Posted: | July 29, 2020 03:28 PM |
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From: | Representative Tarah Toohil |
To: | All House members |
Subject: | Amending Bureau of Hearings & Appeals to Further Protect Child Victims |
Next week, we will be introducing legislation that addresses issues with the location and administration of hearings conducted by the Department of Human Services Board of Hearing and Appeals in order to add further protections for Child Victims. The Bureau of Hearings and Appeals has the authority delegated by the Secretary of Human Services to hear and adjudicate 280 jurisdictional issues for the Department of Human Services. The large majority of child abuse cases are never criminally prosecuted. Instead, about a 1,000 of these cases are heard every year by the Bureau of Hearings and Appeals. A 2019 report by the Auditor General referred to this system as a “shadow justice” due to the large amount of cases that are overturned on appeal.
This legislation will allow the appeals hearings to be less onerous on child victims while still upholding the due process rights of the accused while they exercise their appeal. Please join us in co-sponsoring this very important bill. |
Introduced as HB2808