An Act To Improve Out-of-home Abuse and Heqlect Investigations Further amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the summary and inserting in its place the following: . Sec. I. 22 MRSA §4088, sub-§I, ,D, as amended by PL 1989, c. 700, Pt. A, §90, PL 1995, c. 560, Pt. K, §82 and affected by §83 and as amended by PL 2001, c. 354, §3, is further amended to read: D. Out-of-home abuse and neglect" means abuse and neglect of a child whieh ~ occurs in a facility or by a person subject to licensure or inspection by ~B.is the department, the Department of Education, the Department of Corrections aBe ~ the Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services or in a facility operated by any of these departments. Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §4088, sub-§I, ,n-I, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 265, §2, is amended to read: D-1. Sel'viee Services center" means the Community Services Center established in section 6-C. Page 1-LR1075(2) COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1314
Committee Amendment CA_A_H459 (House)
Amends: 22 MRSA §4088

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "!},, to H.P. 968, L.D. 1314, Bill, "An 
Act To Establish Accountability in Out-of-home Abuse and Neglect 
Investigations" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting 
the following: 
• An Act To Improve Out-of-home Abuse and Heqlect Investigations' 
Further amend the bill by striking out everything after the 
enacting clause and before the summary and inserting in its place 
the following: 
. Sec. I. 22 MRSA §4088, sub-§I, ,D, as amended by PL 1989, c. 
700, Pt. A, §90, PL 1995, c. 560, Pt. K, §82 and affected by §83 
and as amended by PL 2001, c. 354, §3, is further amended to read: 
D. 
"Out-of-home abuse and neglect" means abuse and neglect 
of a child whieh ~ 
occurs in a facility or by a person 
subject to licensure or inspection by 
~B.is the department, 
the Department of Education, the Department of Corrections 
aBe 
~ the 
Department 
of 
Behavioral 
and 
Developmental 
Services 
or 
in 
a 
facility 
operated 
by 
any 
of 
these 
departments. 
Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §4088, sub-§I, ,n-I, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 
265, §2, is amended to read: 
D-1. 
"Sel'viee Services center" means the Community Services 
Center established in section 6-C. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "ff. to H.P. 968, 
Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §4088, sub-§3, as 
§3 and c. 354, §3, is further amended 
L.D. 1314 
amended by PL 2001, c. 265, 
to read: 
3. 
Authority and responsibility. 
The team saal-l--have has 
the 
following 
authority 
and 
responsibilities 
regarding 
investigation of out-of-home abuse and neglect. 
The team: 
A. 
Saal-l--~eeeive Receives all reports of out-of-home abuse 
and neglect. 
When a report of out-of-home abuse and neglect 
alleges jeopardy, as defined in section 4002, to a child in 
a 
residential care facility, 
the team shall initiate an 
investigation within 72 hours or request a safety plan from 
the facility. 
When a report of alleged out-of-home abuse 
and neglect in a residential care facility is received, the 
team shall use the facility's name as the identifier; 
B. 
Shall investigate all reports received by the department 
or seFviee services center regarding alleged out-of-home 
abuse and neglect occurring in facilities or by persons 
subject to licensure pursuant to this Title; 
C. 
Shall 
conduct 
a 
single investigation sufficient to 
determine not only if abuse or neglect has occurred but also 
to determine whether a licensing violation has occurred in 
order to protect children from further harm and establish a 
basis upon which to take licensing action. 
This procedure 
m~n~m~zes duplicative or redundant investigations to the 
extent 
possible 
in 
response 
to 
the 
same 
or 
related 
allegations of out-of-home abuse or neglect in facilities or 
by persons subject to licensure pursuant to this Title; 
D. 
Shall coordinate and consult with the bureau or seFviee 
services center staff performing general licensing functions 
to eliminate duplicative or redundant investigations to the 
extent possible and to prevent, correct or eliminate the 
abuse 
or 
neglect 
or 
threat 
of 
abuse 
or 
neglect 
in 
out-of-home settings; 
E. 
Shall provide the results of the investigation to the 
l;lliFea1:l!.sT-~-v-i-oe--eeRtseF!.s--oi:'--etsaeF-~-t:-ment-'-6--±ieeRSiR'3 
stsaff bureau, 
services center or another department for 
appropriate 
action. 
The 
team 
shall 
complete 
the 
investigation within a time frame not to exceed 6 months 
from the date of the initiation of the investigation, except 
in circumstances when the information necessary to complete 
the investigation is unavailable to the team; 
F. 
Shall 
include 
relevant 
professionals 
outside 
the 
department or service center as members of the team for all 
investigations of residential treatment centers, group homes 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "#' to H.P. 968, L.D. 1314 
or day care centers mandated by this subchapter and for 
other child care facilities as warranted; 
G. 
When a report alleges out-of-home abuse and neglect in 
facilities or by persons not subject to licensure by the 
department or 
se~viee services center, 
shall immediately 
refer the report to the se~viee services center or agency or 
department charged with the responsibility to investigate 
such a report or, if applicable, to the state department 
operating the facility; 
H. 
With respect to reports described in paragraph G, may, 
on its own initiative or upon request of another department 
or agency charged with the responsibility to investigate, 
participate 
in 
the 
out-of-home 
abuse 
and 
neglect 
investigation of persons or facilities subject to licensure 
or operated by the Department of Education, the Department 
of 
Corrections 
or 
the 
Department 
of 
Behavioral 
and 
Developmental Services; 
I. 
Shall refer to the office of the district attorney or 
office of the Attorney General, when appropriate, any case 
in which criminal activity is alleged and shall coordinate 
its investigation with that office to minimize the trauma to 
the children involved; aBe 
J. 
Shall consult 
and train 
law enforcement personnel, 
advocates 
and 
others 
in 
the 
identification, 
reporting, 
prevention 
and 
investigation 
of 
out-of-home 
abuse 
and 
neglect as time allowsT~ 
K. 
Shall state in the investigative report whether the 
allegations 
of 
out-of-home 
abuse 
or 
neglect 
have 
been 
substantiated. 
If 
the 
investigative 
report 
has 
substantiated out-of-home abuse or neglect. the report must 
identify the individual. facility or individual and facility 
responsible. 
Sec. 4. 22 MRS A §4088, sub-§8 is enacted to read: 
8. 
Due 
process. 
Any 
finding 
of 
out of-home 
abuse 
or 
neglect made under this section is subject to the due process 
requirements of the Maine Administrative Procedure Act.' 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,,~, to H.P. 968, L.D. 1314 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill. The amendment makes the 
following changes to the laws governing the out-of-home abuse and 
neglect investigating team. 
1. 
It requires the team to initiate an investigation within 
hours or request a safety plan when a report alleging jeopardy 
to a child in a residential care facility has been made. 
2. 
It requires the team to use the facility's name as the 
identifier when a report of abuse or neglect of a child in a 
facility is received. 
3. 
It requires the team to complete investigations within 6 
months, except in circumstances when the information needed to 
complete the investigation is unavailable to the team. 
4. 
It requires the team to state in 
report 
whether 
the 
allegations 
have 
been 
identify the party responsible. 
the investigative 
substantiated 
and 
5. 
It specifies that findings of abuse and neglect under 
this portion of law are subject to due process requirements. 
FISCAL ~on: REQl"lRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 05/16/03 ~ae 
Office of Fiscal and Program Review 
LD 1314 
An Act To Improve Out-of-Home Abuse and Neglect Investigations 
LR 1075(02) 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment" " 
Committee: Health and Human Services 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
LR1075(2) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1