Bill Text: MI HB5239 | 2013-2014 | 97th Legislature | Chaptered
Bill Title: Children; protection; department of human services to report suspected child abuse or child neglect involving human trafficking to law enforcement; require. Amends sec. 3 of 1975 PA 238 (MCL 722.623).
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2014-10-22 - Assigned Pa 344'14 With Immediate Effect [HB5239 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2013-HB5239-Chaptered.html
Act No. 344
Public Acts of 2014
Approved by the Governor
October 15, 2014
Filed with the Secretary of State
October 16, 2014
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 14, 2015
STATE OF MICHIGAN
97TH LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION OF 2014
Introduced by Reps. Kurtz, Heise, Haines, Lamonte, Hovey-Wright, Lauwers, LaVoy, Price, Rogers, Slavens, Singh, Darany, Brinks, Haveman, Kowall, Zorn, Cavanagh, O’Brien, Barnett, Driskell, Haugh, Brown, Roberts, Banks, McCready, Lyons, Tlaib, Irwin, Kivela and Lane
ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 5239
AN ACT to amend 1975 PA 238, entitled “An act to require the reporting of child abuse and neglect by certain persons; to permit the reporting of child abuse and neglect by all persons; to provide for the protection of children who are abused or neglected; to authorize limited detainment in protective custody; to authorize medical examinations; to prescribe the powers and duties of the state department of social services to prevent child abuse and neglect; to prescribe certain powers and duties of local law enforcement agencies; to safeguard and enhance the welfare of children and preserve family life; to provide for the appointment of legal counsel; to provide for the abrogation of privileged communications; to provide civil and criminal immunity for certain persons; to provide rules of evidence in certain cases; to provide for confidentiality of records; to provide for the expungement of certain records; to prescribe penalties; and to repeal certain acts and parts of acts,” by amending section 3 (MCL 722.623), as amended by 2008 PA 510.
The People of the State of Michigan enact:
Sec. 3. (1) An individual is required to report under this act as follows:
(a) A physician, dentist, physician’s assistant, registered dental hygienist, medical examiner, nurse, person licensed to provide emergency medical care, audiologist, psychologist, marriage and family therapist, licensed professional counselor, social worker, licensed master’s social worker, licensed bachelor’s social worker, registered social service technician, social service technician, a person employed in a professional capacity in any office of the friend of the court, school administrator, school counselor or teacher, law enforcement officer, member of the clergy, or regulated child care provider who has reasonable cause to suspect child abuse or child neglect shall make immediately, by telephone or otherwise, an oral report, or cause an oral report to be made, of the suspected child abuse or child neglect to the department. Within 72 hours after making the oral report, the reporting person shall file a written report as required in this act. If the reporting person is a member of the staff of a hospital, agency, or school, the reporting person shall notify the person in charge of the hospital, agency, or school of his or her finding and that the report has been made, and shall make a copy of the written report available to the person in charge. A notification to the person in charge of a hospital, agency, or school does not relieve the member of the staff of the hospital, agency, or school of the obligation of reporting to the department as required by this section. One report from a hospital, agency, or school is adequate to meet the reporting requirement. A member of the staff of a hospital, agency, or school shall not be dismissed or otherwise penalized for making a report required by this act or for cooperating in an investigation.
(b) A department employee who is 1 of the following and has reasonable cause to suspect child abuse or child neglect shall make a report of suspected child abuse or child neglect to the department in the same manner as required under subdivision (a):
(i) Eligibility specialist.
(ii) Family independence manager.
(iii) Family independence specialist.
(iv) Social services specialist.
(v) Social work specialist.
(vi) Social work specialist manager.
(vii) Welfare services specialist.
(c) Any employee of an organization or entity that, as a result of federal funding statutes, regulations, or contracts, would be prohibited from reporting in the absence of a state mandate or court order. A person required to report under this subdivision shall report in the same manner as required under subdivision (a).
(2) The written report shall contain the name of the child and a description of the child abuse or child neglect. If possible, the report shall contain the names and addresses of the child’s parents, the child’s guardian, the persons with whom the child resides, and the child’s age. The report shall contain other information available to the reporting person that might establish the cause of the child abuse or child neglect, and the manner in which the child abuse or child neglect occurred.
(3) The department shall inform the reporting person of the required contents of the written report at the time the oral report is made by the reporting person.
(4) The written report required in this section shall be mailed or otherwise transmitted to the county department of the county in which the child suspected of being abused or neglected is found.
(5) Upon receipt of a written report of suspected child abuse or child neglect, the department may provide copies to the prosecuting attorney and the probate court of the counties in which the child suspected of being abused or neglected resides and is found.
(6) If an allegation, written report, or subsequent investigation of suspected child abuse or child neglect indicates a violation of sections 136b, 145c, 462a to 462h, or 520b to 520g of the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.136b, 750.145c, 750.462a to 750.462h, and 750.520b to 750.520g, or section 7401c of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.7401c, involving methamphetamine has occurred, or if the allegation, written report, or subsequent investigation indicates that the suspected child abuse or child neglect was committed by an individual who is not a person responsible for the child’s health or welfare, including, but not limited to, a member of the clergy, a teacher, or a teacher’s aide, the department shall transmit a copy of the allegation or written report and the results of any investigation to a law enforcement agency in the county in which the incident occurred. If an allegation, written report, or subsequent investigation indicates that the individual who committed the suspected child abuse or child neglect is a child care provider and the department believes that the report has basis in fact, the department shall, within 24 hours of completion, transmit a copy of the written report or the results of the investigation to the child care regulatory agency with authority over the child care provider’s child care organization or adult foster care location authorized to care for a child.
(7) If a local law enforcement agency receives an allegation or written report of suspected child abuse or child neglect or discovers evidence of or receives a report of an individual allowing a child to be exposed to or to have contact with methamphetamine production, and the allegation, written report, or subsequent investigation indicates that the child abuse or child neglect or allowing a child to be exposed to or to have contact with methamphetamine production, was committed by a person responsible for the child’s health or welfare, the local law enforcement agency shall refer the allegation or provide a copy of the written report and the results of any investigation to the county department of the county in which the abused or neglected child is found, as required by subsection (1)(a). If an allegation, written report, or subsequent investigation indicates that the individual who committed the suspected child abuse or child neglect or allowed a child to be exposed to or to have contact with methamphetamine production, is a child care provider and the local law enforcement agency believes that the report has basis in fact, the local law enforcement agency shall transmit a copy of the written report or the results of the investigation to the child care regulatory agency with authority over the child care provider’s child care organization or adult foster care location authorized to care for a child. Nothing in this subsection or subsection (1) relieves the department of its responsibilities to investigate reports of suspected child abuse or child neglect under this act.
(8) For purposes of this act, the pregnancy of a child less than 12 years of age or the presence of a venereal disease in a child who is over 1 month of age but less than 12 years of age is reasonable cause to suspect child abuse or child neglect has occurred.
(9) In conducting an investigation of child abuse or child neglect, if the department suspects that a child has been exposed to or has had contact with methamphetamine production, the department shall immediately contact the law enforcement agency in the county in which the incident occurred.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days after the date it is enacted into law.
This act is ordered to take immediate effect.
Clerk of the House of Representatives
Secretary of the Senate
Approved
Governor
