Effective - 14 Jul 2021
210.143. Exempt-from-licensure residential care facilities, orders to present child, when — assessment — court procedures — violation, penalty. — 1. The children's division; law enforcement, including the state technical assistance team; or the prosecuting or circuit attorney may petition the circuit court for an order directing an exempt-from-licensure residential care facility, as those terms are defined under section 210.1253, that is the subject of an investigation of child abuse or neglect to present the child at a place and time designated by the court to a children's division worker for an assessment of the child's health, safety, and well-being.
2. The court shall enter an order under this section if:
(1) The court determines that there is reasonable cause to believe that the child has been abused or neglected and the residential care facility does not voluntarily provide access to the child;
(2) The assessment is reasonably necessary for the completion of an investigation or the collection of evidence; and
(3) Doing so is in the best interest of the child.
3. The assessment shall be completed and the child shall be returned to the residential care facility or to the child's parents or guardian within seventy-two hours, unless the court, after a hearing with attempted notice to the facility and to the parents or guardian and with due process for all parties, enters further orders to the contrary.
4. If the court enters an order to produce the child under this section, the court may expand the order to produce other children in the care of the residential care facility if the court finds there is reasonable cause to believe that such children may have been abused or neglected.
5. The petition and order may be made on an ex parte basis if it is reasonable to believe that providing notice may place the child at risk for further abuse or neglect, if it is reasonable to believe that providing notice may cause the child to be removed from the state of Missouri or the jurisdiction of the court, or if it is reasonable to believe that evidence relevant to the investigation will be unavailable if the ex parte order is not entered.
6. Any person served with a subpoena, petition, or order under this section shall not be required to file an answer, but may file a motion for a protective order or other appropriate relief. The motion shall be filed at or before the time for production or disclosure set out in the subpoena or order. The motion shall be in writing, but it may be informal and no particular form shall be required. The clerk shall serve a copy of the motion on the director of the children's division and any agency who applied for the order. The court shall expedite a hearing on the motion and shall issue its decision no later than one business day after the date the motion is filed. The court may review the motion in camera and stay implementation of the order once for up to three days. The in camera review shall be conducted on the record, but steps shall be taken to protect the identity of the child. Any information that may reveal the identity of a hotline reporter shall not be disclosed to anyone in any proceeding under this subsection unless otherwise allowed by law.
7. The petition for an order under this section shall be filed in the juvenile or family court that has judicial custody of the child under section 211.031 or in the circuit court of the county:
(1) Where the child resides;
(2) Where the child may be found;
(3) Where the residential care facility is located;
(4) Where the alleged perpetrator of the child abuse or neglect resides or may be found;
(5) Where the subject of the subpoena may be located or found; or
(6) Of Cole if none of the other venue provisions of this subsection apply.
8. The court shall expedite all proceedings under this section so as to ensure the safety of the child, the preservation of relevant evidence, that child abuse and neglect investigations may be completed within statutory time frames, and that due process is provided to the parties involved.
9. Any person who knowingly violates this section shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
10. The time frames for the children's division to complete its investigation and notify the alleged perpetrator of its decision set forth in sections 210.145, 210.152, and 210.183 shall be tolled from the date that the division files a petition for a subpoena until the information is produced in full, until such subpoena is withdrawn, or until a court of competent jurisdiction quashes such subpoena.
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(L. 2021 H.B. 557 & 560)
Effective 7-14-21