Chapter
04-599
2004 -- S 2032 SUBSTITUTE A AS AMENDED
Enacted 08/05/04
A N A C T
RELATING
TO HUMAN SERVICES - ABUSED AND NEGLECTED CHILDREN
Introduced
By: Senator Leo R. Blais
Date
Introduced: January 08, 2004
It
is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Section 40-11-15 of the General Laws in Chapter 40-11 entitled "Abused
and
Neglected Children" is hereby amended to read as follows:
40-11-15.
Religious exemption. – Religious practices. -- A
parent or guardian
legitimately practicing his or her
religious beliefs which differ from general community standards
who
does not provide specified medical treatment for a child shall not, for that
reason alone, be
considered
a negligent parent or guardian. However, nothing in this section shall: (1)
prevent the
child
from being considered abused or neglected if the child is harmed or threatened
with harm as
described
in section 40-11-2; or (2) such an exception shall not preclude the court from
ordering
medical
services or nonmedical services recognized by the laws of this state to be
provided to the
child
where his or her health requires it.
SECTION
2. Section 11-9-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-9 entitled
"Children" is
hereby
amended to read as follows:
11-9-5.
Cruelty to or neglect of child. -- (a) Every person having the custody
or control
of any
child under the age of eighteen (18) years who shall abandon that child, or who
shall treat
the
child with gross or habitual cruelty, or who shall wrongfully cause or permit
that child to be
an
habitual sufferer for want of food, clothing, proper care, or oversight, or who
shall use or
permit
the use of that child for any wanton, cruel, or improper purpose, or who shall
compel,
cause,
or permit that child to do any wanton or wrongful act, or who shall cause or
permit the
home
of that child to be the resort of lewd, drunken, wanton, or dissolute persons,
or who by
reason
of neglect, cruelty, drunkenness, or depravity, shall render the home of that
child a place in
which
it is unfit for that child to live, or who shall neglect or refuse to pay the
reasonable charges
for
the support of that child, whenever the child shall be placed by him or her in
the custody of, or
be
assigned by any court to, any individual, association, or corporation, shall be
guilty of a felony
and
shall for every such offense be imprisoned for not less than one year nor more
than three (3)
years,
or be fined not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both, and the child
may be
proceeded
against as a neglected child under the provisions of chapter 1 of title 14.
(b) In addition to any penalty provided in this section, any person convicted
or placed on
probation
for this offense may be required to receive psychosociological counseling in
child
growth,
care and development as a part of that sentence or probation. For purposes of
this section,
and
in accordance with section 40-11-15, a parent or guardian legitimately
practicing his or her
religious
beliefs which differ from general community standards who does not
provide specified
medical
treatment for a child shall not, for that reason alone, be considered an
abusive or
negligent
parent or guardian; provided, the provisions of this section shall not:(1)
exempt a parent
or
guardian from having committed the offense of cruelty or neglect if the child
is harmed under
the
provisions of (a) above; (2) exempt the department from the provisions of section
40-11-5,
and
shall not
; or (3) prohibit the department from filing a petition, pursuant to the
provisions of
section
40-11-15, for medical services for a child, where his or her health requires
it.
SECTION
3. This act shall take effect upon passage.
=======
LC00425/SUB
A/2
=======