HB2144 - 511R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 8-800, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE8-800. Purpose of child protective services

The primary purposes purpose of child protective services are is to protect children by investigating allegations of abuse and neglect, promoting the well-being of the child in a permanent home and coordinating services to strengthen the family and prevent, intervene in and treat abuse and neglect of children. To achieve this purpose, child protective services shall do the following:

1. Investigate allegations of abuse and neglect.

2. Assess, promote and support the safety of a child in a safe and stable family or other appropriate placement.

3. Work cooperatively with law enforcement and the office of child welfare investigations in the investigation of allegations of criminal child abuse and neglect.

4. Without compromising child safety, coordinate services to achieve permanency on behalf of the child, strengthen the family and assist in the prevention, intervention and treatment of abuse and neglect of children. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 8-802, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE8-802. Child protective services worker; fingerprint clearance cards; powers and duties; alteration of files; violation; classification

A. The department of economic security shall employ child protective services workers. All persons who are employed as child protective services workers shall have a valid fingerprint clearance card that is issued pursuant to section 41‑1758.07 or shall apply for a fingerprint clearance card within seven working days of employment. A child protective services worker shall certify on forms that are provided by the department of economic security and that are notarized whether the worker is awaiting trial on or has ever been convicted of any of the criminal offenses listed in section 41‑1758.07, subsections B and C in this state or similar offenses in another state or jurisdiction.

B. The department may cooperate with county agencies and community social services agencies to achieve the purposes of this chapter.

C. A Child protective services worker shall:

1. Promote the safety and protection of children.

2. Accept, screen and assess reports of abuse or neglect:

(a) Pursuant to section 8‑817.

(b) In level I residential treatment centers or in level II or level III behavioral health residential agencies that are licensed by the department of health services.

3. Receive reports of dependent, abused or abandoned children and be prepared to provide temporary foster care for these children on a twenty‑four hour basis.

4. Receive from any source oral or written information regarding a child who may be in need of protective services. A worker shall not interview a child without the prior written consent of the parent, guardian or custodian of the child unless either:

(a) The child initiates contact with the worker.

(b) The child who is interviewed is the subject of or is the sibling of or living with the child who is the subject of an abuse or abandonment investigation pursuant to paragraph 5, subdivision (b) of this subsection.

5. After the receipt of any report or information pursuant to paragraph 2, 3 or 4 of this subsection, immediately do both of the following:

(a) Notify the municipal or county law enforcement agency.

(b) Make a prompt and thorough investigation assessment of the report to determine if an investigation is required or if an alternative response is appropriate. An investigation must determine the nature, extent and cause of any condition that would tend to support or refute the allegation that the child should be adjudicated dependent and the name, age and condition of other children in the home. A criminal conduct allegation shall be investigated according to the protocols established pursuant to section 8‑817 by child protective services or the office of child welfare investigations with the appropriate municipal or county law enforcement agency as provided in section 8‑817.

6. Take a child into temporary custody as provided in section 8‑821. Law enforcement officers shall cooperate with the department to remove a child from the custody of the child's parents, guardian or custodian when necessary.

7. After investigation, evaluate conditions created by the parents, guardian or custodian that would support or refute the allegation that the child should be adjudicated dependent. The child protective services worker shall then determine whether any child is in need of protective services.

8. Offer to the family of any child who is found to be a child in need of protective services those services that are designed to correct unresolved problems that would indicate a reason to adjudicate the child dependent.

9. Submit a written report of the worker's investigation to:

(a) The department's case management information system within a reasonable time period that does not exceed forty-five days after receipt of the initial information except as provided in section 8‑811. If the investigation involves allegations regarding a child who at the time of the alleged incident was in the custody of a child welfare agency licensed by the department of economic security under this title, a copy of the report and any additional investigative or other related reports shall be provided to the board of directors of the agency or to the administrative head of the agency unless the incident is alleged to have been committed by the person. The department shall excise all information with regard to the identity of the source of the reports.

(b) The appropriate court forty‑eight hours before a dependency hearing pursuant to a petition of dependency or within twenty‑one days after a petition of dependency is filed, whichever is earlier. On receipt of the report the court shall make the report available to all parties and counsel.

10. Accept a child into voluntary placement pursuant to section 8‑806.

11. Make a good faith effort to promptly obtain and abide by court orders that restrict or deny custody, visitation or contact by a parent or other person in the home with the child. As part of the good faith effort, the child protective services worker shall ask the parent, guardian or custodian under investigation if a current court order exists.

D. A child shall not remain in temporary custody for a period exceeding seventy‑two hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, unless a dependency petition is filed. If a petition is not filed and the child is released to the child's parent, guardian or custodian, the worker shall file a report of removal with the central registry within seventy‑two hours of the child's release. The report shall include:

1. The dates of previous referrals, investigations or temporary custody.

2. The dates on which other children in the family have been taken into temporary custody.

E. The department shall provide child protective services workers who investigate allegations of abuse and neglect with training in forensic interviewing and processes, the protocols established pursuant to section 8‑817 and relevant law enforcement procedures. All child protective services workers shall be trained in their duty to protect the legal rights of children and families from the time of the initial contact through treatment. The training shall include knowledge of a child's rights as a victim of crime. The training for child protective services workers shall also include instruction on the legal rights of parents and the requirements for legal search and seizure by law enforcement officers.

F. In conducting an investigation pursuant to this section, if the worker is made aware that an allegation of abuse or neglect may also have been made in another state, the worker shall contact the appropriate agency in that state to attempt to determine the outcome of any investigation of that allegation.

G. Any person who alters a client file for the purpose of fraud or misrepresentation is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor.

H. The department of economic security may develop an alternative response for designated reports. The department may adopt rules to implement the alternative response for designated reports. END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 8-804, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE8-804. Central registry; notification

A. The department of economic security shall maintain a central registry of reports of child abuse and neglect that are substantiated and the outcome of the investigation of these reports made under this article. A finding made by a court pursuant to section 8-844, subsection C that a child is dependent based on an allegation of abuse or neglect shall be recorded as a substantiated finding of abuse or neglect. The department shall incorporate duplicate reports on the same incident in the original report and shall not classify duplicate reports as new reports.

B. The department shall conduct central registry background checks and shall use the information contained in the central registry only for the following purposes:

1. As a factor to determine qualifications for foster home licensing, adoptive parent certification, child care home certification, registration of unregulated child care homes with the child care resource and referral system, and home and community based services certification for services to children or vulnerable adults.

2. As a factor to determine qualifications for persons who are employed or who are applying for employment with this state in positions that provide direct service to children or vulnerable adults.

3. As a factor to determine qualifications for positions that provide direct service to children or vulnerable adults for:

(a) Any person who applies for a contract with this state and that person's employees.

(b) All employees of a contractor.

(d) Prospective employees of the contractor or subcontractor at the request of the prospective employer.

4. Beginning August 1, 2013, to provide information, using the department of economic security's contracting requirements, to licensees that do not contract with this state regarding persons who are employed or seeking employment to provide direct services to children pursuant to title 36, chapter 7.1.

5. To identify and review reports concerning individual children and families, in order to facilitate the assessment of safety and risk.

6. To determine the nature and scope of child abuse and neglect in this state and to provide statewide statistical and demographic information concerning trends in child abuse and neglect.

7. To allow comparisons of this state's statistical data with national data.

8. To comply with section 8‑804.01, subsection B.

C. Beginning August 1, 2013, licensees that do not contract with the state and that employ persons who provide direct services to children pursuant to title 36, chapter 7.1 must submit to the department of economic security in a manner prescribed by the department of economic security information necessary to conduct central registry background checks. The department of health services shall verify whether licensees, pursuant to title 36, chapter 7.1, have complied with the requirements of this subsection and any rules adopted by the department of health services to implement this subsection.

D. If the department received a report before September 1, 1999 and determined that the report was substantiated, the department shall maintain the report in the central registry until eighteen years from the child victim's date of birth.

E. If the department received a report on or after September 1, 1999 and determined that the report was substantiated, the department shall maintain the report in the central registry for not more than twenty‑five years after the date of the report.

F. The department shall annually purge reports and investigative outcomes received pursuant to the time frames prescribed in subsections D and E of this section.

G. Any person who was the subject of a child protective services investigation may request confirmation that the department has purged information about the person pursuant to subsection F of this section. On receipt of this request, the department shall provide the person with written confirmation that the department has no record containing identifying information about that person.

H. The department of economic security shall notify a person, contractor or licensee identified in subsection B, paragraph 3, subdivisions (a), (b) and (c) and subsection B, paragraph 4 of this section who is disqualified because of a central registry check conducted pursuant to subsection B of this section that the person may apply to the board of fingerprinting for a central registry exception pursuant to section 41‑619.57.

I. Before being employed in a position that provides direct services to children or vulnerable adults pursuant to subsection B, paragraph 3 or subsection C of this section, employees shall certify on forms that are provided by the department of economic security whether an allegation of abuse or neglect was made against them and was substantiated. The forms are confidential.

J. A person who is granted a central registry exception pursuant to section 41‑619.57 is not entitled to a contract, employment, licensure, certification or other benefit because the person has been granted a central registry exception. END_STATUTE

Sec. 4. Section 13-3620, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE13-3620. Duty to report abuse, physical injury, neglect and denial or deprivation of medical or surgical care or nourishment of minors; medical records; exception; violation; classification; definitions

A. Any person who reasonably believes that a minor is or has been the victim of physical injury, abuse, child abuse, a reportable offense or neglect that appears to have been inflicted on the minor by other than accidental means or that is not explained by the available medical history as being accidental in nature or who reasonably believes there has been a denial or deprivation of necessary medical treatment or surgical care or nourishment with the intent to cause or allow the death of an infant who is protected under section 36‑2281 shall immediately report or cause reports to be made of this information to a peace officer or to child protective services in the department of economic security, except if the report concerns a person who does not have care, custody or control of the minor, the report shall be made to a peace officer only. A member of the clergy, christian science practitioner or priest who has received a confidential communication or a confession in that person's role as a member of the clergy, a christian science practitioner or a priest in the course of the discipline enjoined by the church to which the member of the clergy, christian science practitioner or priest belongs may withhold reporting of the communication or confession if the member of the clergy, christian science practitioner or priest determines that it is reasonable and necessary within the concepts of the religion. This exemption applies only to the communication or confession and not to personal observations the member of the clergy, christian science practitioner or priest may otherwise make of the minor. For the purposes of this subsection, "person" means:

1. Any physician, physician's assistant, optometrist, dentist, osteopath, chiropractor, podiatrist, behavioral health professional, nurse, psychologist, counselor or social worker who develops the reasonable belief in the course of treating a patient.

2. Any peace officer, member of the clergy, priest or christian science practitioner.

3. The parent, stepparent or guardian of the minor.

4. School personnel or domestic violence victim advocate advocates who develop the reasonable belief in the course of their employment.

5. Any other person who has responsibility for the care or treatment of the minor.

B. A report is not required under this section for conduct prescribed by sections 13‑1404 and 13‑1405 if the conduct involves only minors who are fourteen, fifteen, sixteen or seventeen years of age and there is nothing to indicate that the conduct is other than consensual.

C. If a physician, psychologist or behavioral health professional receives a statement from a person other than a parent, stepparent, guardian or custodian of the minor during the course of providing sex offender treatment that is not court ordered or that does not occur while the offender is incarcerated in the state department of corrections or the department of juvenile corrections, the physician, psychologist or behavioral health professional may withhold the reporting of that statement if the physician, psychologist or behavioral health professional determines it is reasonable and necessary to accomplish the purposes of the treatment.

D. Reports shall be made immediately by telephone or electronically. in person and shall be followed by a written report within seventy‑two hours. The reports shall contain:

1. The names and addresses of the minor and the minor's parents or the person or persons having custody of the minor, if known.

2. The minor's age and the nature and extent of the minor's abuse, child abuse, physical injury or neglect, including any evidence of previous abuse, child abuse, physical injury or neglect.

3. Any other information that the person believes might be helpful in establishing the cause of the abuse, child abuse, physical injury or neglect.

E. A health care professional who is regulated pursuant to title 32 and who, after a routine newborn physical assessment of a newborn infant's health status or following notification of positive toxicology screens of a newborn infant, reasonably believes that the newborn infant may be affected by the presence of alcohol or a drug listed in section 13‑3401 shall immediately report this information, or cause a report to be made, to child protective services in the department of economic security. For the purposes of this subsection, "newborn infant" means a newborn infant who is under thirty days of age.

F. Any person other than one required to report or cause reports to be made under subsection A of this section who reasonably believes that a minor is or has been a victim of abuse, child abuse, physical injury, a reportable offense or neglect may report the information to a peace officer or to child protective services in the department of economic security, except if the report concerns a person who does not have care, custody or control of the minor, the report shall be made to a peace officer only.

G. A person who has custody or control of medical records of a minor for whom a report is required or authorized under this section shall make the records, or a copy of the records, available to a peace officer or child protective services worker investigating the minor's neglect, child abuse, physical injury or abuse on written request for the records signed by the peace officer or child protective services worker. Records disclosed pursuant to this subsection are confidential and may be used only in a judicial or administrative proceeding or investigation resulting from a report required or authorized under this section.

H. When telephone or in‑person reports are received by a peace officer, the officer shall immediately notify child protective services in the department of economic security and make the information available to them child protective services. Notwithstanding any other statute, when child protective services receives these reports by telephone or in person, it shall immediately notify a peace officer in the appropriate jurisdiction.

I. Any person who is required to receive reports pursuant to subsection A of this section may take or cause to be taken photographs of the minor and the vicinity involved. Medical examinations of the involved minor may be performed.

J. A person who furnishes a report, information or records required or authorized under this section, or a person who participates in a judicial or administrative proceeding or investigation resulting from a report, information or records required or authorized under this section, is immune from any civil or criminal liability by reason of that action unless the person acted with malice or unless the person has been charged with or is suspected of abusing or neglecting the child or children in question.

K. Except for the attorney client privilege or the privilege under subsection L of this section, no privilege applies to any:

1. Civil or criminal litigation or administrative proceeding in which a minor's neglect, dependency, abuse, child abuse, physical injury or abandonment is an issue.

2. Judicial or administrative proceeding resulting from a report, information or records submitted pursuant to this section.

3. Investigation of a minor's child abuse, physical injury, neglect or abuse conducted by a peace officer or child protective services in the department of economic security.

L. In any civil or criminal litigation in which a child's neglect, dependency, physical injury, abuse, child abuse or abandonment is an issue, a member of the clergy, a christian science practitioner or a priest shall not, without his consent, be examined as a witness concerning any confession made to him in his role as a member of the clergy, a christian science practitioner or a priest in the course of the discipline enjoined by the church to which he belongs. Nothing in This subsection discharges does not discharge a member of the clergy, a christian science practitioner or a priest from the duty to report pursuant to subsection A of this section.

M. If psychiatric records are requested pursuant to subsection G of this section, the custodian of the records shall notify the attending psychiatrist, who may excise from the records, before they are made available:

1. Personal information about individuals other than the patient.

2. Information regarding specific diagnosis or treatment of a psychiatric condition, if the attending psychiatrist certifies in writing that release of the information would be detrimental to the patient's health or treatment.

N. If any portion of a psychiatric record is excised pursuant to subsection M of this section, a court, upon on application of a peace officer or child protective services worker, may order that the entire record or any portion of the record that contains information relevant to the reported abuse, child abuse, physical injury or neglect be made available to the peace officer or child protective services worker investigating the abuse, child abuse, physical injury or neglect.

O. A person who violates this section is guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor, except if the failure to report involves a reportable offense, the person is guilty of a class 6 felony.

P. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Abuse" has the same meaning prescribed in section 8‑201.

2. "Child abuse" means child abuse pursuant to section 13‑3623.

3. "Neglect" has the same meaning prescribed in section 8‑201.

4. "Reportable offense" means any of the following:

(a) Any offense listed in chapters 14 and 35.1 of this title or section 13‑3506.01.

(b) Surreptitious photographing, videotaping, filming or digitally recording of or viewing a minor pursuant to section 13‑3019.

(d) Incest pursuant to section 13‑3608. END_STATUTE