Senate File 2146 - Introduced



                                       SENATE FILE       
                                       BY  KREIMAN and HORN


    Passed Senate, Date               Passed House, Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to the criteria for cases of founded child abuse
  2    placed on the central child abuse registry.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  4 TLSB 5162XS 82
  5 jp/nh/14

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 232.71D, subsection 2, Code 2007, is
  1  2 amended to read as follows:
  1  3    2.  If the alleged child abuse meets the definition of
  1  4 child abuse under section 232.68, subsection 2, paragraph "a",
  1  5 or "d", or "f", and the department determines the injury or
  1  6 risk of harm to the child was minor and isolated and is
  1  7 unlikely to reoccur, the names of the child and the alleged
  1  8 perpetrator of the child abuse and any other child abuse
  1  9 information shall not be placed in the central registry as a
  1 10 case of founded child abuse.
  1 11    Sec. 2.  Section 232.71D, subsection 3, paragraph h, Code
  1 12 2007, is amended to read as follows:
  1 13    h.  The department determines the acts or omissions of the
  1 14 alleged perpetrator meet the definition of child abuse under
  1 15 section 232.68, subsection 2, paragraph "f", involving the
  1 16 presence of an illegal drug and the injury or risk of harm to
  1 17 the child was not minor and isolated or is likely to reoccur.
  1 18    Sec. 3.  RETROACTIVE REGISTRY REVIEWS.
  1 19    1.  A person who is a subject of a child abuse report
  1 20 which, as of July 1, 2008, is included as information in the
  1 21 central registry under chapter 235A involving the presence of
  1 22 an illegal drug in a child's body may submit a written request
  1 23 for review and expungement of the information from the central
  1 24 registry which refers to the person.  The request must be
  1 25 submitted to the department of human services during the
  1 26 period beginning July 1, 2008, and ending December 31, 2008.
  1 27    2.  If the review indicates the information would not be
  1 28 placed in the registry as founded child abuse in accordance
  1 29 with section 232.71D, subsection 2, as amended by this Act,
  1 30 the information shall be expunged from the central registry.
  1 31 Child abuse information which is expunged from the central
  1 32 registry under this subsection shall not be retained by the
  1 33 department of human services any longer than the time period
  1 34 in rule for retaining information which is not placed in the
  1 35 central registry, allowing credit for the amount of time the
  2  1 information was held in the central registry.  If the review
  2  2 indicates the child abuse information would be placed in the
  2  3 central registry under section 232.71D, subsection 2, as
  2  4 amended by this Act, the information shall remain subject to
  2  5 the provisions of section 235A.18, subsection 1, as to the
  2  6 time period the information is to be retained in the registry.
  2  7 In addition to reviews performed pursuant to a request made in
  2  8 accordance with subsection 1, a review of such information
  2  9 shall be performed under any of the following conditions:
  2 10    a.  The department is considering the information while
  2 11 performing a record check evaluation under law.
  2 12    b.  A review is indicated under a procedure for performing
  2 13 reviews adopted by the department for purposes of this
  2 14 subsection.
  2 15                           EXPLANATION
  2 16    This bill relates to the criteria for cases of founded
  2 17 child abuse placed on the central child abuse registry.
  2 18    Under current law in Code section 232.71D, subsection 2, if
  2 19 an assessment has been performed and the department determines
  2 20 that the abuse meets the definition of child abuse, for
  2 21 certain cases an exception is authorized so that the name of
  2 22 the alleged perpetrator is not placed on the central child
  2 23 abuse registry as a case of founded child abuse.  The cases
  2 24 are limited to those involving nonaccidental physical injury
  2 25 or failure to provide for adequate food, shelter, clothing, or
  2 26 other care necessary for the child's health and welfare, when
  2 27 the department determines that injury or risk of harm to the
  2 28 child was minor and isolated and is unlikely to reoccur.
  2 29    The bill amends Code section 232.71D to allow an additional
  2 30 exception to registry placement requirements involving the
  2 31 presence of an illegal drug in a child's body, again, only if
  2 32 the department determines the injury or risk of harm to the
  2 33 child was minor and isolated and is unlikely to reoccur.
  2 34    The bill provides that a person whose name is in the
  2 35 central child abuse registry as of July 1, 2008, for child
  3  1 abuse involving the presence of an illegal drug in a child's
  3  2 body may request a review and expungement of the information
  3  3 based on the new criteria provided in the bill.  The request
  3  4 must be submitted to the department during the period
  3  5 beginning July 1 and ending December 31, 2008.  In addition,
  3  6 the department is required to review cases in the registry
  3  7 involving the presence of an illegal drug in a child's body
  3  8 when a record check involving the information is being
  3  9 performed or when the review is indicated under a protocol for
  3 10 performing such reviews.
  3 11 LSB 5162XS 82
  3 12 jp/nh/14