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To: Public Health and Human
Services
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Representative Scott
HOUSE BILL NO. 209
AN ACT TO CREATE THE CHILDREN'S RESOURCE COMMISSION; TO 1
PROVIDE THAT THE COMMISSION IS CHARGED WITH COORDINATING AND 2
STREAMLINING THE STATE'S EFFORTS TO PROVIDE NEEDED SERVICES TO 3
MISSISSIPPI'S CHILDREN; TO PROVIDE THE NUMBER OF MEMBERS ON THE 4
COMMISSION; TO REQUIRE THE COMMISSION TO REPORT TO THE GOVERNOR 5
AND CERTAIN COMMITTEES OF THE LEGISLATURE NOT LATER THAN DECEMBER 6
1 OF EACH YEAR; TO REQUIRE THE COMMISSION TO ADOPT INTERNAL 7
ORGANIZATIONAL PROCEDURES NECESSARY FOR THE EFFICIENT OPERATION OF 8
THE COMMISSION; TO AUTHORIZE THE COMMISSION TO ESTABLISH 9
SUBCOMMITTEES FOR CONDUCTING SPECIFIC PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES; TO 10
REQUIRE THE COMMISSION TO CREATE RESOURCE MAPS OF ALL FUNDS 11
RECEIVED FOR PROGRAMS AND SERVICES THAT SUPPORT CHILDREN IN THIS 12
STATE, TO ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THOSE PROGRAMS AND SERVICES 13
AND TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF MERGING, CONTINUING OR 14
DISCONTINUING THOSE PROGRAMS OR SERVICES; TO REQUIRE ALL AGENCIES, 15
DEPARTMENTS, INSTITUTIONS AND POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS OF THE STATE 16
THAT PROVIDE PROGRAMS OR SERVICES TO CHILDREN IN THIS STATE TO 17
CREATE AN ITEMIZED LIST OF THOSE PROGRAMS AND SERVICES, AND TO 18
COOPERATE WITH THE COMMISSION; TO PROVIDE THAT THE ITEMIZED LISTS 19
OF PROGRAMS AND SERVICES SHALL BE PROVIDED TO THE JOHN C. STENNIS 20
INSTITUTE OF GOVERNMENT AT MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY NOT LATER 21
THAN SEPTEMBER 1 OF EACH YEAR; TO PROVIDE THAT THE STENNIS 22
INSTITUTE SHALL COMPILE THE INFORMATION IN THOSE LISTS INTO ONE 23
DOCUMENT, AND PROVIDE THE COMPILED INFORMATION TO THE COMMISSION 24
AND CERTAIN COMMITTEES OF THE LEGISLATURE EACH YEAR; TO REQUIRE 25
THE COMMISSION TO PROVIDE THE INFORMATION RECEIVED AND PREPARED BY 26
IT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 27
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 28
SECTION 1. (1) There is created the Children's Resource 29
Commission, which is charged with coordinating and streamlining 30
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the state's efforts to provide needed services to Mississippi's 31
children. The commission shall focus on a broad range of issues 32
and challenges, including fighting abuse and neglect, promoting 33
foster care and adoption, and raising public awareness of 34
children's issues. 35
(2) The commission shall have seventeen (17) members, 36
consisting of the following: 37
(a) One (1) person appointed by the Governor who has 38
demonstrated a strong commitment to and understanding of the 39
challenges and issues affecting Mississippi's children; 40
(b) The Executive Director of the Department of Human 41
Services, or his designee; 42
(c) A representative from a Mississippi public school 43
program, appointed by the Speaker of the House; 44
(d) A representative from a Mississippi private school 45
program, appointed by the Lieutenant Governor; 46
(e) The Executive Director of the State Department of 47
Health, or his designee; 48
(f) The Executive Director of the State Department of 49
Mental Health, or his designee; 50
(g) The Commissioner of Higher Education, or his 51
designee; 52
(h) The Executive Director of the State Board for 53
Community and Junior Colleges, or his designee; 54
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(i) The State Superintendent of Public Education, or 55
his designee; 56
(j) A member of the Mississippi Association of 57
Counselor Educators and Supervisors; 58
(k) A member of the Mississippi School Counselors 59
Association; 60
(l) A member of the Mississippi Community and Junior 61
College Counselors Association; 62
(m) A member of the Mississippi Association of Social 63
Workers; 64
(n) A member of the Mississippi Association of Marriage 65
and Family Therapists; 66
(o) A member of the Mississippi Primary Health Care 67
Association; 68
(p) A member of the Mississippi State Workforce 69
Investment Board; and 70
(q) A member of the Mississippi Speech-Language-Hearing 71
Association. 72
(3) The commission shall conduct its first meeting not 73
later than August 1, 2026. During its first meeting, the 74
commission shall choose a chairperson, a vice chairperson and a 75
secretary by majority vote, who shall serve in these positions for 76
twelve (12) months. The commission shall vote on these positions 77
annually. After the commission holds its first meeting, it shall 78
meet at such times and places as determined by its chairperson or 79
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a majority of the members of the commission. The commission shall 80
meet and conduct business at least quarterly. 81
The commission shall adopt internal organizational 82
procedures necessary for the efficient operation of the commission 83
and may establish subcommittees for conducting specific programs 84
and activities. The procedures must include duties of officers, a 85
process for selecting officers, duties of subcommittees, quorum 86
requirements for conducting business and policies for any staff. 87
Members of the commission who are agency or department employees 88
shall designate necessary staff of their departments to assist the 89
commission in performing its duties and responsibilities. 90
Meetings of the commission shall be open to the public, and 91
opportunity for public comment must be made available at each 92
meeting. The staff of the commission shall notify all persons who 93
request that notice as to the date, time and place of each 94
meeting. 95
(4) The commission shall have the following duties: 96
(a) Design and oversee an itemized resource mapping of 97
all federal and state funding sources that support the health, 98
safety, permanence, growth, development and education of children 99
in this state from conception through the age of majority; 100
(b) Assess the effectiveness of programs and services 101
provided by agencies, departments, institutions and political 102
subdivisions of the state that receive federal and state funds for 103
the health, safety, permanence, growth, development and education 104
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of children in this state from conception through the age of 105
majority; 106
(c) Determine the feasibility of merging, continuing or 107
discontinuing the existence of those programs and services 108
provided by agencies, departments, institutions or political 109
subdivisions of the state; 110
(d) File a report with the Chairperson and Vice 111
Chairperson of the Appropriations, Education and Public Health and 112
Human Services Committees of the Mississippi House of 113
Representatives, and the Appropriations, Education and Public 114
Health and Welfare Committees of the Mississippi Senate by 115
December 1 of each year; and 116
(e) Conduct a meeting with the report to the 117
Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Appropriations, Education 118
and Public Health and Human Services Committees of the Mississippi 119
House of Representatives, and the Appropriations, Education and 120
Public Health and Welfare Committees of the Mississippi Senate to 121
explain the statewide impact of the report by December 15 of each 122
year. 123
(5) The resource mapping required by subsection (4) of this 124
section shall provide: 125
(a) An inventory of all federal and state funding 126
sources that support children in this state; 127
(b) An inventory of all state, federal or government 128
subsidized services and programs offered to children in this 129
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state, set out by program, target population, geographical region, 130
agency or any other grouping that would assist the commission in 131
determining whether there are overlapping programs that lead to 132
duplication within the state, gaps in service delivery and any 133
administrative inefficiencies generally; 134
(c) A description of the manner in which the funds are 135
being used within the agencies or organizations, the performance 136
measures in place to assess the use of such funding, the intended 137
outcomes of the programs and services and the actual outcomes of 138
the programs and services; 139
(d) Government mandates for the use of the funds, if 140
any; and 141
(e) An inventory of the funds for which the state may 142
be eligible, but is currently not receiving or using, and the 143
reasons why the funds are not being used. 144
(6) Members of the commission shall receive no compensation 145
for their service on the panel but may receive reimbursement for 146
travel expenses incurred while engaged in the official business of 147
the commission. 148
SECTION 2. (1) All agencies, departments, institutions and 149
political subdivisions of the state that provide programs or 150
services to children in this state shall create an itemized list 151
of the programs and services provided by that agency, department, 152
institution or political subdivision. The itemized list shall 153
provide the following information: 154
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(a) A description of the programs and services, 155
categorized by program, target population and geographical region; 156
(b) An itemized resource map of all federal and state 157
funds received for the programs and services; 158
(c) The performance measures used to assess the 159
expenditure of those funds, the intended outcomes of the programs 160
and services and the actual outcomes of the programs and services; 161
(d) Any costs associated with operating the programs 162
and services; and 163
(e) The number of children served by the programs and 164
services. 165
(2) The agencies, departments, institutions and political 166
subdivisions shall provide the itemized lists of the programs and 167
services required by subsection (1) of this section to the John C. 168
Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University 169
not later than September 1 of each year. The Stennis Institute 170
shall compile the information in those lists into one (1) 171
document, organized both by programs and services and by the 172
agencies, departments, institutions and political subdivisions 173
providing the programs and services. The Stennis Institute shall 174
provide the compiled information to the Children's Resource 175
Commission not later than November 1 of each year, and shall make 176
the compiled information available to the Chairperson and Vice 177
Chairperson of the Appropriations, Education and Public Health and 178
Human Services Committees of the Mississippi House of 179
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ST: Children's Resource Commission; create to
coordinate and streamline the state's efforts to
provide services to children.
Representatives, and the Appropriations, Education and Public 180
Health and Welfare Committees of the Mississippi Senate not later 181
than December 1 of each year. 182
(3) All agencies, departments, institutions and political 183
subdivisions of the state shall cooperate with the Children's 184
Resource Commission in fulfilling its duties. The information 185
required by this section shall be updated and provided to the 186
Children's Resource Commission not later than September 1 of each 187
year. 188
(4) The Children's Resource Commission shall provide the 189
information received by the commission and the information 190
prepared by the commission to the Division of Early Childhood Care 191
and Development of the Department of Human Services in a format 192
that does not identify any individuals. 193
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 194
and after July 1, 2026. 195