AN ACT relating to child welfare investigations.

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AN ACT relating to child welfare investigations. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 620.030 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) (a) Any person who knows or has reasonable cause to believe that a child is 4
dependent, neglected, or abused shall immediately cause an oral or written 5
report, including but not limited to electronic submissions, to be made to a 6
local law enforcement agency or to the Department of Kentucky State Police, 7
the cabinet or its designated representative, the Commonwealth's attorney, or 8
the county attorney by telephone or otherwise. If the cabinet receives a report 9
of abuse or neglect allegedly committed by a person other than a parent, 10
guardian, fictive kin, person in a position of authority, person in a position of 11
special trust, or person exercising custodial control or supervision , or if the 12
report is related to a licensed facility , the cabinet shall refer the matter to the 13
Commonwealth's attorney or the county attorney and the local law 14
enforcement agency or the Department of Kentucky State Police. Nothing in 15
this section shall relieve individuals of their obligations to report. 16
(b) The person or entity that receives the oral or written report required by this 17
section shall: 18
1. Retain and store any information received; 19
2. If receiving an oral report, notify the person making the report of the 20
following information: 21
a. The report is being recorded; 22
b. The person's identity will be kept confidential; and 23
c. There is a penalty for knowingly and intentionally making a 24
false report; 25
3. Request and obtain the specific facts that gave rise to the reasonable 26
suspicion of child dependency, neglect, or abuse and the source or 27
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sources of that information; and 1
4. If a person is reporting conduct related to a licensed facility, request 2
and obtain the name, telephone number, and address of the person 3
making the report and his or her relationship to the facility. 4
(2) (a) Any person, including but not limited to a physician, osteopathic physician, 5
nurse, teacher, school personnel, social wor ker, coroner, medical examiner, 6
child-caring personnel, resident, intern, chiropractor, dentist, optometrist, 7
emergency medical technician, paramedic, health professional, mental health 8
professional, peace officer, or any organization or agency for any of the 9
above, who knows or has reasonable cause to believe that a child is 10
dependent, neglected, or abused, regardless of whether the person believed to 11
have caused the dependency, neglect, or abuse is a parent, guardian, fictive 12
kin, person in a position of authority, person in a position of special trust, 13
person exercising custodial control or supervision, or another person, or who 14
has attended such child as a part of his or her professional duties, shall: 15
1. Immediately make an oral or written report, inclu ding but not limited to 16
electronic submissions, in accordance with subsection (1) of this section; 17
2. Immediately notify the supervisor of the institution, school, facility, 18
agency, or designated agent of the person in charge; and 19
3. If requested, in addition to the report required in subsection (1) or (3) of 20
this section, file with the local law enforcement agency or the 21
Department of Kentucky State Police, the cabinet or its designated 22
representative, the Commonwealth's attorney, or county attorney within 23
forty-eight (48) hours of the original report a written report, including 24
but not limited to electronic submissions, containing: 25
a. The names and addresses of the child and his or her parents or 26
other persons exercising custodial control or supervision; 27
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b. The child's age; 1
c. The nature and extent of the child's alleged dependency, neglect, 2
or abuse, including any previous charges of dependency, neglect, 3
or abuse, to this child or his or her siblings; 4
d. The name and address of the person allegedly respons ible for the 5
abuse or neglect; and 6
e. Any other information that the person making the report believes 7
may be helpful in the furtherance of the purpose of this section. 8
(b) Upon notification, the supervisor or the designated agent, if any, shall 9
facilitate the cooperation of the institution, school, facility, or agency with the 10
investigation of the report. 11
(c) Any person who knowingly causes intimidation, retaliation, or obstruction in 12
the investigation of the report shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. 13
(d) This section shall not require more than one (1) report from any institution, 14
school, facility, or agency. 15
(3) Any person who knows or has reasonable cause to believe that a child is a victim of 16
human trafficking as defined in KRS 529.010 shall immed iately cause an oral or 17
written report, including but not limited to electronic submissions, to be made to a 18
local law enforcement agency or the Department of Kentucky State Police; or the 19
cabinet or its designated representative; or the Commonwealth's att orney or the 20
county attorney; by telephone or otherwise. This subsection shall apply regardless 21
of whether the person believed to have caused the human trafficking of the child is 22
a parent, guardian, fictive kin, person in a position of authority, person i n a position 23
of special trust, or person exercising custodial control or supervision. 24
(4) Any person who knows or has reasonable cause to believe that a child is a victim of 25
female genital mutilation as defined in KRS 508.125 shall immediately cause an 26
oral or written report, including but not limited to electronic submissions, to be 27
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made by telephone or otherwise to: 1
(a) A local law enforcement agency or the Department of Kentucky State Police; 2
(b) The cabinet or its designated representative; or 3
(c) The Commonwealth's attorney or the county attorney. 4
This subsection shall apply regardless of whether the person believed to have 5
caused the female genital mutilation of the child is a parent, guardian, or person 6
exercising custodial control or supervision. 7
(5) Neither the husband -wife nor any professional -client/patient privilege, except the 8
attorney-client and clergy-penitent privilege, shall be a ground for refusing to report 9
under this section or for excluding evidence regarding a dependent, neglected, or 10
abused child or the cause thereof, in any judicial proceedings resulting from a report 11
pursuant to this section. This subsection shall also apply in any criminal proceeding 12
in District or Circuit Court regarding a dependent, neglected, or abused child. 13
(6) The cabinet shall establish and operate a statewide reporting system for the public 14
to make reports of child dependency, neglect, and abuse via telephone call or 15
written report, including but not limited to electronic submissions. The statewide 16
reporting system shall operate a twenty -four (24) hour , seven (7) days a week on-17
call response system that includes but is not limited to a child abuse hotline for the 18
receipt of emergency and nonemergency reports of child dependency, neglect, and 19
abuse during an d after normal office hours. The cabinet may use contract 20
employees to operate the system. 21
(7) The cabinet upon request shall receive from any agency of the state or any other 22
agency, institution, or facility providing services to the child or his or her f amily, 23
such cooperation, assistance, and information as will enable the cabinet to fulfill its 24
responsibilities under KRS 620.030, 620.040, and 620.050. 25
(8) Any person who is aware of potential harm to a child, but who reasonably 26
believes it is not a resul t of dependency, neglect, or abuse, is under no obligation 27
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to report [Nothing in this section shall limit the cabinet's investigatory authority 1
under KRS 620.050 or any other obligation imposed by law]. 2
(9) Any person who intentionally violates the provisio ns of this section shall be guilty 3
of a: 4
(a) Class B misdemeanor for the first offense; 5
(b) Class A misdemeanor for the second offense; and 6
(c) Class D felony for each subsequent offense. 7