This bill mandates that the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) must verbally report any complaints of child abuse, neglect, or crime directly to an on-duty law enforcement officer immediately, and create a written report within 24 hours, including weekends and holidays. The bill modifies existing language by replacing the term "refer" with "verbally report" and specifies that if no local officer is available, the report should be made to the state police. Additionally, the bill updates the definitions of abuse, replacing terms like "sexually molested" with "subjected to sexual contact or sexual penetration" and introduces new categories of abuse, such as physical injury by a parent that results in visible contusions inconsistent with reasonable discipline.

Furthermore, the bill grants law enforcement personnel and trained caseworkers the right to enter public places, such as schools and childcare agencies, to interview children without parental consent if there is reasonable belief of abuse. The bill also clarifies that law enforcement should not rely on DHHS to gather information for investigations unless required by standardized protocols. The implementation of this bill is expected to increase the workload for DHHS, necessitating additional staffing and resources, which may lead to significant fiscal impacts over the next few years.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 169-C:38