The General Assembly is back at work for the 2013 legislative session. Focusing on jobs and education is what will propel us forward and make a stronger Indiana for generations to come. Educating a workforce that is able to meet the high demands of the growing marketplace will be a priority. The General Assembly is committed to addressing teacher shortages in key areas such as math and science to help students develop necessary job skills. This week, House Bill 1002, authored by Speaker of the House Brian Bosma, and co-authored by Leader Pelath, Rep. Braun and Rep. Smaltz, was introduced. This bill would create an Indiana Career Council. The proposed council would provide any Hoosier participating in the state’s educational, job skills and career training system with the opportunity to connect with a fitting educational program. Members of the Indiana Career Council will be charged with developing a process to match the education skills and training provided by the state’s educational, job skills and career training system with the currently existing and future needs of the state’s job market. They will also submit recommendations to the Indiana General Assembly for how to improve Indiana’s job skills training system from top to bottom. One education bill that I authored is House Bill 1160, which deals with school employee background checks. This bill was heard in the Education Committee this week and passed out of the committee with a 12-0 vote. This piece of legislation requires a national criminal history background check for school employees. Currently, school corporations can request either an expanded or a national criminal history background check. A national criminal history background check requires a search of the criminal history record system maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation rather than a background check that searches just the records maintained in all Indiana counties or similar governmental units in another state. A committee I serve on is the Family, Children and Human Affairs Committee. This week, the committee held an informational meeting with the Department of Child Services (DCS) which is charged with protecting children who are victims of abuse or neglect and strengthening families through services that focus on family support and preservation. Representatives from DCS shared the history, vision, mission and values of the department in addition to the details of its practices and field operations. We also discussed the centralized hotline and possible solutions to improve its efficiency. There are several pieces of legislation in the works that will address these concerns. As always, our efforts at the Statehouse will continue to focus on making success possible for every Hoosier. If you have not already filled out a mailed or online survey, I invite you to fill it out online at www.in.gov/h70. As your state representative, it is important for me to hear your views and concerns on issues facing our state. Feel free to contact me by phone at 317-234-3827 or by email at h70@in.gov. -30-
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