[ Text of section effective until July 31, 2008. Repealed by 2008, 215, Sec. 43.]
Section 4. The office shall perform the following functions:
(a) disseminate information to the public regarding children's services;
(b) promote the development of programs and services to all children emphasizing to programs for children with special needs;
(c) establish regulations for the licensing or approval of day care centers, school age child care programs, family day care homes and large family day care homes which are not part of family day care systems, family day care systems, foster care which is not supervised and approved by a placement agency, placement agencies, and group care facilities in accordance with the provisions of sections nine to sixteen, inclusive. Licensure or approval of day care centers and family day care homes, large family day care homes and family day care systems shall be done on a regional basis consistent with substate regions as approved by the secretary of administration;
(d) determine the extent and availability of services to children within the commonwealth;
(e) determine the need for services to children within the commonwealth and make recommendations to the appropriate secretaries and to the governor on need priorities;
(f) analyze and evaluate all budget requests for services to children from departments or agencies within all executive offices and make recommendations to the secretary of health and human services and other appropriate secretaries and the governor regarding coordination and approval of such budget requests;
(g) promote the coordination of programs for services to children in departments and agencies within all executive offices and make recommendations to the appropriate secretaries regarding changes necessary to improve such coordination;
(h) evaluate and monitor programs for children in departments and agencies within the executive office of human services and, by agreement with other executive offices, evaluate and monitor programs for children for which any such executive office has responsibility;
(i) facilitate the development of and, when appropriate, provide for training programs for persons offering services in day care centers, family day care homes, large family day care homes and family foster care as defined in section 9. Such programs shall be developed in coordination with manpower training and educational programs offered under the board of education, board of higher education, department of labor and workforce development, department of economic development and the department of housing and community development;
(j) seek, apply for and encourage the use of all federal funds for children's services and facilitate the coordination of federal, state, and local policies concerning children's services;
(k) provide information and referral to persons seeking children's services;
(l) provide for technical assistance and consultation to providers and potential providers of services to children; and
(m) prepare and submit a report to the governor, the general court, and the secretaries of all executive offices annually on the first Monday of July. Such report shall include, but not be limited to, a review of the status of services to children within the commonwealth; recommendations for priorities for the development and coordination of services to children during the next following fiscal year and for the following four fiscal years; an assessment and evaluation of the progress made as the result of such recommendations for the preceding two fiscal years; a statement of goals for activities of the office during the next following fiscal year and the following four fiscal years; the steps to be taken by the office to implement the purposes stated in section one; a review and evaluation of the purposes made in accomplishing said purposes for the preceding two fiscal years.