CORRECTIVE REPRINT
PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 1512
PRINTER'S NO. 1639
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
1026
Session of
2018
INTRODUCED BY BOSCOLA, BAKER, COSTA, FONTANA, SCHWANK, BROWNE,
ARGALL, BARTOLOTTA, McGARRIGLE, RAFFERTY, RESCHENTHALER,
STEFANO, VULAKOVICH, WAGNER, WARD, BREWSTER, YUDICHAK AND
HUGHES, FEBRUARY 27, 2018
REFERRED TO HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, FEBRUARY 27, 2018
AN ACT
Amending Title 23 (Domestic Relations) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in child protective services, further
providing for mandatory reporting of children under one year
of age.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 6386 of Title 23 of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:
ยง 6386. Mandatory reporting of children under one year of age.
(a) When report to be made to county agency.--A health care
provider shall immediately make a report or cause a report to be
made to the appropriate county agency if the provider is
involved in the delivery or care of a child under one year of
age who is born and identified as being affected by any of the
following:
(1) Illegal substance abuse by the child's mother.
(2) Withdrawal symptoms resulting from prenatal drug
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exposure unless the child's mother, during the pregnancy,
was:
(i) under the care of a prescribing medical
professional; and
(ii) in compliance with the directions for the
administration of a prescription drug as directed by the
prescribing medical professional.
(3) A Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
(a.1) When report to be made to department.--A health care
provider shall immediately make a report or cause a report to be
made to the department if the provider is involved in the
delivery or care of a child under one year of age who is born
and identified as being affected by any of the following:
(1) Illegal opioid abuse by the child's mother.
(2) Withdrawal symptoms r esulting from prenatal drug
exposure to an opioid unless the child's mother, during the
pregnancy, was:
(i) under the care of a prescribing medical
professional; and
(ii) in compliance with the directions for the
administration of a prescription opioid drug as directed
by the prescribing medical professional.
(b) Safety or risk assessment.--[The] For a child reported
under subsection (a), the county agency shall perform a safety
assessment or risk assessment, or both, for the child and
determine whether child protective services or general
protective services are warranted.
(c) County agency duties.--Upon receipt of a report under
[this section] subsection (a), the county agency for the county
where the child resides shall:
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(1) Immediately ensure the safety of the child and see
the child immediately if emergency protective custody is
required or has been or shall be taken or if it cannot be
determined from the report whether emergency protective
custody is needed.
(2) Physically see the child within 48 hours of receipt
of the report.
(3) Contact the parents of the child within 24 hours of
receipt of the report.
(4) Provide or arrange reasonable services to ensure the
child is provided with proper parental care, control and
supervision.
(d) Department duties.--Upon receipt of a report under
subsection (a.1), the department shall:
(1) Compile the information from the report with
information received from such other reports received by the
department during the same calendar quarter and publish the
information from the reports as soon as possible on the
department's publicly accessible Internet website where the
information shall be segregated and searchable by county.
(2) Compile the information from the report with
information received from such other reports received by the
department during the same calendar year and submit the
information to the General Assembly not later than January 31
of the following calendar year. The information shall be
segregated by county and may include such other statistical
analysis as deemed appropriate by the department in order to
best represent frequencies and trends across this
Commonwealth.
(e) Confidentiality.--Identifying information relating to a
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child in a report under subsection (a.1) shall be confidential
and shall not be subject to disclosure under the act of February
14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know Law.
(f) Definition.--As used in this section, "department" means
the Department of Health of the Commonwealth.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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