Plain English Breakdown
The effective date is not provided in the source material, only that it was chaptered on October 6, 2025.
Pilot Program for Domestic Violence Consultants in Child Welfare
This law allows county child welfare agencies to run a 3-year test program where they partner with domestic violence experts to help social workers support families facing both abuse and child safety issues.
What This Bill Does
- Authorizes county child welfare agencies to start a 3-year pilot program by partnering with a domestic violence consultant from a victim service organization.
- Requires consultants to offer support and guidance to social workers on complex family situations involving potential domestic violence and child maltreatment.
- Mandates that consultants provide education on domestic violence dynamics, services, complicating factors, and protective measures.
- Aims to help social workers apply their knowledge through tailored strategies when working with parent survivors and their children.
- Requires counties running the program to conduct a full evaluation and report findings to the Legislature by October 31, 2031.
Who It Names or Affects
- County child welfare agencies that choose to join the pilot program.
- Social workers in those counties who receive guidance from consultants.
- Domestic violence victim service organizations providing expert staff as consultants.
- Families potentially experiencing both domestic violence and child maltreatment.
Terms To Know
- Pilot program
- A test project run for a set time to see if an idea works before making it permanent.
- Domestic violence consultant
- An expert from a victim service organization who teaches social workers about abuse dynamics and safety measures.
- Lived experience
- Personal knowledge gained by having gone through domestic violence or the child welfare system oneself, used here to help design program evaluations.
Limits and Unknowns
- The law authorizes counties to join but does not require any specific county to participate.
- No funding amount is listed in this text for how much money will support the program.
- The final report on whether the program works is due by October 31, 2031.