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TASK FORCE ON CHILD PROTECTION RELEASES REPORT
Over the past year, a Task Force on Child Protection has been reviewing state laws and procedures governing child protection and the reporting of child abuse, pursuant to HR 522 and SR 250. Following eleven public hearings to collect testimony from many experts on the topic, the nearly 500 page final report was released on Nov. 27.
The Task Force consisted of a broad representation of stakeholders, including Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler, Blair County Chief Deputy District Attorney Jackie Bernard and the Honorable Arthur Grim, Senior Judge of the Berks County Court of Common Pleas. Other members included representatives of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the PA Coalition Against Rape, and educational entities, as well as an intake social worker and a children and youth attorney. Beverly Mackereth, Deputy Secretary for the Department of Public Welfare and former York County human services director, also worked with the Task Force.
The recommendations in the report call for a significant rewrite of the state's Child Services Protective Law, which would impact county children and youth agencies as well as law enforcement, mandated reporters, schools and others. One of the Task Force's top recommendations is to redefine the term "child abuse" by eliminating the requirement that a child suffer severe pain and replacing the term "non-accidental" behavior with "reckless and intentional" behavior. Such an expansion would be likely to increase the number of referrals received and investigations required by both county children and youth and by district attorneys.
Other recommendations include reducing information sharing barriers between agencies and individuals involved in child abuse investigations, and indefinitely maintaining reports of suspected child abuse and protective services so county agencies and law enforcement have continued access. The Task Force also recommended that minimum experience and training requirements for caseworkers be increased, and that county agencies be given greater flexibility to test a prospective caseworker's ability to assess needs and work with families.
In addition, the report recommends that multidisciplinary investigative teams under the leadership of the district attorney be instituted in each county. The report also makes detailed provisions regarding the responsibilities of county agencies and the Department of Public Welfare, as well as enforcement provisions and how violations of the law are handled.
The Task Force acknowledged that it did not consider fiscal constraints when making its recommendations.
To become law, the Task Force recommendations will need to be introduced, likely as a number of bills, for legislative consideration when the new session begins in January. It is equally likely that the scope of changes recommended will require additional public hearings.
Several legislators have already indicated their support for the Task Force's work and have pledged to move quickly on a number of its recommendations next year. In the coming months, CCAP and the Pennsylvania Children and Youth Administrators (PCYA) will complete a more detailed analysis of the report, and prepare for the introduction and examination of new legislation. Both associations look forward to working with the legislature and other stakeholders to evaluate how to use the recommendations to enhance their responsibility to the community to prevent and treat child abuse.
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OIL AND GAS EMERGENCY RESPONSE REGULATIONS
The Environmental Quality Board on Nov. 20 approved an order for emergency certification of a final-omitted rulemaking regarding emergency response planning at unconventional well sites. The joint rulemaking of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Environmental Protection implements Act 9 of 2012, and will take effect on publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, expected to occur in early 2013 after consideration by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission.
Under the regulation, unconventional well operator will have to request a 911 street address for the well site, determine the GPS coordinates for the well site and the entrance to the site, and register that information with DEP, PEMA and the county emergency management agency. Operators must also post a sign at the entrance of the well site prior to construction of the access road, which must meet certain size, color, reflectivity, and emergency information requirements.
Operators will be required to develop and implement a plan to respond to emergencies threatening health and safety at the well site, such as fires, medical emergencies, explosions, spills, security breaches and other incidents. The plans, as well as annual reviews and updates, must be submitted to DEP, PEMA, county emergency management agencies and Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs).
Because Act 9 explicitly applies to both new and existing unconventional wells, the regulations contain a transition period to allow for existing operations to meet the new requirements within a reasonable time. DEP's Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board, county emergency management agencies, and industry stakeholders participated in the development of the regulation.
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NEW REPORTS CITE FISCAL CONCERNS
Two newly released reports, one by the commonwealth's Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) providing an assessment of the state's current fiscal condition and its predictions for fiscal health for the next five years, and another by the Governor's Office of the Budget regarding the state pension issue, could foretell another difficult Commonwealth budget.
The IFO report, available at www.ifo.state.pa.us, is the most recent in a series of financial reports it is required to provide to the General Assembly. The report projects modest growth for the Commonwealth at an annual average 1.6 percent for 2012 through 2018; while less than the projected US estimate of two percent, it is higher than the 1.0 percent annual growth from 2001 through 2011 .
The report also predicts unemployment at higher than historical rates for Pennsylvania and nationally. During the same period, population is predicted to increase by 2.3 percent, with a 25 percent increase in the state's population of those over the age of 65, resulting in an overall decline of working age citizens.
The IFO anticipates a 1.6 percent annual increase in commonwealth revenues for the period of 2010 to 2014, and a 4.0 percent increase in revenue between the 2014-2015 budget year and the 2016-2017 budget year. At the same time, with the current program and services structure, the report anticipates annual expenditure increases of between 3.1 and 4.0 percent.
Based on these cumulative trends, the IFO conclusion is that expenditures will outpace revenue during this period unless there are policy changes. The report specifically cites a growing population of individuals who will become eligible for Medical Assistance, and the costs of required pension contributions.
Concurring in MANY respects with the conclusions of the IFO report, the Governor's Office of the Budget released its Keystone Pension Report, predicting increased taxes, more budget cuts, reduced business growth, and increased borrowing costs that will result from the current obligations to the State Employees' Retirement System and the Public School Employees' Retirement System.
Together, the two pension systems have an unfunded liability of more than $41 billion. The rate of employer contributions needed to fund the cost of pension benefits is expected to rise significantly over the next decade, with about 62 percent of the anticipated $819 million in state revenue growth next year projected to be claimed by pension costs.
The pension report calls for program changes to build long-term stability for the two systems that does not touch accrued benefits, with a clear indication that higher taxes should be "off the table," putting the focus on existing revenues.
How the economic projections of the IFO and the Budget Office reports will factor into the overall budget debate for 2013-2014 is not yet clear, but there appears to be a strong possibility for another difficult year of budget deliberations for the state and counties. Governor Corbett announces his 2013-2014 budget proposal February 5. |
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ACTS AFFECTING COUNTY GOVERNMENT, 2012
Following is a list of acts affecting county government that passed in 2012. Included are the bill number and printer's number (bill version) and the date the act was signed into law. The list will be continued in subsequent editions of the Bulletin, and the full list is available on the Government Relations page of the CCAP web site, www.pacounties.org.
ACT 1 (HB 1458, P.N. 2996; January 27, 2012) - Amends Title 75 (Vehicles) to redefine "emergency vehicle" to include a county emergency management vehicle, and to exempt members of county emergency management organizations from commercial driver's license requirements when operating any emergency vehicle equipped with audible and visual signals registered to the county. Brings Pennsylvania into compliance with federal law requiring verification of medical certification status on holders of commercial driver's licenses.
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