(a) The chief elected official or the chief executive officer of each municipality may appoint a municipal agent for children. Such agent shall be an elected official of the state or the municipality, a member of an agency that serves children, a youth service bureau in the municipality or a responsible resident of the municipality who has demonstrated an interest in children or has been involved in programs in the field of child development.

(b) The duties of a municipal agent may include, but not be limited to, (1) annually determining the capacity of the municipality to provide services beneficial to children and families living in the municipality and coordinating such services provided by the state, the municipality and community-based organizations; (2) disseminating information to families with children and assisting such families in learning about the resources available to them; (3) assisting families with children in applying for available child day care subsidies; and (4) annually submitting a written report to the chief elected official, chief executive officer and legislative body of the municipality, on the services he has provided, his findings concerning the needs and problems of children in the municipality and recommendations for improving services for such children.

(c) Each municipal agent shall serve for a term of two years and may be reappointed. If more than one agent is necessary to carry out the purposes of this section, the appointing authority, in his discretion, may appoint one or more assistant agents. The town clerk in each municipality shall notify the Commissioner of Education immediately of the appointment of a municipal agent. Each municipality may provide to its municipal agent resources sufficient for such agent to perform the duties of the office.

(d) The Department of Education may adopt and disseminate to municipalities guidelines as to the role and duties of municipal agents and such informational and technical materials as may assist such agents in the performance of their duties. The department, in collaboration with the Commission on Women, Children and Seniors, may provide training for municipal agents within the available resources of the department and the commission.

(P.A. 92-247; P.A. 93-91, S. 1, 2; P.A. 95-339, S. 5, 8; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 16-3, S. 138.)

History: P.A. 93-91 substituted commissioner and department of children and families for commissioner and department of children and youth services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-339 amended Subsecs. (c) and (d) to substitute Commissioner and Department of Education for Commissioner and Department of Children and Families, effective July 1, 1995; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 16-3 amended Subsec. (d) to substitute “Commission on Women, Children and Seniors” for “Commission on Children”, effective July 1, 2016.