CCS HS HCS SS SCS SB 923, 828, 876, 694 & 736 -- CHILDREN AND
FAMILIES; MEDICAL RECORDS

This bill contains various provisions pertaining to children and
families.

FEES FOR ADOPTION DOCUMENTS

The bill limits the allowable fees charged by the Secretary of
State for processing certain adoption documents to $100 per child
per adoption or per multiple children adopted at the same time.
Currently, the Secretary of State can charge a fee of $10 per
document.

SPECIAL NEEDS ADOPTION TAX CREDIT

Currently, a person can claim the sale of a special needs
adoption tax credit to a for-profit entity at a discount rate of
75% or greater of the amount sold.  The bill removes the
limitation that the discount rate must apply to a sale made to a
for-profit entity.

NEWBORN HEARING SCREENINGS

The bill revises a provision pertaining to hearing screenings for
newborns.

Effective January 1, 2002, any facility which transfers a newborn
to a different facility for further acute care prior to the
completion of the newborn hearing screening is required to notify
the receiving facility of the current status of the hearing
screening.  If the hearing screening is incomplete, the receiving
facility is responsible for completing the hearing screening for
newborns.

Currently, hospitals or ambulatory surgical centers are required
to perform the hearing screening for newborns delivered in their
facilities prior to discharge.

ESTABLISHMENT OF PATERNITY

The bill makes a technical correction to a statutory reference
pertaining to the Putative Father Registry.  The bill also makes
a technical correction to a statutory reference pertaining to the
Uniform Parentage Act concerning the establishment of paternity.

WELFARE REFORM

The bill requires the Division of Family Services to submit an
annual report concerning the progress of welfare reform to the
Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the
President Pro Tem of the Senate.  The first report must be
submitted by December 1, 2002, and annually thereafter.  The
contents of the report are specified in the bill.

This portion of the bill expires December 31, 2007.


REGIONAL CHILD ASSESSMENT CENTERS

The bill adds the Clay-Platte Child Assessment Center and the
Camden County Child Assessment Center to the list of regional
child assessment centers funded by the Department of Social
Services.

The bill also makes a distinction between currently existing
child assessment centers located in Greene County and the Lakes
Area (Branson West).

CHILD ABUSE REPORTING AND CHILD ABUSE REGISTRY

The bill adds members of the clergy to the list of mandatory
reporters for suspected cases of child abuse or neglect.  The
bill specifies the procedure when members of the clergy or the
clergy's designated agent are required to report a case of child
abuse or neglect.  Privileged communications between a member of
the clergy and a parishioner are exempt from this requirement.

The bill revises a provision pertaining to the reporting of a
suspected case of child abuse or neglect.  The Division of Family
Services is required to notify the parents of a child who is an
alleged victim of child abuse if the parents are not the alleged
abusers.  The division is prohibited from meeting with a child
who is an alleged victim of child abuse in any location where the
alleged act of child abuse has occurred.

A provision pertaining to the public school district liaison who
receives information on an investigation concerning a suspected
case of child abuse is revised.  A school superintendent is
required to designate a person or persons to act as the public
school district liaison.  In addition, all information received
by the public school district liaison or the school is subject to
the provisions of the federal Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act.

The bill also prohibits a parent, guardian, or custodian from
being listed in the child abuse central registry if a juvenile
court or family court determines that during a custody proceeding
the child requires mental health services and the parent,
guardian, or custodian is unable to afford or access the
appropriate mental health services or care for the child.

CHILD CARE FACILITIES

The bill revises the definition of a child care facility.  A
child care facility operated by a business establishment which
provides child care for children of its employees for no more
than four hours a day is not included in the definition.

FOSTER PARENTS

Currently, the Division of Family Services in the Department of
Social Services is the state agency responsible for providing
foster care services in Missouri.  The bill specifies the rights
and responsibilities of foster parents, the division, and
contractors pertaining to foster care services.  The bill:

(1)  Requires the division and its contractors to treat foster
parents with respect.  Foster parents are required to treat
foster children, the birth families of foster children, and the
child welfare team with respect;

(2)  Requires the division and its contractors to provide foster
parents with training and support.  The division and its
contractors are required to disclose to foster parents all
relevant information about the foster child, the birth family,
and the case plan for assisting in the proper placement of a
foster child.  Except in emergencies, the division and its
contractors are required to arrange pre-placement visits;

(3)  Allows foster parents to inquire about a child's case plan,
encourage a placement, or refuse a placement without reprisal
from a caseworker or agency;

(4)  Requires the division to provide new information about a
foster child to foster parents after placement;

(5)  Requires foster parents to seek all necessary information
and to participate in pre-placement meetings when considering
whether to accept a foster child for placement.  Foster parents
are required to receive proper notice of scheduled meetings and
staffings consistent with Section 210.761, RSMo, pertaining to
foster care hearings;

(6)  Requires the division to establish procedures for reasonably
accessible respite care for children in foster care consistent
with Section 210.545, pertaining to respite care facilities;

(7)  Requires foster parents to provide care that respects a
child's values, needs, and cultural identity and to make daily
decisions about the living concerns of the child.  Discipline
should be administered in a humane and sensitive manner and must
be consistent with state laws and regulations.  Foster parents
are not prohibited from practicing their family values and
routines and are allowed to help plan the visitation of the
child's biological family.  Flexibility and cooperation are
required of foster parents concerning family visits;

(8)  Gives a foster child's family preferential consideration for
adoption if the child becomes free for adoption while in foster
care.  If adoption is not pursued, foster parents are required to
support the placement of the child in a permanent home;

(9)  Maintains the confidentiality rights of the child and the
foster parents;

(10)  Authorizes foster parents to request information from the
state about a child's progress after leaving foster care.  The
current policy of the division concerning the disclosure of
reasons for removing a child from a foster family is maintained.
If the child re-enters the foster care system, the child's foster
parents are given the option for placement; and

(11)  Requires that foster parents be informed in a timely manner
of all court hearings and their right to attend and to
participate in the hearings.  Foster parents are allowed access
to a placement agency's appeals process and retaliation against
foster parents who exercise their right to appeal is prohibited.

FAMILY CARE SAFETY REGISTRY

The bill requires persons and entities licensed as foster
parents, child placing agencies, and residential care facilities
to be automatically registered with the Family Care Safety
Registry at no additional cost.

HAZARDOUS CHILDREN'S PRODUCTS

The Department of Health and Senior Services is required to
provide child care facilities with a comprehensive list of unsafe
children's products identified by the Consumer Products Safety
Commission.  Initial notification for facilities must occur on or
before July 1, 2003, and quarterly thereafter.  If a child care
facility fails to dispose of an unsafe product after notice is
given by the department, the facility will be cited with a
violation.

HOME AND COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES FOR CHILDREN

The bill allows the court to order that a child receive certain
care and treatment in the least restrictive setting, based on an
individualized treatment plan which is consistent with Section
211.081, pertaining to certain institutional placements for
children.

CHILD LABOR

The bill makes changes to provisions pertaining to child labor.
The bill:

(1)  Revises the definition of "employ";

(2)  Revises the provision pertaining to the issuance of a work
certificate for a child employed during the school year;

(3)  Limits some exemptions only to children working in the
entertainment industry;

(4)  Prohibits children under 16 years old from working in any
street occupation.  The prohibition does not apply to
distribution of literature of a registered political candidate;

(5)  Requires employers to keep records on employed children and
their work hours for at least two years;

(6)  Requires the Director of the Division of Labor Standards to
consider the size of a business when determining the appropriate
civil damages which are assessed against persons who violate the
child labor laws; and

(7)  Makes records obtained by the Division of Labor Standards
confidential.

GRANDPARENT VISITATION

Currently, the court can grant visitation privileges to
grandparents based on certain factors.  The bill adds the
following to the factors the court can consider when granting
visitation rights to grandparents:

(1)  One parent of the child is deceased and the surviving parent
denies visitation to a parent of the deceased parent of the
child;

(2)  The child has lived in the grandparent's home for at least
six months within the previous two years which immediately
precede the filing of the petition for visitation;

(3)  A grandparent has been denied visitation for over 90 days.
If the natural parents are married and living together, the
grandparent may not file for unsupervised visitation; or

(4)  The child is adopted by a stepparent, another grandparent,
or relative.

Current law requires that the court decide if grandparent
visitation privileges would be in the best interest of the child.
The bill also requires that if the natural parents are currently
married and living together, then a rebuttable presumption exists
that the parents know what is in the best interest of the child.

CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT

The bill makes several changes to the law governing how health
insurance premiums are collected by employers as part of
court-ordered child support.  The bill:

(1)  Requires the Division of Child Support Enforcement to use
federal guidelines in notifying employers of their obligation to
enroll the obligor's child in their health benefits plan.  The
division must notify the employer within two days of the
employee's name appearing on the state's directory of new hires;

(2)  Requires an obligor who wants to contest the withholding of
funds for required employee contributions to do so in writing
within 30 days;

(3)  Requires the employer to notify its health plan within 20
days of the order for health benefits coverage, and the health
plan must respond within 40 days of the order;

(4)  Requires the health plan to provide the custodial parent and
the division with a description of coverages that are available;

(5)  Requires the division and custodial parent to select a plan
option within 20 days or the child will be enrolled in the health
plan's default option;

(6)  Requires employers to promptly notify the division when the
obligor leaves its employ and provide it with the last known
address for the obligor and the obligor's new employer, if known;
and

(7)  Removes the obligation to provide health benefits for the
child if the obligor's employer eliminates family health coverage
for all of its employees.

MEDICAL RECORD FEES

The bill revises a provision pertaining to the annual price
adjustment index used to determine the amount of the handling fee
and the per page fee licensed health care providers can charge
persons who request copies of their medical records.  Currently,
the fee is set at 35 cents per page adjusted annually by the
Market Basket Survey of the Health Care Financing Administration.
Under the bill the annual adjustment will be based on the annual
un-adjusted, medical care component of the Consumer Price Index
as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.
Department of Labor.

The Department of Health and Senior Services is required to
report the annual adjustment in the index and the adjusted
handling fee and per page fee on the department's Internet
website by February 1 of each year.

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated October 11, 2002 at 9:04 am