GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1993

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 351

Short Title:  Child Eval. Center Funds.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Representatives Easterling, Diamont; Colton, Cunningham, Fitch, Jarrell, Jeffus, Kuczmarski, Lemmond, Luebke, Redwine, Smith, and R. Thompson.
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Referred to:  Appropriations.
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February 25, 1993

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO IMPLEMENT A RECOMMENDATION OF THE CHILD FATALITY TASK FORCE TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR CHILD MALTREATMENT EVALUATION AND EDUCATION CENTERS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Division of Social Services, Department of Human Resources, the sum of ––- for the 1993-94 fiscal year and the sum of –– for the 1994-95 fiscal year, to provide funding for contracts to establish up to 12 child maltreatment and education centers, in order to make comprehensive, multidisciplinary medical and mental health evaluations available to all North Carolina's children.
Sec. 2.  (a) Contracts let pursuant to this act shall ensure that the centers established by funding by this act provide:
(1)	A mechanism for providing systematic continuing education to health care providers, social workers, and others involved in the evaluation of children, to assure that they are up-to-date with the best possible information; and
(2)	A mechanism for providing similar instruction to individuals in training, such as medical students, to increase the pool of professionals available to provide evaluations.
(b) The contracting process shall also ensure that designated centers are available throughout the State to support the capacity of examiners to conduct multidisciplinary evaluations, where all the following services can be provided:
(1)	Special equipment;
(2)	Interviewing/multidisciplinary back-up for physicians not affiliated with a center;
(3)	Second opinions;
(4)	Availability for court proceedings; and
(5)	Primary evaluations for children who live in the area served by the center or for whom other health care providers are not available.
Sec. 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 1993.