HB1123: Child advocacy centers.

Legislative Summary

Child advocacy centers. Provides that the department of child services may use a child advocacy center to coordinate a multidisciplinary team for responding to reports involving child abuse or neglect. Requires the child advocacy center to: (1) coordinate a multidisciplinary team that consists of specified professionals; (2) ensure that the multidisciplinary team members have specified training; (3) provide a dedicated child-focused setting designed to provide a safe, comfortable, and neutral place for a forensic interview and other child advocacy center services; (4) use written protocols; (5) use a case tracking system to provide information on essential demographic and case information; and (6) verify that multidisciplinary team members responsible for providing medical evaluations and mental health services have specified training. Provides civil immunity for a child advocacy center's employees, volunteers, and board members under certain circumstances. Allows otherwise confidential information regarding an investigation of child abuse or neglect to be made available to a child advocacy center when the child advocacy center has before it an investigation of child abuse or neglect in which it is facilitating a forensic interview or facilitating a case discussion or case review.