A State plan submitted under paragraph (1) shall, to the maximum extent practicable, be coordinated with the State plan under part B of title IV of the Social Security Act [
U.S.C.
et seq.] relating to child welfare services and family preservation and family support services, and shall contain an outline of the activities that the State intends to carry out using amounts received under the grant to achieve the purposes of this subchapter, including
(A) an assurance in the form of a certification by the chief executive officer of the State that the State has in effect and is enforcing a State law, or has in effect and is operating a Statewide program, relating to child abuse and neglect that includes
(i) provisions or procedures for the reporting of known and suspected instances of child abuse and neglect;
(ii) policies and procedures (including appropriate referrals to child protection service systems and for other appropriate services) to address the needs of infants born and identified as being affected by illegal substance abuse or withdrawal symptoms resulting from prenatal drug exposure, including a requirement that health care providers involved in the delivery or care of such infants notify the child protective services system of the occurrence of such condition in such infants, except that such notification shall not be construed to
(I) establish a definition under Federal law of what constitutes child abuse; or
(II) require prosecution for any illegal action;
(iii) the development of a plan of safe care for the infant born and identified as being affected by illegal substance abuse or withdrawal symptoms;
(iv) procedures for the immediate screening, risk and safety assessment, and prompt investigation of such reports;
(v) triage procedures for the appropriate referral of a child not at risk of imminent harm to a community organization or voluntary preventive service;
(vi) procedures for immediate steps to be taken to ensure and protect the safety of the abused or neglected child and of any other child under the same care who may also be in danger of abuse or neglect and ensuring their placement in a safe environment;
(vii) provisions for immunity from prosecution under State and local laws and regulations for individuals making good faith reports of suspected or known instances of child abuse or neglect;
(viii) methods to preserve the confidentiality of all records in order to protect the rights of the child and of the childs parents or guardians, including requirements ensuring that reports and records made and maintained pursuant to the purposes of this subchapter and subchapter III of this chapter shall only be made available to
(I) individuals who are the subject of the report;
(II) Federal, State, or local government entities, or any agent of such entities, as described in clause (ix);
(III) child abuse citizen review panels;
(IV) child fatality review panels;
(V) a grand jury or court, upon a finding that information in the record is necessary for the determination of an issue before the court or grand jury; and
(VI) other entities or classes of individuals statutorily authorized by the State to receive such information pursuant to a legitimate State purpose;
(ix) provisions to require a State to disclose confidential information to any Federal, State, or local government entity, or any agent of such entity, that has a need for such information in order to carry out its responsibilities under law to protect children from abuse and neglect;
(x) provisions which allow for public disclosure of the findings or information about the case of child abuse or neglect which has resulted in a child fatality or near fatality;
(xi) the cooperation of State law enforcement officials, court of competent jurisdiction, and appropriate State agencies providing human services in the investigation, assessment, prosecution, and treatment of child abuse or neglect;
(xii) provisions requiring, and procedures in place that facilitate the prompt expungement of any records that are accessible to the general public or are used for purposes of employment or other background checks in cases determined to be unsubstantiated or false, except that nothing in this section shall prevent State child protective services agencies from keeping information on unsubstantiated reports in their casework files to assist in future risk and safety assessment;
(xiii) provisions and procedures requiring that in every case involving an abused or neglected child which results in a judicial proceeding, a guardian ad litem, who has received training appropriate to the role, and who may be an attorney or a court appointed special advocate who has received training appropriate to that role (or both), shall be appointed to represent the child in such proceedings
(I) to obtain first-hand, a clear understanding of the situation and needs of the child; and
(II) to make recommendations to the court concerning the best interests of the child;
(xiv) the establishment of citizen review panels in accordance with subsection (c) of this section;
(xv) provisions, procedures, and mechanisms
(I) for the expedited termination of parental rights in the case of any infant determined to be abandoned under State law; and
(II) by which individuals who disagree with an official finding of abuse or neglect can appeal such finding;
(xvi) provisions, procedures, and mechanisms that assure that the State does not require reunification of a surviving child with a parent who has been found by a court of competent jurisdiction
(I) to have committed murder (which would have been an offense under section
1111 (a) of title
18 if the offense had occurred in the special maritime or territorial jurisdiction of the United States) of another child of such parent;
(II) to have committed voluntary manslaughter (which would have been an offense under section
1112 (a) of title
18 if the offense had occurred in the special maritime or territorial jurisdiction of the United States) of another child of such parent;
(III) to have aided or abetted, attempted, conspired, or solicited to commit such murder or voluntary manslaughter; or
(IV) to have committed a felony assault that results in the serious bodily injury to the surviving child or another child of such parent;
(xvii) an assurance that, upon the implementation by the State of the provisions, procedures, and mechanisms under clause (xvi), conviction of any one of the felonies listed in clause (xvi) constitute grounds under State law for the termination of parental rights of the convicted parent as to the surviving children (although case-by-case determinations of whether or not to seek termination of parental rights shall be within the sole discretion of the State);
(xviii) provisions and procedures to require that a representative of the child protective services agency shall, at the initial time of contact with the individual subject to a child abuse and neglect investigation, advise the individual of the complaints or allegations made against the individual, in a manner that is consistent with laws protecting the rights of the informant;
(xix) provisions addressing the training of representatives of the child protective services system regarding the legal duties of the representatives, which may consist of various methods of informing such representatives of such duties, in order to protect the legal rights and safety of children and families from the initial time of contact during investigation through treatment;
(xx) provisions and procedures for improving the training, retention, and supervision of caseworkers;
(xxi) provisions and procedures for referral of a child under the age of 3 who is involved in a substantiated case of child abuse or neglect to early intervention services funded under part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [
20 U.S.C.
1431 et seq.]; and
(xxii) not later than 2 years after June 25, 2003, provisions and procedures for requiring criminal background record checks for prospective foster and adoptive parents and other adult relatives and non-relatives residing in the household;
(B) an assurance that the State has in place procedures for responding to the reporting of medical neglect (including instances of withholding of medically indicated treatment from disabled infants with life-threatening conditions), procedures or programs, or both (within the State child protective services system), to provide for
(i) coordination and consultation with individuals designated by and within appropriate health-care facilities;
(ii) prompt notification by individuals designated by and within appropriate health-care facilities of cases of suspected medical neglect (including instances of withholding of medically indicated treatment from disabled infants with life-threatening conditions); and
(iii) authority, under State law, for the State child protective services system to pursue any legal remedies, including the authority to initiate legal proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction, as may be necessary to prevent the withholding of medically indicated treatment from disabled infants with life threatening conditions;
Nothing in subparagraph (A) shall be construed to limit the States flexibility to determine State policies relating to public access to court proceedings to determine child abuse and neglect, except that such policies shall, at a minimum, ensure the safety and well-being of the child, parents, and families.