Democratic representative from Nashua Alicia Gregg is a survivor of domestic violence and an advocate for victims outside of her job in the State House. Gregg is a member of the House Committee on Child and Family Law. Legislation pertaining to the protection of others from abuse has also captured her interest.
“The one thing that all the study committees and special committees I’ve been a part of have had in common is the lack of a current definition of child abuse and endangerment in this state,” Gregg stated.
To solve that, she introduced House Bill 553.
The legislation, which has the support of parliamentarians from all parties, aims to clarify how authorities should respond to cases of abuse and neglect and revise the current legal definition of either.
To wit: “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,” as an example of what the bill expands upon as elements that can be used to prove child abuse. The current language needs to be clarified and strengthened.
Furthermore, the directive to “assess whether maintaining family unity is in the child’s best interest” would be revised to read as follows: “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.” Additionally, the bill mandates the prompt return of any kid removed from their home by instituting “frequent” inspections of the case.
Additionally, the bill establishes a legally binding definition of “trauma informed,” which is defined 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… ” The measure also proposes a number of adjustments to terminology in an effort to make it more “trauma informed.”
“It was previously left to interpretation by the courts, in my opinion,” she stated. “It seems like there’s a lot of hesitation to step in when dealing with families.”
According to Gregg, the point of the reforms is not to strengthen prosecutions of crimes committed against children, but rather to provide authorities more leeway to step in before such prosecutions become essential.
She explained that this would provide the courts and the Division for Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) more options for when to intervene. “And the intervention can take place prior to a crisis.”
Gregg elaborated by saying that the language modifications were conceived of during the summer by a research committee that comprised former Hopkinton Democrat Rebecca Whitley and Republican Sharon Carson of Londonderry. According to her, that group heard from a variety of sources, including child advocacy centers in New Hampshire, doctors who specialize in pediatric care, and the Court Appointed Special Advocates program (CASA).
HB 553 isn’t the sole bill addressing child abuse that has been proposed this session.
Additionally, Gregg is a co-sponsor of House Bill 493, which aims to mandate that all medical professionals who handle patients aged 18 and under must undergo training on child abuse and neglect. The American Academy of Pediatrics in New Hampshire must accredit and accept this instruction, which must be at least two hours long.
The current child abuse prosecution system in the state is the target of two measures that have Republican support and aim to change it.
Republican Representative James Spillane of Deerfield is the primary sponsor of House Bill 243, which would penalize anyone who submit fraudulent allegations of child abuse or neglect. False reports made “maliciously or with the intent to harm” are outlawed under the bill and offenders might be subject to civil or criminal actions. Additionally, the report filer’s name, address, and phone number might be included.
Since the bill sets a high legal bar for proving the suspected perp committed the act of filing a report “knowingly false with the intent to harm,” Spillane contended that it would not discourage good-faith reporters.
“People are weaponizing the system,” he stated.
He claimed that constituents often tell him stories of vengeful people, such as angry ex-spouses or arguing grandparents, who make up stories.
False allegations of abuse and neglect were likewise addressed by a measure that Spillane sponsored. House Bill 430 is an effort to reduce the amount of time that records pertaining to “unfounded” allegations of neglect or abuse are kept by the Department of Health and Human Services. The current policy states that records of allegations of baseless abuse or neglect must be retained for a period of 10 years from the date they were determined to be unfounded. However, if there is a “reasonable concern” about the allegations, they are kept indefinitely. This bill proposes shortening that time frame from ten to three years. After that amount of time has passed, the department will delete any and all case records, whether they are digital or paper-based.
Republicans have joined Spillane in co-sponsoring both proposals. According to Spillane, he and his supporters have been trying to get these bills passed for a while now. In 2024, the House passed House Bill 108, but it never made it past the Senate. The bill would have criminalized filing a false report.
According to him, there are a few senators who believe that unjustly accusing a thousand individuals is preferable than letting one person go unnoticed.
On January 28th at 1:30 p.m., the House Child and Family Law Committee will consider House Bill 553. On January 21st at 3 p.m., the same committee is set to hear House Bill 243.