15may03... 1495h

5jun03... 1758h

2003 SESSION

03-0958

05/01

SENATE BILL 86-FN

COMMITTEE: Public Institutions, Health and Human Services

AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill:

I. Requires the department of health and human services to publicly disclose certain information regarding abuse and neglect cases if the disclosure would not be contrary to the best interests of the child and if there has been a fatality or near fatality resulting from abuse or neglect.

II. Requires the department of health and human services to submit a plan to obtain accreditation by the Council on Accreditation for Children and Family Services.

III. Extends the reporting date for the pilot project relative to abuse and neglect hearings in Grafton county.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

15may03... 1495h

5jun03... 1758h

03-0958

05/01

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Three

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

206:1 Statement of Purpose.

I. The purpose of this act is to ensure that the department of health and human services both receives the resources necessary and is held accountable for requesting and using those resources so that it may perform the child protection duties required of it in RSA 169-C, the Child Protection Act, and RSA 170-G, Services for Children, Youth and Families.

II. By this act, the general court resolves to provide the resources for the department of health and human services to meet higher standards for child protection. The general court finds that those standards set by the Council on Accreditation for Children and Family Services, Inc. are nationally recognized as the best practices for protecting abused and neglected children. The general court further finds that achieving and maintaining these standards require solid commitment from the legislative and executive branches of government.

III. The general court also finds that public access to limited information about child fatalities and near fatalities will create greater accountability, both for the department of health and human services and for other organizations and systems charged with protecting vulnerable children.

206:2 Commissioner of Health and Human Services; Mandatory Disclosure of Certain Abuse and Neglect Cases. Amend RSA 126-A:5, XII(a) to read as follows:

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the commissioner [may] shall, upon request, publicly disclose [certain case specific information] the information in subparagraphs (c)(3)-(c)(12) regarding the abuse or neglect of a child, as set forth in this paragraph, [and the investigation of such abuse or neglect and any services related thereto,] if there has been a fatality or near fatality resulting from abuse or neglect of a child. Information included in subparagraphs (c)(1) and (c)(2) shall also be disclosed if it is determined that such disclosure shall not be contrary to the best interests of the child, the child's siblings or other children in the household and there has been a fatality or near fatality resulting from abuse or neglect of a child. In addition, the same disclosure shall be made when there has been a fatality, to include suicide, or near fatality of a child under the legal supervision or legal custody of the department. In determining whether disclosure will be contrary to the best interests of the child, the child's siblings, or other children in the household, the commissioner shall consider the privacy interests of the child and the child's family and the effects which disclosure may have on efforts to reunite and provide services for the family. [In evaluating the request for disclosure, the commissioner shall consider the source of the request, and whether the disclosure will promote public accountability of the department.] If the commissioner determines not to release the information, the commissioner shall provide written findings in support of the decision to the requestor. As used in this section, "near fatality" means an act or event that places a child in serious or critical condition as certified by a physician.

206:3 Commissioner of Health and Human Services; Mandatory Disclosure of Certain Abuse and Neglect Cases. Amend RSA 126-A:5, XII(c) to read as follows:

(c) For the purposes of this paragraph, the following information [may] shall be disclosed:

(1) The name of the abused or neglected child, provided that the name shall not be disclosed in a case of a near fatality unless the name has otherwise previously been disclosed.

(2) The name of the parent or other person legally responsible for the child or the foster family home, group home, child care institution, or child placing agency where the child is placed.

(3) The date of any report to the department of suspected abuse or neglect, provided that the identity of the person making the report shall not be made public.

(4) The statutory basis and supporting allegations of such report, provided that the identity of the person making the report shall not be made public.

(5) Whether the report was referred to a district office for assessment and, if so, the priority assigned by central intake.

(6) The date the report was referred to the district office for assessment.

(7) The date and means by which the district office made contact with the family regarding the assessment.

(8) The date and means of any collateral contact made as part of the investigation provided that the identity of an individual so contacted shall not be made public.

(9) The date the assessment was completed.

[(3)] (10) The fact that the department's investigation resulted in a finding of either abuse or neglect and the basis for the finding.

[(4)] (11) Identification of services and actions taken, if any, by the department regarding the child named in the report and his or her family or substitute caregiver as a result of any such report or reports.

[(5)] (12) Any extraordinary or pertinent information concerning the circumstances of the abuse or maltreatment of the child and the investigation of such abuse or maltreatment, where the commissioner determines such disclosure is consistent with the public interest.

206:4 Department of Health and Human Services; Plan for Accreditation by the Council on Accreditation for Children and Family Services. The department of health and human services shall develop a plan for the department to achieve accreditation by the Council on Accreditation for Children and Family Services, Inc. The plan shall contain (1) inputs, including staffing requirements, a timetable for achieving those requirements, projected budgets for achieving those requirements, and any other costs associated with achieving accreditation, and (2) outcomes, including an assessment, based on statistical and other evidence, of the impact of accreditation on the number of abused and neglected children, the nature of their abuse and neglect and the relationships between such children and their families. The plan shall be submitted by February 1, 2004 to the governor, the president of the senate, the chairs of the finance and public institutions, health and human services committees of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the chairs of the finance and children and family law committees of the house of representatives, the legislative budget assistant, the advisory board established in RSA 170-G:6, and the New Hampshire child fatality review committee.

206:5 Pilot Project Relative to Abuse and Neglect Hearings in the Grafton County Court; Report by Supervisory Judge of Family Court in Grafton County. Amend 2002, 243:2, III to read as follows:

III. The [administrative judge of the district courts] supervisory judge of the family court in Grafton county shall prepare a report on the findings and recommendations of the Grafton county court relative to opening hearings in child abuse and neglect cases under the terms established by the pilot project. The [administrative judge of the district courts] supervisory judge of the family court in Grafton county shall provide the report to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, the senate president, the legislative oversight committee, the senate clerk, the house clerk, and the commissioner of the department of health and human services on or before September 1, [2003] 2004.

206:6 Pilot Project Relative to Abuse and Neglect Hearings in the Grafton County Court; Legislative Oversight Committee Report Date Extended. Amend 2002, 243:3, IV to read as follows:

IV. Report. The committee shall report its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation to the speaker of the house of representatives, the senate president, the house clerk, the senate clerk, the governor, and the state library on or before November 1, [2003] 2004.

206:7 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

(Approved: June 30, 2003)

(Effective Date: August 29, 2003)