H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 235A.18, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 1 Supplement 2011, is amended to read as follows: 2 a. (1) Report and disposition data relating to a particular 3 case of alleged child abuse shall be sealed ten years after the 4 initial placement of the data in the registry unless good cause 5 be shown why the data should remain open to authorized access. 6 If a subsequent report of an alleged case of child abuse 7 involving the child named in the initial data placed in the 8 registry as the victim of abuse or a person named in the data 9 as having abused a child is received by the department within 10 this ten-year period, the data shall be sealed ten years after 11 receipt of the subsequent report unless good cause be shown why 12 the data should remain open to authorized access. However, 13 such report and disposition data shall be made available to 14 the department of justice if the department requests access to 15 the alleged child abuse records for purposes of review by the 16 prosecutor’s review committee or commitment of sexually violent 17 predators under chapter 229A . 18 (2) Upon the department’s initiative or the request of 19 a person named as having abused a child, the department may, 20 within its discretion and with consideration of the following 21 factors, remove the name of a person named in the report and 22 disposition data as having abused a child from the report and 23 disposition data prior to the expiration of the ten-year period 24 described in subparagraph (1). A person named in the data as 25 having abused a child may first request that the department 26 use its discretion under this subparagraph (2) to remove the 27 person’s name from the report and disposition data five years 28 after the initial placement in the registry and not more than 29 once per year. When exercising this discretion the department 30 shall consider all of the following factors: 31 (a) The nature and severity of the abuse. 32 (b) The risk of recidivism. 33 (c) The time elapsed since the abuse. 34 (d) Other relevant factors. 35 -1- LSB 5374YC (1) 84 ad/nh 1/ 5

H.F. _____ (3) The department shall adopt rules to implement 1 subparagraph (2). 2 Sec. 2. Section 235A.19, Code Supplement 2011, is amended by 3 adding the following new subsection: 4 NEW SUBSECTION . 1A. At the time the notice of the results 5 of an assessment performed in accordance with section 232.71B 6 is issued, the department shall provide notice to a person 7 named in the report as having abused a child of the right to 8 a contested case hearing and shall provide notice to subjects 9 other than the person named in the report as having abused a 10 child of the right to intervene in a contested case proceeding, 11 as provided in subsection 2. 12 Sec. 3. Section 235A.19, subsections 2 and 3, Code 13 Supplement 2011, are amended to read as follows: 14 2. a. A subject of a child abuse report may file with the 15 department within ninety days of the date of the notice of the 16 results of an assessment performed in accordance with section 17 232.71B , a written statement to the effect that report data and 18 disposition data referring to the subject is in whole or in 19 part erroneous, and may request a correction of that data or of 20 the findings of the assessment report. 21 b. The department shall provide the subject a person named 22 in a child abuse report as having abused a child, who has 23 been adversely affected by a founded child abuse disposition, 24 notwithstanding the placement of the report data in the central 25 registry pursuant to section 232.71D, with an opportunity for a 26 contested case hearing pursuant to chapter 17A to correct the 27 data or the findings, unless the department corrects the data 28 or findings as requested. 29 c. The department shall provide a subject of a child 30 abuse report, other than the person named in the report as 31 having abused a child, with an opportunity to file a motion to 32 intervene in the contested case proceeding. 33 d. The department may defer the hearing until the conclusion 34 of the adjudicatory phase of a pending juvenile or district 35 -2- LSB 5374YC (1) 84 ad/nh 2/ 5

H.F. _____ court case relating to the data or findings. Upon request 1 of any party to the contested case proceeding, the presiding 2 officer may stay the hearing until the conclusion of the 3 adjudicatory phase of a pending juvenile or district court case 4 relating to the data or findings. An adjudication of a child 5 in need of assistance or a criminal conviction in a district 6 court case relating to the child abuse data or findings may be 7 determinative in a contested case proceeding. 8 b. e. The department shall not disclose any report data 9 or disposition data until the conclusion of the proceeding to 10 correct the data or findings, except as follows: 11 (1) As necessary for the proceeding itself. 12 (2) To the parties and attorneys involved in a judicial 13 proceeding. 14 (3) For the regulation of child care or child placement. 15 (4) Pursuant to court order. 16 (5) To the subject of an assessment or a report. 17 (6) For the care or treatment of a child named in a report 18 as a victim of abuse. 19 (7) To persons involved in an assessment of child abuse. 20 (8) For statutorily authorized record checks for employment 21 of an individual by a provider of adult home care, adult health 22 facility care, or other adult placement facility care. 23 (9) For others identified in section 235A.15, subsection 24 2 , paragraph “d” , subparagraph (7), and paragraph “e” , 25 subparagraphs (9) and (16). 26 3. The subject of a A person named in a child abuse report 27 as having abused a child, who has been adversely affected by a 28 founded child abuse disposition, notwithstanding the placement 29 of the report data in the central registry pursuant to section 30 232.71D, may appeal the decision resulting from a hearing held 31 pursuant to subsection 2 to the district court of Polk county 32 or to the district court of the district in which the subject 33 of the child abuse person named in the report as having abuse a 34 child resides. Immediately upon appeal the court shall order 35 -3- LSB 5374YC (1) 84 ad/nh 3/ 5

H.F. _____ the department to file with the court a certified copy of the 1 report data or disposition data. Appeal shall be taken in 2 accordance with chapter 17A . 3 Sec. 4. CHILD ABUSE REPORTS —— DIFFERENTIAL RESPONSE 4 REVIEW. 5 1. The department of human services shall conduct a 6 comprehensive review to determine whether to recommend 7 implementation of a differential response to child abuse 8 reports when the initial report is received by the department 9 pursuant to section 232.70. 10 2. “Differential response”, as used in this section, means 11 at least two discrete response options for the screening of 12 cases constituting a child abuse allegation pursuant to the 13 department’s assessment process. One of the options shall 14 include a voluntary, noninvestigative response. 15 3. The department shall, by December 1, 2012, submit a 16 report of its review including findings and recommendations to 17 the governor and general assembly. 18 Sec. 5. REPORT ON CHILD ABUSE ASSESSMENTS ADMINISTRATIVE 19 APPEALS. The department of human services and the department 20 of inspections and appeals shall, by December 1, 2012, submit 21 a report to the governor and general assembly regarding the 22 length of time for appeals of placement on the child abuse 23 registry within the last five years. The report shall include 24 information on the number of persons appealing, the alleged 25 reason for the placement, and the reasons for outliers in the 26 length of time for an appeal. 27 EXPLANATION 28 This bill amends provisions relating to the child abuse 29 registry and child abuse reports and disposition data. The 30 bill amends Code section 235A.18 to allow the department of 31 human services (DHS) to remove the name of the perpetrator of 32 abuse from the disposition data prior to the expiration of the 33 10-year period after the person’s initial placement on the 34 central registry after considering the nature and severity of 35 -4- LSB 5374YC (1) 84 ad/nh 4/ 5

H.F. _____ the abuse, the risk of recidivism, the time elapsed, and other 1 relevant factors. The bill also allows the person named as the 2 perpetrator to request DHS to remove the perpetrator’s name 3 from the registry. 4 The bill amends Code section 235A.19 to require DHS to 5 provide subjects of the child abuse report with notice of 6 the right to appeal or intervene at the time the notice of 7 the results of the assessment is issued. The bill requires 8 DHS to provide only the alleged perpetrator of the abuse, 9 regardless of whether the data is placed on the registry, with 10 an opportunity for a contested case hearing and the right to 11 appeal from the contested case hearing. Current law allows 12 such rights to all subjects of a child abuse report. However, 13 the bill also requires DHS to provide all other subjects, 14 as defined in Code section 235A.15, subsection 2, with an 15 opportunity to intervene into the contested case proceeding. 16 The bill further provides that upon the request of any party 17 to the contested case proceeding, the presiding officer may 18 stay the hearing until the conclusion of the adjudicatory phase 19 of a juvenile case or a district court case that is related to 20 the data or findings. The bill states that an adjudication 21 of a child in need of assistance or a criminal conviction in 22 district court that is related to the data or findings may be 23 determinative in a contested case proceeding. 24 The bill also requires DHS to conduct a comprehensive 25 review to determine whether to recommend implementation of a 26 differential response when initially receiving a child abuse 27 report. The bill requires DHS to submit a report of its 28 determination to the governor and general assembly by December 29 1, 2012. 30 The bill also requires the DHS and the department of 31 inspections and appeals to submit a report to the governor and 32 general assembly by December 1, 2012, regarding the length of 33 time for appeals of placement on the child abuse registry. 34 -5- LSB 5374YC (1) 84 ad/nh 5/ 5