SENATE BILL NO. 761
September 28, 1999, Introduced by Senators PETERS, JOHNSON and
HAMMERSTROM and referred to the Committee on Families,
Mental Health and Human Services.
A bill to amend 1975 PA 238, entitled
"Child protection law,"
by amending section 2 (MCL 722.622), as amended by 1998 PA 531.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
1 Sec. 2. As used in this act:
2 (a) "Attorney" means, if appointed to represent a child
3 under the provisions referenced in section 10, an attorney serv-
4 ing as the child's legal advocate in the manner defined and
5 described in section 13a of chapter XIIA of THE PROBATE CODE OF
6 1939, 1939 PA 288, MCL 712A.13a.
7 (b) "Central registry" means the system maintained at the
8 department that is used to keep a record of all reports filed
9 with the department pursuant to AS PROVIDED IN
this act in
10 which relevant and accurate evidence of child abuse or neglect is
11 found to exist.
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1 (c) "Central registry case" means a child protective
2 services case that the department classifies under sections 8 and
3 8d as category I or category II. For a child protective services
4 case that was investigated before the effective date of the
act
5 that added section 8d JULY 1, 1999, central
registry case means
6 an allegation of child abuse or neglect that the department
7 substantiated.
8 (d) "Child" means a person under 18 years of age.
9 (e) "Child abuse" means harm or threatened harm to a child's
10 health or welfare by a parent, legal guardian, or any other
11 person responsible for the child's health or welfare, or by a
12 teacher or teacher's aide, that occurs through nonaccidental
13 physical or mental injury; sexual abuse; sexual exploitation; or
14 maltreatment.
15 (f) "Child neglect" means harm or threatened harm to a
16 child's health or welfare by a parent, legal guardian, or any
17 other person responsible for the child's health or welfare that
18 occurs through either 1 OR MORE of the following:
19 (i) Negligent treatment, including the failure to
provide
20 adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical care.
21 (ii) Placing a child at an unreasonable risk to the
child's
22 health or welfare by failure of the parent, legal guardian, or
23 any other person responsible for the child's health or welfare to
24 intervene to eliminate that risk when that person is able to do
25 so and has, or should have, knowledge of the risk.
26 (iii) FAILURE OF A CHILD, BECAUSE OF A PARENT'S ACTIONS
OR
27 INACTION, TO ENROLL IN OR ATTEND SCHOOL IN COMPLIANCE WITH PART
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1 24 OF THE REVISED SCHOOL CODE, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1561 TO
2 380.1599.
3 (g) "Controlled substance" means that term as defined in
4 section 7104 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL
5 333.7104.
6 (h) "CPSI system" means the child protective service infor-
7 mation system, which is an internal data system maintained within
8 and by the department, and which is separate from the central
9 registry and not subject to section 7.
10 (i) "Department" means the family independence agency.
11 (j) "Director" means the director of the department.
12 (k) "Expunge" means to physically remove or eliminate and
13 destroy a record or report.
14 (l) "Lawyer-guardian ad litem" means an attorney
appointed
15 under section 10 who has the powers and duties referenced by sec-
16 tion 10.
17 (m) "Local office file" means the system used to keep a
18 record of a written report, document, or photograph filed with
19 and maintained by a county or a regionally based office of the
20 department.
21 (n) "Nonparent adult" means a person who is 18 years of age
22 or older and who, regardless of the person's domicile, meets all
23 of the following criteria in relation to a child over whom the
24 court takes jurisdiction under section 2(b) of chapter XIIA of
25 THE PROBATE CODE OF 1939, 1939 PA 288, MCL 712A.2:
26 (i) Has substantial and regular contact with the child.
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1 (ii) Has a close personal relationship with the child's
2 parent or with a person responsible for the child's health or
3 welfare.
4 (iii) Is not the child's parent or a person otherwise
5 related to the child by blood or affinity to the third degree.
6 (o) "Person responsible for the child's health or welfare"
7 means a parent, legal guardian, person 18 years of age or older
8 who resides for any length of time in the same home in which the
9 child resides, or, except when used in section 7(2)(e) or 8(8),
10 nonparent adult; or an owner, operator, volunteer, or employee of
11 1 or more of the following:
12 (i) A licensed or unlicensed child care organization as
13 defined in section 1 of 1973 PA 116, MCL 722.111.
14 (ii) A licensed or unlicensed adult foster care family
home
15 or adult foster care small group home as defined in section 3 of
16 the adult foster care facility licensing act, 1979 PA 218, MCL
17 400.703.
18 (p) "Relevant evidence" means evidence having a tendency to
19 make the existence of a fact that is at issue more probable than
20 it would be without the evidence.
21 (q) "Sexual abuse" means engaging in sexual contact or
22 sexual penetration as those terms are defined in section 520a of
23 the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.520a, with a
24 child.
25 (r) "Sexual exploitation" includes allowing, permitting, or
26 encouraging a child to engage in prostitution, or allowing,
27 permitting, encouraging, or engaging in the photographing,
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1 filming, or depicting of a child engaged in a listed sexual act
2 as defined in section 145c of THE MICHIGAN PENAL CODE, 1931 PA
3 328, MCL 750.145c.
4 (s) "Specified information" means information in a central
5 registry case record that relates specifically to referrals or
6 reports of child abuse or neglect. Specified information does
7 not include any of the following:
8 (i) Except as provided in this subparagraph regarding a
per-
9 petrator of child abuse or neglect, personal identification
10 information for any individual identified in a child protective
11 services record. The exclusion of personal identification infor-
12 mation as specified information prescribed by this subparagraph
13 does not include personal identification information identifying
14 an individual alleged to have perpetrated child abuse or neglect,
15 which allegation has been classified as a central registry case.
16 (ii) Information in a law enforcement report as provided
in
17 section 7(8).
18 (iii) Any other information that is specifically
designated
19 as confidential under other law.
20 (t) "Structured decision-making tool" means the department
21 document labeled "DSS-4752 (P3)(3-95)" or a revision of that doc-
22 ument that better measures the risk of future harm to a child.
23 (u) "Substantiated" means a child protective services case
24 classified as a central registry case.
25 (v) "Unsubstantiated" means a child protective services case
26 the department classifies under sections 8 and 8d as category
27 III, category IV, or category V.
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