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Committee hears bill to limit disclosure of CPS investigation records to substantiated reports
Summary
Sen. Dennis Lenz said SB 256 would limit disclosure of child‑abuse investigation information to substantiated reports; proponents said the change solves discovery problems and helps family‑court cases while agency staff said the discovery language is largely a restatement of existing rules.
Sen. Dennis Lenz presented Senate Bill 256 to the House Human Services committee, proposing changes to disclosure rules for child abuse and neglect investigations. The sponsor said the bill would limit disclosure to information from investigations with a substantiated determination and described how some CPS records can "cling" to people and cause long‑term harm when no substantiation exists.
Kyla Hailstone, a paralegal and family‑law specialist, provided proponent testimony describing two scenarios where restricted CPS access in family law matters harms parents: safe parents who cannot use CPS findings in custody disputes, and parents wrongly accused who cannot access CFS records to defend themselves in family court. She urged a "due pass."
Tracy Moseman, administrator for the early childhood and family support division, and Nikki Grossberg answered committee questions. Grossberg said the discovery language in the bill aligns with existing discovery rules and should not create a substantive change; Moseman addressed how licensing background checks interact with access to records.
Senator Lenz closed by reiterating the importance of restricting disclosure to substantiated reports and noting an amendment the department requested had been approved earlier; the committee ended the hearing without a vote.
