(a) In order to provide for the protection and welfare of children in Madison County who are alleged to be or have been found by the juvenile court of the county to be abused or neglected or otherwise dependent as defined by Section 12–15–102, there is levied and imposed a court cost of four dollars ($4), in all cases filed in the district court of the county, which shall be in addition to all other costs previously imposed. The clerk of the court shall collect the costs and remit them to a fund to be designated as the Child Protection Fund in the county treasury.

(b)(1)a. There is established a board to be known as the Child Protection Board of Madison County. The board shall consist of seven members. The presiding district judge, after consulting with the district court judges of Madison County, shall appoint the six initial board members, two members to serve four-year terms, two members to serve three-year terms, and two members to serve two-year terms. A seventh member of the board shall be appointed by a majority vote of the existing membership of the board at a regular or called meeting of the board to serve a term determined by the board at the time of appointment. The board shall become self-perpetuating after the initial appointments. Each person appointed to the board shall be a qualified elector in Madison County and no person shall be appointed to serve on the board who is an employee of or has a contractual relationship with the State Department of Human Resources or the Madison County Department of Human Resources.

b. In the event of a vacancy on the board, the vacancy shall be filled by a majority vote of the board members.

(2)a. The presiding district judge shall designate one of the original board members to serve as chair, who shall serve for a one-year term. Thereafter, the chair shall be selected by a majority vote of the board members. The board may enact rules and develop bylaws, provided:

1. A quorum shall consist of four members.

2. All actions by the board shall be by majority vote, except for removal of a board member.

3. The board shall meet quarterly and upon the call of the chair with at least 10 days’ notice to the board members.

4. All meetings of the board shall be held in Madison County.

5. The members shall serve without compensation.

b. Any member may be removed from the board for cause by a two-thirds vote with the entire board voting.

(3) The board shall have the power and duty to do all of the following:

a. Appoint a person to serve as director of the program and employ personnel to assist the director. The director shall be responsible for recruiting, training, supervising, and coordinating the efforts and activities of unpaid volunteers and preparing and proposing an annual budget to be submitted to the board. All volunteers, presently known as court appointed juvenile advocates, or CAJAS, shall be appointed by the judges of the Juvenile Court of Madison County to investigate and report to the court on cases involving abused, neglected, and otherwise dependent children.

b. Fix the salaries of the persons employed pursuant to paragraph a. pursuant to the personnel policies of Madison County.

c. Approve an annual budget and provide oversight of the disbursement of funds derived from court costs authorized by this section, provided that the funds shall be used to provide for the protection, treatment, and care of those children referred to in subsection (a).

d. Promote and sustain the effective operation of the Court Appointed Juvenile Advocate Volunteer Program.