Revises provisions relating to mental health services for children. (BDR 39-796)

(Reprinted with amendments adopted on June 1, 2025)
FOURTH REPRINT S.B. 306

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SENATE BILL NO. 306–SENATOR CRUZ-CRAWFORD

MARCH 10, 2025
____________

JOINT SPONSOR: ASSEMBLYMEMBER MOSCA
____________

Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services

SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to mental health services
for children. (BDR 39-796)

FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: May have Fiscal Impact.
Effect on the State: Yes.

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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

AN ACT relating to mental health; establishing a task force to
develop recommendations for the creation of a program
that provides hous ing and other services to certain
children who are discharged from a treat ment facility or
certain other facilities or released on parole; revising
provisions related to the designation of certain facilities of
the Division of Child and Family Services of the
Department of Health and Human Services; expanding
the applicability o f enhanced penalties for assault or
battery against certain persons who provide child welfare
services or child protective services ; and providing other
matters properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law imposes certain requirements concerning the treatment of a child 1
with an emotional disturbance. (NRS 433B.290-433B.339) 2
Section 2.6 of this bill requires the Division of Child and Family Services of 3
the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a task force to develop 4
recommendations for the creation of a program that provides housing and other 5
services to certain children : (1) who are discharged from a treatment facility or 6
other division facility or who are released on parole or discharged from a state 7
facility for the detention of children ; and (2) whose parents or guardians are unable 8
to accept the child back into the home after the discharge or release because of a 9
health or safety risk. Section 2.6 also requires: (1) the Administrator of the Division 10
to appoint representatives of the child welfare, juvenile justice and mental health 11

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systems to the task force ; and (2) the task force to submit its recommendations to 12
the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Health and Human Services. 13
Existing law defines “child with an emotional disturbance” for the purpose s of 14
chapter 433B of NRS related to the mental health of children. (NRS 433B.045) 15
Section 6 of this bill revises the definition of “child with an emotional disturbanc e” 16
to provide that the term includes, without limitation, a child with a severe emotional 17
disturbance. 18
Existing law designates certain facilities of the Division which provide services 19
for the mental health of children for the purposes of chapter 433B of NRS. Section 20
10 of this bill makes various changes to designate the facilities of the Division that 21
currently provide these mental health services to children. 22
Existing law provides that if a person commits an assault upon an officer who 23
is performing his or her duty an d the person knew or should have known that the 24
victim was an officer, the person is guilty of: (1) a category B felony if the assault 25
is made with the use of a deadly weapon or the present ability to use a deadly 26
weapon; (2) a category D felony if the per son is a probationer, prisoner or parolee; 27
or (3) if neither of those circumstances is present, a gross misdemeanor. (NRS 28
200.471) Additionally, existing law provides that if a person commits a battery 29
upon an officer, and the person knew or should have kn own that the victim was an 30
officer, the person is guilty of: (1) a category B felony if the battery causes 31
substantial bodily harm or is committed by strangulation; or (2) if those 32
circumstances are not present and no greater penalty is provided by law, a gross 33
misdemeanor. (NRS 200.481) Sections 11 and 12 of this bill revise the definition 34
of “officer” to include an employee of this State or a political subdivision of this 35
State whose normal job responsibilities require th e employee to: (1) interact with 36
the public; and (2) perform tasks related to child welfare services or child protective 37
services or other tasks that expose the person to comparable danger. 38

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. (Deleted by amendment.) 1
Sec. 2. (Deleted by amendment.) 2
Sec. 2.2. Chapter 433B of NRS is hereby amended by adding 3
thereto the provisions set forth as sections 2.4 to 3, inclusive, of this 4
act. 5
Sec. 2.4. (Deleted by amendment.) 6
Sec. 2.6. 1. The Division shall establish a task force to 7
develop recommendations for the creation of a program that 8
provides housing and other services to children, including, without 9
limitation, children with an emotional disturbance: 10
(a) Who are: 11
(1) Discharged from a treatment facility or division facility; 12
or 13
(2) Released on parole or discharged from a state facility 14
for the detention of children; and 15
(b) Who do not have access to housing because of the inability 16
of a parent or guardian to accept the child back into the home of 17
the parent or guardian because of a health or safety risk. 18

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2. The task force shall submit the recommendations 1
developed pursuant to subsection 1 to the Joint Interim Standing 2
Committee on Health and Human Services on or before July 1 of 3
each even-numbered year. 4
3. The Administrator shall appoint representatives of the 5
child welfare, juvenile justice and mental h ealth systems to the 6
task force. 7
4. The members of the task force shall serve without 8
compensation. 9
5. As used in this section, “state facility for the detention of 10
children” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 62A.330. 11
Sec. 2.8. (Deleted by amendment.) 12
Sec. 3. (Deleted by amendment.) 13
Sec. 3.5. (Deleted by amendment.) 14
Sec. 4. (Deleted by amendment.) 15
Sec. 5. (Deleted by amendment.) 16
Sec. 6. NRS 433B.045 is hereby amended to read as follows: 17
433B.045 1. “Child with an emotional disturbance” means a 18
child whose progressive development of personality is interfered 19
with or arrested by mental disorder so that the child shows 20
impairment in the capacity expected of the child for his or her age 21
and endowment for: 22
[1.] (a) A reasonably accurate perception of the world around 23
him or her; 24
[2.] (b) Control of his or her impulses; 25
[3.] (c) Satisfying and satisfactory relationships with others; 26
[4.] (d) Learning; or 27
[5.] (e) Any combination of these factors. 28
2. The term includes, without limitation, a child with a severe 29
emotional disturbance. 30
Sec. 7. (Deleted by amendment.) 31
Sec. 8. (Deleted by amendment.) 32
Sec. 9. (Deleted by amendment.) 33
Sec. 10. NRS 433B.110 is hereby amended to read as follows: 34
433B.110 1. The division facilities providing services for the 35
mental health of children are designated as: 36
(a) [The Nevada Youth Hospital; 37
(b) The Adolescent Treatment Center; 38
(c)] Northern Nevada [Children’s Behavioral] Child and 39
Adolescent Services; 40
(b) Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility North; and 41
[(d)] (c) Southern Nevada [Children’s Behavioral ] Child and 42
Adolescent Services. 43

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2. Division facilities established after July 1, 1993, must be 1
named by the Administrator, subject to the approval of the Director 2
of the Department. 3
Sec. 11. NRS 200.471 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4
200.471 1. As used in this section: 5
(a) “Assault” means: 6
(1) Unlawfully attempting to use physical force against 7
another person; or 8
(2) Intentionally placing another person in reasonable 9
apprehension of immediate bodily harm. 10
(b) “Child protective services” has the meaning ascribed to it 11
in NRS 432B.042. 12
(c) “Child welfare services” has the meaning ascribed to it in 13
NRS 432B.044. 14
(d) “Fire-fighting agency” has the meaning ascribed to it in 15
NRS 239B.020. 16
[(c)] (e) “Health care facility” means a facility licensed 17
pursuant to chapter 449 of NRS, an office of a person listed in NRS 18
629.031, a clinic or any other location, other than a residence, where 19
health care is provided. 20
[(d)] (f) “Officer” means: 21
(1) A person who possesses some or all of the powers of a 22
peace officer; 23
(2) A person employed in a full -time salaried occupation of 24
fire fighting for the benefit or safety of the public; 25
(3) A member of a volunteer fire department; 26
(4) A jailer, guard or other correctional officer of a city or 27
county jail; 28
(5) A prosecuting attorney of an agency or political 29
subdivision of the United States or of this State; 30
(6) A justice of the Supreme Court, judge of the Court of 31
Appeals, district judge, justice of the peace, municipal judge, 32
magistrate, court commissioner, master or referee, including a 33
person acting pro tempore in a capacity listed in this subparagraph; 34
(7) An employee of this State or a political subdivision of 35
this State whose official duties requi re the employee to make home 36
visits; 37
(8) An employee of this State or a political subdivision of 38
this State who as part of his or her normal job responsibilities: 39
(I) Interacts with the public; and 40
(II) Performs tasks related to child welfare services or 41
child protective service s or tasks that expose the person to 42
comparable dangers; 43
(9) A civilian employee or a volunteer of a law enforcement 44
agency whose official duties require the employee or volunteer to: 45

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(I) Interact with the public; 1
(II) Perform tasks related to law enforcement; and 2
(III) Wear identification, clothing or a uniform that 3
identifies the employee or volunteer as working or volunteering for 4
the law enforcement agency; 5
[(9)] (10) A civilian employee or a volunteer o f a fire -6
fighting agency whose official duties require the employee or 7
volunteer to: 8
(I) Interact with the public; 9
(II) Perform tasks related to fire fighting or fire 10
prevention; and 11
(III) Wear identification, clothing or a uniform that 12
identifies the employee or volunteer as working or volunteering for 13
the fire-fighting agency; or 14
[(10)] (11) A civilian employee or volunteer of this State or 15
a political subdivision of this State whose official duties require the 16
employee or volunteer to: 17
(I) Interact with the public; 18
(II) Perform tasks related to code enforcement; and 19
(III) Wear identification, clothing or a uniform that 20
identifies the employee or volunteer as working or volunteering for 21
this State or a political subdivision of this State. 22
[(e)] (g) “Provider of health care” means: 23
(1) A physician, a medical student, a perfusionist, an 24
anesthesiologist assistant or a physician assistant licensed pursuant 25
to chapter 630 of NRS, a practitioner of respiratory care, a 26
homeopathic physician, an advanced practitioner of homeopathy, a 27
homeopathic assistant, an osteopathic physician, a physician 28
assistant or anesthesiologist assistant licensed pursuant to chapter 29
633 of NRS, a podiatric physician, a podiatry hygienist, a physical 30
therapist, a medical laboratory technician, an optometrist, a 31
chiropractic physician, a chiropractic assistant, a naprapath, a doctor 32
of Oriental medicine, a nurse, a student nurse, a certified nursing 33
assistant, a nursing assistant trainee, a medication aide - certified, a 34
person who provides health care services in the home for 35
compensation, a dentist, a dental student, a dental hygienist, a dental 36
hygienist student, an expanded function dental assistant, an 37
expanded function dental assistant student, a pharmacist, a 38
pharmacy student, an intern pharmacist, an attendant on an 39
ambulance or air ambulance, a psychologist, a social worker, a 40
marriage and family therapist, a marriage and family therapist 41
intern, a clinical professional counselor, a clinical professional 42
counselor intern, a behavior analyst, an assistant behavior analyst, a 43
registered behavior technician, a mental health technician, a licensed 44
dietitian, the holder of a license or a limited license issued under the 45

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provisions of chapter 653 of NRS, a public safety officer at a health 1
care facility, an emergency medical technician, an advanced 2
emergency medical technician, a paramedic or a participant in a 3
program of training to provide emergency medical services; or 4
(2) An employee of or volunteer for a h ealth care facility 5
who: 6
(I) Interacts with the public; 7
(II) Performs tasks related to providing health care; and 8
(III) Wears identification, clothing or a uniform that 9
identifies the person as an employee or volunteer of the health care 10
facility. 11
[(f)] (h) “School employee” means a licensed or unlicensed 12
person employed by a board of trustees of a school district pursuant 13
to NRS 391.100 or 391.281. 14
[(g)] (i) “Sporting event” has the meaning ascribed to it in 15
NRS 41.630. 16
[(h)] (j) “Sports off icial” has the meaning ascribed to it in 17
NRS 41.630. 18
[(i)] (k) “Taxicab” has the meaning ascribed to it in 19
NRS 706.8816. 20
[(j)] (l) “Taxicab driver” means a person who operates a 21
taxicab. 22
[(k)] (m) “Transit operator” means a person who operates a bus 23
or other vehicle as part of a public mass transportation system. 24
[(l)] (n) “Utility worker” means an employee of a public utility 25
as defined in NRS 704.020 whose official duties require the 26
employee to: 27
(1) Interact with the public; 28
(2) Perform tasks related to the operation of the public 29
utility; and 30
(3) Wear identification, clothing or a uniform that identifies 31
the employee as working for the public utility. 32
2. A person convicted of an assault shall be punished: 33
(a) If paragraph (c) or (d) does not apply to the circumstances of 34
the crime and the assault is not made with the use of a deadly 35
weapon or the present ability to use a deadly weapon, for a 36
misdemeanor. 37
(b) If the assault is made with the use of a deadly weapon or the 38
present ability to use a deadly weapon, for a category B felony by 39
imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less 40
than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than 6 years, or by a 41
fine of not more than $5,000, or by both fine and imprisonment. 42
(c) If paragraph (d) does not apply to the circumstances of the 43
crime and if the assault: 44
(1) Is committed upon: 45

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(I) An officer, a school employee, a taxicab driver, a 1
transit operator or a utility worker who is performing his or her 2
duty; 3
(II) A provider of health care while the provider of health 4
care is performing his or her duty or is on the premises where he or 5
she performs that duty; or 6
(III) A sports official based on the performance of his or 7
her duties at a sporting event; and 8
(2) The person charged knew or should have known that the 9
victim was an officer, a provider of health care, a school employee, 10
a taxicab driver, a transit operator, a utility worker or a sports 11
official, 12
 for a gross misdemeanor, unless the assault is made with the use 13
of a deadly weapon or the present ability to use a deadly weapon, 14
then for a category B felony by imprisonment in the state prison for 15
a minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum te rm of not 16
more than 6 years, or by a fine of not more than $5,000, or by both 17
fine and imprisonment. 18
(d) If the assault: 19
(1) Is committed by a probationer, a prisoner who is in 20
lawful custody or confinement or a parolee upon: 21
(I) An officer, a school employee, a taxicab driver, a 22
transit operator or a utility worker who is performing his or her 23
duty; 24
(II) A provider of health care while the provider of health 25
care is performing his or her duty or is on the premises where he or 26
she performs that duty; or 27
(III) A sports official based on the performance of his or 28
her duties at a sporting event; and 29
(2) The probationer, prisoner or parolee charged knew or 30
should have known that the victim was an officer, a provider of 31
health care, a school employee, a taxicab driver, a transit operator, a 32
utility worker or a sports official, 33
 for a category D felony as provided in NRS 193.130, unless the 34
assault is made with the use of a deadly weapon or the present 35
ability to use a deadly weapon, then for a cat egory B felony by 36
imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less 37
than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than 6 years, or by a 38
fine of not more than $5,000, or by both fine and imprisonment. 39
Sec. 12. NRS 200.481 is hereby amended to read as follows: 40
200.481 1. As used in this section: 41
(a) “Battery” means any willful and unlawful use of force or 42
violence upon the person of another. 43
(b) “Child” means a person less than 18 years of age. 44

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(c) “Child protective services” has the meaning ascribed to it 1
in NRS 432B.042. 2
(d) “Child welfare services” has the meaning ascribed to it in 3
NRS 432B.044. 4
(e) “Fire-fighting agency” has the meaning ascribed to it in 5
NRS 239B.020. 6
[(d)] (f) “Officer” means: 7
(1) A person who possesses some or all of the powers of a 8
peace officer; 9
(2) A person employed in a full -time salaried occupation of 10
fire fighting for the benefit or safety of the public; 11
(3) A member of a volunteer fire department; 12
(4) A jailer, gua rd, matron or other correctional officer of a 13
city or county jail or detention facility; 14
(5) A prosecuting attorney of an agency or political 15
subdivision of the United States or of this State; 16
(6) A justice of the Supreme Court, judge of the Court of 17
Appeals, district judge, justice of the peace, municipal judge, 18
magistrate, court commissioner, master or referee, including, 19
without limitation, a person acting pro tempore in a capacity listed 20
in this subparagraph; 21
(7) An employee of this State or a pol itical subdivision of 22
this State whose official duties require the employee to make home 23
visits; 24
(8) An employee of this State or a political subdivision of 25
this State who as part of his or her normal job responsibilities: 26
(I) Interacts with the public; and 27
(II) Performs tasks related to child welfare services or 28
child protective services or tasks that expose the person to 29
comparable dangers; 30
(9) A civilian employee or a volunteer of a law enforcement 31
agency whose official duties require the employee or volunteer to: 32
(I) Interact with the public; 33
(II) Perform tasks related to law enforcement; and 34
(III) Wear identification, clothing or a uniform that 35
identifies the employee or volunteer as working or volunteering for 36
the law enforcement agency; 37
[(9)] (10) A civilian employee or a volunteer of a fire -38
fighting agency whose official duties require the employee or 39
volunteer to: 40
(I) Interact with the public; 41
(II) Perform tasks related to fire fighting or fire 42
prevention; and 43

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(III) Wear identification, clothing or a uniform that 1
identifies the employee or volunteer as working or volunteering for 2
the fire-fighting agency; or 3
[(10)] (11) A civilian employee or volunteer of this State or 4
a political subdivision of this State whose o fficial duties require the 5
employee or volunteer to: 6
(I) Interact with the public; 7
(II) Perform tasks related to code enforcement; and 8
(III) Wear identification, clothing or a uniform that 9
identifies the employee or volunteer as working or volunte ering for 10
this State or a political subdivision of this State. 11
[(e)] (g) “Provider of health care” has the meaning ascribed to it 12
in NRS 200.471. 13
[(f)] (h) “School employee” means a licensed or unlicensed 14
person employed by a board of trustees of a schoo l district pursuant 15
to NRS 391.100 or 391.281. 16
[(g)] (i) “Sporting event” has the meaning ascribed to it in 17
NRS 41.630. 18
[(h)] (j) “Sports official” has the meaning ascribed to it in 19
NRS 41.630. 20
[(i)] (k) “Strangulation” means intentionally applying sufficient 21
pressure to another person to make it difficult or impossible for the 22
person to breathe, including, without limitation, applying pressure to 23
the neck, throat or windpipe that may prevent or hinder breathing or 24
reduce the intake of air, or applyi ng any pressure to the neck on 25
either side of the windpipe, but not the windpipe itself, to stop the 26
flow of blood to the brain via the carotid arteries. 27
[(j)] (l) “Taxicab” has the meaning ascribed to it in 28
NRS 706.8816. 29
[(k)] (m) “Taxicab driver” means a person who operates a 30
taxicab. 31
[(l)] (n) “Transit operator” means a person who operates a bus 32
or other vehicle as part of a public mass transportation system. 33
[(m)] (o) “Utility worker” means an employee of a public utility 34
as defined in NRS 704. 020 whose official duties require the 35
employee to: 36
(1) Interact with the public; 37
(2) Perform tasks related to the operation of the public 38
utility; and 39
(3) Wear identification, clothing or a uniform that identifies 40
the employee as working for the public utility. 41
2. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 200.485, a person 42
convicted of a battery, other than a battery committed by an adult 43
upon a child which constitutes child abuse, shall be punished: 44

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(a) If the battery is not committed with a deadly weap on, and no 1
substantial bodily harm to the victim results, except under 2
circumstances where a greater penalty is provided in this section or 3
NRS 197.090, for a misdemeanor. 4
(b) If the battery is not committed with a deadly weapon, and 5
either substantial bodily harm to the victim results or the battery is 6
committed by strangulation, for a category C felony as provided in 7
NRS 193.130. 8
(c) If: 9
(1) The battery is committed upon: 10
(I) An officer, school employee, taxicab driver, transit 11
operator or utility worker who was performing his or her duty; 12
(II) A provider of health care while the provider of health 13
care is performing his or her duty or is on the premises where he or 14
she performs that duty; or 15
(III) A sports official based on the performance of his or 16
her duties at a sporting event; 17
(2) The officer, provider of health care, school employee, 18
taxicab driver, transit operator, utility worker or sports official 19
suffers substantial bodily harm or the battery is committed by 20
strangulation; and 21
(3) The person charged knew or should have known that the 22
victim was an officer, provider of health care, school employee, 23
taxicab driver, transit operator, utility worker or sports official, 24
 for a category B felony by imprisonment in the state prison fo r a 25
minimum term of not less than 2 years and a maximum term of not 26
more than 10 years, or by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by 27
both fine and imprisonment. 28
(d) If the battery: 29
(1) Is committed upon: 30
(I) An officer, school employee, taxicab driv er, transit 31
operator or utility worker who is performing his or her duty; 32
(II) A provider of health care while the provider of health 33
care is performing his or her duty or is on the premises where he or 34
she performs that duty; or 35
(III) A sports offic ial based on the performance of his or 36
her duties at a sporting event; and 37
(2) The person charged knew or should have known that the 38
victim was an officer, provider of health care, school employee, 39
taxicab driver, transit operator, utility worker or sports official, 40
 for a gross misdemeanor, except under circumstances where a 41
greater penalty is provided in this section. 42
(e) If the battery is committed with the use of a deadly weapon, 43
and: 44

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(1) No substantial bodily harm to the victim results, for a 1
category B felony by imprisonment in the state prison for a 2
minimum term of not less than 2 years and a maximum term of not 3
more than 10 years, and may be further punished by a fine of not 4
more than $10,000. 5
(2) Substantial bodily harm to the victim results or the 6
battery is committed by strangulation, for a category B felony by 7
imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less 8
than 2 years and a maximum term of not more than 15 years, and 9
may be further punished by a fine of not more than $10,000. 10
(f) If the battery is committed by a probationer, a prisoner who 11
is in lawful custody or confinement or a parolee, without the use of 12
a deadly weapon, whether or not substantial bodily harm results and 13
whether or not the battery is committed by stran gulation, for a 14
category B felony by imprisonment in the state prison for a 15
minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum term of not 16
more than 6 years. 17
(g) If the battery is committed by a probationer, a prisoner who 18
is in lawful custody or confinem ent or a parolee, with the use of a 19
deadly weapon, and: 20
(1) No substantial bodily harm to the victim results, for a 21
category B felony by imprisonment in the state prison for a 22
minimum term of not less than 2 years and a maximum term of not 23
more than 10 years. 24
(2) Substantial bodily harm to the victim results or the 25
battery is committed by strangulation, for a category B felony by 26
imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less 27
than 2 years and a maximum term of not more than 15 years. 28
Sec. 13. The provisions of NRS 218D.380 do not apply to any 29
provision of this act which adds or revises a requirement to submit a 30
report to the Legislature. 31

H