Littleton introduces her first bill to clarify abuse definitions in hiring care workers

Mary Littleton introduced her first bill as the new representative for the 78^th District last week. On Thursday, Littleton announced she had agreed to sponsor a bill for Gov. Bill Haslam that clarifies definitions of abuse by certain adult and child day care employees. “This bill is about protecting the most vulnerable among us, and I look forward to discussing this important legislation with my colleagues over the coming weeks and months,” Littleton said. The bill is part of Haslam’s legislative agenda submitted last week along with his budget proposal and Littleton said she is proud to have been asked by the governor to sponsor the bill. The bill makes consistent the definitions of neglect as defined by the Department of Children’s Services and used by the Department of Human Resources to quickly and accurately identify and exclude persons applying for work at adult and child care services. It requires certain care employees to submit to a review to determine whether they committed abuse or neglect while performing day-to-day duties of a day care professional. Littleton was sworn in as the 78^th District’s new representative last month and represents the eastern half of Dickson County and all of Cheatham County. New legislative rules limit House members to 15 bills a year.