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S 2976Children

State Affairs and Government - Child Advocate Office

This bill broadens criteria for child death reviews and mandates state agencies formally respond to safety recommendations within 180 days.

Held for study
Population
Affected
15
Email Legislator
Introduced Mar 4, 2026Committee Senate Judiciary

Plain-English Summary

This legislation updates the procedures for the Office of the Child Advocate regarding child fatality reviews. It expands the circumstances under which a fatality or near-fatality must be reviewed, specifically including cases where a sibling, household member, or daycare provider was the subject of an abuse investigation (including unsubstantiated ones) within the previous year. The bill mandates that the Child Advocate publicly announce when a review panel is convened. Additionally, it requires any state agency cited in a review report to submit a formal response within 180 days detailing an implementation plan for recommendations or reasons for non-implementation.

For younger readers

There is a special office that looks out for the safety of children. Sometimes, if a child is hurt very badly or passes away, a group of people meets to figure out what went wrong so they can stop it from happening again. This bill says this group must look at more cases, even if they weren't sure if someone broke the rules before. It also says that if the group tells the government how to fix a problem, the government must write a letter explaining exactly how they will fix it or why they can't.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Children in state careDepartment of Children Youth and Families (DCYF)Office of the Child AdvocateDaycare providersFamilies involved with DCYF
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Increases government transparency and accountability by requiring public announcements of review panels and mandating that agencies formally respond to safety recommendations.
  • Strengthens the social safety net for vulnerable youth by expanding the criteria for fatality reviews to include cases involving unsubstantiated or pending investigations.
  • Promotes systemic reform by forcing state agencies to develop specific implementation plans to address failures identified by the Child Advocate.
  • The inclusion of unsubstantiated reports as a trigger for review could potentially stigmatize families or daycare providers who were previously cleared of wrongdoing.
  • Public announcements regarding specific child fatalities, even with redacted details, could potentially compromise the privacy and dignity of grieving families.
  • Does not explicitly provide additional funding or resources to the Child Advocate or DCYF to handle the increased administrative workload and reporting requirements.
For Conservatives
  • Increases oversight of the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF), ensuring that government bureaucracy is held accountable for failures in child protection.
  • Requires state agencies to justify their actions to the Governor and legislative leaders if they choose not to implement safety recommendations, promoting administrative responsibility.
  • Ensures that potential system failures are investigated thoroughly, even in cases where previous investigations were inconclusive or pending, upholding the rule of law.
  • Expands the size and scope of government bureaucracy by mandating additional reviews, reports, and administrative procedures for state agencies.
  • Using unsubstantiated reports and pending investigations as criteria for state review could be viewed as government overreach into the lives of private citizens and businesses.
  • Creates new mandates for state agencies without identifying specific budget offsets or cost-saving measures to pay for the administrative time required.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 14 additions

SECTION 1. Section 42-73-2.3 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-73 entitled "Child Advocate Office" is hereby amended to read as follows: 42-73-2.3. Child fatality reviews.

(a) The department of children, youth and families shall notify the office of the child advocate verbally and electronically within forty-eight (48) hours of a confirmed fatality or near fatality of a child who is the subject of a DCYF case and shall provide the office of the child advocate with access to any written material about the case.

(b) The child advocate, working with a voluntary and confidential child fatality review panel, whose members may vary on a case-by-case basis, shall review the case records of all notifications in accordance with subsection (a) of fatalities and near fatalities of children under twenty-one (21) years of age, if:

(1) The fatality or near fatality occurs while in the custody of, or involved with, the department, or if the child’s family previously received services from the department;

(2) The fatality or near fatality is alleged to be from abuse or neglect of the child and the child or child’s family had prior contact with the department; or

(3) A sibling, household member, or daycare provider has been the subject of a child abuse and neglect investigation within the previous twelve (12) months, including, without limitation, cases in which the report was unsubstantiated or the investigation is currently pending.

(c) The child fatality review panel shall assess and analyze such cases; make recommendations regarding such cases; and make recommendations for improvements to laws, policies, and practices that support the safety of children. Each report shall be made public within thirty (30) days of its completion.

(d) The members of the child fatality review panel, established in accordance with this section, shall be subject to the confidentiality provisions of § 42-73-10.

(e) The child advocate shall publicly announce the convening of a child fatality review panel, including the age of the child involved.

(f) Any state agency cited in the report shall submit a written response within one hundred eighty (180) days to the child advocate, the speaker of the house, president of the senate and governor detailing the respective agency’s specific response to recommendations made pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. The written response shall include:

(1) The recommendations the agency is capable of implementing, within its existing authority and resources;

(2) The recommendations the agency will not implement with a corresponding reason why implementation will not occur; and

(3) An implementation plan for necessary program planning and practice changes needed in order to address implementation of recommendations.

(g) Reports required pursuant to this section shall be completed within six (6) months of the date of any measure implemented by agencies cited in response to recommendations pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.