2017 -- S 0336

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LC000729

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2017

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION TO

PERFORM A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY AND ANALYSIS OF THE STAFFING NEEDS OF

THE OFFICES OF THE CHILD ADVOCATE AND THE MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCATE

     Introduced By: Senators Lynch Prata, Miller, Goldin, Sosnowski, and Goodwin

     Date Introduced: February 16, 2017

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     WHEREAS, The mission of the Office of the Child Advocate is to protect the legal rights

of children in state care and to promote policies and practices which ensure that children are safe,

that children have permanent and stable families, and that children in out-of-home placements

have their physical, mental, medical, educational, emotional, and behavioral needs met; and

     WHEREAS, The duties of the Office of the Mental Health Advocate include ensuring the

legal, civil, and special rights of people with mental illness, providing legal representation at

involuntary commitment hearings, monitoring procedures and policies at in-patient treatment

facilities and community-based health centers, and protecting the treatment rights of criminally

insane and inmates at the forensic hospital; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

hereby respectfully requests that the Department of Administration perform a comprehensive

study and analysis of the staffing needs of the Offices of the Child Advocate and the Mental

Health Advocate to ensure that those offices are adequately staffed in order to fulfill their

statutory duties and mission; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That this Senate hereby respectfully requests the Director of the

Department of Administration to report the findings of the comprehensive study and analysis of

the staffing needs of the Offices of the Child Advocate and the Mental Health Advocate to the

President of the Senate and the Chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services on

or before June 1, 2017; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Director of the Department of

Administration of the State of Rhode Island, the Office of the Child Advocate, and the Office of

the Mental Health Advocate.

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