Senate Bill sb0758er
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2 An act relating to child protective
3 investigations; amending s. 39.202, F.S.;
4 providing staff of a children's advocacy center
5 with access to records of child abuse and
6 neglect; amending s. 39.301, F.S.; prohibiting
7 the use of information contained in reports of
8 child abuse, abandonment, or neglect for
9 purposes that adversely affect the interests of
10 persons who are not identified as responsible
11 for such abuse, abandonment, or neglect;
12 amending s. 39.302, F.S.; prohibiting the use
13 of information contained in reports of child
14 abuse, abandonment, or neglect in institutional
15 investigations for purposes that adversely
16 affect the interests of persons not identified
17 as responsible; providing circumstances under
18 which the Department of Children and Family
19 Services may rely on such information in a
20 decision to renew or revoke a license;
21 providing an effective date.
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23 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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25 Section 1. Paragraph (q) is added to subsection (2) of
26 section 39.202, Florida Statutes, to read:
27 39.202 Confidentiality of reports and records in cases
28 of child abuse or neglect.--
29 (2) Except as provided in subsection (4), access to
30 such records, excluding the name of the reporter which shall
31 be released only as provided in subsection (5), shall be
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1 granted only to the following persons, officials, and
2 agencies:
3 (q) Staff of a children's advocacy center that is
4 established and operated under s. 39.3035.
5 Section 2. Subsection (22) is added to section 39.301,
6 Florida Statutes, to read:
7 39.301 Initiation of protective investigations.--
8 (22) When an investigation is closed and a person is
9 not identified as a caregiver responsible for the abuse,
10 neglect, or abandonment alleged in the report, the fact that
11 the person is named in some capacity in the report may not be
12 used in any way to adversely affect the interests of that
13 person. This prohibition applies to any use of the information
14 in employment screening, licensing, child placement, adoption,
15 or any other decisions by a private adoption agency or a state
16 agency or its contracted providers.
17 Section 3. Subsection (7) is added to section 39.302,
18 Florida Statutes, to read:
19 39.302 Protective investigations of institutional
20 child abuse, abandonment, or neglect.--
21 (7) When an investigation of institutional abuse,
22 neglect, or abandonment is closed and a person is not
23 identified as a caregiver responsible for the abuse, neglect,
24 or abandonment alleged in the report, the fact that the person
25 is named in some capacity in the report may not be used in any
26 way to adversely affect the interests of that person. This
27 prohibition applies to any use of the information in
28 employment screening, licensing, child placement, adoption, or
29 any other decisions by a private adoption agency or a state
30 agency or its contracted providers. If such a person is a
31 licensee of the department and is named in any capacity in
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1 three or more reports within a 5-year period, the department
2 may review those reports and determine whether the information
3 contained in the reports is relevant for purposes of
4 determining whether the person's license should be renewed or
5 revoked. If the information is relevant to the decision to
6 renew or revoke the license, the department may rely on the
7 information contained in the report in making that decision.
8 Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
9 law.
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