Subject to amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, DCYF must develop and implement a process by which individuals with a founded finding of child abuse or neglect or an individual whose child was found by a court to be dependent under state law, may petition DCYF for a certificate of parental improvement (CPI). DCYF must respond to a CPI request by approving or denying the request within 60 days. A requestor may not request a CPI if less than two years have passed since DCYF's denial of an individual's request for a CPI court finding is accompanied by a certificate of parental improvement.
DCYF may not issue a CPI to an individual if it has been less than five years since the applicant's last founded finding of child abuse or neglect; or the applicant has any of the outlined convictions.
DCYF must also consider the outlined requirements before issuing a CPI. An individual who has been denied a CPI by DCYF has a right to review this determination, and be given the reasons for the denial. These reviews must take place within thirty days of a written request.
Agencies that may not deny an individual the opportunity to volunteer are outlined. Public schools may deny individuals with founded findings the opportunity to volunteer.
Note: A substitute bill was heard on 1/23.
Amendments:
3rd Substitute:
Directs the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) to develop and implement a process by which an individual who is the subject of a founded finding of negligent treatment or maltreatment, or an individual whose child was found by a court to be dependent as a result of a finding that the individual neglected their child, may request the secretary of DCYF to issue a certificate of parental improvement (CPI), subject to a number of conditions.
Prevents DCYF from denying or delaying an applicant a license or approval of unsupervised access to children, or providing child care and early learning services, based solely on a founded finding of negligent treatment or maltreatment or a dependency, when that applicant has a CPI related to that same finding or dependency.
Specifies a provider is not disqualified to be employed in the care of, or have unsupervised access to vulnerable adults, if a court has issued an order that includes a finding of fact or conclusion of law that the provider has committed abuse, abandonment, neglect, financial exploitation, or misappropriation of resident property of a minor or vulnerable adult if that provider has a received a CPI pertaining to that finding of fact or conclusion of law.