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	Role as Citizen Review Panel

    Delaware’s Child Protection Accountability Commission (“CPAC” or “the Commission”) was statutorily created in 1997 as part of a comprehensive strategy, entitled the Child Abuse Prevention Act of 1997, to improve Delaware’s child protection system following the tragic death of a four year old boy named Bryan Martin. This act made significant changes regarding how Delaware investigates child abuse and neglect and how it fosters a child protection community of cooperation, accountability and multi-disciplinary collaboration. See 16 Del. C., Ch. 9. CPAC’s overall statutory mission is to monitor Delaware’s child protection system to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of Delaware’s abused, neglected, and dependent children. 16 Del. C. § 912(b). The statutory duties of the Commission are as follows:

(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 Child Mental 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 staff of 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; and

(5) Review and make recommendations concerning the well-being of Delaware's abused, neglected and dependent children including, but not limited to, issues relating to foster care, adoption, mental health services, victim services, education, rehabilitation, substance abuse and independent living.

See 16 Del. C. § 912(b).

    When CPAC began its work in 1997, its primary focus was on the caseloads of child protection workers, and the resulting turnover and inexperience of workers that compromised child safety. The Commission lobbied hard for the caseload standards and career ladders for workers, as well as partnered with the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families (“Children’s Department” or “DSCYF”) for the creation of an overhire pool. The Commission also focused on building partnerships among law enforcement, prosecutors, and the Division of Family Services (“DFS”) to improve outcomes for Delaware’s children. In February of 2000, after the creation of the Office of the Child Advocate, staffing for the Commission was put in place. In 2001, the Commission’s membership and statutory duties were expanded to include a focus on well-being of children in the child protection system. Finally, in April of 2004, DFS asked CPAC to serve as Delaware’s federally required Citizen Review Panel under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. CPAC assumed that responsibility in July of 2004. As such, CPAC now plays an even greater role in reviewing the child protection system’s discharge of its responsibilities to Delaware’s children.

TITLE 16 Health and Safety
PART II Regulatory Provisions Concerning Public Health
CHAPTER 9. ABUSE OF CHILDREN

Subchapter I. Reports and Investigations of Abuse and Neglect; Child Protection Accountability Commission

§ 912. The Child Protection Accountability Commission.

(a) The Delaware Child Protection Accountability Commission is hereby established. The Commission shall consist of 19 members with the at-large members and the Chair appointed by the Governor, shall be staffed by the Office of the Child Advocate and shall be comprised of the following:

(1) The Secretary of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families, or the Secretary's designee;

(2) The Director of the Division of Family Services, or the Director's designee;

(3) Two representatives from the Attorney's General Office, designated by the Attorney General;

(4) Two members of the Family Court, designated by the Chief Judge;

(5) One member of the House of Representatives, designated by the Speaker of the House;

(6) One member of the Senate, designated by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate;

(7) The Chair of the Child Placement Review Board, or the Chair's designee;

(8) The Secretary of the Department of Education, or the Secretary's designee;

(9) The Director of Child Mental Health Services, or the Director's designee;

(10) Eight at-large members 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, 2 persons from law enforcement agencies and 4 persons from the child protection community.

(b) The Child Advocate shall serve as the Executive Director of the Commission to effectuate its purposes pursuant to Chapter 90A of Title 29. It shall be the purpose of the Commission 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 Child Mental 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 staff of 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, but not limited to, issues relating to foster care, adoption, mental health services, victim services, education, rehabilitation, substance abuse and independent living; and

(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 Governor's Advisory Council for Children, Youth and Their Families for their consideration and comment; and

b. A quarterly written report of the Commission's activities and findings with copies thereof distributed to the Chairpersons of the House of Representatives Committee on Health and Human Development and the Senate Committee on Children, Youth and Their Families. (71 Del. Laws, c. 199, § 6; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; 73 Del. Laws, c. 116, §§ 1-3, 5›4|.)

    The Delaware Child Protection Accountability Commission is hereby established. The Commission shall consist of 19 members with the at-large members and the Chair appointed by the Governor, shall be staffed by the Office of the Child Advocate and shall be comprised of the following:

2007 October 10, 2007 July 11, 2007 May 23, 2007 April 11, 2007 January 10, 2007 2006 October 11, 2006 July 12, 2006 May 24, 2006 April 12, 2006 January 11, 2006 February 22, 2006 2005 October 12, 2005 September 19, 2005 July 13, 2005 May 25, 2005 (Legislative Minutes) April 29, 2005 April 13, 2005 January 12, 2005

2004 October 13, 2004 July 14, 2004 May 19, 2004 April 7, 2004 January 14, 2004 2003 October 8, 2003 July 9, 2003 May 21, 2003 April 9, 2003 January 8, 2003 2002 October 9, 2002 July 10, 2002 April 10, 2002 January 9, 2002 2001 May 23, 2001

    According to the 1996 amendments made to the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (“CAPTA”), each State receiving CAPTA funds must establish a Citizen Review Panel. 42 U.S.C. § 5106a(b)(2)(A)(xiv). In 2004, the Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families designated CPAC as Delaware’s Citizen Review Panel. Forty-two U.S.C. § 5106a(c)(4)(A) mandates that as the Citizen Review Panel, CPAC shall, by examining the policies, procedures and practices of State and local agencies, and where appropriate, specific cases, evaluate the extent to which State and local child protection system agencies are effectively discharging their child protection responsibilities in accordance with:

• the State plan under 42 U.S.C.A. § 5106a(b);
• the child protection standards set forth in 42 U.S.C.A. § 5106a(b);
• any other criteria the panel considers important to ensure the protection of children, including --
• a review of the extent to which the State and local child protective services system is coordinated with the foster care and adoption programs established under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C.A. § 670 et. Seq.]; and
• a review of child fatalities and near fatalities (as defined in 42 U.S.C.A. § 5106a(b)(4)).

    The Citizen Review Panel (“CRP”) is required to be “comprised of volunteer members who are broadly representative of the community in which such a panel is established, including members who have expertise in the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect.” 42 U.S.C. § 5106a(c)(2). The CRP must also provide for public outreach and comment in order to assess the impact of current procedures and practices upon children and families in the community and in order to meet its own obligations. 42 U.S.C. § 5106a(c)(4)(C). CPAC’s statutory mandate and its initiatives closely parallel the requirements and purpose of CAPTA.

 
    The task of monitoring Delaware’s child protection system is a daunting one. At the close of Fiscal Year 2004, Delaware was actively serving 4,568 children within the Division of Family Services. Of those children, 175 were active with the Division of Child Mental Health Services (“CMH”), 181 were active with the Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services (“YRS”), and 96 were active with all three Divisions. As of June 30, 2005 (the last day of Fiscal Year 2005), the DFS had open cases with 5,153 children. Of those children, 181 were active with the CMH, 228 were active with the YRS, and 115 were active with all three Divisions.

    For many of those children and their families, regular services, intervention and monitoring has been provided by the many agencies represented on the Child Protection Accountability Commission – the Attorney General’s Office, the Children’s Advocacy Center, the medical community, the Child Placement Review Board, the Court Appointed Special Advocate Program, the Department of Education and the local districts, the Family Court, law enforcement, the Office of the Child Advocate, private providers and non-profit advocates. As these numbers continue to increase, the partners of Delaware’s child protection system work hard in a multi-disciplinary fashion to meet the needs of Delaware’s ever-challenging youth population.

    As an accountability commission, CPAC is charged with gathering and acting on information to ensure all components of the child protection system are meeting the challenges presented by 5,153 children being served by Delaware’s system. This multi-disciplinary system has made great strides since the creation of CPAC in 1997; however, CPAC serves to ensure that those strides continue, as well as to address new issues that arise in this multi-faceted system. CPAC carries out its statutory mission by, among other things:

• Providing a public forum for the sharing of information and concerns about Delaware’s child protection system;
• Examining policies, procedures, statistical data, agency reports and other relevant information regarding the functioning of Delaware’s child protection system;
• Advocating for changes to policies and procedures where appropriate;
• Supporting initiatives of child protection system partners;
• Pursuing legislative initiatives;
• Planning and participating in trainings and other opportunities for multi-disciplinary communication and education;
• Working with system partners to gather additional relevant data illustrating the performance of Delaware’s child protection system, and acting on the information obtained to improve outcomes for children; and
• Reviewing individual cases of child abuse or neglect and issuing recommendations resulting from those reviews. 

• The Adoption and Safe Families Act ("ASFA") Timelines Subcommittee
• Caseloads/Workloads Initiatives
• Community Notification Subcommittee
• Educational Needs of Foster Children Subcommittee
• Family Court Extended Jurisdiction Subcommittee
• Foster Care Initiatives
• Legislative Activities/Initiatives
• Mental Health Assessments for Foster Children Subcommittee
• Near Death Initiatives
• Training Initiatives

For more information on these CPAC Subcommittees/Initiatives, please see CPAC's Fiscal Year 2007 Annual Report and/or minutes from the CPAC Quarterly Meetings.

Quarterly and Special CPAC Meetings:

Date Location January 9, 2008 Click here for agenda. New Castle County Courthouse, 12th Floor Conference Room, 500 King Street, Wilmington, DE 19801 April 9, 2008 Click here for agenda. New Castle County Courthouse, 12th Floor Conference Room, 500 King Street, Wilmington, DE 19801 April 18, 2008 3:00-4:30 (Joint Meeting w/ CDNDSC) Location to be determined May 21, 2008 (Legistlative Meeting) New Castle County Courthouse, 12th Floor Conference Room, 500 King Street, Wilmington, DE 19801 July 9, 2008 New Castle County Courthouse, 12th FLoor Conference Room, 500 King Street, Wilmington, DE 19801 October 8, 2008 New Castle County Courthouse, 12th Floor Conference Room, 500 King Street, Wilmington, DE 19801 December 5, 2008 3:00-4:30 (Joint Meeting w/ CDNDSC) Location to be determined

CPAC Subcommittee Meetings:

Subcommittee Meeting Date (contact OCA for location information) ASFA Timelines April 2, 2008 at 9:00 am Caseloads/Workloads Subcommittee April 3, 2008 at 12:30 pm Custody Subgroup April 4, 2008 at 9:30 am Legislative Subcommittee Currently, there is no meeting scheduled Mental and Behavioral Health Services to Children in Foster Care Subcommittee March 17, 2008 at 9:30 am May 19, 2008 at 9:30 am June 16, 2008 at 9:30 am Multi-Disciplinary Use of History in Decision Making Subcommittee March 25, 2008 at 9:00 am Near Death Subcommittee Currently, there is no meeting scheduled Training Subcommittee February 26, 2008 at 9:30 am June 24, 2008 at 9:30 am October 18, 2008 at 9:30 am

• Child Protection Accountability Commission (CPAC) Fiscal Year 2007 Annual Report
• State of Delaware Child Protection Accountability Commission ("CPAC") Near Death Report, In the Matter of Steven and Karen Green, Minor Children, April 5, 2007
• Child Protection Accountability Commission (CPAC) Fiscal Year 2006 Annual Report
• State of Delaware Child Protection Accountability Commission ("CPAC") Near Death Report, In the Matter of Oliver Ford, A Minor Child, October 12, 2006
• Child Protection Accountability Commission (CPAC) Fiscal Years 2004 and 2005 Annual Report
• State of Delaware Child Protection Accountability Commission ("CPAC") Near Death Report, In the Matter of John Davis, Jr., A Minor Child, May 3, 2005