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 9  AN ACT concerning the state child death review board; allowing board
10    member expenses to be paid; amending K.S.A. 22a-243 and repealing
11    the existing section.
12
13  Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
14    Section 1.  K.S.A. 22a-243 is hereby amended to read as follows: 22a-
15  243. (a) There is hereby established a state child death review board,
16  which shall be composed of:
17    (1)  One member appointed by each of the following officers to rep-
18  resent the officer's agency: The attorney general, the director of the Kan-
19  sas bureau of investigation, the secretary of social and rehabilitation serv-
20  ices, the secretary of health and environment and the commissioner of
21  education;
22    (2)  three members appointed by the state board of healing arts, one
23  of whom shall be a district coroner and two of whom shall be physicians
24  licensed to practice medicine and surgery, one specializing in pathology
25  and the other specializing in pediatrics;
26    (3)  one person appointed by the attorney general to represent ad-
27  vocacy groups which focus attention on child abuse awareness and pre-
28  vention; and
29    (4)  one county or district attorney appointed by the Kansas county
30  and district attorneys association.
31    (b)  The chairperson of the state review board shall be the member
32  appointed by the attorney general to represent the office of the attorney
33  general.
34    (c)  The state child death review board shall be within the office of
35  the attorney general as a part thereof. All budgeting, purchasing and re-
36  lated management functions of the board shall be administered under the
37  direction and supervision of the attorney general. All vouchers for ex-
38  penditures and all payrolls of the board shall be approved by the chair-
39  person of the board and by the attorney general. The state review board
40  shall establish and maintain an office in Topeka.
41    (d)  The state review board shall meet at least annually to review all
42  reports submitted to the board. The chairperson of the state review board
43  may call a special meeting of the board at any time to review any report
HB 2421
                                     

 1  of a child death.
 2    (e)  Within the limits of appropriations therefor, the state review
 3  board shall appoint an executive director who shall be in the unclassified
 4  service of the Kansas civil service act and shall receive an annual salary
 5  fixed by the state review board.
 6    (f)  Within the limits of appropriations therefor, the state review board
 7  may employ other persons who shall be in the classified service of the
 8  Kansas civil service act.
 9    (g)  Members of the state review board shall not receive compensa-
10  tion, receive subsistence allowances, mileage and expenses as provided by
11  subsection (e) of K.S.A. 75-3223 and amendments thereto for attending
12  meetings or subcommittee meetings of the board.
13    (h)  The state review board shall develop a protocol to be used by the
14  state review board. The protocol shall include written guidelines for cor-
15  oners to use in identifying any suspicious deaths, procedures to be used
16  by the board in investigating child deaths, methods to ensure coordination
17  and cooperation among all agencies involved in child deaths and proce-
18  dures for facilitating prosecution of perpetrators when it appears the
19  cause of a child's death was from abuse or neglect. The protocol shall be
20  adopted by the state review board by rules and regulations.
21    (i)  The state review board shall submit an annual report to the gov-
22  ernor and the legislature on or before October 1 of each year, com-
23  mencing October 1993. Such report shall include the findings of the
24  board regarding reports of child deaths, the board's analysis and the
25  board's recommendations for improving child protection, including rec-
26  ommendations for modifying statutes, rules and regulations, policies and
27  procedures.
28    (j)  Information acquired by, and records of, the state review board
29  shall be confidential, shall not be disclosed and shall not be subject to
30  subpoena, discovery or introduction into evidence in any civil or criminal
31  proceeding, except that such information and records may be disclosed
32  to any member of the legislature or any legislative committee which has
33  legislative responsibility of the enabling or appropriating legislation, car-
34  rying out such member's or committee's official functions. The legislative
35  committee, in accordance with K.S.A. 75-4319 and amendments thereto,
36  shall recess for a closed or executive meeting to receive and discuss in-
37  formation received by the committee pursuant to this subsection.
38    (k)  The state review board may adopt rules and regulations as nec-
39  essary to carry out the provisions of K.S.A. 22a-241 through 22a-244 and
40  amendments thereto.
41    Sec. 2.  K.S.A. 22a-243 is hereby repealed.
42    Sec. 3.  This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
43  publication in the statute book.
HB 2421