Changes coming to child abuse registry

Changes coming to child abuse registry
By STEVE GRAVELE, steve.gravelle@sourcemedia.net | Posted: Friday, December 10, 2010 9:00 am
WCF Media

DES MOINES, Iowa --- A state Supreme Court ruling will lead to changes in Iowa's child abuse registry, but those changes won't increase the risk to the state's children, Department of Human Services Director Charlie Krogmeier said Wednesday.

In July, the Supreme Court ruled the DHS had exceeded its authority when it placed a woman identified only as "Jane Doe" on the registry, which includes the names of 53,000 Iowans found by DHS investigators to have abused or neglected children. The list includes people whose allegations of abuse or neglect were determined "founded" by DHS --- not necessarily those convicted in court.

Doe, a victim of domestic abuse, was placed on the registry for "denial of critical care for lack of proper supervision" for failing to protect children from her abuser. More than half those on the registry are listed under denial of care.

Legislators will make changes in their upcoming session to address the court's concerns. Krogmeier said he was offering his comments in case lawmakers wanted to consider other changes.

"We're making the one proposal to address the issues raised in the Jane Doe case," Krogmeier said. "We're also saying, 'Here are some things we could do that we don't think will harm children.' We're not ready to recommend them at this point."

The registry has evolved as legislators required more applicants for certain jobs to be screened against it.

"The idea originally was to not only keep track of abused kids but to keep track of who had abused kids," DHS spokesman Roger Munns said. "Over the years it has developed into a jobscreening tool."  FULL STORY