| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: |
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| | Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §4004, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2001, c. 11, §4, is | further amended to read: |
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| | 1. General. The department may take appropriate action, | consistent with available funding, that will help prevent child | abuse and neglect and achieve the goals of section 4003 and | subchapter XI-A 11-A, including: |
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| A. Developing and providing services which that: |
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| (1) Support and reinforce parental care of children; |
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| (2) Supplement that care; and |
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| (3) When necessary, substitute for parental care of | children; |
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| B. Encouraging the voluntary use of these and other | services by families and children who may need them; |
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| C. Cooperating and coordinating with other agencies, | facilities or persons providing related services to families | and children; |
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| D. Establishing and maintaining a Child Protective Services | Contingency Fund to provide temporary assistance to families | to help them provide proper care for their children; and |
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| E. Establishing a child death and serious injury review | panel for reviewing deaths and serious injuries to children. | The panel consists of the following members: the Chief | Medical Examiner, a pediatrician, a public health nurse, | forensic and community mental health clinicians, law | enforcement officers, departmental child welfare staff, | district attorneys and criminal or civil assistant attorneys | general. |
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| The purpose of the panel is to recommend to state and local | agencies methods of improving the child protection system, | including modifications of statutes, rules, policies and | procedures.; and |
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| F.__Establishing a technical review panel to conduct | comprehensive, multidisciplinary reviews of maternal and infant | deaths in this State, for the purpose of identifying the factors | associated with the deaths and making recommendations for system | changes to improve services for women with infants in the State.__ | Members of the panel |
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