SCS/HCS/HB 260 - Under this act, applicant child care providers, persons employed by such applicants, individuals or volunteers working with such applicants, or individuals residing in an applicant's family child care home who are 17 years old or older shall be required to submit to a criminal background check in order for the applicant to qualify to receive state or federal funds for the provision of child care services. This act also removes the language that allowed registration with the Family Care Safety Registry to satisfy the background check requirement. This act also modifies the definition of child abuse and the definition of child neglect to include victims of sex trafficking or severe forms of trafficking. Additionally, the definition of "those responsible for the care, custody, and control of the child" is modified to add any person who takes control of the child by deception, force, or coercion.
Under current law, the Children's Division is required to retain certain investigation reports and accompanying identifying information. In instances involving investigation reports where the Division has sufficient evidence to determine that a child was abused or neglected, but not sufficient evidence to identify a specific perpetrator or perpetrators, the Division shall retain all identifying information for use in subsequent investigations or family assessments of the same child, the child's family, or members of the child's household. If the Division made a finding of abuse or neglect against an unknown perpetrator prior to August 28, 2017, the Division shall remove the unknown perpetrator from the central registry, but shall retain and utilize all identifying information for use under this act. The Division shall notify the parents of the child that it has been unable to determine the identity of the perpetrator and that the Division shall retain, utilize, and disclose all information and findings as provided for in current law in family assessment and services cases.
Under current law, the Division may reopen a case for review upon the request of specified persons if new evidence is obtained that the Division's decision was based on fraud or misrepresentation of material facts and there is evidence that the Division's decision would have been different. This act removes those requirements. Instead, the Division may reopen a case for review if new, specific, and credible evidence is obtained.
This act also modifies foster child placement statutes to expand the definition of "relative" to include a person who is not related to the child, but has a close relationship with the child or child's family, as well as modifies the order or preference for placement to include those relatives unrelated by blood or affinity within the third degree.
Under this act, no person or entity shall be compelled to disclose the actual address of an Address Confidentiality Program participant during the discovery phase of a court proceeding, unless (1) the court find that there is a reasonable belief that the address is needed to obtain information or evidence without which the investigation, prosecution, or litigation cannot proceed and (2) there is no other practicable way of obtaining the information or evidence. The court shall provide to the participant notice and an opportunity to present evidence regarding the disclosure order. The court shall also give the Secretary of State notice when ordering the disclosure of a program applicant's actual address. The Secretary of State shall have the opportunity to intervene in any proceeding where a court is considering ordering the disclosure of a participant's address.
Provisions of this act have an emergency clause.
Provisions of this act are identical to SSC/SCS#2/SB 128 (2017), SCS/SB 523 (2017), HB 1112 (2017), SCS/HCS/HB 1158 (2017), HCS/SS/SCS/SB 160 (2017), and HCS/SB 195 (2017), substantially similar to CCS/HCS/SS/SB 34 (2017), SB 535 (2017), and SCS/HCB 1 (2017), and similar to provisions in SB 1073 (2016).
SARAH HASKINS