LCO No. 3465 1 of 5
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7001
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 3465
Referred to Committee on COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN
Introduced by:
(KID)
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E NOTIFICATION OF CERTAIN
EMPLOYERS OF THE PLA CEMENT OF AN EMPLOYE E ON THE
CHILD ABUSE AND NEGL ECT REGISTRY.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 17a-101k of the general statutes is repealed and 1
the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 2
(a) The Commissioner of Children and Families shall maintain a 3
registry of the commissioner's findings of abuse or neglect of children 4
pursuant to section 17a-101g that conforms to the requirements of this 5
section. The regulations adopted pursuant to subsection (i) of this 6
section shall provide for the use of the registry on a twenty-four-hour 7
daily basis to prevent or discover abuse of children and the 8
establishment of a hearing process for any appeal by a person of the 9
commissioner's determination that such person is responsible for the 10
abuse or neglect of a child pursuant to subsection (b) of section 17a-11
101g. The information contained in the registry and any other 12
information relative to child abuse, wherever located, shall be 13
confidential, subject to such statutes and regulations governing their 14 Raised Bill No. 7001
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use and access as shall conform to the requirements of federal law or 15
regulations. Any violation of this section or the regulations adopted by 16
the commissioner under this section shall be punishable by a fine of 17
not more than one thousand dollars or imprisonment for not more 18
than one year. 19
(b) Upon the issuance of a recommended finding that an individual 20
is responsible for abuse or neglect of a child pursuant to subsection (b) 21
of section 17a-101g, the commissioner shall provide notice of the 22
finding, by first class mail, not later than five business days after the 23
issuance of such finding, to the individual who is alleged to be 24
responsible for the abuse or neglect. The notice shall: 25
(1) Contain a short and plain description of the finding that the 26
individual is responsible for the abuse or neglect of a child; 27
(2) Inform the individual of the existence of the registry and of the 28
commissioner's intention to place the individual's name on the registry 29
unless such individual exercises his or her right to appeal the 30
recommended finding as provided in this section; 31
(3) Inform the individual of the potential adverse consequences of 32
being listed on the registry, including, but not limited to, the potential 33
effect on the individual obtaining or retaining employment, licensure 34
or engaging in activities involving direct contact with children and 35
inform the individual of the individual's right to administrative 36
procedures as provided in this section to appeal the finding; and 37
(4) Include a written form for the individual to sign and return, 38
indicating if the individual will invoke the appeal procedures 39
provided in this section. 40
(c) (1) Following a request for appeal, the commissioner or the 41
commissioner's designee shall conduct an internal review of the 42
recommended finding to be completed no later than thirty days after 43
the request for appeal is received by the department. The 44
commissioner or the commissioner's designee shall review all relevant 45 Raised Bill No. 7001
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information relating to the recommended finding, to determine 46
whether the recommended finding is factually or legally deficient and 47
ought to be reversed. Prior to the review, the commissioner shall 48
provide the individual access to all relevant documents in the 49
possession of the commissioner regarding the finding of responsibility 50
for abuse or neglect of a child, as provided in section 17a-28. 51
(2) The individual or the individual's representative may submit any 52
documentation that is relevant to a determination of the issue and 53
may, at the discretion of the commissioner or the commissioner's 54
designee, participate in a telephone conference or face-to-face meeting 55
to be conducted for the purpose of gathering additional information 56
that may be relevant to determining whether the recommended 57
finding is factually or legally deficient. 58
(3) If the commissioner or the commissioner's designee, as a result of 59
the prehearing review, determines that the recommended finding of 60
abuse or neglect is factually or legally deficient, the commissioner or 61
the commissioner's designee shall so indicate, in writing, and shall 62
reverse the recommended finding. The commissioner shall send notice 63
to the individual by certified mail of the commissioner's decision to 64
reverse or maintain the finding not later than five business days after 65
the decision is made. If the finding is upheld, the notice shall be made 66
in accordance with section 4-177 and shall notify the individual of the 67
right to request a hearing. The individual may request a hearing not 68
later than thirty days after receipt of the notice. The hearing shall be 69
scheduled not later than thirty days after receipt by the commissioner 70
of the request for a hearing, except for good cause shown by either 71
party. 72
(d) (1) The hearing procedure shall be conducted in accordance with 73
the procedures for contested cases pursuant to sections 4-177 to 4-181a, 74
inclusive. 75
(2) At the hearing, the individual may be represented by legal 76
counsel. The burden of proof shall be on the commissioner to prove 77 Raised Bill No. 7001
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that the finding is supported by a fair preponderance of the evidence 78
submitted at the hearing. The commissioner shall make a reasonable 79
effort to ascertain whether the individual is employed in a capacity 80
that requires the individual to have regular contact with children and 81
provide services to or on behalf of children. 82
(3) Not later than thirty days after the conclusion of the hearing, the 83
hearing officer shall issue a written decision to either reverse or uphold 84
the finding. The decision shall contain findings of fact and a conclusion 85
of law on each issue raised at the hearing. 86
(e) Any individual aggrieved by the decision of the hearing officer 87
may appeal the decision in accordance with section 4-183. Such 88
individual may also seek a stay of the adverse decision of the hearing 89
officer in accordance with subsection (f) of section 4-183. 90
(f) Following the issuance of a decision to uphold the finding and 91
absent any stay of that decision issued by the commissioner or the 92
court, the commissioner shall accurately reflect the information 93
concerning the finding in the child abuse and neglect registry 94
maintained pursuant to subsection (a) of this section and shall, in 95
accordance with section 17a-101g, forward to any agency or official the 96
information required to be disclosed pursuant to any provision of the 97
general statutes. If the internal review conducted pursuant to 98
subsection (c) of this section or hearing conducted pursuant to 99
subsection (d) of this section reveals that the individual against whom 100
a finding was upheld is employed in a capacity that requires the 101
individual to have regular contact with children and provide services 102
to or on behalf of children, the commissioner shall make a reasonable 103
effort to notify the employer of the individual that the individual's 104
name has been placed on the registry. 105
(g) Any individual against whom a finding of abuse or neglect was 106
substantiated prior to May 1, 2000, and who has not previously 107
appealed such finding, may appeal such finding as provided in this 108
section. 109 Raised Bill No. 7001
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(h) Records containing unsubstantiated findings and records 110
relating to family assessment cases shall remain sealed, except that 111
such records shall be made available to department employees in the 112
proper discharge of their duties and shall be expunged by the 113
commissioner five years from the completion date of the investigation 114
or the closure of the family assessment case, whichever is later, if no 115
further report is made about the individual subject to the investigation 116
or the family subject to the assessment, except that if the department 117
receives more than one report on an individual subject to investigation 118
or a family subject to assessment and each report is unsubstantiated, 119
all reports and information pertaining to the individual or family shall 120
be expunged by the commissioner five years from the completion date 121
of the most recent investigation. 122
(i) Not later than July 1, 2006, the Commissioner of Children and 123
Families shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of 124
chapter 54, to implement the provisions of this section. 125
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2019 17a-101k
Statement of Purpose:
To (1) require the Commissioner of Children and Families to make a
reasonable effort to determine whether an individual against whom a
recommended finding of responsibility for abuse or neglect of a child
has been made is employed in a capacity that requires the individual
to have regular contact with children and provide services to or on
behalf of children, and (2) make a reasonable effort to notify the
employer of an individual whose name has been placed on the child
abuse and neglect registry if such individual has regular contact with
children and provides services to or on behalf of children.
[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.]