HP1208, LD 1685, item 1, An Act To Ensure That All Maine Children Are Protected from Abuse and Neglect

An Act To Ensure That All Maine Children Are Protected from Abuse and Neglect

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §4004, sub-§2, ¶B, as amended by PL 2007, c. 586, §6, is further amended to read:

B. Promptly investigate all abuse and neglect cases and suspicious child deaths coming to its attention or , and, in the case of out-of-home abuse and neglect investigations, the department shall act also conduct an additional investigation to determine whether a licensing violation has occurred in order to protect children from further harm and establish a basis upon which to take licensing action in accordance with subchapter 11-A;

Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §4010-A, sub-§1, as corrected by RR 2003, c. 2, §78, is amended to read:

1. Policy development. Every public or private agency or program that is administered, licensed or funded by the Department of Health and Human Services , the Department of Education or the Department of Corrections and hires staff or selects volunteers and provides care or services for children shall develop a written policy regarding child abuse and neglect.

The policy must include:

A. A description of how the program and children are managed to prevent abuse or neglect;

B. The reporting of suspected abuse or neglect or other violations to the appropriate designated authorities;

C. The agency's course of action if allegations of abuse or neglect are made against the agency or its staff; and

D. The agency's grievance procedures for staff and for children and their parents or guardians regarding alleged abuse or neglect.

Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §4032, sub-§2, ¶C, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 733, §18, is amended to read:

C. Name and municipal residence, if known, of each parent and custodian and, in the case of out-of-home abuse or neglect, the name and address of the caregiver and the address of the place in which the alleged abuse or neglect occurred;

Sec. 4. 22 MRSA §4036, sub-§1, ¶F-1, as enacted by PL 1985, c. 164, is amended to read:

F-1. Removal of the perpetrator from the child's home or out-of-home setting, prohibiting direct or indirect contact with the child by the perpetrator and prohibiting other specific acts by the perpetrator which that the court finds may threaten the child;

Sec. 5. 22 MRSA §4036-A, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 443, §2, is amended to read:

2. Crime committed. When disposition under section 4036 includes a provision that a party named in a petition not have contact with a child or children named in the petition or a provision that a party named in the petition not enter the residence or the out-of-home setting of the abuse or neglect of a child or children named in the petition, and the party has prior actual notice of the order containing those provisions, violation of that provision is a Class D crime. The criminal sanctions in this subsection are in addition to and not in lieu of contempt powers of the court.

Sec. 6. 22 MRSA §4088, sub-§3, ¶C, as amended by PL 2001, c. 265, §3, is further amended to read:

C. Shall conduct a single an investigation as directed in section 4004, subsection 2, paragraphs B and C-1 and a 2nd investigation sufficient to determine not only if abuse or neglect has occurred but also to determine whether a licensing violation has occurred in order to protect children from further harm and establish a basis upon which to take licensing action . This procedure minimizes duplicative or redundant investigations to the extent possible in response to the same or related allegations of out-of-home abuse or neglect in facilities or by persons subject to licensure pursuant to this Title;

Sec. 7. 22 MRSA §4088, sub-§3, ¶D, as amended by PL 2007, c. 539, Pt. N, §35, is further amended to read:

D. Shall coordinate and consult with the department performing general licensing functions to eliminate duplicative or redundant the collection of redundant information during investigations to the extent possible and to prevent, correct or eliminate the abuse or neglect or threat of abuse or neglect in out-of-home settings;

Sec. 8. 22 MRSA §4088, sub-§3, ¶E, as amended by PL 2007, c. 539, Pt. N, §36, is further amended to read:

E. Shall provide the results of the investigation investigations to the department or another department for appropriate action. The team shall complete the investigation of issues involving licensure within a time frame not to exceed 6 months from the date of the initiation of the investigation, except in circumstances when the information necessary to complete the investigation is unavailable to the team;

Sec. 9. 22 MRSA §4088, sub-§3, ¶F, as amended by PL 2001, c. 265, §3, is further amended to read:

F. Shall include relevant professionals outside the department or service center as members of the team for all investigations of residential treatment centers, group homes or , schools or other settings that provide supervisory care for children, including but not limited to day care centers , mandated by this subchapter and for of other child care facilities as warranted;

Sec. 10. 22 MRSA §4088, sub-§3, ¶G, as amended by PL 2007, c. 539, Pt. N, §37, is further amended to read:

G. When a report alleges out-of-home abuse and neglect in facilities or by persons not subject to licensure by the department, shall immediately refer the report to the agency or department charged with the responsibility to investigate such a report conduct a separate investigation to determine if licensure or certification action is necessary or, if applicable, to the state department operating the facility;

SUMMARY

This bill makes the following changes to the laws governing the protection of children from abuse and neglect.

1. It requires the Department of Health and Human Services, in the case of an abuse and neglect investigation involving an allegation of abuse and neglect outside of the home of the child, to investigate whether a licensing violation has occurred.

2. It requires a public or private agency or program that is administered, licensed or funded by the Department of Education that hires staff or selects volunteers and provides care or services for children to develop a written policy regarding child abuse and neglect.

3. It requires that a child protection petition, in the case of alleged abuse or neglect outside of the home of the child, include the name and address of the caregiver and the address of the place in which the alleged abuse or neglect occurred.

4. It allows a court in a protection order to order the removal of a perpetrator from a setting outside of the home of the child.

5. It provides a criminal penalty for the violation of a provision of a protection order that prohibits a person from entering the out-of-home setting of the abuse or neglect.

6. It amends the laws governing the investigative duties of the out-of-home abuse and neglect investigating team and clarifies the duty of the team to eliminate the collection of redundant information to the extent possible. It specifies that the team must complete an investigation of issues involving licensure within 6 months from the start of the investigation in most cases. It requires the team to include relevant professionals outside the Department of Health and Human Services or service center as members of the team for investigations of schools or other settings that provide supervisory care for children. It specifies that, in the case of an allegation of abuse and neglect outside of the home of a child in a facility or by a person not subject to licensure by the department, the team must refer the case to the agency or department charged with the responsibility to conduct a separate investigation to determine if licensure or certification action is necessary.

HP1208 LD 1685	Session - 126th Maine Legislature		LR 2503 Item 1
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