November 6, 2008, Introduced by Senators KUIPERS, RICHARDVILLE, KAHN, BARCIA, CHERRY, HARDIMAN, JACOBS and WHITMER and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
A bill to create the children's advocacy center act; to create
the children's advocacy center fund; to provide for distributions
from the fund; to prescribe the powers and duties of the fund
administrator; and to prescribe the powers and duties of certain
state officials.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the
"children's advocacy center act".
Sec. 2. As used in this act:
(a) "Board" means the board of directors of the Michigan
chapter of the national children's alliance.
(b) "Children's advocacy center" means an entity accredited as
a child advocacy center by the national children's alliance or its
successor agency.
(c) "Fund" means the children's advocacy center fund created
in section 3.
Sec. 3. (1) The children's advocacy center fund is created
within the state treasury.
(2) The state treasurer may receive money or other assets from
any source for deposit into the fund. The state treasurer shall
direct the investment of the fund. The statute treasurer shall
credit to the fund interest and earnings from fund investments.
(3) Money in the fund at the close of the fiscal year shall
remain in the fund and shall not lapse to the general fund.
(4) The board of directors of the Michigan chapter of the
national children's alliance shall be the administrator of the fund
for auditing purposes.
Sec. 4. (1) Money shall not be expended from the fund for the
first year after the effective date of this act. Beginning 2 years
after the effective date of this act, the board may expend money
from the fund as appropriated. Money in the fund shall be expended
only as follows:
(a) To provide investigative, assessment, counseling, support,
and educational services to victims of child sexual abuse and their
families through children's advocacy centers.
(b) To pay the actual and reasonable operating costs of
children's advocacy centers.
(c) To provide training related to child sexual abuse for
personnel employed or otherwise retained by children's advocacy
centers.
(d) To improve the detection, investigation, treatment, and
prevention of child sexual abuse through the coordinated activities
of children's advocacy centers, medical care providers, crime
victim organizations, and local, state, and federal law enforcement
officials.
(e) To improve public awareness of child sexual abuse through
the use of children's advocacy centers.
(f) To pay the actual and reasonable costs of administering
the fund. Not more than 10% of distributions made in any fiscal
year shall be used to pay administrative costs under this
subdivision.
(2) The board shall require an annual audit of income and
expenditures under this section and shall provide an annual report
of incomes and expenditures to the secretary of the senate and the
clerk of the house of representatives by February 1 of each year.
Enacting section 1. This act takes effect January 1, 2009.