Delaware Senate Bill 297 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Completed Legislative Action
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 38-23-1)
Status: Passed on June 30 2010 - 100% progression
Action: 2010-06-30 - Signed by Governor
Text: Latest bill text (Draft #1) [HTML]

This act promotes the reporting of child abuse and allegations of unprofessional practice by healthcare practitioners and institutions. Section 1 clarifies that the mandatory duty to report child abuse or neglect applies to all persons, and specifically includes institutions such as hospitals, nursing homes and the Medical Society. Sections 2 - 4 clarify that Delaware has one hot-line for all reports of abuse against children located within the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families, and adds a requirement that the Delaware Department of Justice be notified of criminal activity. Section 5 obligates the Department to inform the Division of Professional Regulation of child abuse or neglect allegations are made against a regulated professional. Section 6 increases the potential civil penalties for persons or entities who fail to report child abuse notwithstanding an obligation to do so. Sections 7 and 8 allow the Department of Health and Social Services to discipline hospitals and nursing facilities licensed by the Department if they fail to make mandatory reports of child abuse under Title 16 or unprofessional conduct by physicians under the Medical Practice Act. Section 9 creates an affirmative duty for physicians to inform the Board of Medical Practice if allegations of child abuse or neglect are made to the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families or would cause them to be listed on the Adult Abuse Registry.

An Act To Amend Titles 16 And 24 Of The Delaware Code Relating To The Reporting Of Abuse And Unprofessional Practice.

Rep. John Atkins [D]	Rep. Michael Barbieri [D]	Rep. Edward Bennett [D]	Rep. Donald Blakey [R]
Sen. Patricia Blevins [D]	Sen. Joseph Booth [R]	Rep. Gerald Brady [D]	Rep. Ruth Briggs King [R]
Rep. Ruth Briggs King [R]	Sen. George Bunting [D]	Sen. Brian Bushweller [D]	Rep. George Carey [R]
Rep. William Carson [D]	Rep. Richard Cathcart [R]	Sen. Catherine Cloutier [R]	Sen. Dorinda Connor [R]
Sen. Nancy Cook [D]	Sen. Anthony DeLuca [D]	Sen. Bruce Ennis [D]	Rep. George [?]
Rep. Robert Gilligan [D]	Sen. Bethany Hall-Long [D]	Sen. Margaret Henry [D]	Sen. Gerald Hocker [R]
Rep. Deborah Hudson [R]	Rep. Earl Jaques [D]	Rep. James Johnson [D]	Rep. Quinton Johnson [D]
Sen. Michael Katz [D]	Rep. Helene Keeley [D]	Rep. Thomas Kovach [R]	Rep. John Kowalko [D]
Sen. Gregory Lavelle [R]	Rep. Clifford Lee [R]	Rep. Valerie Longhurst [D]	Rep. Nick Manolakos [R]
Sen. Robert Marshall [D]	Sen. David McBride [D]	Sen. Harris McDowell [D]	Rep. Joseph Miro [R]
Rep. John Mitchell [D]	Rep. Michael Mulrooney [D]	Rep. William Oberle [R]	Rep. William Outten [R]
Sen. Karen Peterson [D]	Rep. Hazel Plant [D]	Rep. Michael Ramone [R]	Rep. Teresa Schooley [D]
Rep. Peter Schwartzkopf [D]	Rep. Darryl Scott [D]	Rep. Bryon Short [D]	Rep. Daniel Short [R]
Sen. Gary Simpson [R]	Sen. David Sokola [D]	Sen. Liane Sorenson [R]	Rep. Pamela Thornburg [R]
Sen. Robert Venables [D]	Rep. John Viola [D]	Rep. Robert Walls [D]	Rep. D.E. Williams [D]
Rep. D.P. Williams [D]	Sen. David Wilson [R]

2010-06-24 - House - House Third Reading (Y: 39 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 2) [PASS]
2010-06-22 - Senate - Senate Third Reading (Y: 21 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]

Date	Chamber	Action
2010-06-30		Signed by Governor
2010-06-24		Passed by House of Representatives. Votes: Passed 39 YES 0 NO 0 NOT VOTING 2 ABSENT 0 VACANT
2010-06-24		Necessary rules are suspended in House
2010-06-24		Reported Out of Committee (HEALTH & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT) in House with 7 On Its Merits
2010-06-23		Introduced and Assigned to Health & Human Development Committee in House
2010-06-22		Passed by Senate. Votes: Passed 21 YES 0 NO 0 NOT VOTING 0 ABSENT 0 VACANT
2010-06-22		Amendment SA 1 - Passed by Senate. Votes: Passed 21 YES 0 NO 0 NOT VOTING 0 ABSENT 0 VACANT
2010-06-17		Amendment SA 1 - Introduced and Placed With the Bill in Senate
2010-06-17		Reported Out of Committee (JUDICIARY) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits
2010-06-10		Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate

Type	Source
Summary	http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/lis145.nsf/2bede841c6272c888025698400433a04/dd4c43332d5382d28525773d005d20a6?OpenDocument
Text	http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/lis145.nsf/vwLegislation/SB+297/$file/legis.html?open
Roll Call	http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/lis145.nsf/7712cf7cc0e9227a852568470077336f/6f8258a0d5af5e5f8525774a006809fe?OpenDocument
Roll Call	http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/lis145.nsf/7712cf7cc0e9227a852568470077336f/10fbbc8e3f0d0e8b8525774c0076efe6?OpenDocument