SB 574

This bill requires the Department of Children and Families, by January 1,

2017, to develop and implement a model procedure to be used in the investigation of

reports of suspected or threatened abuse or neglect of a child with a disability. The

bill requires the model procedure, at a minimum, to include all of the following:

1. A requirement that each county department of human services or social

services, each licensed child welfare agency under contract with DCF or such a

county department, or, in a county having a population of 500,000 or more, the

subunit of DCF that conducts child abuse and neglect investigations (collectively,

"agency"), on receipt of a report of suspected or threatened abuse or neglect, ask the

reporter whether the child who is the subject of the report is a child with a disability.

2. Procedures for agencies to use to identify and address any specific categories

of disabilities that a child with a disability reported to the agency may have.

3. Procedures to ensure that each agency is in compliance with the Americans

with Disabilities Act. Those procedures must include reasonable modifications to

the rules, policies, and practices of the agency, the removal of architectural,

communication, and transportation barriers, and the provision of auxiliary aids and

services as necessary to enable a person with a disability to receive the services or

participate in the programs or activities provided by the agency.

4. Interviewing strategies tailored to the investigation of abuse or neglect

reports involving children with disabilities that include forensic interviewing

strategies for interviewing those children, including children with communication

issues.

5. Information on how to access collateral information regarding a child with

a disability.

6. Information on how to access specialized follow-up services for children with

disabilities.

7. A requirement that agencies collaborate with local law enforcement agencies

in the investigation of reports of suspected or threatened abuse or neglect of children

with disabilities.

8. Plans for the training of agency staff in the implementation of the model

procedure.

The bill also requires each agency, by July 1, 2017, to adopt a procedure for the

investigation of reports of suspected or threatened abuse or neglect of children with

disabilities, which procedure may consist of the model procedure developed by DCF.