Montana State Legislature

Senate Bill 182 established the Task Force on the Dependency and Neglect Court System to determine whether a separate dependency and neglect court system or the existing court system, with enhancements, would best serve children, families, and other participants involved in dependency and neglect court proceedings.

This webpage is the official repository of task information, including presentation aids, documents, meeting minutes, and exhibits.

This task force focuses on the dependency and neglect court system. To express concerns regarding other child welfare issues, please submit comment to the Children, Families, Health, and Human Services Interim Committee. 

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Meeting information

Task Force meetings are open to the public.
All meetings are streamed and archived under the "Watch & Listen" tab of the leg.mt.gov site.

Next Meeting 

July 19, 2024
12:30 p.m.
Capitol Room 137 & Zoom
Helena, MT

July 19, 2024

Final  Agenda (Updated 7/18/2024)
Meeting Minutes
Audio / Video

MEETING MATERIALS

District Court Expenditures

• CASA/GAL FY 22 Expenditures
• CASA/GAL FY 23 Expenditures

Panel Discussion, District Court Judges

• Cases by Judge Graph - Judge Leslie Halligan

FUTURE MEETING DATES

September 12, 2024

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COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Committee members are appointed in accordance with SB 182 section 1, subsection (2).

• Senator Dennis Lenz (chair)
• Senator Ellie Boldman (vice chair)
• Representative Jennifer Carlson
• Representative SJ Howell
• Judge Rienne McElyea – district court judge appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court
• Jessica Finley – Missoula County Deputy Attorney (a county attorney or their representative)
• Jon Kadner – law enforcement officer
• Rachel Green – Health Care Policy Advisor, Governor’s Office (representative from the governor’s office)
• Wamnee Ereaux – tribal member with experience relating to the Indian Child Welfare Act
• Jennifer Owen – a member of the public experienced with the dependency and neglect court system
• Kelly Driscoll – Family Defense Bureau Chief, Office of State Public Defender (representative of the office of state public defender)
• Nikki Grossberg – Child and Family Services Administrator, Department of Public Health and Human Services (representative of the department of public health and human services)

STAFF

• Griffin Burns, Research Analyst
• Jolanda Songer, Secretary

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PAST MEETING MATERIALS