Directing the department of health and human services to issue a request for proposals for supervised visitation centers.
Summary
HB 775 directs the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services to contract with qualified organizations to establish and operate supervised visitation centers in every county. The bill requires the department to issue a request for proposals to support one center per county and to evaluate applicants based on detailed plans and budgets that address staffing, benefits, law enforcement presence, office space, training, insurance, safety procedures, and client payment policies.
The centers must follow the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women’s Guiding Principles for Safe Havens and supervised visitation/safe exchange programs, and they must seek community input as well as technical assistance from organizations with expertise in supervised visitation. The bill would add a new subdivision to RSA 170-G and would take effect 60 days after passage.
Impact
HB 775 would amend state law by creating a new supervised visitation center program within RSA 170-G and assigning DHHS responsibility for procurement and oversight. If enacted, it would require statewide availability of supervised visitation services in each county, potentially expanding family safety infrastructure for parents and children involved in custody disputes, domestic violence cases, or other situations where monitored visitation or safe exchanges are needed.
Sentiment
The available record shows no committee transcript or recorded votes, so there is no documented floor or committee debate to gauge support or opposition. Based on the bill’s structure, the proposal appears aimed at improving child and family safety and access to supervised visitation services, which suggests a generally protective and service-oriented policy approach.
Contention
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. Potential areas of debate, however, are implicit in the bill’s requirements: the cost of establishing a center in each county, the need for on-site law enforcement and trained staff, how services would be funded, and whether DHHS should mandate countywide centers through an RFP process versus a more incremental or regional approach.
Practice of medicine; creating the Supervised Physicians Act; limiting scope of supervised practice; directing specified Boards to promulgate certain rules; requiring collaborative practice arrangements; creating certain exemptions; effective date.
Practice of medicine; creating the Supervised Physicians Act; limiting scope of supervised practice; directing specified Boards to promulgate certain rules; requiring collaborative practice arrangements; creating certain exemptions; effective date.