September 7, 2006, Introduced by Rep. Farhat and referred to the Committee on Family and Children Services.
A bill to amend 1975 PA 238, entitled
"Child protection law,"
by amending section 2 (MCL 722.622), as amended by 2004 PA 563.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 2. As used in this act:
(a) "Adult foster care location authorized to care for a
child" means an adult foster care family home or adult foster care
small group home as defined in section 3 of the adult foster care
facility licensing act, 1979 PA 218, MCL 400.703, in which a child
is placed in accordance with section 5 of 1973 PA 116, MCL 722.115.
(b) "Attorney" means, if appointed to represent a child under
the provisions referenced in section 10, an attorney serving as the
child's legal advocate in the manner defined and described in
section 13a of chapter XIIA of the probate code of 1939, 1939 PA
288, MCL 712A.13a.
(c) "Central registry" means the system maintained at the
department that is used to keep a record of all reports filed with
the department under this act in which relevant and accurate
evidence of child abuse or neglect is found to exist.
(d) "Central registry case" means a child protective services
case that the department classifies under sections 8 and 8d as
category I or category II. For a child protective services case
that was investigated before July 1, 1999, central registry case
means an allegation of child abuse or neglect that the department
substantiated.
(e) "Child" means a person under 18 years of age.
(f) "Child abuse" means harm or threatened harm to a child's
health or welfare that occurs through nonaccidental physical or
mental injury, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, or maltreatment,
by a parent, a legal guardian, or any other person responsible for
the child's health or welfare or by a teacher, a teacher's aide, or
a member of the clergy.
(g) "Child care organization" means that term as defined in
section 1 of 1973 PA 116, MCL 722.111.
(h) "Child care provider" means an owner, operator, employee,
or volunteer of a child care organization or of an adult foster
care location authorized to care for a child.
(i)
"Child care regulatory agency" means the department of
consumer
and industry services or a successor state department
that is responsible for the licensing or registration of child care
organizations or the licensing of adult foster care locations
authorized to care for a child.
(j) "Child neglect" means harm or threatened harm to a child's
health or welfare by a parent, legal guardian, or any other person
responsible for the child's health or welfare that occurs through
either of the following:
(i) Negligent treatment, including the failure to provide
adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical care.
(ii) Placing a child at an unreasonable risk to the child's
health or welfare by failure of the parent, legal guardian, or
other person responsible for the child's health or welfare to
intervene to eliminate that risk when that person is able to do so
and has, or should have, knowledge of the risk.
(k) "Citizen review panel" means a panel established as
required by section 106 of title I of the child abuse prevention
and
treatment act, Public Law 93-247, 42 U.S.C.
USC 5106a.
(l) "Member of the clergy" means a priest, minister, rabbi,
Christian science practitioner, or other religious practitioner, or
similar functionary of a church, temple, or recognized religious
body, denomination, or organization.
(m) "Controlled substance" means that term as defined in
section 7104 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.7104.
(n) "CPSI system" means the child protective service
information system, which is an internal data system maintained
within
and by the department, and which that
is separate from the
central registry and not subject to section 7.
(o)
"Department" means the family independence agency
department of human services.
(p) "Director" means the director of the department.
(q) "Domestic violence" means the occurrence of any of the
following acts by a person which is not an act of self-defense:
(i) Causing or attempting to cause physical or mental harm to a
family or household member.
(ii) Placing a family or household member in fear of physical
or mental harm.
(iii) Causing or attempting to cause a family or household
member to engage in involuntary sexual activity by force, threat of
force, or duress.
(iv) Engaging in activity toward a family or household member
that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized,
frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested.
(r) (q)
"Expunge" means to physically remove or
eliminate
and destroy a record or report.
(s) (r)
"Lawyer-guardian ad litem" means an
attorney
appointed under section 10 who has the powers and duties referenced
by section 10.
(t) (s)
"Local office file" means the system used
to keep a
record of a written report, document, or photograph filed with and
maintained by a county or a regionally based office of the
department.
(u) (t)
"Nonparent adult" means a person who is 18
years of
age or older and who, regardless of the person's domicile, meets
all of the following criteria in relation to a child:
(i) Has substantial and regular contact with the child.
(ii) Has a close personal relationship with the child's parent
or with a person responsible for the child's health or welfare.
(iii) Is not the child's parent or a person otherwise related to
the child by blood or affinity to the third degree.
(v) (u)
"Person responsible for the child's health or
welfare" means a parent, legal guardian, person 18 years of age or
older who resides for any length of time in the same home in which
the
child resides, or, except when if
used in section 7(2)(e) or
8(8), nonparent adult; or an owner, operator, volunteer, or
employee of 1 or more of the following:
(i) A licensed or registered child care organization.
(ii) A licensed or unlicensed adult foster care family home or
adult foster care small group home as defined in section 3 of the
adult foster care facility licensing act, 1979 PA 218, MCL 400.703.
(w) (v)
"Relevant evidence" means evidence having
a tendency
to make the existence of a fact that is at issue more probable than
it would be without the evidence.
(x) (w)
"Sexual abuse" means engaging in sexual
contact or
sexual penetration as those terms are defined in section 520a of
the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.520a, with a child.
(y) (x)
"Sexual exploitation" includes allowing,
permitting,
or encouraging a child to engage in prostitution, or allowing,
permitting, encouraging, or engaging in the photographing, filming,
or depicting of a child engaged in a listed sexual act as defined
in section 145c of the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL
750.145c.
(z) (y)
"Specified information" means information
in a
children's protective services case record related specifically to
the department's actions in responding to a complaint of child
abuse or neglect. Specified information does not include any of the
following:
(i) Except as provided in this subparagraph regarding a
perpetrator of child abuse or neglect, personal identification
information for any individual identified in a child protective
services record. The exclusion of personal identification
information as specified information prescribed by this
subparagraph does not include personal identification information
identifying an individual alleged to have perpetrated child abuse
or neglect, which allegation has been classified as a central
registry case.
(ii) Information in a law enforcement report as provided in
section 7(8).
(iii) Any other information that is specifically designated as
confidential under other law.
(iv) Any information not related to the department's actions in
responding to a report of child abuse or neglect.
(aa) (z)
"Structured decision-making tool" means
the
department document labeled "DSS-4752 (P3) (3-95)" or a revision of
that document that better measures the risk of future harm to a
child.
(bb) (aa)
"Substantiated" means a child protective
services
case classified as a central registry case.
(cc) (bb)
"Unsubstantiated" means a child protective
services case the department classifies under sections 8 and 8d as
category III, category IV, or category V.