HB 325 – AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
04Jan2006… 0225h
2005 SESSION
09/01
HOUSE BILL 325
AN ACT relative to proceedings under the Child Protection Act.
SPONSORS: Rep. Itse, Rock 9; Rep. Boyce, Belk 5; Rep. Bicknell, Rock 1; Rep. Gonzalez, Hills 17; Rep. Albert, Straf 1
COMMITTEE: Children and Family Law
This bill changes the filing deadlines for certain reports and records to 5 business days prior to a child abuse or neglect hearing. The bill establishes certain requirements for medical examinations of children who are alleged to have been abused or neglected. This bill also requires interviews of children who may be victims of child abuse or neglect to be videotaped or audio recorded in their entirety.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
04Jan2006… 0225h
05-0086
09/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Five
AN ACT relative to proceedings under the Child Protection Act.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Filing Reports, Evaluations, and Other Records. Amend RSA 169-C:12-b to read as follows:
169-C:12-b Filing Reports, Evaluations, and Other Records. All reports, evaluations, and other records from the department of health and human services, counselors, and guardians ad litem in proceedings under this chapter shall be filed with the court and all other parties at least 5 business days prior to any hearing. Any reports, evaluations, or other records filed after this deadline shall be inadmissible as evidence in such hearing. Once filed with the court and given to all other parties, the report, evaluation, or other record need not be refiled during the proceeding. Failure to comply with the provisions of this section shall not be grounds for dismissal of the petition.
2 New Sections; Medical Examinations of Child; Department Interviews With Child. Amend RSA 169-C by inserting after section 12-b the following new sections:
169-C:12-c Medical Examinations of Child. Parents who are the subject of an abuse or neglect petition not involving sexual abuse shall be entitled to request a medical examination of each child involved by a physician of the parents’ choice at the parents’ expense. If timeliness of an examination to verify or dispute an injury is an issue for trial, the department shall cooperate by promptly delivering the child for the requested medical examination with or without court order.
169-C:12-d Department Interviews With Child. Any interview of a child conducted by the department or its contractors, other than caregivers or therapeutic counseling, pursuant to this chapter shall be videotaped or audio recorded. If the interview is videotaped, it shall be videotaped in its entirety. If the interview cannot be videotaped in its entirety, an audio recording of the entire interview shall be made.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2007.
LBAO
05-0086
3/1/06
HB 325 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to proceedings under the Child Protection Act.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Health and Human Services states this bill will increase state expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2007 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county, and local revenue or county and local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department states this bill provides for a parent’s right to request an independent medical examination of their child by a physician of their choice at their expense. It also requires, without limitation, that the Department promptly deliver the child for the requested examination. To the extent that a parent requested an independent medical examination by a physician in another jurisdiction, the Department could incur additional costs in delivering the child for the examination. While the Department would anticipate a limited number of such cases, they could result in an indeterminate increase in costs. This bill would also require that any interview of a child conducted by the Department or its contractors, other than caregivers or therapeutic counselors be videotaped or audio recorded. In accordance with RSA 169-C:38, IV and V, the Department currently videotapes or audiotapes its interviews with children in the conduct of its investigations of abuse or neglect. This bill would expand the scope of this requirement to any interview with any child throughout the life of the case, and would require the providers for the Department (other than a caregiver or therapeutic counselor) to videotape or audiotape any interview with a child as well. The Department would purchase additional video and audio equipment for its 153 assessment and family service workers, as well as for many of its providers. The Department would also need to purchase and store videotapes. The Department is unable to determine the exact fiscal impact of this bill at this time.