If enacted, this bill would amend current statutes related to the Department of Child Safety (DCS) by introducing several key updates. Specifically, it would require the DCS central intake hotline to generate a comprehensive report that includes the entire history of a child and their siblings who have been subjects of prior hotline calls or investigations. This report must be created quickly and efficiently, and hotline workers would be mandated to review the narrative of every call received for that child within the previous ninety days. Additionally, hotline workers would be allowed to consider information from calls that did not meet the criteria for a DCS report when assessing new allegations.

The bill also stipulates that if DCS receives four or more reports of abuse or neglect regarding the same caregiver within a twelve-month period, the investigation must be assigned to a child safety specialist with at least two years of experience or advanced forensic training. Furthermore, it mandates that any hotline call alleging abuse or neglect of a child involved in a dependency action must be disclosed to the relevant court. The bill includes technical and conforming changes and is set to take effect on January 1, 2027.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 8-455
Senate Engrossed Version: 8-455
House Engrossed Version: 8-455
Chaptered Version: 8-455