A local lawmaker's bill intended to protect children passed both chambers Thursday and awaits the governor's signature.
House Bill 557, known as the Child Residential Home Notification Act, requires child residential homes to notify the Missouri Department of Social Services of their existence and compliance with regulations intended to protect the safety of children in the residence, according to bill sponsor Rep. Rudy Veit, R-Wardsville.
Staff at DSS for years have struggled to keep children safe from harm in the homes because the state has little knowledge about their activities. Reform schools have been finding homes in Missouri over the past four decades, as one by one, states have licensed and regulated them, forcing them to move to less-regulated states.
Before Thursday, Missouri and South Carolina were the only two states that had failed to regulate the homes.
Veit said he was careful to not tread on rights of faith-based boarding schools while developing the bill, but understood there needed to be oversight for them.
New regulations include compliance with fire and safety inspections, local health department inspections, maintenance of medial records for residents, and provision of information about schools serving children.
The act also requires homes to conduct background checks of all employees and volunteers at the home and details the background check findings that exclude people from working or volunteering in the homes. It outlines how DSS can petition the court for an order for a home to present a child when there are allegations of abuse or neglect in the home.
The General Assembly demonstrated widespread support for the bill, Veit said Thursday afternoon.
The bill included an emergency clause - for immediate implementation to protect children, he said.