Child Advocacy Centers

The definition of 'Child Advocacy Center' was modified to require the center to be accredited by a national association and to coordinate with specific representatives from law enforcement, child protective services, prosecutors, and medical/mental health professionals.

A new section was added that explicitly allows county departments and child advocacy center teams to share information relevant to child maltreatment cases, provided the information remains confidential and is used only for necessary duties.

New immunity provisions were added to protect child advocacy center staff from civil or criminal liability for information disclosures made in good faith, unless the disclosure resulted from gross negligence, wanton conduct, or intentional wrongdoing.

Removed the definition of 'child advocacy center' to clarify that it does not include health-care institutions or professionals.

Deleted the entire new section 19-3-319, which would have created a legal framework for information sharing and civil immunity for child advocacy centers.

Updated the header to reflect the bill is 'Rerevised' and added a specific Senate 3rd Reading date of March 18, 2026.

Added names of additional Senate sponsors to the bill.

Added co-sponsor 'Ball' to the Senate sponsorship list.

Updated the header description from 'Reengrossed' to 'Revised' to reflect the bill's current legislative status.

Removed the '3rd Reading Unamended' date stamp from the House section, likely due to formatting adjustments in the revision.

Deleted the beginning of a definition for 'Child Advocacy Center Multidisciplinary Team' (lines 13-19), which appears to be a formatting artifact or partial deletion in the provided snippet.

Added seven new co-sponsors to the House sponsorship list (Bacon, Bradley, Caldwell, Clifford, Duran, Froelich, Garcia Sander, Gilchrist, Goldstein, Gonzalez R., Hamrick, Keltie, Lieder, Lindsay, Lukens, McCluskie, McCormick, Nguyen, Rutinel, Sirota, Slaugh, Smith, Stewart K., Stewart R., Story, Suckla, Weinberg, Woog).

Updated the header and summary notes to reflect the bill is 'Reengrossed' and includes amendments adopted in the House of Introduction, with a note indicating a new summary will be available if it passes third reading.

Deleted the specific list of seven professionals (law enforcement, district attorney, child protective services, mental health, health-care, victim advocate, and staff) that were previously required to be included in a Child Advocacy Center Multidisciplinary Team.

Removed the statutory definition of 'child maltreatment' that previously listed sexual or physical abuse, neglect, human trafficking, and exploitation.

The definition of 'Child Advocacy Center' was updated to explicitly require the facility to be independent, child-focused, and trauma-informed.

A new exclusion was added stating that 'Child Advocacy Center' does not include health-care institutions or health-care professionals, which are defined elsewhere.

A new section was added establishing a 'Child Advocacy Center Multidisciplinary Team' and granting legal permission for team members to share information relevant to child maltreatment investigations.

New confidentiality requirements were established for any information shared among the county department and multidisciplinary team members.