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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 3442
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE KIMBLE.
7378H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o amend chapter 210, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to abuse and
neglect reports.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 210, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be
2 known as section 210.128, to read as follows:
210.128. 1. The department of social services shall maintain a state r epository of
2 all rep orts of abuse and neglect. The purpose of such state r epository , among other uses,
3 is to pr ovide information of past re ports of child abuse or neglect to assist in the pro per
4 evaluation of curr ent r eports of child abuse or neglect, which may include a pattern of
5 incidents.
6 2. (1) W ithin the state reposit ory , the department of social services shall
7 maintain a state central regi stry of certain substantiated rep orts of child abuse or
8 neglect as set forth in rules promul gated by the department.
9 (2) The name of an individual who is determined to be a perpetrator of child
10 abuse or neglect shall not be placed on the state central registry until that individual's
11 administrative appeals ar e exhausted.
12 (3) All decisions ren dered by an administrative law judge are final, and the
13 decisions shall exhaust the individual's administrative r emedy . However ,
1 4 notwithstanding any other pr ovision of law , the department of social services shall
15 immediately pr ovide information involving an investigation fr om either the reposit ory
16 or the state central reg istry to the local pro secuting attorney's office, or such attorney's
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
17 designee, or to the court when court action is necessary to pr otect a child fr om abuse or
18 neglect.
19 (4) The department of social services shall pr ovide information involving an
20 open investigation or a completed investigation determined to be substantiated fr om
21 either the reposit ory or the state central regist ry to another state's child welfar e agency
22 upon written r equest when the requ est is made under an ongoing child protect ive
23 services investigation in the other state.
24 3. Except as pr ovided in this section or section 210.150, all record s of reports of
25 child abuse or neglect are confidential. The department of social services shall
26 pr omulgate rules rega rding the maintenance, deletion, and r elease of information in the
27 state repo sitory or central r egistry .
28 4. Upon the written req uest of a court during the court's evaluation of any of the
29 following individuals who will have contact with children served by a court-appointed
30 special advocate (CASA) prog ram, and with the consent of the individual, the
31 department shall sear ch the central registry and rep ort to the court any substantiated
32 r eport of child abuse or neglect alleging that the individual is a perpetrator:
33 (1) An individual applying to work as a court-appointed special advocate;
34 (2) A CASA staff member; or
35 (3) A member of the CASA board of dir ectors.
36 5. If, after an investigation, a determination is made by the department of social
37 services that the rep ort appears to be substantiated, any subsequent adjudication by a
38 court exerci sing juvenile jurisdiction that dismisses the child in need of care petition
39 involving such r eport shall be added to the central regist ry .
40 6. Information fr om investigations of rep orts that are inconclusive may be
41 disclosed, with the applicant's written consent, for the limited purposes of evaluating the
42 applicant to be a foster par ent, an adoptive par ent, or car egiver .
43 7. Any violation of the confidentiality pr ovisions of this section or the lawful
44 r egulations of the department of social services subjects an offender to criminal
45 pr osecution authorized under section 210.165.
46 8. The department of social services may charge a fee that shall not exceed
47 twenty-five dollars to conduct a sear ch of the state central regi stry of substantiated child
48 abuse or neglect r eports to determine whether an individual's name is recorded in the
49 r egistry . A sear ch shall be allowed only when specifically authorized.
50 9. The department of social services shall pro mulgate all necessary rules and
51 r egulations for the administration of this section. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that
52 term is defined in section 536.010, that is creat ed under the authority delegated in this
53 section shall become effective only if it complies with and is subject to all of the
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54 pr ovisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 536.028. This section and chapter
55 536 are nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the general assembly
56 pursuant to chapter 536 to revi ew , to delay the effective date, or to disappr ove and annul
57 a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking authority
58 and any rule prop osed or adopted after August 28, 2026, shall be invalid and void.
✔
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