SS/SCS/SB 890 - This act permits the Children's Division, a juvenile officer, or a prosecuting or circuit attorney to petition the circuit court on an for an order directing a parent, guardian, or other person with the care, custody, or control of a child who is the subject of a child abuse or neglect investigation to present the child at a designated time and place to: (1) a Children's Division worker for a visual assessment, (2) a SAFE CARE provider for a sexual assault forensic examination or a child physical abuse forensic examination, or (3) a child assessment center for an interview as specified in the act. The court shall enter an order for presentation of a child for an examination or interview if the court determines that there is probable cause to suspect the child has been abused or neglected, the interview or examination is reasonably necessary for the completion of an investigation or the collection of evidence, and doing so would be in the best interests of the child. The court shall enter an order for a visual assessment if there is reasonable suspicion to believe that the child has been abused or neglected and the parent or guardian will not voluntarily provide access to the child, a visual assessment is reasonably necessary for the completion of an investigation or for the collection of evidence, and doing so would be in the best interests of the child.
The act specifies the procedure for granting an ex parte order, as well as the procedure for any person served with an order under this act to file a motion for a protective order or other relief. Any person who knowingly violates an order shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
Finally, this act permits the tolling of statutory timelines for the Children's Division regarding investigations from the date the Division files a petition for a order until the information is produced in full, the subpoena is withdrawn, or a court quashes the subpoena.
This provision is similar to a provision in HCS/SB 850 (2018).
Under current law, a juvenile officer or the Children's Division may file a petition for involuntary termination of the parental rights of a child's parent when the parent has been found guilty of or pled guilty to certain felonies involving sexual offenses when the child or any child in the family was a victim. This act makes filing a petition in such instances mandatory and adds felony pleas or convictions of child pornography and genital mutilation to the list of mandatory conditions for filing a petition.
This provision is identical to a provision in the truly agreed to and finally passed CCS/SB 819 (2018) and SB 1008 (2018).
SARAH HASKINS