House Bill 1581

    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 1581

        By Representative Sublette






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to child protective

  3         investigations; amending s. 39.301, F.S.;

  4         revising procedures relating to child

  5         protective investigations; providing an

  6         effective date.

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  8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

  9         Section 1.  Subsections (2) and (17) of section 39.301,

10  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

11         39.301  Initiation of protective investigations.--

12         (2)(a)  The department shall immediately forward any

13  allegation of criminal conduct received Upon notification by

14  the department's central abuse hotline under subsection (1),

15  the designated child protective investigator shall immediately

16  notify to the appropriate law enforcement agency of the county

17  or municipality in which the alleged criminal conduct known or

18  suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect is believed to

19  have occurred. For the purpose of this section, "criminal

20  conduct" means any activity defined in s. 39.01(64), s.

21  39.302(1), or s. 827.03.

22         (b)  Upon receipt of an allegation of criminal conduct

23  from the department a report, the law enforcement agency shall

24  must review the information in the report to and determine

25  whether a criminal investigation of the case is warranted. If

26  the law enforcement agency accepts the case for criminal

27  investigation, it shall coordinate its investigative

28  activities with the department whenever feasible. If the law

29  enforcement agency does not accept the case for criminal

30  investigation, the case shall be referred back to the

31  department and, if so, shall conduct the criminal

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 1581

    534-222-00






  1  investigation that shall be coordinated, whenever possible,

  2  with the child protective investigation of the department or

  3  its agent.

  4         (17)  In a child protective investigation, the child

  5  protective investigator shall be responsible for photographing

  6  When a law enforcement agency is participating in an

  7  investigation, the agency shall take photographs of the

  8  child's living environment. Such photographs shall become part

  9  of the child protective investigation investigative file.

10         Section 2.  This act shall take effect October 1, 2000.

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13                          HOUSE SUMMARY

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      Revises procedures relating to child protective
15    investigations.

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