Pennsylvania HB 1369: An Act amending Title 23 (Domestic Relations) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in child protective services, further providing for disposition and expunction of unfounded reports and general protective services reports and for disposition of founded and indicated reports, repealing provisions relating to expunction of information of perpetrator who was under 18 years of age when child abuse was committed and further providing for amendment or expunction of information and for evidence in court proceedings; and making editorial changes.

Bill Text

PRINTER'S NO. 1563
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 1369
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY STAATS, PROBST, KUZMA, M. MACKENZIE, BERNSTINE,
KAUFFMAN, STEHR AND DAY, APRIL 30, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH, MAY 1, 2025
AN ACT
Amending Title 23 (Domestic Relations) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in child protective services, further
providing for disposition and expunction of unfounded reports
and general protective services reports and for disposition
of founded and indicated reports, repealing provisions
relating to expunction of information of perpetrator who was
under 18 years of age when child abuse was committed and
further providing for amendment or expunction of information
and for evidence in court proceedings; and making editorial
changes.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Sections 6337 and 6338(b) and (c) of Title 23 of
the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes are amended to read:
§ 6337. Disposition and expunction of unfounded reports and
general protective services reports.
(a) [General rule] Expunction in general.--When a report of
suspected child abuse is determined by the appropriate county
agency to be an unfounded report, the information concerning
that report of suspected child abuse shall be maintained for a
period of [one year] 30 years. Following the expiration of [one
year] 30 years after the date the report was received by the
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department, the report shall be expunged from the Statewide
database, as soon as possible, but no later than 120 days after
the [one-year] 30-year period following the date the report was
received by the department, and no information other than that
authorized by subsection (b), which shall not include any
identifying information on any subject of the report, shall be
retained by the department. The expunction shall be mandated and
guaranteed by the department.
(b) Absence of other determination.--If an investigation of
a report of suspected child abuse conducted by the appropriate
county agency pursuant to this chapter does not determine within
60 days of the date of the initial report of the instance of
suspected child abuse that the report is a founded report, an
indicated report or an unfounded report, or unless within that
same 60-day period court action has been initiated and is
responsible for the delay, the report shall be considered to be
an unfounded report, and all information identifying the
subjects of the report shall be expunged no later than 120 days
following the expiration of [one year] 30 years after the date
the report was received by the department. The agency shall
advise the department that court action or an arrest has been
initiated so that the Statewide database is kept current
regarding the status of all legal proceedings and expunction is
delayed.
(c) Unfounded reports accepted for services.--Information on
an unfounded report shall be retained in the Statewide database
if the county agency has accepted the family for services and
the report of suspected child abuse is clearly identified as an
unfounded report. The county agency shall notify the department
immediately upon closure of the case, and the report shall be
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expunged as soon as possible, but no later than 120 days after
the [one-year] 30-year period following the date the family case
was closed. [If the subject child of the unfounded report
becomes 23 years of age prior to the closure of the family case,
the unfounded report shall be expunged when the subject child
reaches 23 years of age.]
(d) Expunction of valid general protective services
reports.--Information concerning valid general protective
services reports shall be maintained in the Statewide database
as follows:
(1) Reports that are assessed by the county agency and
are determined to be valid, but are not accepted for
services, shall be reported to the department and entered
into the Statewide database. The reports shall be maintained
for a period of [ten] 30 years [or until the youngest child
identified in the most recent general protective services
report attains 23 years of age, whichever occurs first].
Following the expiration of [ten] 30 years after the date the
report was received by the department [or until the youngest
child identified in the most recent general protective
services report attains 23 years of age, whichever occurs
first], the report shall be expunged from the Statewide
database as soon as possible, but no later than 120 days
after the [ten-year] 30-year period following the date the
report was received by the department [or the youngest child
identified in the most recent general protective services
report attains 23 years of age, whichever occurs first].
(2) Reports that are assessed by the county agency and
accepted for services