CHILD ABUSE REPORTS S.B. 183: FLOOR ANALYSIS
Senate Bill 183 (as reported without amendment)
Sponsor: Senator Alan Sanborn
Committee: Families and Human Services
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Child Protection Law (CPL) to give the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services access to certain information on perpetrators of child abuse or neglect, for the purpose of complying with Federal law.
The CPL requires various professionals to report suspected child abuse or neglect to the Department of Human Services (DHS). The CPL also requires the DHS to maintain a statewide, electronic central registry of all reports filed with the Department in which relevant and accurate evidence of child abuse or neglect is found to exist.
A report filed with the DHS under the CPL is a confidential record available only to certain governmental agencies, law enforcement agencies, courts, child care organizations, and authorized individuals. The bill would add the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services to the people to whom a confidential record is available, for the purpose of complying with the requirements of Section 633 of the Federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006.
(Section 633 of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to create a national registry of substantiated cases of child abuse or neglect. Information in the registry must be supplied by states (or political subdivisions) and Indian tribes. The registry must collect information on individuals reported to states, Indian tribes, and political subdivisions as perpetrators of a substantiated case of child abuse or neglect.
If a state, Indian tribe, or political subdivision has a similar electronic register of cases of child abuse or neglect, the information provided to the Secretary must be coextensive with the information in that register. The information provided must contain case-specific identifying information that is limited to the name of the perpetrator and the nature of the substantiated case of child abuse or neglect.)
MCL 722.627 Legislative Analyst: Curtis Walker
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have no fiscal impact on State or local government.
Date Completed: 3-1-07 Fiscal Analyst: Constance Cole
Analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent. sb183/0708