As many of you may remember, I was part of the Senate Grandfamilies Study Commission that was tasked on creating a report for the Legislature on steps that Government can do (or in getting out of the way!) of Grandparents who suddenly are now responsible for their grandchildren (as we were with then new born Grandson thirty years after raising our own).
Issues such as help with education, health, transportation, legal issues, financial – even down to helping them learn the tech skills so they could help their grandkids during this pandemic.
Which, I may add, screwed up the GF Study Commission itself. Without being able to meet, either in toto or in sub-committees, once the pandemic hit hard, the clock ran out. Done without a complete conclusion. I even put out a bleg asking our ‘Grok friends in the Legislature if they’d be helpful in sponsoring a “restart” so that our work could be finished.
And yes, that call was returned! First, NH State Senator Sharon Carson set up an LSR to re-establish it and then it was rolled up into an omnibus (Gawd, I hate those things!) bill going by SB142. It actually is rather short and targeted to authorizing only Study Commission that ran out of time:
- Part I. LSR 21-0891, relative to the commission to study post-traumatic stress disorders in first responders, sponsored by Sen. Birdsell, Prime/Dist. 19.
- Part II. LSR 21-0929, relative to the commission to study barriers to increased land development in New Hampshire, sponsored by Sen. Perkins Kwoka, Prime/Dist. 21; Sen. Watters, Dist. 4; Sen. Rosenwald, Dist. 13; Sen. Whitley, Dist. 15; Sen. Bradley, Dist. 3; Sen. Hennessey, Dist. 1; Sen. Kahn, Dist. 10; Sen. Prentiss, Dist. 5; Sen. D’Allesandro, Dist. 20; Sen. Sherman, Dist. 24; Sen. Soucy, Dist. 18; Rep. DiLorenzo, Rock. 17.
- Part III. LSR 21-0968, reestablishing the commission to study grand families in New Hampshire, sponsored by Sen. Carson, Prime/Dist. 14.
And the sponsor for this is NH State Senator Regina Birdsell. The relevant part of the bill:
Part III
Reestablishing the Commission to Study Grandfamilies in New Hampshire.
1 New Section; Commission to Study Grandfamilies in New Hampshire. Amend RSA 170-G by inserting after section 17-a the following new section:
170-G:17-b Commission to Study Grandfamilies in New Hampshire.
I. There is established a commission to study grandfamilies in New Hampshire. The membership of the commission shall be as follows:
(a) One member of the senate, appointed by the senate president.
(b) Three members of the house of representatives, one of whom shall serve on the health, human services and elderly affairs committee, one of whom shall serve on the committee responsible for children and family law, and one of whom shall serve on the finance committee, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
(c) The commissioner of the department of health and human services, or designee.
(d) The commissioner of the department of education, or designee.
(e) One representative of the division of family assistance, department of health and human services, appointed by that division.
(f) One representative of the division for children, youth and families, department of health and human services, appointed by that division.
(g) One representative of MomsRising, appointed by that organization.
(h) One representative of the Family Assistance Advisory Council, appointed by the council.
(i) One representative of Waypoint, formerly Child and Family Services of New Hampshire, appointed by that organization.
(j) One representative of a family resource center, appointed by Family Support New Hampshire.
(k) One representative of Court Appointed Special Advocates of New Hampshire, appointed by that organization.
(l) One representative of New Futures, appointed by that organization.
(m) One representative of National Alliance on Mental Illness New Hampshire, appointed by that organization.
(n) One representative of the NH Head Start Directors Association, appointed by the association.
(o) One public school principal, appointed by the New Hampshire Association of School Principals.
(p) One pediatrician licensed in New Hampshire, appointed by the New Hampshire Pediatric Society.
(q) One member of the New Hampshire Bar Association, appointed by the association.
(r) One representative of AARP, appointed by that organization.
(s) One representative of the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police, appointed by the association.
(t) Three grandparent caregivers, appointed by the Family Assistance Advisory Council.
(u) One representative of a community health center in New Hampshire, appointed by the governor.
II. The commission shall address issues related to grandfamilies in New Hampshire. The commission’s duties shall include, but not be limited to:
(a) Review of current data regarding grandfamilies in New Hampshire.
(b) Review of current barriers facing grandparents who are raising children in New Hampshire.
(c) Identification of causes of issues affecting New Hampshire grandfamilies.
(d) Development of corrective actions for addressing issues facing grandfamilies in New Hampshire.
(e) Identification of current actions being taken to assist grandfamilies in New Hampshire and their effectiveness.
III. Members of the commission shall elect a chairperson from among the members. The first meeting of the commission shall be called by the senate member. The first meeting of the commission shall be held within 30 days of the effective date of this section. Seven members of the commission shall constitute a quorum.
IV. Legislative members of the commission shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to the duties of the commission.
V. The commission shall submit an interim report of its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation to the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the senate clerk, the house clerk, the governor, and the state library on or before November 1, 2022 and November 1, 2024. The commission shall submit a final report on or before November 1, 2026.
2 Repeal. RSA 170-G:17-b, establishing a commission to study grandfamilies in New Hampshire, is repealed.
It is currently on the Consent Calendar, page 4, (which means that that if no Senator objects, it will pass); the Committee vote was 5-0 OTP (Ought To Pass). Vote should be on 3/11.