A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO TRANSFER THE CHILDREN'S TRUST FUND AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR AWARDING GRANTS FOR CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT PREVENTION PROGRAMS FROM THE department of public instruction TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, as recommended by the House Interim committee on child abuse and neglect, foster care, and adoption.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 7B‑1301 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7B‑1301.  Program on Prevention of Abuse and Neglect.
(a)	The Department of Health and Human Services shall implement the Program on Prevention of Abuse and Neglect. 
(b)	In order to carry out the purposes of this Article:
(1)	The Department  shall review applications and  award contracts under this Article.
(2)	The  Department shall contract with public or private nonprofit organizations, agencies, schools, or with qualified individuals to operate community‑based educational and service programs designed to prevent the occurrence of abuse and neglect. Every contract entered into by the  Department shall contain provisions that at least twenty‑five percent (25%) of the total funding required for a program be provided by the administering organization in the form of in‑kind or other services and that a mechanism for evaluation of services provided under the contract be included in the services to be performed. In addition, every proposal to the Department  for funding under this Article shall include assurances that the proposal has been forwarded to the local department of social services for comment so that the Department  may consider coordination and duplication of effort on the local level as criteria in funding programs.
(3)	The  Secretary shall adopt rules to develop appropriate guidelines and criteria for awarding contracts under this Article. These criteria shall include, but are not limited to: documentation of need within the proposed geographical impact area; diversity of geographical areas of programs funded under this Article; demonstrated effectiveness of the proposed strategy or program for preventing abuse and neglect; reasonableness of implementation plan for achieving stated objectives; utilization of community resources including volunteers; provision for an evaluation component that will provide outcome data; plan for dissemination of the program for implementation in other communities; and potential for future funding from private sources.
(4)	The  Department  shall develop guidelines for regular monitoring of contracts awarded under this Article in order to maximize the investments in prevention programs by the Children's Trust Fund and to establish appropriate accountability measures for administration of contracts.
(5)	The  Department shall develop a State plan for the prevention of abuse and neglect for submission to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(c)	To assist in implementing this Article, the  Department may accept contributions, grants, or gifts in cash or otherwise from persons, associations, or corporations. All monies received by the  Department from contributions, grants, or gifts and not through appropriation by the General Assembly shall be deposited in the Children's Trust Fund. Disbursements of the funds shall be on the authorization of the Secretary of the Department. In order to maintain an effective expenditure and revenue control, the funds are subject in all respects to State law and regulations, but no appropriation is required to permit expenditure of the funds.
(d)	Programs contracted for under this Article are intended to prevent abuse and neglect of juveniles. Abuse and neglect prevention programs are defined to be those programs and services  that impact on juveniles and families before any substantiated incident of abuse or neglect has occurred. These programs may include, but are not limited to:
(1)	Community‑based educational programs on prenatal care, perinatal bonding, child development, basic child care, care of children with special needs, and coping with family stress; and
(2)	Community‑based programs relating to crisis care, aid to parents, and support groups for parents and their children experiencing stress within the family unit.
(e)	No more than twenty percent (20%) of each year's total awards may be utilized for funding State‑level programs to coordinate community‑based programs."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 7B‑1302 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7B‑1302.  Children's Trust Fund.
There is established a fund to be known as the "Children's Trust Fund," in the Department of State Treasurer, which shall be funded by a portion of the marriage license fee under G.S. 161‑11.1 and a portion of the special license plate fee under G.S. 20‑81.12. The money in the Fund shall be used by the  Department of Health and Human Services to fund abuse and neglect prevention programs so authorized by this Article."
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2004.