R 276
2017 -- S 0336
Enacted 05/24/2017

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

     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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LC000729
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