Gov. Raimondo signs two bills to protect children

PROVIDENCE — Governor Raimondo has signed two bills aimed at protecting children from abuse.

One is a measure that will for the first time require the state's child welfare agency to publicly disclose within 48 hours the death — and in some cases, serious injury — of any child in state care. It also mandates timely autopsy reports and directs the state's child advocate to review each case.

The legislation was spurred, in part, by Providence Journal reports of children who died in state care and a lack of clear policy on investigations into those deaths.

The state Department of Children, Youth and Families will now be required to disclose deaths or "near deaths" resulting from abuse, neglect, or self-harm "in general terms," provided that doing so will not hinder any criminal investigations. It must also notify the child advocate.

Read more: http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20160707/gov-raimondo-signs-two-bills-to-protect-children