HB 266

Department of Social Services; centralized intake and validity determination for child abuse and neglect. Creates a centralized system for intake for reports and complaints of child abuse or neglect. The bill directs the Department of Social Services to be the agency responsible for the intake of reports and complaints of child abuse or neglect and specifies that the Department shall determine the validity of such reports and complaints. Under current law, local departments of social services are the agency responsible for the intake of reports and complaints of child abuse and it determines the validity of such reports and complaints. The bill eliminates the requirement that local departments must be capable of receiving and responding to reports and complaints of abuse or neglect and instead requires that any complaint of child abuse or neglect received by a local department shall be immediately forwarded to the Department's child abuse and neglect intake system.