Amendment_Report_for

SECTION 1. (1) The University of Mississippi Medical Center, in collaboration with the Office of the Attorney General, is authorized and empowered to establish a Center of Excellence (center), which shall incorporate the Mississippi Children's Justice Center. The center shall provide services for abused and neglected children through the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children located in Jackson, Mississippi, where suspected victims of child maltreatment will receive comprehensive physical examinations conducted by medical professionals who specialize in child maltreatment, as well as house the Mississippi Children's Advocacy Center, which will be responsible for the forensic interviews of the suspected victims of child maltreatment. The center also shall accommodate the members of the Hinds County Multidisciplinary Team to provide a centralized service delivery location for abused and neglected children and serve as a model for the state. The University of Mississippi Medical Center and the Office of the Attorney General shall promulgate such rules, regulations and policies as may be necessary and desirable to carry out the programs of the center, to ensure that abused and neglected children are provided not only with the medical, mental health and child welfare services needed, but also to help ensure the successful prosecution of the child maltreatment case both in youth court and criminal court. An advisory council shall be established, which shall include the heads of the agencies and organizations that form the multidisciplinary team. The advisory council, under the guidance of center personnel, shall coordinate the functioning of the team and formulate practice guidelines for all multidisciplinary teams to model state specific, best practice standards. The center multidisciplinary team shall serve as a resource for all teams across the state. The center, in collaboration with the Office of the Attorney General, shall serve as a central advocacy program for child protection, and shall facilitate statewide services for the assessment, investigation and prosecution of child abuse and neglect, in conjunction with the Department of Human Services, the court system, child advocacy centers, law enforcement, prosecutors, medical and mental health providers, domestic violence and child abuse prevention and intervention programs and other community and advocacy programs. The center may partner with academic institutions including, but not limited to, schools of social work, psychology, nursing, medicine, dentistry and law to provide graduate internships.

(2) The Department of Pediatrics may use the center for educational and outreach programs, tele-medicine consultations, to develop satellite clinics in other locations in the state in cooperation with the local community or private hospital when applicable, and to conduct major research initiatives in child maltreatment.

(3) The Center of Excellence shall provide services to maltreated children and comply with national certification standards as necessary to provide services to the Department of Human Services, the courts, the advocacy centers, prosecutors and law enforcement officers.

(4) There is created in the State Treasury a special fund to be known as the Mississippi Children's Justice Center Fund. The State Treasurer shall transfer into the special fund all funds returned to the State Treasury by the MCI WorldCom Settlement specifically donated for the establishment of the Mississippi Children's Justice Center, an academically based, co-located, multidisciplinary facility that will serve as a model for the state for a coordinated response to child abuse and neglect. The University of Mississippi Medical Center shall expend funds pursuant to appropriation therefor by the Legislature for the support and maintenance of the center. The University of Mississippi Medical Center is authorized to accept any and all grants, donations or matching funds from private public or federal sources in order to add to, improve and enlarge the physical facilities of the center and to expend any such funds for the support and maintenance of the center.

(5) The youth court may refer the child to the Center of Excellence at the Batson Children's Hospital Child Abuse Referral and Examination (CARE) Clinic for examination and treatment and in order to receive specialized services.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.