General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5185
February Session, 2012 LCO No. 771
*00771_______KID*
Referred to Committee on Select Committee on Children
Introduced by:
(KID)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 5185
February Session, 2012
LCO No. 771
*00771_______KID*
Referred to Committee on Select Committee on Children
Introduced by:
(KID)
AN ACT CONCERNING INTERVIEWS IN CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT CASES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 17a-101h of the 2012 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2012):
Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, any person authorized to conduct an investigation of abuse or neglect shall coordinate investigatory activities in order to minimize the number of interviews of any child and share information with other persons authorized to conduct an investigation of child abuse or neglect, as appropriate. A person reporting child abuse or neglect shall provide any person authorized to conduct an investigation of child abuse or neglect with all information related to the investigation that is in the possession or control of the person reporting child abuse or neglect, except as expressly prohibited by state or federal law. The commissioner shall obtain the consent of parents or guardians or other persons responsible for the care of the child to any interview with a child, except that such consent shall not be required when the department has a documented compelling reason to believe [such parent or guardian or other person responsible for the care of the child or member of the child's household is the perpetrator of the alleged abuse] that seeking such consent would place the child at imminent risk of physical harm. If consent is not required to conduct the interview, such interview shall be conducted in the presence of a disinterested adult unless immediate access to the child is necessary to protect the child from imminent risk of physical harm and a disinterested adult is not available after reasonable search.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2012 17a-101h
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2012
17a-101h
Statement of Purpose:
To permit the Department of Children and Families to interview a child in a child protective investigation without parental consent in circumstances when obtaining such consent would place the child at imminent risk of physical harm.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]