Senate Bill No. 205-Committee on Human
Resources and Facilities
March 12, 1997
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Referred to Committee on Human Resources and Facilities
SUMMARY--Revises various provisions governing child abuse. (BDR 38-389)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: Yes.
Effect on the State or on Industrial Insurance: Yes.
EXPLANATION - Matter in italics is new; matter in brackets [ ] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to child abuse; revising the definition of child abuse for the purposes of the provisions governing abuse and neglect of children and protection of children; allowing an alleged child abuser to have access to certain information concerning an investigation of child abuse in certain circumstances; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
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Section 1 NRS 432B.090 is hereby amended to read as follows:
432B.090 "Physical injury" [means:] includes, without limitation:
1. A sprain or dislocation;
2. Damage to cartilage;
3. A fracture of a bone or the skull;
4. An intracranial hemorrhage or injury to another internal organ;
5. A burn or scalding;
6. A cut, laceration, puncture or bite;
7. Permanent or temporary disfigurement; or
[2. Impairment of any bodily function or organ]
8. Permanent or temporary loss or impairment of a part or organ of the body.
Sec. 2. NRS 432B.290 is hereby amended to read as follows:
432B.290 1. [Data] Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, data or information concerning reports and investigations thereof made pursuant to this chapter may be made available only to:
(a) A physician who has before him a child who he reasonably believes may have been abused or neglected;
(b) A person authorized to place a child in protective custody , if he has before him a child who he reasonably believes may have been abused or neglected and he requires the information to determine whether to place the child in protective custody;
(c) An agency, including an agency in another jurisdiction, responsible for or authorized to undertake the care, treatment or supervision of:
(1) The child; or
(2) The person responsible for the child's welfare;
(d) A district attorney or other law enforcement officer who requires the information in connection with an investigation or prosecution of abuse or neglect of a child;
(e) [Any] A court, for in camera inspection only, unless the court determines that public disclosure of the information is necessary for the determination of an issue before it;
(f) A person engaged in bona fide research or an audit, but [any] information identifying the subjects of a report must not be made available to him;
(g) The child's guardian ad litem;
(h) A grand jury upon its determination that access to these records is necessary in the conduct of its official business;
(i) An agency which provides protective services or which is authorized to receive, investigate and evaluate reports of abuse or neglect of a child;
(j) A team organized for the protection of a child pursuant to NRS 432B.350;
(k) A parent or legal guardian of the child, if the identity of the person responsible for reporting the alleged abuse or neglect of the child to a public agency is kept confidential;
(l) The person named in the report as allegedly being abused or neglected, if he is not a minor or otherwise legally incompetent;
(m) An agency [which] that is authorized by law to license foster homes or facilities for children or to investigate persons applying for approval to adopt a child, if the agency has before it an application for that license or is investigating an applicant to adopt a child; or
(n) Upon written consent of the parent, any officer of this state or a city or county thereof or legislator authorized, by the agency or department having jurisdiction or by the legislature, acting within its jurisdiction, to investigate the activities or programs of an agency [which] that provides protective services if:
(1) The identity of the person making the report is kept confidential; and
(2) The officer, legislator or a member of his family is not the person alleged to have committed the abuse or neglect.
2. [Any] An agency investigating a report of the abuse or neglect of a child shall, upon request, provide to a person named in the report as allegedly causing the abuse or neglect of the child:
(a) A copy of:
(1) Any statement made in writing to an investigator for the agency by the person named in the report as allegedly causing the abuse or neglect of the child; or
(2) Any recording made by the agency of any statement made orally to an investigator for the agency by the person named in the report as allegedly causing the abuse or neglect of the child; or
(b) A written summary of the allegations made against the person who is named in the report as allegedly causing the abuse or neglect of the child. The summary must not identify the person responsible for reporting the alleged abuse or neglect.
3. A person, except for the subject of a report or a district attorney or other law enforcement officer initiating legal proceedings, who is given access, pursuant to subsection 1, to information identifying the subjects of a report who makes this information public is guilty of a misdemeanor.
[3.] 4. The division of child and family services shall adopt regulations to carry out the provisions of this section.
Sec. 3. NRS 200.508 is hereby amended to read as follows:
200.5081. A person who:
(a) Willfully causes a child who is less than 18 years of age to suffer unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering as a result of abuse or neglect or to be placed in a situation where the child may suffer physical pain or mental suffering as the result of abuse or neglect; or
(b) Is responsible for the safety or welfare of a child and who permits or allows that child to suffer unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering as a result of abuse or neglect or to be placed in a situation where the child may suffer physical pain or mental suffering as the result of abuse or neglect,
is guilty of a gross misdemeanor unless a more severe penalty is prescribed by law for an act or omission which brings about the abuse, neglect or danger.
2. A person who violates any provision of subsection 1, if substantial bodily or mental harm results to the child, is guilty of a category B felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 2 years and a maximum term of not more than 20 years.
3. As used in this section:
(a) "Abuse or neglect" means physical or mental injury of a nonaccidental nature, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, negligent treatment or maltreatment of a child under the age of 18 years, as set forth in paragraph (d) and NRS 432B.070, [432B.090,] 432B.100, 432B.110, 432B.140 and 432B.150, under circumstances which indicate that the child's health or welfare is harmed or threatened with harm.
(b) "Allow" means to do nothing to prevent or stop the abuse or neglect of a child in circumstances where the person knows or has reason to know that the child is abused or neglected.
(c) "Permit" means permission that a reasonable person would not grant and which amounts to a neglect of responsibility attending the care, custody and control of a minor child.
(d) "Physical injury" means:
(1) Permanent or temporary disfigurement; or
(2) Impairment of any bodily function or organ of the body.
(e) "Substantial mental harm" means an injury to the intellectual or psychological capacity or the emotional condition of a child as evidenced by an observable and substantial impairment of the ability of the child to function within his normal range of performance or behavior.
Sec. 4. The provisions of subsection 1 of NRS 354.599 do not apply to any additional expenses of a local government that are related to the provisions of this act.
Sec. 5. The amendatory provisions of this act do not apply to offenses that are committed before October 1, 1997.