from other sources.