Delaware Senate Bill 251 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-2)
Status: Introduced on May 5 2016 - 25% progression, died in chamber
Action: 2016-05-19 - Reported Out of Committee (CHILDREN; YOUTH & FAMILIES) in Senate with 5 On Its Merits
Text: Latest bill text (Draft #1) [HTML]

Mandatory reporting laws are a crucial protection for children; every state has a version of such laws and they have been an effective tool. As Delaware’s mandatory reporting law matures, it is important to recognize necessary balances to ensure that those at risk also receive necessary care. This Act enables adult patients to seek the mental health care that they need by exempting mental health professionals from the reporting requirements under 903 of Title 16. However, this Act balances that exemption by maintaining mandatory reporting responsibility if a mental health professional knows or has reason to know a child is being abused or neglected or that the abuser is in a position of trust, authority, or supervision over a child. In addition, this Act constructs a definition subsection for 903 of Title 16, creating a definition of “mental health professional” and “person”. The definition of “person” is intended to continue the mandatory reporting statute’s broad application while remaining consistent with the guidelines of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual by removing an exemplary list of individuals and entities that has become unwieldy. Finally, this Act removes the reference to “the Division of Family Services” and replaces it with a reference to 904 of Title 16 for internal consistency.

An Act To Amend Title 16 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Reporting Of Child Abuse Or Neglect.

Sen. Karen Peterson [D]	Rep. Andria Bennett [D]	Sen. Bruce Ennis [D]	Sen. Margaret Henry [D]
Sen. Gerald Hocker [R]	Sen. Robert Marshall [D]	Sen. David Wilson [R]

Date	Chamber	Action
2016-05-19	Senate	Reported Out of Committee (CHILDREN; YOUTH & FAMILIES) in Senate with 5 On Its Merits
2016-05-05	Senate	Assigned to Children; Youth & Families Committee in Senate

Type	Source
Summary	http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/lis148.nsf/2bede841c6272c888025698400433a04/f6abb667f625863785257f4f0055b1b8?OpenDocument
Text	http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/lis148.nsf/vwLegislation/SB+251/$file/legis.html?open