1. Children’s Trust
SC Child Well-Being Policy
Overview
Megan Branham, LMSW
Policy and Government Liaison
mbranham@scchildren.org
2. Prevention Policy: Broad and
Complex Field
• National Conference of State Legislatures
has compiled a list of recent legislative
trends across the country:
– Home Visiting Child Sexual Abuse Prevention
Education
– Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention
Education
– Statewide Coordination, Task Forces,
Councils
– Prevent Entry and Re-Entry into Foster Care
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3. NCSL Three Branch Institute
• Legislative enactments from 2008-2013
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4. Children’s Trust Legislative Agenda
• Informed by SC KIDS
COUNT data
• Created by our advisory
policy committee
• Divided into three sections:
– Prevention of abuse and
neglect (ACEs)
– Prevention of unintentional
injuries
– Early Childhood Common
Agenda
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5. Key Issues for 2015-2016 SC
Legislative Session
• DSS and Child
Welfare System
• First Steps
Reauthorization and
Early Childhood
System
• Elections, federal
and state
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13. Takeaways
• Legislators want and need to hear from
constituents about child wellbeing issues
• Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on
Children hearings this fall:
– Tues Oct 6th Florence 5-7:30pm
– Tues Oct 13th Greenville 5-7:30pm
– Wed Nov 4th Charleston 5-7:3pm
– Tues Nov 17th Columbia 4:30-7:30pm
• Finding ways to engage elected officials/
candidates om children’s issues (social
media, town halls, etc). #KeepSCKidsSafe
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National bi-partisan membership organization:
7,382 legislators
Thousands of legislative staff
Offices in Denver and Washington, D.C.
Goals:
To improve the quality & effectiveness of state legislatures
To promote policy innovation and communication among state legislatures
To ensure states a strong, cohesive voice in the federal system
he Three Branch Institute is a partnership between the National Conference of State Legislatures and the National Governors Association. The Institute is designed to bring the three branches of government together, not just once a year at the national meeting, but also in each state on a regular basis, in order to focus on the most pressing child welfare issues.
The current 2013-2014 Three Branch Institute focuses on the social and emotional well-being of children in foster care, including behavioral and mental health, physical health, psychotropic medications, substance abuse, child well-being finance, and cross agency collaborations.
Learn more about how vayring levels of gov work in other states to address issues like child well-being. NCLS is interested in focusing on safety for their next group.
Act 7: Human Trafficking
Act 75: Child’s medical records release