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Second Substitute S.B. 101

Senator Leonard M. Blackham proposes the following substitute bill:


             1     
CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR

             2     
LICENSED PROVIDERS OF HUMAN

             3     
SERVICES

             4     
2002 GENERAL SESSION

             5     
STATE OF UTAH

             6     
Sponsor: Leonard M. Blackham

             7      This act amends the Human Services Code. The act adds new defined terms and modifies
             8      others. The act excludes individuals serving on certain governing bodies and boards from
             9      the requirement of criminal background checks. The act modifies licensing requirements
             10      of human services licensees and persons associated with a licensee. The act amends criminal
             11      background check provisions. The act requires that the Department of Human Services and
             12      the Human Services Licensing Board conduct a comprehensive review of criminal and court
             13      records and related circumstances in connection with certain convictions found in a search.
             14      The act clarifies and modifies the process for challenging a decision by the department not
             15      to approve a person to have direct access in a licensee program serving children or
             16      vulnerable adults. The act makes technical changes.
             17      This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
             18      AMENDS:
             19          62A-2-101, as last amended by Chapter 358, Laws of Utah 1998
             20          62A-2-120, as enacted by Chapter 358, Laws of Utah 1998
             21          62A-2-121, as last amended by Chapter 164, Laws of Utah 1999
             22      ENACTS:
             23          62A-2-122, Utah Code Annotated 1953
             24      REPEALS:
             25          62A-4a-413, as last amended by Chapters 263 and 358, Laws of Utah 1998


             26      Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
             27          Section 1. Section 62A-2-101 is amended to read:
             28           62A-2-101. Definitions.
             29          As used in this chapter:
             30          (1) "Adult day care" means continuous care and supervision for three or more adults for
             31      at least four but less than 24 hours a day, that meets the needs of functionally impaired adults
             32      through a comprehensive program that provides a variety of health, social, recreational, and related
             33      support services in a protective setting.
             34          (2) "Child" means a person under 18 years of age.
             35          [(2)] (3) "Child placing" means receiving, accepting, or providing custody or care for any
             36      child under 18 years of age, temporarily or permanently, for the purpose of:
             37          (a) finding a person to adopt the child;
             38          (b) placing the child temporarily or permanently in a home for adoption; or
             39          (c) foster home placement.
             40          [(3)] (4) "Client" means an individual who receives or has received services from a human
             41      services licensee under this chapter.
             42          [(4)] (5) "Day treatment" means specialized treatment for less than 24 hours a day for four
             43      or more persons who are unrelated to the owner or provider and who have emotional,
             44      psychological, developmental, physical, or behavioral dysfunctions, impairments, or chemical
             45      dependencies. Day treatment is provided in lieu of, or in coordination with, a more restrictive
             46      residential or inpatient environment or service.
             47          [(5)] (6) "Department" means the Department of Human Services.
             48          (7) "Direct access" means that an individual has, or likely will have, contact with or access
             49      to a child or vulnerable adult that provides the individual with an opportunity for personal
             50      communication or touch.
             51          [(6)] (8) "Director" means the director of the Office of Licensing.
             52          [(7)] (9) "Domestic violence treatment program" means a nonresidential program designed
             53      to provide psychological treatment and educational services to perpetrators and victims of
             54      domestic violence.
             55          (10) "Elder adult" means a person 65 years of age or older.
             56          [(8)] (11) "Executive director" means the executive director of the [Department of Human


             57      Services] department.
             58          [(9)] (12) "Human services licensee" or "licensee" means a youth program, resource family
             59      home, or a facility or program, licensed by the department, that provides care, secure treatment,
             60      inpatient treatment, residential treatment, residential support, adult day care, day treatment,
             61      outpatient treatment, domestic violence treatment, child placing services, or social detoxification.
             62          [(10)] (13) "Licensing board" means the Human Services Licensing Board.
             63          (14) "Minor" has the same meaning as "child."
             64          [(11)] (15) "Office" means the Office of Licensing within the Department of Human
             65      Services.
             66          [(12)] (16) "Outpatient treatment" means individual, family, or group therapy or
             67      counseling designed to improve and enhance social or psychological functioning for those whose
             68      physical and emotional status allows them to continue functioning in their usual living
             69      environment.
             70          [(13)] (17) (a) "Person associated with [a] the licensee" means an owner, director, member
             71      of the governing body, employee, provider of care, [and] or volunteer of a human services licensee
             72      or of an applicant to become a licensee.
             73          (b) Notwithstanding Subsection (17)(a), "person associated with the licensee" does not
             74      include an individual serving on either of the following bodies unless that individual has direct
             75      access to children or vulnerable adults:
             76          (i) a county governing body designated as a local mental health authority under Section
             77      17A-3-602 or as a local substance abuse authority under Section 17A-3-701 ; or
             78          (ii) a board of an organization operating under a contract to provide comprehensive mental
             79      health or substance abuse programs or services for the local mental health authority or substance
             80      abuse authority.
             81          [(14)] (18) "Residential support" means arranging for or providing the necessities of life
             82      as a protective service to individuals or families who are disabled or who are experiencing a
             83      dislocation or emergency which prevents them from providing these services for themselves or
             84      their families. Treatment is not a necessary component of residential support.
             85          [(15)] (19) "Residential treatment" means a 24-hour group living environment for four or
             86      more individuals unrelated to the owner or provider that offers room or board and specialized
             87      treatment, rehabilitation, or habilitation services for persons with emotional, psychological,


             88      developmental, or behavioral dysfunctions, impairments, or chemical dependencies. In residential
             89      treatment, individuals are assisted in acquiring the social and behavioral skills necessary for living
             90      independently in the community.
             91          [(16)] (20) "Resource family home" means a home licensed to provide services to a child
             92      in the custody of the state and includes a foster care home and a legal risk home.
             93          [(17)] (21) "Secure treatment" means 24-hour specialized residential treatment or care for
             94      persons whose current functioning is such that they cannot live independently or in a less
             95      restrictive environment. Secure treatment differs from residential treatment to the extent that it
             96      requires intensive supervision, locked doors, and other security measures which are imposed on
             97      residents with neither their consent nor control.
             98          [(18)] (22) "Social detoxification" means short-term residential services for persons who
             99      are intoxicated, that are provided outside of a health care facility licensed under Title 26, Chapter
             100      21, Health Care Facility Licensure and Inspection Act, and that include:
             101          (a) room and board for persons who are unrelated to the owner or manager of the facility;
             102          (b) specialized rehabilitation to acquire sobriety; and
             103          (c) aftercare services.
             104          [(19)] (23) "Unrelated persons" means persons other than parents, legal guardians,
             105      grandparents, brothers, sisters, uncles, or aunts.
             106          (24) "Vulnerable adult" means an elder adult or an adult who has a mental or physical
             107      impairment that substantially affects the person's ability to:
             108          (a) provide personal protection;
             109          (b) provide necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, or mental or other health care;
             110          (c) obtain services necessary for health, safety, or welfare;
             111          (d) carry out the activities of daily living;
             112          (e) manage the adult's own resources; or
             113          (f) comprehend the nature and consequences of remaining in a situation of abuse, neglect,
             114      or exploitation.
             115          [(20)] (25) (a) "Youth program" means a nonresidential program, designed to provide
             116      behavioral, substance abuse or mental health services to minors that:
             117          [(a)] (i) serves either adjudicated or nonadjudicated youth;
             118          [(b)] (ii) charges a fee for its services;


             119          [(c)] (iii) may or may not provide host homes or other arrangements for overnight
             120      accommodation of the youth;
             121          [(d)] (iv) may or may not provide all or part of its services in the outdoors;
             122          [(e)] (v) may or may not limit or censor access to parents or guardians; and
             123          [(f)] (vi) prohibits or restricts a minor's ability to leave the program at any time of his own
             124      free will[; and].
             125          [(g) will not apply to] (b) "Youth program" does not include recreational programs such
             126      as Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H, and other such organizations.
             127          Section 2. Section 62A-2-120 is amended to read:
             128           62A-2-120. Criminal background checks.
             129          (1) (a) [A human services licensee or individual applying for or renewing a] An applicant
             130      for an initial license [to provide child-placing services, youth programs, substitute care, foster care,
             131      or institutionalized care to children,] or a license renewal under this chapter shall submit to the
             132      department the [name] names and other identifying information, which may include fingerprints,
             133      of all persons associated with the licensee, as defined in Section 62A-2-101 , with direct access to
             134      children or vulnerable adults. This information for a given person associated with the licensee
             135      shall be submitted before that person is permitted to have direct access to children or vulnerable
             136      adults.
             137          (b) The Criminal Investigations and Technical Services Division of the Department of
             138      Public Safety shall process that information to determine whether the individual has been
             139      convicted of any crime.
             140          (c) If an individual has not lived in Utah for five years, the individual shall submit
             141      fingerprints for a FBI national criminal history record check. The fingerprints shall be submitted
             142      to the FBI through the Criminal Investigations and Technical Services Division.
             143          [(2) A person associated with the licensee who has a felony conviction may not provide
             144      child-placing services, foster care, youth programs, substitute care, or institutionalized care for
             145      children in facilities or programs licensed by the department.]
             146          [(3) The department shall adopt rules defining the circumstances under which a person
             147      who has been convicted of a misdemeanor may provide child-placing services, foster care, youth
             148      programs, substitute care, or institutionalized care for children in a facility or program licensed by
             149      the department.]


             150          (2) The department shall approve a person for whom identifying information is submitted
             151      under Subsection (1) to have direct access in the licensee program serving children or vulnerable
             152      adults if:
             153          (a) the person is found to have no criminal history record; or
             154          (b) (i) the only convictions in the person's criminal history record are misdemeanors or
             155      infractions not involving any of the offenses described in Subsection (3); and
             156          (ii) the date of the last conviction under Subsection (2)(b)(i) is more than five years before
             157      the date of the search.
             158          (3) The department may not approve a person to have direct access in the licensee program
             159      serving children or vulnerable adults if the person has at any time been convicted of:
             160          (a) a felony, misdemeanor other than a protective order violation in a domestic case, or
             161      infraction involving an offense identified as domestic violence, lewdness, assault, or battery;
             162          (b) a violation of any pornography law, including sexual exploitation of a minor;
             163          (c) prostitution;
             164          (d) an offense identified in Title 76, Utah Criminal Code, as an offense against the family
             165      or an offense against the person; or
             166          (e) an offense identified in Title 76, Utah Criminal Code, as a sexual offense.
             167          (4) (a) The department and the Human Services Licensing Board shall conduct a
             168      comprehensive review of criminal and court records and related circumstances if a person for
             169      whom identifying information is submitted under Subsection (1):
             170          (i) has been convicted at any time of any felony not listed in Subsection (3); or
             171          (ii) has been convicted within five years of the date of the search of any misdemeanor or
             172      infraction not listed in Subsection (3).
             173          (b) The comprehensive review under Subsection (4)(a) shall include an examination of:
             174          (i) the date of the offense;
             175          (ii) the nature and seriousness of the offense;
             176          (iii) the circumstances under which the offense occurred;
             177          (iv) the age of the offender when the offense was committed;
             178          (v) whether the offense was an isolated or repeated incident;
             179          (vi) whether the offense directly relates to abuse of a child or vulnerable adult, including:
             180          (A) actual or threatened, nonaccidental physical or mental harm;


             181          (B) sexual abuse;
             182          (C) sexual exploitation; and
             183          (D) negligent treatment;
             184          (vii) any evidence provided by the person of rehabilitation, counseling, or psychiatric
             185      treatment received, or additional academic or vocational schooling completed, by the person; and
             186          (viii) any other pertinent information.
             187          (c) At the conclusion of the comprehensive review under this Subsection (4), the
             188      department shall either approve or not approve the person who is the subject of the review to have
             189      direct access to children or vulnerable adults, based upon the determination of the department and
             190      the Human Services Licensing Board of whether or not granting approval would likely create a risk
             191      of harm to a child or vulnerable adult.
             192          (d) In accordance with Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the
             193      department may make rules, consistent with this chapter, defining procedures for the
             194      comprehensive review described in this Subsection (4).
             195          (5) (a) Within 30 days after receiving the identifying information for a person under
             196      Subsection (1), the department shall give written notice to the person and to the human services
             197      licensee or applicant with whom the person is associated of:
             198          (i) the department's decision regarding its background screening clearance and findings;
             199      and
             200          (ii) a listing of any convictions found in the search.
             201          (b) With the notice described in Subsection (5)(a), the department shall also give to the
             202      person the details of any comprehensive review conducted under Subsection (4).
             203          (c) If the notice under Subsection (5)(a) states that the person is not approved to have
             204      direct access to children or vulnerable adults, the notice shall further advise the persons to whom
             205      the notice is given that either the person or the human services licensee or applicant with whom
             206      the person is associated, or both, may, pursuant to Subsection 62A-2-111 (2), request a hearing in
             207      the department's Office of Administrative Hearings, to challenge the department's decision.
             208          (d) In accordance with Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the
             209      department shall make rules, consistent with this chapter:
             210          (i) defining procedures for the challenge of its background screening decision described
             211      in this Subsection (5); and


             212          (ii) expediting the process for renewal of a license pursuant to the requirements of this
             213      section and other applicable sections.
             214          Section 3. Section 62A-2-121 is amended to read:
             215           62A-2-121. Access to child abuse and neglect information for licensing purposes.
             216          (1) With respect to human services licensees, the department may access only the licensing
             217      part of the Division of Child and Family Service's management information system created by
             218      Section 62A-4a-116 for the purpose of:
             219          (a) determining whether a person associated with a licensee, [who provides care described
             220      in Subsection (2)] with direct access to children, has a substantiated finding of abuse or neglect;
             221      and
             222          (b) informing a licensee[, who provides care described in Subsection (2),] that a person
             223      associated with the licensee has a substantiated finding of child abuse or neglect.
             224          [(2) (a) A licensee or individual applying for or renewing a license to provide child-placing
             225      services, youth programs, substitute care, foster care, or institutionalized care to children shall
             226      submit to the department the name and other identifying information of a person associated with
             227      the licensee.]
             228          [(b) The office] (2) After receiving identifying information for a person under Subsection
             229      62A-2-120 (1), the department shall process the information [to determine whether the licensee or
             230      a person associated with a licensee has a substantiated finding of child abuse or neglect] for the
             231      purposes described in Subsection (1).
             232          (3) The [office] department shall adopt rules under Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah
             233      Administrative Rulemaking Act, consistent with this chapter, defining the circumstances under
             234      which a person who has direct access to children and who has a substantiated finding of child
             235      abuse or neglect under Title 62A, Chapter 4a, Child and Family Services, may provide
             236      [child-placing services, foster care, youth programs, substitute care, or institutionalized care for
             237      children in a facility licenced by the department] services to children.
             238          Section 4. Section 62A-2-122 is enacted to read:
             239          62A-2-122. Access to vulnerable adult abuse and neglect information for licensing
             240      purposes.
             241          (1) With respect to human services licensees, the department may access the data base
             242      created by Section 62A-3-311.1 for the purpose of:


             243          (a) determining whether a person associated with a licensee, with direct access to
             244      vulnerable adults, has a substantiated finding of abuse, neglect, or exploitation; and
             245          (b) informing a licensee that a person associated with the licensee has a substantiated
             246      finding of abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
             247          (2) After receiving identifying information for a person under Subsection 62A-2-120 (1),
             248      the department shall process the information for the purposes described in Subsection (1).
             249          (3) The department shall adopt rules under Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah Administrative
             250      Rulemaking Act, consistent with this chapter and consistent with Section 62A-3-311.1 , defining
             251      the circumstances under which a person who has direct access to vulnerable adults and who has
             252      a substantiated finding of abuse, neglect, or exploitation may provide services to vulnerable adults.
             253          Section 5. Repealer.
             254          This act repeals:
             255          Section 62A-4a-413, Agencies and individuals providing services to children -- Felony
             256      or misdemeanor conviction.


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