By: Associated Press//January 19, 2016//
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The state Assembly has approved a bipartisan bill that would require child protective agencies adopt formal procedures for investigating reports of abuse and neglect of disabled children.
The measure directs the state Department of Children and Families to develop a model procedure that agencies must adopt by mid-2017.
The bill requires DCF to consider including provisions mandating that whoever takes a call reporting a crime against a child ask whether the child is disabled; calling for agencies to identify and address the child’s disability; ensuring each agency is in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act; and adopting strategies for interviewing disabled children.
The Assembly approved the bill on a voice vote Tuesday. It goes next to the state Senate.