Forensic interviews; prohibit any person accused of child abuse from being present during.

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To: Judiciary B
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Waldo

HOUSE BILL NO. 523

AN ACT TO PROHIBIT ANY PERSON, INCLUDING A PARENT OR 1
GUARDIAN, ACCUSED OF CHILD ABUSE FROM BEING PRESENT WHEN A 2
FORENSIC INTERVIEW IS CONDUCTED IN RESPONSE TO A REPORT OF CHILD 3
ABUSE; TO AMEND SECTION 43-21-261, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 4
REMOVE THE DATE OF REPEAL FOR THE PROVISION OF LAW THAT REGULATES 5
ACCESS TO YOUTH RECORDS; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 43-21-105 AND 6
43-15-51, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH REGULATE DISCLOSURE OF 7
YOUTH COURT RECORDS, FOR PURPOSES OF AMENDMENT; TO BRING FORWARD 8
SECTION 43-21-353, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH REGULATES 9
MANDATORY REPORTING FOR CHILD ABUSE, FOR PURPOSES OF AMENDMENT; 10
AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 11
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 12
SECTION 1. (1) When a forensic interview is required as 13
part of an investigation into any report that a child is or has 14
been neglected, abused, a victim of commercial sexual exploitation 15
or a victim of human trafficking, the person conducting the 16
interview shall prohibit any person, including a parent or 17
guardian, who is accused of the neglect, abuse, commercial sexual 18
exploitation or human trafficking from being present in the room 19
or in the same location in which the forensic interview is being 20
conducted. 21
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(2) No person, including a parent or guardian, who is 22
accused of the neglect, abuse, commercial sexual exploitation or 23
human trafficking of a child, has a right to be present in the 24
room or in the same location during the time in which any forensic 25
interview is being conducted in response to a report of child 26
abuse. 27
SECTION 2. Section 43-21-261, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 28
amended as follows: 29
43-21-261. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this 30
section, records involving children shall not be disclosed, other 31
than to necessary staff or officials of the youth court, a 32
guardian ad litem appointed to a child by the court, or a 33
Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer who may be 34
assigned in a dependency, abuse or neglect case, except pursuant 35
to an order of the youth court specifying the person or persons to 36
whom the records may be disclosed, the extent of the records which 37
may be disclosed and the purpose of the disclosure. Such court 38
orders for disclosure shall be limited to those instances in which 39
the youth court concludes, in its discretion, that disclosure is 40
required for the best interests of the child, the public safety, 41
the functioning of the youth court, or to identify a person who 42
knowingly made a false allegation of child abuse or neglect, and 43
then only to the following persons: 44
(a) The judge of another youth court or member of 45
another youth court staff; 46
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(b) The court of the parties in a child custody or 47
adoption cause in another court; 48
(c) A judge of any other court or members of another 49
court staff, including the chancery court that ordered a forensic 50
interview; 51
(d) Representatives of a public or private agency 52
providing supervision or having custody of the child under order 53
of the youth court; 54
(e) Any person engaged in a bona fide research purpose, 55
provided that no information identifying the subject of the 56
records shall be made available to the researcher unless it is 57
absolutely essential to the research purpose and the judge gives 58
prior written approval, and the child, through his or her 59
representative, gives permission to release the information; 60
(f) The Mississippi Department of Employment Security, 61
or its duly authorized representatives, for the purpose of a 62
child's enrollment into the Job Corps Training Program as 63
authorized by Title IV of the Comprehensive Employment Training 64
Act of 1973 (29 USCS Section 923 et seq.). However, no records, 65
reports, investigations or information derived therefrom 66
pertaining to child abuse or neglect shall be disclosed; 67
(g) Any person pursuant to a finding by a judge of the 68
youth court of compelling circumstances affecting the health, 69
safety or well-being of a child and that such disclosure is in the 70
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best interests of the child or an adult who was formerly the 71
subject of a youth court delinquency proceeding; 72
(h) A person who was the subject of a knowingly made 73
false allegation of child abuse or neglect which has resulted in a 74
conviction of a perpetrator in accordance with Section 97-35-47 or 75
which allegation was referred by the Department of Child 76
Protection Services to a prosecutor or law enforcement official in 77
accordance with the provisions of Section 43-21-353(4). 78
Law enforcement agencies may disclose information to the 79
public concerning the taking of a child into custody for the 80
commission of a delinquent act without the necessity of an order 81
from the youth court. The information released shall not identify 82
the child or his address unless the information involves a child 83
convicted as an adult. 84
(2) Any records involving children which are disclosed under 85
an order of the youth court or pursuant to the terms of this 86
section and the contents thereof shall be kept confidential by the 87
person or agency to whom the record is disclosed unless otherwise 88
provided in the order. Any further disclosure of any records 89
involving children shall be made only under an order of the youth 90
court as provided in this section. 91
(3) Upon request, the parent, guardian or custodian of the 92
child who is the subject of a youth court cause or any attorney 93
for such parent, guardian or custodian, shall have the right to 94
inspect any record, report or investigation relevant to a matter 95
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to be heard by a youth court, except that the identity of the 96
reporter shall not be released, nor the name of any other person 97
where the person or agency making the information available finds 98
that disclosure of the information would be likely to endanger the 99
life or safety of such person. The attorney for the parent, 100
guardian or custodian of the child, upon request, shall be 101
provided a copy of any record, report or investigation relevant to 102
a matter to be heard by a youth court, but the identity of the 103
reporter must be redacted and the name of any other person must 104
also be redacted if the person or agency making the information 105
available finds that disclosure of the information would be likely 106
to endanger the life, safety or well-being of the person. A 107
record provided to the attorney under this section must remain in 108
the attorney's control and the attorney may not provide copies or 109
access to another person or entity without prior consent of a 110
court with appropriate jurisdiction. 111
(4) Upon request, the child who is the subject of a youth 112
court cause shall have the right to have his counsel inspect and 113
copy any record, report or investigation which is filed with the 114
youth court or which is to be considered by the youth court at a 115
hearing. 116
(5) (a) The youth court prosecutor or prosecutors, the 117
county attorney, the district attorney, the youth court defender 118
or defenders, or any attorney representing a child shall have the 119
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right to inspect and copy any law enforcement record involving 120
children. 121
(b) The Department of Child Protection Services shall 122
disclose to a county prosecuting attorney or district attorney any 123
and all records resulting from an investigation into suspected 124
child abuse or neglect when the case has been referred by the 125
Department of Child Protection Services to the county prosecuting 126
attorney or district attorney for criminal prosecution. 127
(c) Agency records made confidential under the 128
provisions of this section may be disclosed to a court of 129
competent jurisdiction. 130
(d) Records involving children shall be disclosed to 131
the Division of Victim Compensation of the Office of the Attorney 132
General upon the division's request without order of the youth 133
court for purposes of determination of eligibility for victim 134
compensation benefits. 135
(6) Information concerning an investigation into a report of 136
child abuse or child neglect may be disclosed by the Department of 137
Child Protection Services without order of the youth court to any 138
attorney, physician, dentist, intern, resident, nurse, 139
psychologist, social worker, family protection worker, family 140
protection specialist, child caregiver, minister, law enforcement 141
officer, or a public or private school employee making that report 142
pursuant to Section 43-21-353(1) if the reporter has a continuing 143
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professional relationship with the child and a need for such 144
information in order to protect or treat the child. 145
(7) Information concerning an investigation into a report of 146
child abuse or child neglect may be disclosed without further 147
order of the youth court to any interagency child abuse task force 148
established in any county or municipality by order of the youth 149
court of that county or municipality. 150
(8) Names and addresses of juveniles twice adjudicated as 151
delinquent for an act which would be a felony if committed by an 152
adult or for the unlawful possession of a firearm shall not be 153
held confidential and shall be made available to the public. 154
(9) Names and addresses of juveniles adjudicated as 155
delinquent for murder, manslaughter, burglary, arson, armed 156
robbery, aggravated assault, any sex offense as defined in Section 157
45-33-23, for any violation of Section 41-29-139(a)(1) or for any 158
violation of Section 63-11-30, shall not be held confidential and 159
shall be made available to the public. 160
(10) The judges of the circuit and county courts, and 161
presentence investigators for the circuit courts, as provided in 162
Section 47-7-9, shall have the right to inspect any youth court 163
records of a person convicted of a crime for sentencing purposes 164
only. 165
(11) The victim of an offense committed by a child who is 166
the subject of a youth court cause shall have the right to be 167
informed of the child's disposition by the youth court. 168
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(12) A classification hearing officer of the State 169
Department of Corrections, as provided in Section 47-5-103, shall 170
have the right to inspect any youth court records, excluding abuse 171
and neglect records, of any offender in the custody of the 172
department who as a child or minor was a juvenile offender or was 173
the subject of a youth court cause of action, and the State Parole 174
Board, as provided in Section 47-7-17, shall have the right to 175
inspect such records when the offender becomes eligible for 176
parole. 177
(13) The youth court shall notify the Department of Public 178
Safety of the name, and any other identifying information such 179
department may require, of any child who is adjudicated delinquent 180
as a result of a violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances 181
Law. 182
(14) The Administrative Office of Courts shall have the 183
right to inspect any youth court records in order that the number 184
of youthful offenders, abused, neglected, truant and dependent 185
children, as well as children in need of special care and children 186
in need of supervision, may be tracked with specificity through 187
the youth court and adult justice system, and to utilize tracking 188
forms for such purpose. 189
(15) Upon a request by a youth court, the Administrative 190
Office of Courts shall disclose all information at its disposal 191
concerning any previous youth court intakes alleging that a child 192
was a delinquent child, child in need of supervision, child in 193
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need of special care, truant child, abused child or neglected 194
child, as well as any previous youth court adjudications for the 195
same and all dispositional information concerning a child who at 196
the time of such request comes under the jurisdiction of the youth 197
court making such request. 198
(16) The Administrative Office of Courts may, in its 199
discretion, disclose to the Department of Public Safety any or all 200
of the information involving children contained in the office's 201
youth court data management system known as Mississippi Youth 202
Court Information Delivery System or "MYCIDS." 203
(17) The youth courts of the state shall disclose to the 204
Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and 205
Expenditure Review (PEER) any youth court records in order that 206
the number of youthful offenders, abused, neglected, truant and 207
dependent children, as well as children in need of special care 208
and children in need of supervision, may be tracked with 209
specificity through the youth court and adult justice system, and 210
to utilize tracking forms for such purpose. The disclosure 211
prescribed in this subsection shall not require a court order and 212
shall be made in sortable, electronic format where possible. The 213
PEER Committee may seek the assistance of the Administrative 214
Office of Courts in seeking this information. The PEER Committee 215
shall not disclose the identities of any youth who have been 216
adjudicated in the youth courts of the state and shall only use 217
the disclosed information for the purpose of monitoring the 218
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effectiveness and efficiency of programs established to assist 219
adjudicated youth, and to ascertain the incidence of adjudicated 220
youth who become adult offenders. 221
(18) In every case where an abuse or neglect allegation has 222
been made, the confidentiality provisions of this section shall 223
not apply to prohibit access to a child's records by any state 224
regulatory agency, any state or local prosecutorial agency or law 225
enforcement agency; however, no identifying information concerning 226
the child in question may be released to the public by such agency 227
except as otherwise provided herein. 228
(19) In every case of child abuse or neglect, if a child's 229
physical condition is medically labeled as medically "serious" or 230
"critical" or a child dies, the confidentiality provisions of this 231
section shall not apply. In such cases, the following information 232
may be released by the Mississippi Department of Child Protection 233
Services: the cause of the circumstances regarding the fatality 234
or medically serious or critical physical condition; the age and 235
gender of the child; information describing any previous reports 236
of child abuse or neglect investigations that are pertinent to the 237
child abuse or neglect that led to the fatality or medically 238
serious or critical physical condition; the result of any such 239
investigations; and the services provided by and actions of the 240
state on behalf of the child that are pertinent to the child abuse 241
or neglect that led to the fatality or medically serious or 242
critical physical condition. 243
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(20) Any member of a foster care review board designated by 244
the Department of Child Protection Services shall have the right 245
to inspect youth court records relating to the abuse, neglect or 246
child in need of supervision cases assigned to such member for 247
review. 248
(21) Information concerning an investigation into a report 249
of child abuse or child neglect may be disclosed without further 250
order of the youth court in any administrative or due process 251
hearing held, pursuant to Section 43-21-257, by the Department of 252
Child Protection Services for individuals whose names will be 253
placed on the central registry as substantiated perpetrators. 254
(22) The Department of Child Protection Services may 255
disclose records involving children to the following: 256
(a) A foster home, residential child-caring agency or 257
child-placing agency to the extent necessary to provide such care 258
and services to a child; 259
(b) An individual, agency or organization that provides 260
services to a child or the child's family in furtherance of the 261
child's permanency plan to the extent necessary in providing those 262
services; 263
(c) Health and mental health care providers of a child 264
to the extent necessary for the provider to properly treat and 265
care for the child; 266
(d) An educational institution or educational services 267
provider where the child is enrolled or where enrollment is 268
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anticipated to the extent necessary for the school to provide 269
appropriate services to the child; 270
(e) Any state agency or board that administers student 271
financial assistance programs. However, any records request under 272
this paragraph shall be initiated by the agency or board for the 273
purpose determining the child's eligibility for student financial 274
assistance, and any disclosure shall be limited to the 275
verification of the child's age during the period of time in which 276
the child was in the department's legal custody; and 277
(f) Any other state agency if the disclosure is 278
necessary to the department in fulfilling its statutory 279
responsibilities in protecting the best interests of the child. 280
(23) Nothing in this section or chapter shall require youth 281
court approval for disclosure of records involving children as 282
defined in Section 43-21-105(u), if the disclosure is made in a 283
criminal matter by a municipal or county prosecutor, a district 284
attorney or statewide prosecutor, pursuant to the Mississippi 285
Rules of Criminal Procedure and the records are disclosed under a 286
protective order issued by the Circuit Court presiding over the 287
criminal matter which incorporates the penalties stated in Section 288
43-21-267. 289
* * * 290
SECTION 3. Section 43-21-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 291
brought forward as follows: 292
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43-21-105. The following words and phrases, for purposes of 293
this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the 294
context clearly otherwise requires: 295
(a) "Youth court" means the Youth Court Division. 296
(b) "Judge" means the judge of the Youth Court 297
Division. 298
(c) "Designee" means any person that the judge appoints 299
to perform a duty which this chapter requires to be done by the 300
judge or his designee. The judge may not appoint a person who is 301
involved in law enforcement or who is an employee of the 302
Mississippi Department of Human Services or the Mississippi 303
Department of Child Protection Services to be his designee. 304
(d) "Child" and "youth" are synonymous, and each means 305
a person who has not reached his eighteenth birthday. A child who 306
has not reached his eighteenth birthday and is on active duty for 307
a branch of the armed services or is married is not considered a 308
"child" or "youth" for the purposes of this chapter. 309
(e) "Parent" means the father or mother to whom the 310
child has been born, or the father or mother by whom the child has 311
been legally adopted. 312
(f) "Guardian" means a court-appointed guardian of the 313
person of a child. 314
(g) "Custodian" means any person having the present 315
care or custody of a child whether such person be a parent or 316
otherwise. 317
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(h) "Legal custodian" means a court-appointed custodian 318
of the child. 319
(i) "Delinquent child" means a child who has reached 320
his tenth birthday and who has committed a delinquent act. 321
(j) "Delinquent act" is any act, which if committed by 322
an adult, is designated as a crime under state or federal law, or 323
municipal or county ordinance other than offenses punishable by 324
life imprisonment or death. A delinquent act includes escape from 325
lawful detention and violations of the Uniform Controlled 326
Substances Law and violent behavior. 327
(k) "Child in need of supervision" means a child who 328
has reached his seventh birthday and is in need of treatment or 329
rehabilitation because the child: 330
(i) Is habitually disobedient of reasonable and 331
lawful commands of his parent, guardian or custodian and is 332
ungovernable; or 333
(ii) While being required to attend school, 334
willfully and habitually violates the rules thereof or willfully 335
and habitually absents himself therefrom; or 336
(iii) Runs away from home without good cause; or 337
(iv) Has committed a delinquent act or acts. 338
(l) "Neglected child" means a child: 339
(i) Whose parent, guardian or custodian or any 340
person responsible for his care or support, neglects or refuses, 341
when able so to do, to provide for him proper and necessary care 342
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or support, or education as required by law, or medical, surgical, 343
or other care necessary for his well-being; however, a parent who 344
withholds medical treatment from any child who in good faith is 345
under treatment by spiritual means alone through prayer in 346
accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or 347
religious denomination by a duly accredited practitioner thereof 348
shall not, for that reason alone, be considered to be neglectful 349
under any provision of this chapter; or 350
(ii) Who is otherwise without proper care, 351
custody, supervision or support; or 352
(iii) Who, for any reason, lacks the special care 353
made necessary for him by reason of his mental condition, whether 354
the mental condition is having mental illness or having an 355
intellectual disability; or 356
(iv) Who is not provided by the child's parent, 357
guardian or custodian, with food, clothing, or shelter necessary 358
to sustain the life or health of the child, excluding such failure 359
caused primarily by financial inability unless relief services 360
have been offered and refused and the child is in imminent risk of 361
harm. 362
(m) "Abused child" means a child whose parent, guardian 363
or custodian or any person responsible for his care or support, 364
whether legally obligated to do so or not, has caused or allowed 365
to be caused, upon the child, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, 366
commercial sexual exploitation, emotional abuse, mental injury, 367
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nonaccidental physical injury or other maltreatment. However, 368
physical discipline, including spanking, performed on a child by a 369
parent, guardian or custodian in a reasonable manner shall not be 370
deemed abuse under this section. "Abused child" also means a 371
child who is or has been trafficked within the meaning of the 372
Mississippi Human Trafficking Act by any person, without regard to 373
the relationship of the person to the child. 374
(n) "Sexual abuse" means obscene or pornographic 375
photographing, filming or depiction of children for commercial 376
purposes, or the rape, molestation, incest, prostitution or other 377
such forms of sexual exploitation of children under circumstances 378
which indicate that the child's health or welfare is harmed or 379
threatened. 380
(o) "A child in need of special care" means a child 381
with any mental or physical illness that cannot be treated with 382
the dispositional alternatives ordinarily available to the youth 383
court. 384
(p) A "dependent child" means any child who is not a 385
child in need of supervision, a delinquent child, an abused child 386
or a neglected child, and which child has been voluntarily placed 387
in the custody of the Department of Child Protection Services by 388
his parent, guardian or custodian. 389
(q) "Custody" means the physical possession of the 390
child by any person. 391
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(r) "Legal custody" means the legal status created by a 392
court order which gives the legal custodian the responsibilities 393
of physical possession of the child and the duty to provide him 394
with food, shelter, education and reasonable medical care, all 395
subject to residual rights and responsibilities of the parent or 396
guardian of the person. 397
(s) "Detention" means the care of children in 398
physically restrictive facilities. 399
(t) "Shelter" means care of children in physically 400
nonrestrictive facilities. 401
(u) "Records involving children" means any of the 402
following from which the child can be identified: 403
(i) All youth court records as defined in Section 404
43-21-251; 405
(ii) All forensic interviews conducted by a child 406
advocacy center in abuse and neglect investigations; 407
(iii) All law enforcement records as defined in 408
Section 43-21-255; 409
(iv) All agency records as defined in Section 410
43-21-257; and 411
(v) All other documents maintained by any 412
representative of the state, county, municipality or other public 413
agency insofar as they relate to the apprehension, custody, 414
adjudication or disposition of a child who is the subject of a 415
youth court cause. 416
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(v) "Any person responsible for care or support" means 417
the person who is providing for the child at a given time. This 418
term shall include, but is not limited to, stepparents, foster 419
parents, relatives, nonlicensed babysitters or other similar 420
persons responsible for a child and staff of residential care 421
facilities and group homes that are licensed by the Department of 422
Human Services or the Department of Child Protection Services. 423
(w) The singular includes the plural, the plural the 424
singular and the masculine the feminine when consistent with the 425
intent of this chapter. 426
(x) "Out-of-home" setting means the temporary 427
supervision or care of children by the staff of licensed day care 428
centers, the staff of public, private and state schools, the staff 429
of juvenile detention facilities, the staff of unlicensed 430
residential care facilities and group homes and the staff of, or 431
individuals representing, churches, civic or social organizations. 432
(y) "Durable legal custody" means the legal status 433
created by a court order which gives the durable legal custodian 434
the responsibilities of physical possession of the child and the 435
duty to provide him with care, nurture, welfare, food, shelter, 436
education and reasonable medical care. All these duties as 437
enumerated are subject to the residual rights and responsibilities 438
of the natural parent(s) or guardian(s) of the child or children. 439
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(z) "Status offense" means conduct subject to 440
adjudication by the youth court that would not be a crime if 441
committed by an adult. 442
(aa) "Financially able" means a parent or child who is 443
ineligible for a court-appointed attorney. 444
(bb) "Assessment" means an individualized examination 445
of a child to determine the child's psychosocial needs and 446
problems, including the type and extent of any mental health, 447
substance abuse or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse 448
disorders and recommendations for treatment. The term includes, 449
but is not limited to, a drug and alcohol, psychological or 450
psychiatric evaluation, records review, clinical interview or the 451
administration of a formal test and instrument. 452
(cc) "Screening" means a process, with or without the 453
administration of a formal instrument, that is designed to 454
identify a child who is at increased risk of having mental health, 455
substance abuse or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse 456
disorders that warrant immediate attention, intervention or more 457
comprehensive assessment. 458
(dd) "Durable legal relative guardianship" means the 459
legal status created by a youth court order that conveys the 460
physical and legal custody of a child or children by durable legal 461
guardianship to a relative or fictive kin who is licensed as a 462
foster or resource parent. 463
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(ee) "Relative" means a person related to the child by 464
affinity or consanguinity within the third degree. 465
(ff) "Fictive kin" means a person not related to the 466
child legally or biologically but who is considered a relative due 467
to a significant, familial-like and ongoing relationship with the 468
child and family, including adults related beyond the third 469
degree, godparents, friends of the family, or other adults who 470
have a strong familial bond with the child. 471
(gg) "Reasonable efforts" means the exercise of 472
reasonable care and due diligence by the Department of Human 473
Services, the Department of Child Protection Services, or any 474
other appropriate entity or person to use services appropriate to 475
the child's background, accessible, and available to meet the 476
individualized needs of the child and child's family to prevent 477
removal and reunify the family as soon as safely possible 478
consistent with the best interests of the child. Reasonable 479
efforts must be made in collaboration with the family and must 480
address the individualized needs of the family that brought the 481
child to the attention of the Department of Child Protection 482
Services and must not consist of required services that are not 483
related to the family's needs. 484
(hh) "Commercial sexual exploitation" means any sexual 485
act or crime of a sexual nature, which is committed against a 486
child for financial or economic gain, to obtain a thing of value 487
for quid pro quo exchange of property or for any other purpose. 488
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SECTION 4. Section 43-15-51, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 489
brought forward as follows: 490
43-15-51. (1) The district attorneys, the Department of 491
Human Services or the Department of Child Protection Services may 492
initiate formal cooperative agreements with the appropriate 493
agencies to create multidisciplinary child protection teams in 494
order to implement a coordinated multidisciplinary team approach 495
to intervention in reports involving alleged commercial sexual 496
exploitation, human trafficking, or severe or potential felony 497
child physical or sexual abuse, exploitation, or maltreatment. 498
The multidisciplinary team also may be known as a child abuse task 499
force. The purpose of the team or task force shall be to assist 500
in the evaluation and investigation of reports and to provide 501
consultation and coordination for agencies involved in child 502
protection cases. The agencies to be included as members of the 503
multidisciplinary team are: the district attorney's office, city 504
and county law enforcement agencies, county attorneys, youth court 505
prosecutors, the Human Trafficking Coordinator or his or her 506
designee and other agencies as appropriate. The Department of 507
Child Protection Services shall be included as a member of the 508
multidisciplinary team if the department does not initiate 509
creation of the team. 510
(2) Except as otherwise provided in Section 43-26-3, to 511
implement the multidisciplinary child abuse team, the team or task 512
force must be authorized by court order from the appropriate youth 513
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court. The court order will designate which agencies will 514
participate in the cooperative multidisciplinary team. 515
(3) (a) Teams created under this section may invite other 516
persons to serve on the team who have knowledge of and experience 517
in child abuse and neglect and commercial sexual exploitation and 518
human trafficking matters. These persons may include licensed 519
mental and physical health practitioners and physicians, dentists, 520
representatives of the district attorney's office and the Attorney 521
General's office, experts in the assessment and treatment of 522
substance abuse or sexual abuse, the victim assistance coordinator 523
of the district attorney's office, staff members of a child 524
advocacy center, sexual assault nurse examiners and experts in 525
providing services to commercial sexual exploitation and human 526
trafficking victims. For purposes of this paragraph, the term 527
"sexual assault nurse examiner" means a registered nurse who has 528
received a documented forty (40) hours of training as a sexual 529
assault nurse examiner. 530
(b) (i) A child advocacy center means an agency that 531
advocates on behalf of children alleged to have been abused and 532
assists in the coordination of the investigation of child abuse by 533
providing a location for forensic interviews and promoting the 534
coordination of services for children alleged to have been abused. 535
A child advocacy center provides services that include, but are 536
not limited to, forensic medical examinations, mental health and 537
related support services, court advocacy, consultation, training 538
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for social workers, law enforcement training, and child abuse 539
multidisciplinary teams, and staffing of multidisciplinary teams. 540
(ii) Child advocacy centers may provide a 541
video-taped forensic interview of the child in a child friendly 542
environment or separate building. The purpose of the video-taped 543
forensic interview is to prevent further trauma to a child in the 544
investigation and prosecution of child physical and sexual abuse 545
cases. Child advocacy centers can also assist child victims by 546
providing therapeutic counseling subsequent to the interview by a 547
qualified therapist. Child advocacy centers can also assist law 548
enforcement and prosecutors by acquainting child victim witnesses 549
and their parents or guardians to the courtroom through child 550
court school programs. 551
(4) A team or task force created under this section shall 552
review records on cases referred to the team by the Department of 553
Child Protection Services or law enforcement or the district 554
attorney's office. The team shall meet at least monthly. 555
(5) No person shall disclose information obtained from a 556
meeting of the multidisciplinary team unless necessary to comply 557
with the Department of Child Protection Services regulations or 558
conduct and proceeding in youth court or criminal court 559
proceedings or as authorized by a court of competent jurisdiction. 560
(6) A child advocacy center or a member of the 561
multidisciplinary team is not liable for civil damages while 562
acting within the scope of official team duties if the center or 563
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member, in good faith, refers a report of alleged child abuse for 564
investigation, conducts an investigation, makes an investigative 565
judgment or disposition, or releases or uses information for the 566
purpose of protecting a child. The limitation of civil liability 567
does not apply if a child advocacy center or multidisciplinary 568
team member is not acting in good faith. The limitation of 569
liability provided by this subsection for a child advocacy center 570
or member of the multidisciplinary team, shall only apply when the 571
child advocacy center or the member is acting on behalf of or 572
within the scope of duties for the multidisciplinary team as 573
described in this section. 574
SECTION 5. Section 43-21-353, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 575
brought forward as follows: 576
43-21-353. (1) Any attorney, physician, dentist, intern, 577
resident, nurse, psychologist, social worker, family protection 578
worker, family protection specialist, child caregiver, minister, 579
law enforcement officer, public or private school employee or any 580
other person having reasonable cause to suspect that a child is a 581
neglected child, an abused child, or a victim of commercial sexual 582
exploitation or human trafficking shall cause an oral report to be 583
made immediately by telephone or otherwise and followed as soon 584
thereafter as possible by a report in writing to the Department of 585
Child Protection Services, and immediately a referral shall be 586
made by the Department of Child Protection Services to the youth 587
court intake unit, which unit shall promptly comply with Section 588
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43-21-357. In the course of an investigation, at the initial time 589
of contact with the individual(s) about whom a report has been 590
made under this Youth Court Act or with the individual(s) 591
responsible for the health or welfare of a child about whom a 592
report has been made under this chapter, the Department of Child 593
Protection Services shall inform the individual of the specific 594
complaints or allegations made against the individual. Consistent 595
with subsection (4), the identity of the person who reported his 596
or her suspicion shall not be disclosed at that point. Where 597
appropriate, the Department of Child Protection Services shall 598
additionally make a referral to the youth court prosecutor. 599
Upon receiving a report that a child has been sexually 600
abused, is a victim of commercial sexual exploitation or human 601
trafficking or has been burned, tortured, mutilated or otherwise 602
physically abused in such a manner as to cause serious bodily 603
harm, or upon receiving any report of abuse that would be a felony 604
under state or federal law, the Department of Child Protection 605
Services shall immediately notify the law enforcement agency in 606
whose jurisdiction the abuse occurred. Within forty-eight (48) 607
hours, the department must notify the appropriate prosecutor and 608
the Statewide Human Trafficking Coordinator. The department shall 609
have the duty to provide the law enforcement agency all the names 610
and facts known at the time of the report; this duty shall be of a 611
continuing nature. The law enforcement agency and the department 612
shall investigate the reported abuse immediately and shall file a 613
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preliminary report with the appropriate prosecutor's office within 614
twenty-four (24) hours and shall make additional reports as new or 615
additional information or evidence becomes available. The 616
department shall advise the clerk of the youth court and the youth 617
court prosecutor of all cases of abuse reported to the department 618
within seventy-two (72) hours and shall update such report as 619
information becomes available. In addition, if the Department of 620
Child Protection Services determines that a parent or other person 621
responsible for the care or welfare of an abused or neglected 622
child maintains active duty status within the military, the 623
department shall notify the applicable military installation 624
family advocacy program that there is an allegation of abuse or 625
neglect that relates to that child. 626
(2) Any report shall contain the names and addresses of the 627
child and his parents or other persons responsible for his care, 628
if known, the child's age, the nature and extent of the child's 629
injuries, including any evidence of previous injuries, any other 630
information that might be helpful in establishing the cause of the 631
injury, and the identity of the perpetrator. 632
(3) The Department of Child Protection Services shall 633
maintain a statewide incoming wide-area telephone service or 634
similar service for the purpose of receiving reports of suspected 635
cases of child abuse, commercial sexual exploitation or human 636
trafficking; provided that any attorney, physician, dentist, 637
intern, resident, nurse, psychologist, social worker, family 638
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protection worker, family protection specialist, child caregiver, 639
minister, law enforcement officer or public or private school 640
employee who is required to report under subsection (1) of this 641
section shall report in the manner required in subsection (1). 642
(4) Reports of abuse, neglect and commercial sexual 643
exploitation or human trafficking made under this chapter and the 644
identity of the reporter are confidential except when the court in 645
which the investigation report is filed, in its discretion, 646
determines the testimony of the person reporting to be material to 647
a judicial proceeding or when the identity of the reporter is 648
released to law enforcement agencies and the appropriate 649
prosecutor pursuant to subsection (1). Reports made under this 650
section to any law enforcement agency or prosecutorial officer are 651
for the purpose of criminal investigation and prosecution only and 652
no information from these reports may be released to the public 653
except as provided by Section 43-21-261. Disclosure of any 654
information by the prosecutor shall be according to the 655
Mississippi Uniform Rules of Circuit and County Court Procedure. 656
The identity of the reporting party shall not be disclosed to 657
anyone other than law enforcement officers or prosecutors without 658
an order from the appropriate youth court. Any person disclosing 659
any reports made under this section in a manner not expressly 660
provided for in this section or Section 43-21-261 shall be guilty 661
of a misdemeanor and subject to the penalties prescribed by 662
Section 43-21-267. Notwithstanding the confidentiality of the 663
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reporter's identity under this section, the Department of Child 664
Protection Services may disclose a reporter's identity to the 665
appropriate law enforcement agency or prosecutor if the department 666
has reason to suspect the reporter has made a fraudulent report, 667
and the Department of Child Protection Services must provide to 668
the subject of the alleged fraudulent report written notification 669
of the disclosure. 670
(5) All final dispositions of law enforcement investigations 671
described in subsection (1) of this section shall be determined 672
only by the appropriate prosecutor or court. All final 673
dispositions of investigations by the Department of Child 674
Protection Services as described in subsection (1) of this section 675
shall be determined only by the youth court. Reports made under 676
subsection (1) of this section by the Department of Child 677
Protection Services to the law enforcement agency and to the 678
district attorney's office shall include the following, if known 679
to the department: 680
(a) The name and address of the child; 681
(b) The names and addresses of the parents; 682
(c) The name and address of the suspected perpetrator; 683
(d) The names and addresses of all witnesses, including 684
the reporting party if a material witness to the abuse; 685
(e) A brief statement of the facts indicating that the 686
child has been abused, including whether the child experienced 687
commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking, and any other 688
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information from the agency files or known to the family 689
protection worker or family protection specialist making the 690
investigation, including medical records or other records, which 691
may assist law enforcement or the district attorney in 692
investigating and/or prosecuting the case; and 693
(f) What, if any, action is being taken by the 694
Department of Child Protection Services. 695
(6) In any investigation of a report made under this chapter 696
of the abuse or neglect of a child as defined in Section 697
43-21-105(l) or (m), the Department of Child Protection Services 698
may request the appropriate law enforcement officer with 699
jurisdiction to accompany the department in its investigation, and 700
in such cases the law enforcement officer shall comply with such 701
request. 702
(7) Anyone who willfully violates any provision of this 703
section shall be, upon being found guilty, punished by a fine not 704
to exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or by imprisonment in 705
jail not to exceed one (1) year, or both. 706
(8) If a report is made directly to the Department of Child 707
Protection Services that a child has been abused or neglected or 708
experienced commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking in 709
an out-of-home setting, a referral shall be made immediately to 710
the law enforcement agency in whose jurisdiction the abuse 711
occurred and the department shall notify the district attorney's 712
office and the Statewide Human Trafficking Coordinator within 713
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forty-eight (48) hours of such report. The Department of Child 714
Protection Services shall investigate the out-of-home setting 715
report of abuse or neglect to determine whether the child who is 716
the subject of the report, or other children in the same 717
environment, comes within the jurisdiction of the youth court and 718
shall report to the youth court the department's findings and 719
recommendation as to whether the child who is the subject of the 720
report or other children in the same environment require the 721
protection of the youth court. The law enforcement agency shall 722
investigate the reported abuse immediately and shall file a 723
preliminary report with the district attorney's office within 724
forty-eight (48) hours and shall make additional reports as new 725
information or evidence becomes available. If the out-of-home 726
setting is a licensed facility, an additional referral shall be 727
made by the Department of Child Protection Services to the 728
licensing agency. The licensing agency shall investigate the 729
report and shall provide the department, the law enforcement 730
agency and the district attorney's office with their written 731
findings from such investigation as well as that licensing 732
agency's recommendations and actions taken. 733
(9) If a child protective investigation does not result in 734
an out-of-home placement, a child protective investigator must 735
provide information to the parent or guardians about community 736
service programs that provide respite care, counseling and support 737
for children who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation 738
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ST: Forensic interviews; prohibit any person
accused of child abuse from being present
during.
or human trafficking, voluntary guardianship or other support 739
services for families in crisis. 740
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from 741
and after July 1, 2026. 742