SESSION OF 2021
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 2088
As Amended by House Committee on Federal
and State Affairs

Brief*
HB 2088, as amended, would amend law in the Kansas
Code for Care of Children concerning investigations for child
abuse or neglect.
[Note: the bill contains a whereas clause designating its
provisions as Adrian’s Law.]
Concerning investigations related to reports of child
abuse or neglect, the bill would require that a child who was
an alleged victim of abuse or neglect be visually observed by
either the employee of the Kansas Department for Children
and Families (DCF), or the law enforcement agency
investigating the report. The bill would allow either the
Secretary for Children and Families (Secretary) or the law
enforcement agency to appoint a designee for observation.
The bill would provide that in the event of a joint
investigation by DCF and law enforcement, both agencies
would be required to visually observe such child. All
investigation reports required by the bill would have to include
the date, time, and location of any such visual observation of
a child. The bill would allow both the Secretary and the law
enforcement agency to appoint a designee for such
observation.


____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org
Background
The bill was introduced by the House Committee on
Federal and State Affairs at the request of Representative
Louis Ruiz.
House Committee on Federal and State Affairs
At the House Committee hearing on February 1, 2021,
Representative Louis Ruiz, a representative of DCF, and a
private citizen testified as proponents of the bill, stating that
the bill would provide a safeguard to ensure the safety of
children who are victims of abuse and neglect. Written-only
proponent testimony was submitted by representatives of
Children’s Alliance of Kansas and FosterAdoptConnect.
Opponent testimony was submitted by a representative
of the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police, the Kansas
Peace Officer’s Association, and the Kansas Sheriffs’
Association, stating that in some cases law enforcement may
lack the legal authority to demand viewing the child. A
representative of League of Kansas Municipalities submitted
written neutral testimony.
The House Committee amended the bill by adding
provisions that would allow a designee of either the Secretary
or investigating law enforcement agency to to meet the visual
observation requirement.
Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill, as introduced, DCF, the Kansas
Bureau of Investigation, the Office of Judicial Administration,
the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, and
the Kansas Department of Corrections indicate that
enactment of the bill would not have a fiscal effect on their
respective agencies.

2- 2088
 The Attorney General’s Office indicates that the bill
could result in additional criminal cases being referred to the
Office for prosecution. However, the fiscal effect cannot be
estimated because cases are referred at the discretion of
local county or district attorneys and it is unknown how many
cases can be referred. The Kansas Association of Counties
states that the bill would have a negligible fiscal effect on
counties. Any fiscal effect associated with the bill is not
reflected in The FY 2022 Governor’s Budget Report.
Adrian's law; child abuse or neglect; visual observation


3- 2088


Statutes affected:
As introduced: 38-2226
As Amended by House Committee: 38-2226