New Hampshire
Lawmaker pushes to strengthen legal definition of child abuse; other bills target false accusations • New Hampshire Bulletin
Rep. Alicia Gregg, a Nashua Democrat, serves on the House Child and Family Law Committee, but outside of her work at the State House, she serves as a domestic abuse victims’ advocate and is a survivor herself. And she’s gravitated toward legislative issues surrounding protecting others from abuse.
“The one gaping hole that I continued to find on all the special committees I was on and the study committee was that we don’t have an updated definition of what child abuse and endangerment looks like in this state,” Gregg said.
She filed House Bill 553 to address that.
The bill, which is co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, would amend the legal definition of abuse and neglect, and create instructions for officials on dealing with such abuse.
For example, the bill adds, “Evidence of serious injury, broken bones, or unexplained injury to any non-ambulatory child, or frequent illnesses that are not being adequately addressed or controlled,” to the list of factors to be considered evidence of child abuse. The goal is to strengthen the existing language and make it more explicit.
Additionally, instructions to “determine if the preservation of family unity is in the best interest of the child” would become “presume that family unity is in the best interest of the child; but, if it is determined to not be in the child’s best interest, to secure placement in the least restrictive setting.” The bill also calls for “frequent” reviews of any child removed from the home with the goal of returning that child home as quickly as possible.
The bill also creates a legal definition for “trauma informed,” describing it as “a service system in which all parties involved recognize and respond to the impact of traumatic stress on those who have contact with the system …” Several other verbiage changes the bill calls for are aimed at making the language more “trauma informed.”
“I think too much of it (the language) was left to interpretation before with the courts,” she said. “And when you are dealing with families I think a lot of times there is a hesitancy to step in.”
Gregg said the goal of the changes isn’t necessarily to improve the prosecution of crimes against children, but rather to empower officials to intervene before that becomes necessary.
“That way DCYF (the Division for Children, Youth and Families) and the courts have extra tools in their belt to say, ‘This is when we need an intervention,’” she said. “And we can have the intervention before we have a crisis.”
Gregg added that the language changes were developed through a study committee this past summer that included Sen. Sharon Carson, a Londonderry Republican, and former Sen. Rebecca Whitley, a Hopkinton Democrat. That committee, she said, consulted New Hampshire child advocacy centers, Court Appointed Special Advocates – commonly known as CASA – and physicians who care for children, among others.
HB 553 isn’t the only proposed legislation tackling child abuse-related issues this session.
House Bill 493, also sponsored by Gregg, seeks to require physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants who treat patients 18 or younger to complete child abuse and neglect education. That education, which would be at least two hours, must be accredited and recognized by the New Hampshire chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Meanwhile, a pair of Republican-backed bills seeks to push back against certain aspects of the state’s existing child abuse prosecution system.
House Bill 243, sponsored by Deerfield Republican Rep. James Spillane, targets people who file false reports of child abuse and neglect. The bill forbids people from making false reports “maliciously or with the intent to harm” and allows them to face criminal charges or civil suits for doing so. It also allows the name, address, or phone number of the person filing the report to be listed.
Spillane also sponsored a bill regarding false reports of abuse and neglect. House Bill 430 seeks to shorten the amount of time the Department of Health and Human Services holds onto records on “unfounded” reports of abuse or neglect. Presently, the department keeps records of unfounded abuse or neglect for 10 years from the date it was deemed unfounded, unless there is “reasonable concern” at which point it’s kept indefinitely. This legislation would change that 10-year period to three years. Once that time period elapses, the department destroys all electronic or paper records in the case.
Both Spillane’s bills are co-sponsored by fellow Republicans.
The House Child and Family Law Committee will take up HB 553 on Jan. 28 at 1:30 p.m., and HB 243 is scheduled for a hearing before the same committee on Jan. 21 at 3 p.m.
New Hampshire
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The federal government has activated the New Hampshire National Guard’s 157th Air Refueling Wing in connection with the war with Iran.
“I’ve had a briefing myself, a classified briefing, but it’s really important on the messaging on this that we really coordinate with the Pentagon,” Gov. Kelly Ayotte told reporters during a press briefing following Wednesday’s Executive Council meeting.
Ayotte said she was unable to share additional details about the nature of the New Hampshire National Guard’s activity related to the conflict, including how many guard members have been activated or what role they are playing.
“We’re going to respect what messaging comes out of the Pentagon just to make sure that our men and women in uniform are fully protected and that we aren’t providing any information that could be used in a way that would be harmful to them,” Ayotte said.
In a statement Thursday, Ayotte said the unit had been deployed in late February to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in support of the operation.
Earlier this week, Pentagon officials confirmed that members of the Vermont National Guard were involved in attacks against Iran over the weekend, though our news partners at Vermont Public were not able to confirm additional details on the nature of the operation.
During the briefing with local reporters, Ayotte also stressed her support for servicemembers and those close to them.
“I have such respect for our men and women in uniform,” Ayotte said. “As you know, I come from a military family, and they have our full support, and we appreciate them and their families, and obviously anyone who is serving right now, and my thoughts and prayers go out to those who have lost someone that they love.”
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