Title 33, Title 33: Human Services

§ 4905. Foster care and placement licensing (a) A person other than an employee of a department within the Agency of Human Services shall not place any child in foster care for more than 15 consecutive days unless the person has a license from the Department to do so or is an emp…

§ 4906. Foster care; reasonable and prudent parent standard (a) As used in this section: (1) “Caregiver” means a foster parent, including a kinship foster parent or residential treatment or other program, with whom a child or youth in the custody of the Commissioner for Children …

§ 4911. Purpose The purpose of this subchapter is to: (1) protect children whose health and welfare may be adversely affected through abuse or neglect; (2) strengthen the family and make the home safe for children whenever possible by enhancing the parental capacity for good chil…

§ 4912. Definitions As used in this subchapter: (1) “Abused or neglected child” means a child whose physical health, psychological growth and development, or welfare is harmed or is at substantial risk of harm by the acts or omissions of his or her parent or other person responsi…

§ 4913. Reporting child abuse and neglect; remedial action (a) A mandated reporter is any: (1) health care provider, including any: (A) physician, surgeon, osteopath, chiropractor, or physician assistant licensed, certified, or registered under the provisions of Title 26; (B) res…

§ 4914. Nature and content of report; to whom made A report shall be made orally or in writing to the Commissioner or designee. The Commissioner or designee shall request the reporter to follow the oral report with a written report, unless the reporter is anonymous. Reports shall…

§ 4915. Assessment and investigation (a) Upon receipt of a report of abuse or neglect, the Department shall promptly determine whether it constitutes an allegation of child abuse or neglect as defined in section 4912 of this title. The Department shall respond to reports of alleg…

§ 4915a. Procedures for assessment (a) An assessment, to the extent that is reasonable under the facts and circumstances presented by the particular valid allegation of child abuse or neglect, shall include the following: (1) An interview with the child’s parent, guardian, foster…

§ 4915b. Procedures for investigation (a) An investigation, to the extent that it is reasonable under the facts and circumstances presented by the particular allegation of child abuse, shall include all of the following: (1) A visit to the child’s place of residence or place of c…

§ 4916. Child protection registry (a)(1) The Commissioner shall maintain a Child Protection Registry that shall contain a record of all investigations that have resulted in a substantiated report on or after January 1, 1992. Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsectio…

§ 4916a. Challenging substantiation (a) If an investigation conducted in accordance with section 4915b of this title results in a determination that a report of child abuse or neglect should be substantiated, the Department shall notify the person alleged to have abused or neglec…

§ 4916b. Human Services Board hearing (a) Within 30 days after the date on which the administrative reviewer sent notice, the person who is the subject of the substantiation may apply in writing to the Human Services Board for relief. The Board shall hold a fair hearing pursuant …

§ 4916c. Petition for expungement from the Registry (a)(1) Pursuant to rules adopted in accordance with subsection 4916(e) of this title, a person whose name has been placed on the Registry may file a written request with the Commissioner, seeking a review for the purpose of expu…

§ 4916d. Automatic expungement of registry records Registry entries concerning a person whose conduct was substantiated for behavior occurring before the person reached 10 years of age shall be expunged when the person reaches 18 years of age, provided that the person has had no …

§ 4916e. Notice to minors If the person alleged to have abused or neglected a child is a minor, any notice required pursuant to this subchapter shall be sent: (1) to the minor’s parents or guardian; or (2) if the child is in the custody of the Commissioner, to the social worker a…

§ 4917. Multidisciplinary teams; empaneling (a) The Commissioner or his or her designee may impanel a multidisciplinary team or a special investigative multitask force team, or both, wherever in the State there may be a probable case of child abuse or neglect that warrants the co…

§ 4918. Multidisciplinary teams; functions; guidelines (a) Multidisciplinary teams shall assist local district offices of the Department in identifying and treating child abuse or neglect cases. With respect to any case referred to it, the team may assist the district office by p…

§ 4919. Disclosure of Registry records (a) The Commissioner may disclose a Registry record only as follows: (1) To the State’s Attorney or the Attorney General. (2) To the owner or operator of a facility regulated by the Department for the purpose of informing the owner or operat…

§ 4921. Department’s records of abuse and neglect (a) Record maintenance and disclosure generally. The Commissioner shall maintain all records of all investigations, assessments, reviews, and responses initiated under this subchapter. The Department may use and disclose informati…

§ 4922. Rulemaking (a) On or before April 1, 2026, the Commissioner shall file proposed rules pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 implementing the provisions of this subchapter to become effective on September 1, 2026. These shall include: (1) rules setting forth criteria for determi…

§ 4923. Reporting The Commissioner shall publish an annual report regarding reports of child abuse and neglect no later than June 30, for the previous year. The report shall include: (1) The number of reports accepted as valid allegations of child abuse or neglect. (2) The number…