00 HOUSE BILL NO. 453 01 "An Act relating to juvenile records, to criminal records of those associated with 02 juveniles, and to foster care, child care facilities, residential child care facilities, 03 child placement agencies, and maternity homes." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 47.10.093(b) is amended to read: 06  (b) A state or municipal agency or employee may disclose information 07 regarding a case to 08  (1) a guardian ad litem appointed by the court or to a citizen review 09 board or local review panel for permanency planning authorized by AS 47.14.200 or 10 47.14.220; 11  (2) a person or an agency requested to provide consultation or services 12 for a minor who is subject to the jurisdiction of the court under AS 47.10.010; 13  (3) school officials as may be necessary to enable the school to provide 14 appropriate counseling and support services to the minor who is the subject of the 01 case, to protect the safety of the minor who is the subject of the case, and to protect 02 the safety of school students and staff; 03  (4) a governmental agency as may be necessary to obtain that agency's 04 assistance for the department in its investigation or to obtain physical custody of a 05 child; [AND] 06  (5) a [STATE OR MUNICIPAL] law enforcement agency  of this state 07 or another jurisdiction  as may be necessary for  the protection of any minor  [A 08 SPECIFIC INVESTIGATION BEING CONDUCTED BY THAT AGENCY] or for 09  actions  [DISCLOSURES] by that agency to protect the public safety ;  10   (6) the state medical examiner under AS 12.65; and 11  (7) a person who has made a report of harm as required by 12 AS 47.17.020 to inform the person that the investigation was completed and of 13 any action taken to protect the child who was the subject of the report . 14 * Sec. 2. AS 47.10.093 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 15  (k) A state or municipal agency or employee shall disclose information 16 regarding a case to a foster parent or to the administrator of a facility or an agency 17 concerning a minor placed with the foster parent, facility, or agency as may be 18 necessary to protect the safety of the minor who is the subject of the case and the 19 safety of the foster parent and all persons residing with the foster parent and of the 20 employees and residents of the facility or agency. 21 * Sec. 3. AS 47.12.310(b) is amended to read: 22  (b) A state or municipal agency or employee may disclose information 23 regarding a case to 24  (1) a guardian ad litem appointed by the court or to a citizen review 25 board or local review panel for permanency planning authorized by AS 47.14.200 - 26 47.14.220; 27  (2) a person or an agency requested to provide consultation or services 28 for a minor who is subject to the jurisdiction of the court under this chapter; 29  (3) school officials as may be necessary to protect the safety of the 30 minor who is the subject of the case and the safety of school students and staff or to 31 enable the school to provide appropriate counseling and supportive services to meet 01 the needs of a minor about whom information is disclosed; 02  (4) a governmental agency as may be necessary to obtain that agency's 03 assistance for the department in its investigation or to obtain physical custody of a 04 minor; 05  (5) a [STATE OR MUNICIPAL] law enforcement agency  of this state 06 or another jurisdiction  as may be necessary for  the protection, rehabilitation, or 07 supervision of any minor  [A SPECIFIC INVESTIGATION BEING CONDUCTED 08 BY THAT AGENCY] or for  actions  [DISCLOSURES] by that agency to protect the 09 public safety; [AND] 10  (6) a victim as may be necessary to inform the victim about the 11 disposition or resolution of a case involving a minor ; and  12   (7) the state medical examiner under AS 12.65 . 13 * Sec. 4. AS 47.12.310 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 14  (k) A state or municipal agency or employee shall disclose information 15 regarding a case to a foster parent or to the administrator of a facility or an agency 16 concerning a minor placed with the foster parent, facility, or agency as may be 17 necessary to protect the safety of the minor who is the subject of the case and the 18 safety of the foster parent and all persons residing with the foster parent and of the 19 employees and residents of the facility or agency. 20 * Sec. 5. AS 47.17 is amended by adding a new section to read: 21  Sec. 47.17.033. Investigations. (a) In investigating a report of child abuse 22 or neglect under this chapter, the department may make necessary inquiries about the 23 criminal records of the parents or of the alleged abusive or neglectful person, including 24 inquiries about the existence of a criminal history record involving a serious offense 25 as defined in AS 12.62.900. 26  (b) For purposes of obtaining access to information needed to conduct an 27 inquiry under (a) of this section, the department is a criminal justice agency conducting 28 a criminal justice activity. 29 * Sec. 6. AS 47.35.017(b) is amended to read: 30  (b) An application submitted under this section must contain at least the 31 following information: 01  (1) the name and address of the applicant [,] and ,  if the applicant is an 02 agency, corporation, partnership, association, or any other form of organization, the 03 name, address, and title of  each individual  [ALL INDIVIDUALS] who  has  [HAVE] 04 an ownership or management interest in the facility; 05  (2) the name, physical location, and mailing address of the facility or 06 agency for which the license is sought; 07  (3) the name and address of the administrator of the facility or agency, 08 if any; 09  (4) evidence that the administrator or foster parent is an adult with 10 sufficient experience, training, or education to fulfill the duties of an administrator or 11 foster parent; 12  (5) a release for the administrator or foster parent and for each other 13 person  older than five years of age , as specified by the department by regulation, who 14 will have contact with individuals served by the facility or agency, authorizing the 15 department to review all  criminal justice information, whether of this state or a 16 municipality of this state or of another jurisdiction  [FEDERAL, STATE, AND 17 MUNICIPAL LAW ENFORCEMENT],  and all  medical, licensing, and protective 18 services records [,] identified in regulations adopted under this chapter, that are 19 relevant to the person who is the subject of the release and to the type of license for 20 which the application has been submitted; 21  (6)  two sets of fingerprints for each person required to provide a 22 release under (5) of this subsection in order for the department to submit the 23 fingerprints to the Department of Public Safety for the purpose of conducting 24 state and national criminal background checks from criminal justice information 25 received under AS 12.62 and regulations adopted under AS 12.62; 26  (7) for a facility, the number of individuals that will be served in the 27 facility; 28   (8)  [7] the type of facility or agency for which the license is sought; 29   (9)  [8] copies of all inspection reports and approvals required by state 30 fire prevention and environmental health and safety authorities for operation of the 31 facility or agency, including any variances granted by these authorities; 01   (10)  [9] a plan of operation, as required by the department by 02 regulation; 03   (11)  [10] a staffing plan that describes the number of people who will 04 work at the facility or agency, staff qualifications, a description of each person's 05 responsibilities, and, for a facility other than a maternity home, a supervision schedule 06 for the children in care that meets the requirements established by the department by 07 regulation; 08   (12)  [11] evidence that the applicant has completed orientation or 09 training required by the department [,] by regulation [,] for holders of the type of 10 license for which the application was submitted; and 11   (13)  [12] other information required by the department [,] by 12 regulation [,] in order to monitor compliance with this chapter and regulations adopted 13 under this chapter. 14 * Sec. 7. AS 47.35 is amended by adding a new section to read: 15  Sec. 47.35.022. Foster care placement. (a) The department may not place 16 or continue placement of a child for care for payment under AS 47.10 in a foster home 17 that is licensed under this chapter if the department finds that a person for whom 18 fingerprints are required to be submitted for licensure of the foster home is currently 19 under arrest for or charged with, or has been convicted of or found not guilty by 20 reason of insanity of, a serious offense. 21  (b) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, the department may place or continue 22 a placement for foster care if the applicant or licensee demonstrates to the satisfaction 23 of the department that the applicant, licensee, or other person committed the conduct 24 described in (a) of this section at least five years before the placement, and the conduct 25  (1) did not involve a victim who was under 18 years of age at the time 26 that the conduct occurred; 27  (2) was not a crime involving domestic violence as defined in 28 AS 18.66.990; and 29  (3) was not a crime under AS 11.41.100 - 11.41.455, or a law or an 30 ordinance of another jurisdiction having similar elements. 31  (c) The department shall develop procedures for rechecking criminal justice 01 information records for the information described in (a) of this section for persons over 02 the age of five in a licensed foster home with access to children placed by the 03 department. 04 * Sec. 8. AS 47.35.023(b) is repealed and reenacted to read: 05  (b) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, if an emergency exists and a child must 06 be immediately placed, the department or the department's designee may issue a 07 provisional foster home license on an emergency basis for a period of 90 days or less 08 if the department or the department's designee determines that the applicant meets 09 minimal requirements for emergency conditions and the applicant agrees in writing to 10 provide the fingerprint information described in AS 47.35.017(b) within 30 days of the 11 placement of a child in the foster home. The department may not issue a license under 12 this subsection before checking state and national criminal justice information available 13 to the department under AS 12.62 and regulations adopted under AS 12.62 about the 14 administrator or foster parent and each person older than five years of age in the foster 15 home who will have contact with the child. If the department cannot obtain direct 16 access to the state and federal criminal justice information, the department shall request 17 the agency having primary law enforcement responsibility for the geographic area in 18 which the prospective foster home is located to obtain the information and provide it 19 to the department before the license is issued under this section. If the criminal justice 20 information readily available to the department shows an offense for which a person 21 would be required to notify the department under AS 47.35.047(b), the department may 22 not issue the license under this subsection. If the additional criminal justice 23 information available from the fingerprint search or another source after the license is 24 issued reveals that the person has a record for one or more of these offenses, the 25 department shall immediately revoke the license and move the child to an appropriate 26 placement. For purposes of obtaining criminal justice information under this 27 subsection, the department is a criminal justice agency conducting a criminal justice 28 activity under AS 12.62. 29 * Sec. 9. AS 47.35.047(b) is amended to read: 30  (b) A licensee shall notify the department within 24 hours after having 31 knowledge of a conviction or indictment, presentment, or charging by information or 01 complaint of an administrator, foster parent, member of the licensee's household, 02 regular volunteer, or staff person for a  violation of the following laws, or the laws 03 of another jurisdiction with similar elements: 04  (1) offenses against the family and vulnerable adults under 05 AS 11.51; 06  (2) perjury under AS 11.56.200; 07  (3) offenses included in the definition of serious offense under 08 AS 12.62.900  [FELONY, FOR A MISDEMEANOR CRIME OF ASSAULT, 09 RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT, CONTRIBUTING TO THE DELINQUENCY OF 10 A MINOR, OR MISCONDUCT INVOLVING A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE, FOR 11 THE CRIME OF PERJURY, AS DEFINED IN AS 11 OR THE LAWS OF 12 ANOTHER JURISDICTION, OR FOR A SEX CRIME AS DEFINED IN 13 AS 12.62.035]. 14 * Sec. 10. AS 47.35.900 is amended by adding new paragraphs to read: 15  (20) "criminal justice information" has the meaning given in 16 AS 12.62.900; 17  (21) "domestic violence" has the meaning given in AS 18.66.990; 18  (22) "serious offense" has the meaning given in AS 12.62.900.