密苏里州儿童安全专责组起草法案：法院与社工统一儿童安全判定标准，11月15日前提交立法建议
密苏里州 Jefferson City——由州长 Mike Kehoe 任命的18人儿童安全专责组周一讨论了正在起草的立法方案：密苏里州儿童福利工作人员与法院今后将使用同一套标准，判定儿童何时处于不安全状态，以及儿童返家前必须改变什么。
草案将修订州法，为儿童局工作人员、少年司法官、法官与诉讼监护人确立共同的定义与做法；法院在保护性监护与永久安置听证中也须使用同一框架。草案还要求密苏里州社会服务部与州法院行政官办公室制定统一表格，供儿童局在法院报告与社会服务计划中列明家长与儿童局各自须完成的事项。
该专责组由 Kehoe 通过行政令设立，任务是提出全州统一的儿童安全定义、找出州法与政策中的空白与矛盾，并建立把新定义落到实处的程序，须在11月15日前提出立法建议。此前，两党议员曾举行听证，审查密苏里州儿童局的寄养儿童死亡个案、人员流失与调查积压问题。
Missouri Child-Safety Task Force Drafts Bill to Unify Safety Standards for Caseworkers and Courts, With Recommendations Due November 15
Jefferson City, Missouri — Child welfare workers and courts across Missouri would be required to use the same standards to determine when children are unsafe and what must change before they can return home, under draft legislation discussed on Monday by the 18-member child-safety task force appointed by Governor Mike Kehoe.
The draft bill would amend state law to establish common definitions and practices for Children's Division workers, juvenile officers, judges and guardians ad litem when assessing children's safety and determining next steps, and courts would be required to use the same framework in protective custody and permanency hearings. It would also require the Missouri Department of Social Services and the Office of the State Courts Administrator to develop standard forms for the division's court reports and for social service plans outlining what parents and the division must do to address safety concerns.
The task force was created by executive order to propose a statewide definition of child safety, identify gaps and contradictions in existing laws and policies, and establish processes to put the definitions into practice, with legislative recommendations due November 15. Its creation came amid bipartisan legislative scrutiny of foster care deaths, staff turnover and rising investigation backlogs in the Missouri Children's Division.
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图片来源：密苏里州议会大厦（Jefferson City）。图：Farragutful，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0。 / The Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. Photo by Farragutful, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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