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MINUTES OF THE
CHILD WELFARE LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT PANEL
November 24, 1998 -- 12:00 p.m. -- Room 416 State Capitol
Members Present:
Sen. Lyle W. Hillyard, Senate Chair
Rep. J. Brent Haymond, House Chair
Sen. Blaze D. Wharton
Rep. Nora B. Stephens
Rep. Steve Barth
Staff Present:
Mr. Bryant R. Howe,
Research Analyst
Mr. R. Chet Loftis
Associate General Counsel
Ms. Tracey Fredman
Legislative Secretary
Note: A list of others present and a copy of materials distributed in the meeting are on file in the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel.
Chair Haymond called the meeting to order at 12:00 p.m.
1. Panel Business --
MOTION:
Rep. Stephens moved that the minutes of the November 6, 1998 meeting be approved as printed. The motion passed unanimously.
2. Child Abuse Database Amendments
a. Mr. Chet Loftis, Associate General Counsel, distributed draft legislation entitled "Amendments - Child Abuse Database" and a handout outlining the position of the panel on the
issues reflected in the legislation.
Panel discussion followed.
Issue 1: Should unsubstantiated or without merit reports ever be removed from the child
welfare database?
MOTION: Rep. Barth moved to adopt the amendment as drafted which read: "(i) a report that is without merit if no subsequent report involving the same alleged perpetrator has
occurred within one year; or (ii) a report that is unsubstantiated if no subsequent report involving
the same alleged perpetrator has occurred within 10 years, unless the executive director
determines that there is good cause for keeping the report on the system based on standards
established by rule." The motion passed. Rep. Stephens voted in opposition. Sen. Wharton was
absent for the vote.
Issue 2: What should be done with "undelivered" notices?
MOTION: Rep. Stephens moved to amend the draft to include language which would (1) clarify the inclusion of notices that went undelivered because the addresses were unaccessible
and (2) place the burden of proving that a notice went undelivered on the individual. The motion
passed unanimously.
MOTION: Sen. Hillyard moved to accept the draft with the above named changes. The motion passed unanimously.
Issue 3: What should be done with juvenile perpetrators?
MOTION: Rep. Barth moved to delete the word predatory from line 122. The motion passed unanimously.
MOTION: Rep. Stephens moved to accept the draft with the above named changes. The motion passed unanimously.
Issue 4: Should there be any restriction on who may ask a person to get information from
the databases for screening purposes?
MOTION: Sen. Hillyard moved to accept the draft with the addition of language that specific groups would have access to the licensing database with the understanding that these
changes should be finalized by Rep. Stephens and Sen. Hillyard. The motion passed
unanimously.
Issue 5: Should an administrative law judge be permitted to make a determination based
solely on a child's hearsay statement?
MOTION: Rep. Barth moved to change the draft to delete line 214 and to add to line 215 a statutory reference to Title 78 and Utah Case Law. The motion passed unanimously.
Issue 6: Should a person be a party to a judicial proceeding in order for that order to have
binding effect?
MOTION: Rep. Barth moved to delete lines 224 and 225 from the amendment as written. The vote passed unanimously.
Issue 7: What should happen if access to or use of information on the licensing database
is ever expanded?
MOTION: Rep. Stephens moved to approve the amendment as drafted. The motion passed unanimously.
8. Should a prosecutor's access to the child welfare database be clarified?
MOTION: Rep. Stephens moved to approve the amendment as drafted. The motion passed unanimously.
3. Adjournment
MOTION: Rep. Barth moved to adjourn the meeting at 2:10 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.
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