CENTRAL REGISTRY CLEARANCE INFO H.B. 5910 (H-1):
COMMITTEE SUMMARY
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House Bill 5910 (Substitute H-1 as passed by the House)
Sponsor: Representative Robert Dean
House Committee: Families and Children's Services
Senate Committee: Families and Human Services
Date Completed: 6-16-08
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Child Protection Law (CPL) to permit central registry clearance information for an individual to be shared with whomever was appropriate for employment or volunteer purposes.
The CPL requires the Department of Human Services (DHS) to maintain a statewide, electronic central registry, which is used to keep a record of all reports filed with the Department in which relevant and accurate evidence of child abuse or neglect is found to exist. The central registry is a confidential record available only to certain governmental agencies, law enforcement agencies, courts, child care organizations, and authorized individuals.
The CPL permits the DHS, upon written request, to provide to an individual documentation stating that he or she is not named in a central registry case as the perpetrator of child abuse or neglect.
The written request must include the individual's affirmation that he or she is employed by, volunteers at, is applying for employment in, or is seeking to volunteer in a child care center, child caring institution, or child placing agency. For the purpose of applying for employment or seeking to volunteer in a child care center, child caring institution, or child placing agency, an individual may share the document provided with that entity or an individual authorized by it. The bill would remove these provisions.
The bill would permit the DHS, upon request, to provide to an individual, or whomever was appropriate, documentation that the individual was not named in a central registry case as the perpetrator of child abuse or neglect. An individual or the DHS could share the document with whomever was appropriate for the purpose of seeking employment or serving as a volunteer.
The bill also would permit an employer, a person or agency to which an individual was applying for employment, or a volunteer agency, with appropriate authorization and identification from the individual, to request and receive central registry clearance information.
MCL 722.627j Legislative Analyst: Curtis Walker
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill likely would increase the number of people requesting and receiving documentation on the status of individuals in the central registry of child abuse and neglect reports. This expansion in the number of registry inquiries likely would increase administrative cost. The cost linked to increased requests for information would be mitigated by the reduction in the documentation standards for registry inquiries, which would reduce workload for the Department. These two factors taken together suggest that the bill would have little fiscal impact on State government.
Fiscal Analyst: David Fosdick
Analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent. hb5910/0708