Bill Text: MI SB0420 | 2017-2018 | 99th Legislature | Chaptered
Bill Title: Children; protection; considerations for returning child to custody of parent; modify. Amends secs. 2 & 18 of 1975 PA 238 (MCL 722.622 & 722.638).
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-03-15 - Assigned Pa 0059'18 With Immediate Effect [SB0420 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2017-SB0420-Chaptered.html
Act No. 59
Public Acts of 2018
Approved by the Governor
March 13, 2018
Filed with the Secretary of State
March 14, 2018
EFFECTIVE DATE: June 12, 2018
STATE OF MICHIGAN
99TH LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION OF 2018
Introduced by Senator Pavlov
ENROLLED SENATE BILL No. 420
AN ACT to amend 1975 PA 238, entitled “An act to require the reporting of child abuse and neglect by certain persons; to permit the reporting of child abuse and neglect by all persons; to provide for the protection of children who are abused or neglected; to authorize limited detainment in protective custody; to authorize medical examinations; to prescribe the powers and duties of the state department of social services to prevent child abuse and neglect; to prescribe certain powers and duties of local law enforcement agencies; to safeguard and enhance the welfare of children and preserve family life; to provide for the appointment of legal counsel; to provide for the abrogation of privileged communications; to provide civil and criminal immunity for certain persons; to provide rules of evidence in certain cases; to provide for confidentiality of records; to provide for the expungement of certain records; to prescribe penalties; and to repeal certain acts and parts of acts,” by amending sections 2 and 18 (MCL 722.622 and 722.638), section 2 as amended by 2016 PA 491 and section 18 as amended by 2010 PA 12.
The People of the State of Michigan enact:
Sec. 2. As used in this act:
(a) “Adult foster care location authorized to care for a child” means an adult foster care family home or adult foster care small group home as defined in section 3 of the adult foster care facility licensing act, 1979 PA 218, MCL 400.703, in which a child is placed in accordance with section 5 of 1973 PA 116, MCL 722.115.
(b) “Attorney” means, if appointed to represent a child under the provisions referenced in section 10, an attorney serving as the child’s legal advocate in the manner defined and described in section 13a of chapter XIIA of the probate code of 1939, 1939 PA 288, MCL 712A.13a.
(c) “Central registry” means the system maintained at the department that is used to keep a record of all reports filed with the department under this act in which relevant and accurate evidence of child abuse or child neglect is found to exist.
(d) “Central registry case” means a child protective services case that the department classifies under sections 8 and 8d as category I or category II. For a child protective services case that was investigated before July 1, 1999, central registry case means an allegation of child abuse or child neglect that the department substantiated.
(e) “Centralized intake” means the department’s statewide centralized processing center for reports of suspected child abuse and child neglect.
(f) “Child” means a person under 18 years of age.
(g) “Child abuse” means harm or threatened harm to a child’s health or welfare that occurs through nonaccidental physical or mental injury, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, or maltreatment, by a parent, a legal guardian, or any other person responsible for the child’s health or welfare or by a teacher, a teacher’s aide, or a member of the clergy.
(h) “Child care organization” means that term as defined in section 1 of 1973 PA 116, MCL 722.111.
(i) “Child care provider” means an owner, operator, employee, or volunteer of a child care organization or of an adult foster care location authorized to care for a child.
(j) “Child care regulatory agency” means the department of licensing and regulatory affairs or a successor state department that is responsible for the licensing or registration of child care organizations or the licensing of adult foster care locations authorized to care for a child.
(k) “Child neglect” means harm or threatened harm to a child’s health or welfare by a parent, legal guardian, or any other person responsible for the child’s health or welfare that occurs through either of the following:
(i) Negligent treatment, including the failure to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical care, though financially able to do so, or by the failure to seek financial or other reasonable means to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical care.
(ii) Placing a child at an unreasonable risk to the child’s health or welfare by failure of the parent, legal guardian, or other person responsible for the child’s health or welfare to intervene to eliminate that risk when that person is able to do so and has, or should have, knowledge of the risk.
(l) “Children’s advocacy center” means an entity accredited as a child advocacy center by the National Children’s Alliance or its successor agency or an entity granted associate or developing membership status by the National Children’s Alliance or its successor agency.
(m) “Citizen review panel” means a panel established as required by section 5106a of the child abuse prevention and treatment act, 42 USC 5106a.
(n) “Member of the clergy” means a priest, minister, rabbi, Christian science practitioner, or other religious practitioner, or similar functionary of a church, temple, or recognized religious body, denomination, or organization.
(o) “Controlled substance” means that term as defined in section 7104 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.7104.
(p) “CPSI system” means the child protective service information system, which is an internal data system maintained within and by the department, and which is separate from the central registry and not subject to section 7.
(q) “Department” means the department of health and human services.
(r) “Director” means the director of the department.
(s) “Expunge” means to physically remove or eliminate and destroy a record or report.
(t) “Lawyer-guardian ad litem” means an attorney appointed under section 10 who has the powers and duties referenced by section 10.
(u) “Local office file” means the system used to keep a record of a written report, document, or photograph filed with and maintained by a county or a regionally based office of the department.
(v) “Nonparent adult” means a person who is 18 years of age or older and who, regardless of the person’s domicile, meets all of the following criteria in relation to a child:
(i) Has substantial and regular contact with the child.
(ii) Has a close personal relationship with the child’s parent or with a person responsible for the child’s health or welfare.
(iii) Is not the child’s parent or a person otherwise related to the child by blood or affinity to the third degree.
(w) “Online reporting system” means the electronic system established by the department for individuals identified in section 3(1) to report suspected child abuse or child neglect.
(x) “Person responsible for the child’s health or welfare” means a parent, legal guardian, person 18 years of age or older who resides for any length of time in the same home in which the child resides, or, except when used in section 7(2)(e) or 8(8), nonparent adult; or an owner, operator, volunteer, or employee of 1 or more of the following:
(i) A licensed or registered child care organization.
(ii) A licensed or unlicensed adult foster care family home or adult foster care small group home as defined in section 3 of the adult foster care facility licensing act, 1979 PA 218, MCL 400.703.
(iii) A court-operated facility as approved under section 14 of the social welfare act, 1939 PA 280, MCL 400.14.
(y) “Relevant evidence” means evidence having a tendency to make the existence of a fact that is at issue more probable than it would be without the evidence.
(z) “Sexual abuse” means engaging in sexual contact or sexual penetration as those terms are defined in section 520a of the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.520a, with a child.
(aa) “Sexual exploitation” includes allowing, permitting, or encouraging a child to engage in prostitution, or allowing, permitting, encouraging, or engaging in the photographing, filming, or depicting of a child engaged in a listed sexual act as defined in section 145c of the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.145c.
(bb) “Specified information” means information in a children’s protective services case record related specifically to the department’s actions in responding to a complaint of child abuse or child neglect. Specified information does not include any of the following:
(i) Except as provided in this subparagraph regarding a perpetrator of child abuse or child neglect, personal identification information for any individual identified in a child protective services record. The exclusion of personal identification information as specified information prescribed by this subparagraph does not include personal identification information identifying an individual alleged to have perpetrated child abuse or child neglect, which allegation has been classified as a central registry case.
(ii) Information in a police agency report or other law enforcement agency report as provided in section 7(8).
(iii) Any other information that is specifically designated as confidential under other law.
(iv) Any information not related to the department’s actions in responding to a report of child abuse or child neglect.
(cc) “Structured decision-making tool” means the department document labeled “DSS-4752 (P3) (3-95)” or a revision of that document that better measures the risk of future harm to a child.
(dd) “Substantiated” means a child protective services case classified as a central registry case.
(ee) “Unsubstantiated” means a child protective services case the department classifies under sections 8 and 8d as category III, category IV, or category V.
Sec. 18. (1) The department shall submit a petition for authorization by the court under section 2(b) of chapter XIIA of 1939 PA 288, MCL 712A.2, if 1 or more of the following apply:
(a) The department determines that a parent, guardian, or custodian, or a person who is 18 years of age or older and who resides for any length of time in the child’s home, has abused the child or a sibling of the child and the abuse included 1 or more of the following:
(i) Abandonment of a young child.
(ii) Criminal sexual conduct involving penetration, attempted penetration, or assault with intent to penetrate.
(iii) Battering, torture, or other severe physical abuse.
(iv) Loss or serious impairment of an organ or limb.
(v) Life threatening injury.
(vi) Murder or attempted murder.
(b) The department determines that there is risk of harm, child abuse, or child neglect to the child and either of the following is true:
(i) The parent’s rights to another child were terminated as a result of proceedings under section 2(b) of chapter XIIA of 1939 PA 288, MCL 712A.2, or a similar law of another state and the parent has failed to rectify the conditions that led to the prior termination of parental rights.
(ii) The parent’s rights to another child were voluntarily terminated following the initiation of proceedings under section 2(b) of chapter XIIA of 1939 PA 288, MCL 712A.2, or a similar law of another state, the parent has failed to rectify the conditions that led to the prior termination of parental rights, and the proceeding involved abuse that included 1 or more of the following:
(A) Abandonment of a young child.
(B) Criminal sexual conduct involving penetration, attempted penetration, or assault with intent to penetrate.
(C) Battering, torture, or other severe physical abuse.
(D) Loss or serious impairment of an organ or limb.
(E) Life-threatening injury.
(F) Murder or attempted murder.
(G) Voluntary manslaughter.
(H) Aiding and abetting, attempting to commit, conspiring to commit, or soliciting murder or voluntary manslaughter.
(2) In a petition submitted as required by subsection (1), if a parent is a suspected perpetrator or is suspected of placing the child at an unreasonable risk of harm due to the parent’s failure to take reasonable steps to intervene to eliminate that risk, the department shall include a request for termination of parental rights at the initial dispositional hearing as authorized under section 19b of chapter XIIA of 1939 PA 288, MCL 712A.19b.
(3) If the department is considering petitioning for termination of parental rights at the initial dispositional hearing as authorized under section 19b of chapter XIIA of 1939 PA 288, MCL 712A.19b, even though the facts of the child’s case do not require departmental action under subsection (1), the department shall hold a conference among the appropriate agency personnel to agree upon the course of action. The department shall notify the attorney representing the child of the time and place of the conference, and the attorney may attend. If an agreement is not reached at this conference, the department director or the director’s designee shall resolve the disagreement after consulting the attorneys representing both the department and the child.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days after the date it is enacted into law.
This act is ordered to take immediate effect.
Secretary of the Senate
Clerk of the House of Representatives
Approved
Governor
