HB 256: "An Act relating to reports of suspected child abuse or neglect, and requiring that, as part of the investigation of the reports of suspected child abuse or neglect, all official interviews with children who are alleged to have been abused or neglected be recorded."
00HOUSE BILL NO. 256 01 "An Act relating to reports of suspected child abuse or neglect, and requiring 02 that, as part of the investigation of the reports of suspected child abuse or 03 neglect, all official interviews with children who are alleged to have been abused 04 or neglected be recorded." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. AS 47.17.010 is amended to read: 07 Sec. 47.17.010. Purpose and intent . (a) In order to protect children whose 08 health and well-being may be adversely affected through the infliction, by other than 09 accidental means, of harm through physical injury or neglect, mental injury, sexual 10 abuse, sexual exploitation, or maltreatment, the legislature requires the reporting of 11 these cases by practitioners of the healing arts and others to the department. It is not 12 the intent of the legislature that persons required to report suspected child abuse or 13 neglect under this chapter investigate the suspected child abuse or neglect before they 14 make the required report to the department. Reports of suspected child abuse or
01 neglect must be made when there is a reasonable cause to suspect child abuse or 02 neglect in order to make state investigative and social services available in a wider 03 range of cases at an earlier point in time . 04 (b) It is the intent of the legislature [, TO MAKE SURE] that investigations 05 regarding reports of suspected child abuse and neglect 06 (1) be [ARE] conducted by trained investigators ; 07 (2) [, AND TO] avoid subjecting a child to multiple interviews about 08 the abuse or neglect ; and 09 (3) ensure that each interview with a child concerning the alleged 10 abuse or neglect that is made as part of the investigation of a report is recorded 11 on videotape . 12 (c) It is the further intent of the legislature that, as a result of requiring the 13 making of these reports of suspected child abuse or neglect , protective services will 14 be made available in an effort to 15 (1) prevent further harm to the child; 16 (2) safeguard and enhance the general well-being of children in this 17 state; and 18 (3) preserve family life unless that effort is likely to result in physical 19 or emotional damage to the child. 20 * Sec. 2. AS 47.17.025(a) is amended to read: 21 (a) A law enforcement agency shall immediately notify the department of the 22 receipt of a report of harm to a child from abuse. Upon receipt from any source of 23 a report of harm to a child from abuse, the department shall notify the Department of 24 Law and investigate the report . However, the department may not proceed in an 25 investigation of a report of harm to a child from abuse if the department, in 26 interviewing the child concerning the alleged abuse, is unable to record or fails 27 to record each interview with the child. Within [AND, WITHIN] 72 hours of the 28 receipt of the report of harm to a child from abuse, the department [,] shall provide 29 a written report of its investigation of the harm to a child from abuse to the 30 Department of Law for review. In this subsection, "to record" means to videotape. 31 * Sec. 3. AS 47.17.027(a) is amended to read:
01 (a) If the department or a law enforcement agency provides written 02 certification to the child's school officials that (1) there is reasonable cause to suspect 03 that the child has been abused or neglected by a person responsible for the child's 04 welfare or as a result of conditions created by a person responsible for the child's 05 welfare; (2) an interview at school is a necessary part of an investigation to determine 06 whether the child has been abused or neglected; and (3) the interview at school is in 07 the best interests of the child, school officials shall permit the child to be interviewed 08 at school by the department or a law enforcement agency before notification of, or 09 receiving permission from, the child's parent, guardian, or custodian. A school official 10 shall be present during an interview at the school unless the child objects or the 11 department or law enforcement agency determines that the presence of the school 12 official will interfere with the investigation. The interview shall be recorded as 13 required by AS 47.17.028. Immediately after conducting an interview authorized 14 under this section, and after informing the child of the intention to notify the child's 15 parent, guardian, or custodian, the department or agency shall make every reasonable 16 effort to notify the child's parent, guardian, or custodian that the interview occurred 17 unless it appears to the department or agency that notifying the child's parent, guardian, 18 or custodian would endanger the child. 19 * Sec. 4. AS 47.17 is amended by adding a new section to read: 20 Sec. 47.17.028. Recording of interviews. An officer, employee, or agent of 21 the department, a local government health or social services agency, a law enforcement 22 agency, or another state or local government agency or unit that receives a report of 23 harm to a child from abuse or neglect may not investigate the report of harm by 24 interviewing the child concerning the alleged abuse or neglect unless the initial 25 interview and each subsequent interview are recorded. In this section, "recorded" 26 means videotaped.