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Councilmember Zachary Parker 3
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A BILL 6
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 10
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To amend the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Act of 1977 to establish a District Office 15
for Children and an Interagency Council for Children. 16
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 18
act may be cited as the “Streamlining Services for Children Amendment Act of 2025”. 19
Sec. 2. The Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Act of 1977 is amended as follows: 20
(a) A new section 302b is added to read as follows: 21
“Sec. 302b. Establishment of the District Office for Children 22
“(a) There is established within the Child and Family Services Agency a District Office 23
for Children. 24
“(b) The District Office for Children shall be administered by a Deputy Director of the 25
Child and Family Services Agency who reports directly to the Director of the Child and Family 26
Services Agency. 27
“(c) The District Office for Children shall: 28
“(1) Convene, organize, and staff an Interagency Council for Children; 29
“(2) Improve engagement and communication with District youth and families 30
internal and external to the welfare system, including by developing a coordinated, centralized 31
website and other communications platforms for District families with children; 32
“(3) Advise the Mayor on policies related to the well-being of children and 33
families, including economic mobility; 34
“(4) Promote values, policies and practices that continually advance the well-35
being of the District’s children and families; 36
“(5) Leverage federal initiatives and programs to support the District’s children 37
and families; 38
“(6) Submit by March 1 an annual report to the Council and the Mayor that 39
includes: 40
“(A) Recommendations for streamlining youth services, reducing 41
inefficiencies and redundances, and improving the delivery of services to youth and families; and 42
“(B) An assessment of progress towards goals identified by the 43
Interagency Council for Children, including communication, direct services, programming, 44
employment, truancy reduction, and system involvement. 45
“(7) Engage with the District Youth Council.” 46
(b) A new section 302c is added to read as follows: 47
“Sec. 302c. Establishment of the Interagency Council for Children 48
“(a) There is established in the District an Interagency Council for Children for the 49
purpose of facilitating interagency, cabinet-level leadership in planning, policymaking, program 50
development, and alignment of District services provided for the wellbeing and positive 51
outcomes of youth. 52
“(b) The Interagency Council is composed of: 53
“(1) The Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services; 54
“(2) The Deputy Mayor for Education; 55
“(3) The Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice; 56
“(4) The Deputy Mayor for Economic Development; 57
“(5) The administrative head of each of the following entities or divisions 58
thereof, or their designee, provided that the designee reports directly to the administrative 59
head of the agency or division: 60
“(A) The Department of Child and Family Services; 61
“(B) The Department of Behavioral Health; 62
“(C) The Department of Health; 63
“(D) The Department of Human Services; 64
“(E) The Department of Human Services; 65
“(F) The Department of Parks and Recreation; 66
“(G) The District of Columbia Public Library; 67
“(H) The Office of the State Superintendent for Education; 68
“(I) The Department of Employment Services; 69
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“(J) The Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services; 71
“(K) The Attorney General of the District of Columbia; 72
“(L) The Metropolitan Police Department; 73
“(6) The Chairperson or Chairpersons of the D.C. Council committee or 74
committees with jurisdiction over the Child and Family Services Agency and the Department of 75
Youth Rehabilitation Services, or their designees; 76
“(7) The Ombudsperson for Children; and 77
“(8) One representative each from a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 78
organizations that provide services to or advocate for the needs of youth in the District. 79
“(c) All non-government members of the Interagency Council described in subsubsection 80
(b)(8) of this section shall be nominated for appointment by the Mayor and approved by the 81
Council. The Mayor shall transmit to the Council nominations of each non-government member 82
of the Interagency Council for a 60-day period of review, excluding days of Council recess. If the 83
Council does not approve or disapprove a nomination by resolution within the 60-day review 84
period, the nomination shall be deemed approved. 85
“(e) The Interagency Council for Children shall: 86
“(1) Coordinate District policies and programs to reduce truancy; 87
“(2) Coordinate District policies and programs targeting child poverty; 88
“(3) Establish and maintain trauma and resilience informed practices across 89
District government; 90
“(4) Align and coordinate youth workforce development, internship, and training 91
programs; 92
“(5) Ensure District agencies provide aligned support for students with 93
disabilities, and justice and welfare system-involved youth; 94
“(6) Establish best practices to leverage federal initiatives and programs to 95
support the District’s children and families; 96
“(7) Establish measurable targets for the District’s youth facing programs, 97
including communication, direct services, programming, employment, truancy reduction, and 98
system involvement; and 99
“(8) Coordinate, establish, and monitor other policies and practices to support 100
effective and supportive engagement with District youth across District government.”. 101
Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement. 102
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 103
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 104
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 105
Sec. 4. Effective date. 106
This act shall take effect after approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 107
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as 108
provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 109
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 110
Columbia Register. 111