To amend chapter 210, RSMo, by adding ten new sections relating to the care or supervision of children, with penalty provisions.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI,

AS FOLLOWS:

Section A. Chapter 210, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto ten new sections, to be known as sections 210.301, 210.303, 210.305, 210.307, 210.309, 210.311, 210.312, 210.314, 210.317 and 210.319, to read as follows:

210.301. 1. As used in sections 210.301 to 210.319 of this act, the following terms mean:

(1) "Careline applicant", any person eighteen years of age or older who meets all of the following qualifications:

(a) Provides or intends to provide child care or supervision for compensation;

(b) Is not otherwise required by law, including the provisions in sections 210.211 and 210.486, RSMo, to be licensed or registered or to consent to a criminal record review in order to lawfully provide the child care or supervision;

(c) Has voluntarily submitted the information required to determine the person's eligibility for entry in the careline registry;

(2) "Central repository", shall have the same meaning as in subdivision (1) of section 43.500, RSMo;

(3) "Child", any person, regardless of physical or mental condition, under eighteen years of age;

(4) "Criminal history record information", shall have the same meaning as defined in subdivision (3) of section 43.500, RSMo;

(5) "Criminal record review", shall have the same meaning as defined in subdivision (1) of subsection 1 of section 43.540, RSMo;

(6) "Department", the department of health;

(7) "Patrol", the Missouri state highway patrol;

(8) "Registered careline provider", a careline applicant who has met the provisions of this act.

2. A careline registry and hotline is hereby established in the department for the purpose of protection of children. The careline registry shall be used for voluntary registration of child care providers. Any person who submits to the department a completed careline application supplied by the department and two sets of fingerprints, as described in subsections 1 and 2 of section 210.303 of this act shall be known as a "careline applicant" and the department shall enter in the careline registry the person's name, identification card number and an indicator that the person has submitted the application and fingerprints. The department shall coordinate with the department of social services to conduct a search of the central registry, established under section 210.145, RSMo, to determine if the applicant has been reported for child abuse or neglect.

3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a prospective careline applicant may initiate a criminal record review pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection 1 of section 43.540, RSMo, if the applicant possesses any one of the following identification cards:

(1) A valid Missouri driver's license;

(2) A valid identification card issued by the state department of revenue;

(3) A valid alien registration card; or

(4) A valid numbered photo identification card issued by an agency of the state in which the applicant last resided.

210.303. 1. In order to initiate a criminal record review, each careline applicant shall obtain two sets of fingerprints from a law enforcement agency or other local agency authorized by the patrol to take fingerprints on standard forms supplied by the patrol. The agency taking the fingerprints shall inscribe the serial number from the identification card described in subsection 3 of section 210.301 of this act and provide any other information required by the patrol on the standard form. The law enforcement agency or other local agency authorized to take fingerprints may charge a reasonable fee to offset the costs of fingerprinting for the purposes of this section.

2. The careline applicant shall submit the fingerprints to the department, accompanied by a copy of the completed careline application and a money order or check payable to the state of Missouri to cover the fees for the required searches. Fees for a criminal record review shall not exceed the fees in section 43.530, RSMo. Each request shall be limited to one individual.

3. If warranted, the patrol shall forward the second set of fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Identification Division, for searching of the federal criminal history files. All payments received by the patrol for purposes of criminal record reviews shall be transmitted to the department of revenue for deposit in the state treasury to the credit of the criminal record system fund as required under section 43.530, RSMo.

4. Upon completion of the review, the department shall consider and determine whether the careline applicant shall be granted or denied inclusion in the careline registry. If no reported information is found which would disqualify the applicant as a child care provider, the department shall enter that finding in the person's record in the careline registry and shall notify the person of the action. This person shall be known as a registered careline provider.

5. A careline applicant or registered careline provider shall not be registered if, in any of the searches or in any report that is received by the department subsequent to those searches, any of the following information is found:

(1) The person has been convicted of a crime relevant to the person's occupation as a child care provider or there is substantiated information that the person has committed child abuse or neglect;

(2) The person has furnished or made any misleading or false statement or report of a material fact or practiced or attempted to practice any fraud or deception in the person's application or reports to the department; or

(3) The review discloses conduct which demonstrates that initial or continuing registration of the person would be adverse to the health and safety of children in this state.

6. The department shall notify any such person in writing of the determination that he or she is disqualified from inclusion and records concerning the person shall be removed from the careline registry immediately.

7. If the department denies inclusion in the careline registry pursuant to subsection 5 of this section, its written notification also shall advise the person of the right to appeal the denial. Upon receipt of an appeal filed in writing at the office of the director within thirty days of the receipt of the notification, an administrative hearing shall be set for the appeal. The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with procedures and timelines to be established by rules promulgated by the department, pursuant to the provisions of section 536.024, RSMo. If the appeal is decided in favor of the disqualified person, the records shall be restored in the careline registry along with a copy of the hearing decision.

210.305. 1. The department shall require registered careline providers to renew their registration periodically in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the department. Registered careline providers may be charged a reasonable fee for renewal of their registration, which shall be transmitted to the department of revenue for deposit in the general revenue fund.

2. The department, in coordination with the department of social services, shall compare the list of registered careline providers against the central registry, established under section 210.143, RSMo, on a quarterly basis. The department shall review the information reported from this comparison to determine if a currently registered careline provider should be disqualified. The department of health and the department of social services may enter into an interagency agreement to determine procedures and financing of the provision and updating of information for comparison of the careline registry with the central registry, and for searches of the central registry performed under subsection 2 of section 210.301.

3. The patrol and the department may enter into an interagency agreement to determine procedures and financing of the provision and continual updating of information on criminal convictions to the careline registry pursuant to the actions required in subsections 2 to 6 of section 210.303 of this act.

210.307. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, state officials or employees shall not be liable for any damages caused by their conduct in connection with a criminal record review pursuant to sections 210.301 to 210.319 of this act except for intentional acts or gross negligence.

210.309. The department shall:

(1) Establish and maintain a careline hotline service, which may be toll-free, to allow parents and guardians, employment agencies, child care referral groups and registries, child care programs that do not receive state subsidies and are exempt from state licensing laws and others to determine if a child care provider is a careline applicant or a registered careline provider;

(2) Develop a statewide promotion plan for the purposes of publicizing the existence, benefits, and methods of accessing the careline hotline for both parents and child care providers, and distribute careline applications statewide;

(3) Collect data for the purposes of evaluations conducted under section 210.319 of this act;

(4) Accept other public and private financial support for the careline registry and careline hotline;

(5) Ensure that criminal record review and central registry information is continually maintained and updated in the careline registry; and

(6) Ensure that information obtained from the department under sections 210.301 to 210.319 of this act shall be confidential and may be disseminated only to the person who is the subject of the criminal record review and to the participants in a hiring or approval process upon written request from the careline applicant or registered careline provider. Information obtained from the department under this act shall not be used for any purpose other than that for which it was disseminated.

210.311. It shall be a class B misdemeanor for a person to falsely represent or present oneself as a careline applicant or a registered careline provider.

210.312. It shall be a class B misdemeanor for a person to fail to disclose in a careline application a conviction for a criminal offense or the existence of substantiated information that the person has committed child abuse or neglect.

210.314. An employment agency, as defined in subdivision (5) of section 289.005, RSMo, that refers a child day care provider to parents or guardians shall, before making a placement of a provider, disclose the following:

(1) Factual information about the careline program and registry to the provider seeking employment and the parent or guardian seeking a provider; and

(2) To the parent or guardian, whether the provider is or is not either a careline applicant or a registered careline provider.

210.317. The department shall, in consultation with representatives of private industry, parents, child care resource and referral agencies and the pediatric health sector, review recommendations concerning the operation of the careline registry and telephone service.

210.319. 1. The department shall use a competitive process to select and contract with an independent consultant for the purpose of evaluating the careline. The evaluation shall at a minimum address the following:

(1) The extent to which the careline's registration system identifies persons seeking child care employment who have a reported criminal conviction or about whom there is substantiated child abuse information;

(2) The level of participation by parents, guardians and child care providers;

(3) The total public cost for investigation, registration or denial of registration per applicant; and

(4) Obstacles to maximizing the benefits of the careline registry.

2. The department shall develop a schedule for transmitting periodic evaluation reports to the general assembly, beginning on or before September thirtieth of the second calendar year in which the program established by this act is in operation. The final report shall be submitted to the general assembly on or before January first of the fifth year in which the program is in operation.