Section 202. There is hereby established a child abuse prevention board, in this section and in section 203 referred to as the board, which shall consist of between 25 and 50 members, including:-
(a) the following 10 ex-officio members: the secretary of health and human services, the secretary of housing and economic development, the commissioner of early education and care, the commissioner of children and families, the commissioner of mental health, the commissioner of youth services, the commissioner of elementary and secondary education, the commissioner of public health, the commissioner of transitional assistance, and the child advocate, or their designees;
(b) the following 12 persons from the private sector appointed by the governor from recommendations by the board: 1 parent, 1 pediatrician, 1 child psychiatrist, 1 early childhood education specialist, 1 mental health specialist in child abuse, 1 district attorney, 1 teacher, 1 judge, 1 member of the Massachusetts bar, 1 criminal justice professional, 1 social worker from a private child welfare agency, and 1 representative of a private charitable foundation; and
(c) between 3 and 28 additional members appointed by the governor from recommendations by the board. These individuals shall be appointed based upon their knowledge of and interest in child abuse prevention. The governor shall seek to provide diverse geographical representation, with particular attention given to appointing members who reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of the commonwealth’s children, youth and families, and shall assure that each of the commonwealth’s 6 human service regions, established by the executive office of health and human services, is represented by 1 of the appointments.
Each appointed member of the board shall serve for a term of 3 years. A vacancy in an unexpired term shall be filled in the same manner as an original appointment. Any member shall be eligible for reappointment.
The governor shall designate 1 of the appointed members of the board as chair. The board may elect other officers and committees as it deems appropriate.
The board shall employ an executive director, assistant executive director, secretary and any other staff that it deems necessary in order to carry out its duties and responsibilities. Expenditures for salaries and for other administrative functions shall be approved by the board within the limitations of section 50 of chapter 10.
The executive director shall have at least 2 years of direct service experience in child welfare or child clinical work and 2 years of experience in human service administration or policy making and shall have a master’s degree in a related field.
The executive director shall be selected from applicants who have been screened and recommended by a 5-member subcommittee of the board, consisting of the chair, the commissioner of children and families, the commissioner of early education and care and 2 appointed members. Final selection of an executive director shall require approval by majority vote of the entire board and approval by the governor. The executive director shall be accountable to the board at large.
Any member of the board or the executive director may be removed by the governor for willful misconduct, neglect of duty, inability to exercise the powers of the board or perform the duties of the board, or for improprieties under law.
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the office of children, youth and family services within the executive office of health and human services shall facilitate the implementation of this section, section 203 and the Children’s Trust Fund, established by section 50 of chapter 10, but the office shall not exercise any supervision or control of the board.
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