AN ACT REQUIRING THE OFFICE OF THE CHILD ADVOCATE TO HIRE CERTAIN ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEES.
HB 5271 requires the Office of the Child Advocate to hire one or more full-time employees starting July 1, 2026, for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. These employees will specifically evaluate how state agencies and organizations receiving state funds deliver services to children. The bill directly affects the Office of the Child Advocate and the state agencies/contractors providing child services, mandating an expanded staff role to assess service delivery. This is a staffing requirement with no additional policy changes beyond the hiring obligation.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Feb 19, 2026
Last action Mar 5, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Raised Bill
→
KID Joint Favorable Substitute Change of Reference
·
2 edits
MINOR
The bill was converted from a 'Raised Bill' to a 'Substitute Bill' with favorable changes from the KID committee. The primary substantive change is that the Office of the Child Advocate's new hiring requirement was expanded from simply overseeing children in care to also evaluating service delivery by state agencies and service providers funded by the state.
Scope change
The scope of oversight was broadened from only children in the care of the Department of Children and Families to include all children receiving services from state agencies and state-funded entities.
REQUIREMENT
Expanded the Office of the Child Advocate's hiring mandate to include evaluation of service delivery by state agencies and state-funded service providers, not just oversight of children in care.
TECHNICAL
Changed bill type from 'Raised Bill' to 'Substitute Bill' and updated committee references to reflect KID committee favorable substitute change.
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
7
Key actions
1
Committee
2
Mar 3, 2026
Lower · Passed
Joint Favorable Substitute Change of Reference APP
lower
Feb 19, 2026
Committee
REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Committee on Children
lower
2 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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