23.8051.01000
Sixty-eighth
Legislative Assembly SENATE BILL NO. 2103
of North Dakota
Introduced by
Human Services Committee
(At the request of the Department of Health and Human Services)
1 A BILL for an Act to amend and reenact section 50-25.1-02, subsection 5 of section 50-25.1-05,
2 and sections 50-25.1-05.2, 50-25.1-05.5, 50-25.1-16, 50-25.1-17, 50-25.1-18, 50-25.1-20, and
3 50-25.1-21 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to child abuse and neglect, the child
4 abuse information index, disclosure of records for child protection purposes, prenatal exposure
5 to controlled substances and alcohol, and alternative response assessments.
6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NORTH DAKOTA:
7 SECTION 1. AMENDMENT. Section 50-25.1-02 of the North Dakota Century Code is
8 amended and reenacted as follows:
9 50-25.1-02. Definitions.
10 In this chapter, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires:
11 1. "A person responsible for the child's welfare" means an individual who has
12 responsibility for the care or supervision of a child and who is the child's parent, an
13 adult family member of the child, any member of the child's household, the child's
14 guardian, or the child's foster parent; or an employee of, or any person providing care
15 for the child in, a child care setting. For the purpose of institutional child abuse or
16 neglect, "A person responsible for the child's welfare" means an institution that has
17 responsibility for the care or supervision of a child.
18 2. "Abuse of alcohol", "alcohol abuse", or "abused alcohol" means alcohol use disorder
19 as defined in the current edition of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
20 Disorders" published by the American psychiatric association or a maladaptive use of
21 alcohol with negative medical, sociological, occupational, or familial effects.
22 3. "Abused child" means an individual under the age of eighteen years who is suffering
23 from abuse as defined in section 14-09-22 caused by a person responsible for the
24 child's welfare, and includes a sexually abused child who is suffering from or was
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1 subjected to any act in violation of sections 12.1-20-01 through 12.1-20-07, sections
2 12.1-20-11 through 12.1-20-12.3, or chapter 12.1-27.2, by any individual, including a
3 juvenile.
4 4.3. "Alternative response assessment" means a child protection response involving
5 substance exposed newbornsinfants which is designed to:
6 a. Provide referral services to and monitor support services for a person responsible
7 for the child's welfare and the substance exposed newborninfant; and
8 b. Develop a plan of safe care for the substance exposed newborninfant.
9 5.4. "Authorized agent" means the human service zone, unless another entity is
10 designated by the department.
11 6.5. "Child abuse information index" means a categorized registry of subjects of reports
12 confirmed or confirmed with unknown subjects for child abuse, neglect, or death
13 resulting from abuse or neglect which are filed pursuant to section 50-25.1-05.2.
14 6. "Child fatality review panel" means a multidisciplinary team consisting of a
15 representative of the department and, if possible, a forensic pathologist, a physician, a
16 representative of the department of health and human services injury prevention, a
17 representative of the attorney general, a representative of the superintendent of public
18 instruction, a representative of the department of corrections and rehabilitation, a
19 peace officer licensed in the state, a mental health professional, a representative of
20 emergency medical services, a medical services representative from a federally
21 recognized Indian tribe in this state, one or more representatives of the lay community,
22 and a designated tribal representative, as an ad hoc member, acting for each federally
23 recognized Indian tribe in this state. A team member, at the time of selection and while
24 serving on the panel, must be a staff member of the public or private agency the
25 member represents or shall serve without remuneration. The child fatality review panel
26 may not be composed of fewer than three individuals.
27 7. "Child in need of services" means a child who in any of the following instances is in
28 need of treatment or rehabilitation:
29 a. Is habitually and without justification truant from school or absent from school
30 without an authorized excuse for more than five days during a school year;
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1 b. Is habitually disobedient of the reasonable and lawful commands of the child's
2 parent, guardian, or other custodian including runaway and is ungovernable or
3 who is willfully in a situation that is dangerous or injurious to the health, safety, or
4 morals of the child or others;
5 c. Except for an offense committed by a minor who is fourteen years of age or older
6 under subsection 2 of section 12.1-31-03 or an equivalent local ordinance or
7 resolution, has committed an offense applicable only to a child; or
8 d. Is under fourteen years of age and has purchased, possessed, smoked, or used
9 tobacco, a tobacco-related product, an electronic smoking device, or an
10 alternative nicotine product in violation of subsection 2 of section 12.1-31-03. As
11 used in this subdivision, "electronic smoking device" and "alternative nicotine
12 product" have the same meaning as in section 12.1-31-03.
13 8. "Child protection assessment" means a factfinding process designed to provide
14 information that enables a determination of whether a child meets the definition of an
15 abused or neglected child, including instances that may not identify a specific person
16 responsible for the child's welfare which is responsible for the abuse or neglect.
17 9. "Children's advocacy center" means a full or associate member of the national
18 children's alliance which assists in the coordination of the investigation in response to
19 allegations of child abuse by providing a dedicated child-friendly location at which to
20 conduct forensic interviews, forensic medical examinations, and other appropriate
21 services and which promotes a comprehensive multidisciplinary team response to
22 allegations of child abuse. The team response may include forensic interviews,
23 forensic medical examinations, mental health and related support services, advocacy,
24 and case review.
25 10. "Citizen review committee" means a committee appointed by the department to review
26 the department's provision of child welfare services.
27 11. "Confirmed" means that upon completion of a child protection assessment, the
28 department determines, based upon a preponderance of the evidence, that a child
29 meets the definition of an abused or neglected child, and the department confirms the
30 identity of a specific person responsible for the child's welfare which is responsible for
31 the abuse or neglect.
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1 12. "Confirmed with unknown subject" means that upon completion of a child protection
2 assessment, the department determines, based upon a preponderance of the
3 evidence, that a child meets the definition of an abused or neglected child, but the
4 evidence does not confirm the identity of a specific person responsible for the child's
5 welfare which is responsible for the abuse or neglect.
6 13. "Department" means the department of health and human services.
7 14. "Family services assessment" means a child protection services response to reports of
8 suspected child abuse or neglect in which the child is determined to be at low risk and
9 safety concerns for the child are not evident according to guidelines developed by the
10 department.
11 15. "Impending danger" means a foreseeable state of danger in which a behavior, attitude,
12 motive, emotion, or situation can be reasonably anticipated to have severe effects on
13 a child according to criteria developed by the department.
14 16. "Indicated" means that upon completion of an assessment of a report of institutional
15 child abuse or neglect, the department determines based upon a preponderance of
16 the evidence, that a child meets the definition of an abused or neglected child.
17 17. "Institutional child abuse or neglect" means situations of known or suspected child
18 abuse or neglect when the institution responsible for the child's welfare is a public or
19 private school, a residential facility or setting either licensed, certified, or approved by
20 the department, or a residential facility or setting that receives funding from the
21 department. For purposes of this subsection, residential facilities and settings
22 excludes correctional, medical, home- and community-based residential rehabilitation,
23 and educational boarding care settings.
24 18. "Near death" means an act that, as certified by a physician, places a child in serious or
25 critical condition.
26 19. "Neglected child" means a child who, due to the action or inaction of a person
27 responsible for the child's welfare:
28 a. Is without proper care or control, subsistence, education as required by law, or
29 other care or control necessary for the child's physical, mental, or emotional
30 health, or morals, and is not due primarily to the lack of financial means of a
31 person responsible for the child's welfare;
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1 b. Has been placed for care or adoption in violation of law;
2 c. Has been abandoned;
3 d. Is without proper care, control, or education as required by law, or other care and
4 control necessary for the child's well-being because of the physical, mental,
5 emotional, or other illness or disability of a person responsible for the child's
6 welfare, and that such lack of care is not due to a willful act of commission or act
7 of omission, and care is requested by a person responsible for the child's welfare;
8 e. Is in need of treatment and a person responsible for the child's welfare has
9 refused to participate in treatment as ordered by the juvenile court;
10 f. Was subject to prenatal exposure to chronic or severe use of alcohol or any
11 controlled substance as defined in section 19-03.1-01 in a manner not lawfully
12 prescribed by a practitioner;
13 g. Is present in an environment subjecting the child to exposure of a controlled
14 substance, chemical substance, or drug paraphernalia as prohibited by section
15 19-03.1-22.2, except as used in this subsection, controlled substance includes
16 any amount of marijuana; or
17 h. Is a victim of human trafficking as defined in title 12.1.
18 20. "Prenatal exposure to a controlled substance" means use of a controlled substance as
19 defined in chapter 19-03.1 by a pregnant woman for a nonmedical purpose during
20 pregnancy as evidenced by withdrawal symptoms in the child at birth, results of a
21 toxicology test performed on the mother at delivery or the child at birth, or medical
22 effects or developmental delays during the child's first year of life that medically
23 indicate prenatal exposure to a controlled substance.
24 21. "Protective services" includes services performed after an assessment of a report of
25 child abuse or neglect has been conducted, such as social assessment, service
26 planning, implementation of service plans, treatment services, referral services,
27 coordination with referral sources, progress assessment, monitoring service delivery,
28 and direct services.
29 22. "State child protection team" means a multidisciplinary team consisting of a
30 representative of the department, a representative of the attorney general, a
31 representative of law enforcement, a representative of the superintendent of public
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1 instruction, a parent with lived experience, one or more representatives of the lay
2 community, and, as an ad hoc member, the designee of the chief executive official of
3 any institution named in a report of institutional abuse or neglect. All team members, at
4 the time of their selection and thereafter, must be staff members of the public or
5 private agency they represent or shall serve without remuneration. An attorney
6 member of the child protection team may not be appointed to represent the child or the
7 parents at any subsequent court proceeding nor may the child protection team be
8 composed of fewer than three individuals. A quorum of the state child protection team
9 consists of a minimum of one member from the department and two other state child
10 protection team members.
11 23. "Substance exposed newborninfant" means an infant younger than twenty-eight
12 daystwelve months of age at the time of the initial report of child abuse or neglect and
13 who is identified as being affected by substance abuseuse or withdrawal symptoms or
14 by a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
15 24. "Substance use disorder" means a substance-related or addictive disorder identified in
16 the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders", American psychiatric
17 association, fifth edition, text revision (2013), or a future edition adapted by the
18 department.
19 25. "Unable to determine" means insufficient evidence is available to enable a
20 determination whether a child meets the definition of an abused or neglected child.
21 25.26. "Unconfirmed" means that upon completion of a child protection assessment, the
22 department has determined, based upon a preponderance of the evidence, that a
23 child does not meet the definition of an abused or neglected child.
24 SECTION 2. AMENDMENT. Subsection 5 of section 50-25.1-05 of the North Dakota
25 Century Code is amended and reenacted as follows:
26 5. Except as prohibited under title 42, Code of Federal Regulations, part 2, or title 34,
27 Code of Federal Regulations, part 99, a medical, dental, or mental health professional,
28 hospital, medical or mental health facility, or health care clinic, or a public or private
29 school shall disclose to the department or the authorized agent, upon request, the
30 records of a patient or, client which are relevant to a child protection assessment of
31 reported child abuse or neglect or to a confirmed decision, or student. The
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1 department, or the authorized agent, shall limit the request for records to the minimum
2 amount of records necessary to enable a determination to be made or to support a
3 determination of whether child abuse or neglect is confirmed, confirmed with unknown
4 subject, or unable to determine to provide for the protection and treatment of an
5 abused or neglected child.
6 SECTION 3. AMENDMENT. Section 50-25.1-05.2 of the North Dakota Century Code is
7 amended and reenacted as follows:
8 50-25.1-05.2. Report to the court - Entry of report in the child abuse information
9 index.
10 1. Upon confirmation that a child meets the definition of an abused or neglected child, the
11 department promptly shall make a written report of the decision to the juvenile court
12 having jurisdiction in the matter.
13 2. The department promptly shall file a report of a decision that a child meets the
14 definition of an abused or neglected child under this section in the child abuse
15 information index after the time to appeal the confirmed or confirmed with unknown
16 subject decision has expired.
17 3. The department may not file a report of a decision that a child meets the definition of
18 neglected child in the child abuse information index for a decision exclusively based
19 on educational neglect.
20 SECTION 4. AMENDMENT. Section 50-25.1-05.5 of the North Dakota Century Code is
21 amended and reenacted as follows:
22 50-25.1-05.5. Child abuse information index - Establishment.
23 The division of children and family