HF 3659

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to child protection; expanding training 
  1.3             requirements for child abuse professionals; requiring 
  1.4             child protection services to consider the risks to 
  1.5             children who live in homes with an adult who is not 
  1.6             biologically related to them; increasing the felony 
  1.7             penalty for child endangerment; imposing a mandatory 
  1.8             minimum sentence for felony child endangerment; 
  1.9             amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 609.378, 
  1.10            subdivision 1; Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, 
  1.11            sections 626.556, subdivision 10e; and 626.559, 
  1.12            subdivision 2. 
  1.13  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.14     Section 1.  [LEGISLATIVE PURPOSE.] 
  1.15     The legislature recognizes the worth of children and the 
  1.16  need to protect them from violent crime by others.  It shall be 
  1.17  the policy of this state to punish offenders who commit violent 
  1.18  crimes against children at a severity level equal to that 
  1.19  provided for violent crimes against adults. 
  1.20     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 609.378, 
  1.21  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.22     Subdivision 1.  [PERSONS GUILTY OF NEGLECT OR 
  1.23  ENDANGERMENT.] (a)  [NEGLECT.] (1) A parent, legal guardian, or 
  1.24  caretaker who willfully deprives a child of necessary food, 
  1.25  clothing, shelter, health care, or supervision appropriate to 
  1.26  the child's age, when the parent, guardian, or caretaker is 
  1.27  reasonably able to make the necessary provisions and the 
  1.28  deprivation harms or is likely to substantially harm the child's 
  1.29  physical, mental, or emotional health is guilty of neglect of a 
  2.1   child and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than one 
  2.2   year or to payment of a fine of not more than $3,000, or both.  
  2.3   If the deprivation results in substantial harm to the child's 
  2.4   physical, mental, or emotional health, the person may be 
  2.5   sentenced to imprisonment for not more than five years or to 
  2.6   payment of a fine of not more than $10,000, or both.  If a 
  2.7   parent, guardian, or caretaker responsible for the child's care 
  2.8   in good faith selects and depends upon spiritual means or prayer 
  2.9   for treatment or care of disease or remedial care of the child, 
  2.10  this treatment or care is "health care," for purposes of this 
  2.11  clause. 
  2.12     (2) A parent, legal guardian, or caretaker who knowingly 
  2.13  permits the continuing physical or sexual abuse of a child is 
  2.14  guilty of neglect of a child and may be sentenced to 
  2.15  imprisonment for not more than one year or to payment of a fine 
  2.16  of not more than $3,000, or both.  
  2.17     (b)  [ENDANGERMENT.] A parent, legal guardian, or caretaker 
  2.18  who endangers the child's person or health by: 
  2.19     (1) intentionally or recklessly causing or permitting a 
  2.20  child to be placed in a situation likely to substantially harm 
  2.21  the child's physical, mental, or emotional health or cause the 
  2.22  child's death; or 
  2.23     (2) knowingly causing or permitting the child to be present 
  2.24  where any person is selling or possessing a controlled 
  2.25  substance, as defined in section 152.01, subdivision 4, in 
  2.26  violation of section 152.021, 152.022, 152.023, or 152.024; is 
  2.27  guilty of child endangerment and may be sentenced to 
  2.28  imprisonment for not more than one year or to payment of a fine 
  2.29  of not more than $3,000, or both.  
  2.30     If the endangerment results in substantial harm to the 
  2.31  child's physical, mental, or emotional health, the person may be 
  2.32  sentenced to imprisonment for not more than five ten years or to 
  2.33  payment of a fine of not more than $10,000 $20,000, or both.  
  2.34     This paragraph does not prevent a parent, legal guardian, 
  2.35  or caretaker from causing or permitting a child to engage in 
  2.36  activities that are appropriate to the child's age, stage of 
  3.1   development, and experience, or from selecting health care as 
  3.2   defined in subdivision 1, paragraph (a). 
  3.3      (c)  [ENDANGERMENT BY FIREARM ACCESS.] A person who 
  3.4   intentionally or recklessly causes a child under 14 years of age 
  3.5   to be placed in a situation likely to substantially harm the 
  3.6   child's physical health or cause the child's death as a result 
  3.7   of the child's access to a loaded firearm is guilty of child 
  3.8   endangerment and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more 
  3.9   than one year or to payment of a fine of not more than $3,000, 
  3.10  or both. 
  3.11     If the endangerment results in substantial harm to the 
  3.12  child's physical health, the person may be sentenced to 
  3.13  imprisonment for not more than five years or to payment of a 
  3.14  fine of not more than $10,000, or both. 
  3.15     (d)  [MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCE.] Any defendant convicted 
  3.16  of a felony violation of paragraph (b), clause (2), shall be 
  3.17  committed to the commissioner of corrections for not less than 
  3.18  three years, nor more than the maximum sentence provided by law. 
  3.19     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
  3.20  626.556, subdivision 10e, is amended to read: 
  3.21     Subd. 10e.  [DETERMINATIONS.] Upon the conclusion of every 
  3.22  assessment or investigation it conducts, the local welfare 
  3.23  agency shall make two determinations:  first, whether 
  3.24  maltreatment has occurred; and second, whether child protective 
  3.25  services are needed.  When maltreatment is determined in an 
  3.26  investigation involving a facility, the investigating agency 
  3.27  shall also determine whether the facility or individual was 
  3.28  responsible for the maltreatment using the mitigating factors in 
  3.29  paragraph (d).  Determinations under this subdivision must be 
  3.30  made based on a preponderance of the evidence. 
  3.31     (a) For the purposes of this subdivision, "maltreatment" 
  3.32  means any of the following acts or omissions committed by a 
  3.33  person responsible for the child's care: 
  3.34     (1) physical abuse as defined in subdivision 2, paragraph 
  3.35  (d); 
  3.36     (2) neglect as defined in subdivision 2, paragraph (c); 
  4.1      (3) sexual abuse as defined in subdivision 2, paragraph 
  4.2   (a); or 
  4.3      (4) mental injury as defined in subdivision 2, paragraph 
  4.4   (k). 
  4.5      (b) For the purposes of this subdivision, a determination 
  4.6   that child protective services are needed means that the local 
  4.7   welfare agency has documented conditions during the assessment 
  4.8   or investigation sufficient to cause a child protection worker, 
  4.9   as defined in section 626.559, subdivision 1, to conclude that a 
  4.10  child is at significant risk of maltreatment if protective 
  4.11  intervention is not provided and that the individuals 
  4.12  responsible for the child's care have not taken or are not 
  4.13  likely to take actions to protect the child from maltreatment or 
  4.14  risk of maltreatment. 
  4.15     (c) This subdivision does not mean that maltreatment has 
  4.16  occurred solely because the child's parent, guardian, or other 
  4.17  person responsible for the child's care in good faith selects 
  4.18  and depends upon spiritual means or prayer for treatment or care 
  4.19  of disease or remedial care of the child, in lieu of medical 
  4.20  care.  However, if lack of medical care may result in serious 
  4.21  danger to the child's health, the local welfare agency may 
  4.22  ensure that necessary medical services are provided to the child.
  4.23     (d) When determining whether the facility or individual is 
  4.24  the responsible party for determined maltreatment in a facility, 
  4.25  the investigating agency shall consider at least the following 
  4.26  mitigating factors: 
  4.27     (1) whether the actions of the facility or the individual 
  4.28  caregivers were according to, and followed the terms of, an 
  4.29  erroneous physician order, prescription, individual care plan, 
  4.30  or directive; however, this is not a mitigating factor when the 
  4.31  facility or caregiver was responsible for the issuance of the 
  4.32  erroneous order, prescription, individual care plan, or 
  4.33  directive or knew or should have known of the errors and took no 
  4.34  reasonable measures to correct the defect before administering 
  4.35  care; 
  4.36     (2) comparative responsibility between the facility, other 
  5.1   caregivers, and requirements placed upon an employee, including 
  5.2   the facility's compliance with related regulatory standards and 
  5.3   the adequacy of facility policies and procedures, facility 
  5.4   training, an individual's participation in the training, the 
  5.5   caregiver's supervision, and facility staffing levels and the 
  5.6   scope of the individual employee's authority and discretion; and 
  5.7      (3) whether the facility or individual followed 
  5.8   professional standards in exercising professional judgment. 
  5.9      (e) Individual counties may implement more detailed 
  5.10  definitions or criteria that indicate which allegations to 
  5.11  investigate, as long as a county's policies are consistent with 
  5.12  the definitions in the statutes and rules and are approved by 
  5.13  the county board.  Each local welfare agency shall periodically 
  5.14  inform mandated reporters under subdivision 3 who work in the 
  5.15  county of the definitions of maltreatment in the statutes and 
  5.16  rules and any additional definitions or criteria that have been 
  5.17  approved by the county board.  
  5.18     (f) When determining whether child protective services are 
  5.19  needed under this subdivision, the local welfare agency must 
  5.20  consider the increased risk to a child associated with living in 
  5.21  a household with an adult who is not biologically related to the 
  5.22  child.  This risk factor must be considered in conjunction with 
  5.23  the risk factors listed under Minnesota Rules, part 9560.0220, 
  5.24  when conducting an assessment and determining risk. 
  5.25     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
  5.26  626.559, subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  5.27     Subd. 2.  [JOINT TRAINING.] The commissioners of human 
  5.28  services and public safety shall cooperate in the development of 
  5.29  a joint program for training child abuse services professionals 
  5.30  in the appropriate techniques for child abuse assessment and 
  5.31  investigation.  The program shall include but need not be 
  5.32  limited to the following areas: 
  5.33     (1) the public policy goals of the state as set forth in 
  5.34  section 260C.001 and the role of the assessment or investigation 
  5.35  in meeting these goals; 
  5.36     (2) the special duties of child protection workers and law 
  6.1   enforcement officers under section 626.556; 
  6.2      (3) the appropriate methods for directing and managing 
  6.3   affiliated professionals who may be utilized in providing 
  6.4   protective services and strengthening family ties; 
  6.5      (4) the appropriate methods for interviewing alleged 
  6.6   victims of child abuse and other minors in the course of 
  6.7   performing an assessment or an investigation; 
  6.8      (5) the dynamics of child abuse and neglect within family 
  6.9   systems and the appropriate methods for interviewing parents in 
  6.10  the course of the assessment or investigation, including 
  6.11  training in recognizing cases in which one of the parents is a 
  6.12  victim of domestic abuse and in need of special legal or medical 
  6.13  services; 
  6.14     (6) the legal, evidentiary considerations that may be 
  6.15  relevant to the conduct of an assessment or an investigation; 
  6.16     (7) the circumstances under which it is appropriate to 
  6.17  remove the alleged abuser or the alleged victim from the home; 
  6.18     (8) the protective social services that are available to 
  6.19  protect alleged victims from further abuse, to prevent child 
  6.20  abuse and domestic abuse, and to preserve the family unit, and 
  6.21  training in the preparation of case plans to coordinate services 
  6.22  for the alleged child abuse victim with services for any parents 
  6.23  who are victims of domestic abuse; and 
  6.24     (9) the methods by which child protection workers and law 
  6.25  enforcement workers cooperate in conducting assessments and 
  6.26  investigations in order to avoid duplication of efforts; and 
  6.27     (10) the increased risks to a child associated with living 
  6.28  in a household with an adult who is not biologically related to 
  6.29  the child. 
  6.30     Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  6.31     Section 2 is effective August 1, 2000, and applies to 
  6.32  crimes committed on or after that date.