MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2019 Regular Session
To: Judiciary B
By: Representatives Gunn, Gibbs (36th), Dixon, Taylor, Patterson, Karriem, Gibbs (72nd), Mickens, Baker, Hood, Arnold, Barton, Sykes, Turner, Corley, Oliver, Brown, Reynolds, Snowden, Steverson, Faulkner, Ladner, Miles, Johnson (94th), Chism, Willis
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 97-29-49, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY THAT A MINOR UNDER THE AGE OF 18 CANNOT BE CHARGED WITH THE CRIME OF PROSTITUTION; TO AUTHORIZE A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER WHO ENCOUNTERS A MINOR WHO THE OFFICER HAS REASONABLE CAUSE TO SUSPECT IS ENGAGING IN PROSTITUTION TO ACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE YOUTH COURT ACT TO OBTAIN CUSTODY OF SUCH MINOR; TO AMEND SECTION 43-15-13, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES TO DOCUMENT CHILDREN WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OR HUMAN TRAFFICKING; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES TO PROVIDE TRAINING ON HOW TO HANDLE VICTIMS OF COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING TO ITS FAMILY PROTECTION SPECIALISTS, WORKERS AND FOSTER PARENTS; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES TO CREATE POLICY AND PROCEDURES THAT PROVIDE COUNSELING AND APPROPRIATE SERVICES TO CHILDREN WHO HAVE BEEN VICTIMS OF COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OR HUMAN TRAFFICKING; TO AMEND SECTION 43-15-51, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO INCLUDE COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN THE RESPONSIBILITIES FOR MULTIDISCIPLINARY CHILD PROTECTION TEAMS; TO INCLUDE THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES AND THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING COORDINATOR AS MEMBERS OF THE MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM; TO AMEND SECTION 97-3-54.1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES TO INVESTIGATE AND PROVIDE ANNUAL REPORTS OF COMPLAINTS OF COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING; TO AMEND SECTION 43-21-353, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO INCLUDE THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES AS AN AGENCY TO BE CONTACTED IN THE MANDATORY REPORTING PROVISIONS; TO REQUIRE THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY TO ADD THE STATE HUMAN TRAFFICKING COORDINATOR AS A CONTACT; TO AMEND SECTION 43-21-105, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY THAT AN ABUSED CHILD INCLUDES A VICTIM OF COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OR HUMAN TRAFFICKING; TO AMEND SECTION 97-5-51, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE LIST OF SEX CRIMES AGAINST A MINOR FOR THE PROVISIONS OF LAW REGULATING MANDATORY REPORTING OF SEX CRIMES AGAINST MINORS TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING SECTIONS; TO AMEND SECTION 19-5-353, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THAT THE STANDARDS AND TRAINING FOR 911 TELECOMMUNICATORS INCLUDE RECEIVING AND RESPONDING TO COMPLAINTS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION; TO AMEND SECTION 45-6-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE BOARD ON LAW ENFORCEMENT STANDARDS AND TRAINING TO INCLUDE IDENTIFICATION, RESPONSE AND SUPPORT OF VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION; TO AMEND SECTIONS 97-3-54.8 AND 97-3-54.9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE STATEWIDE HUMAN TRAFFICKING COORDINATOR SHALL BE UNDER THE MISSISSIPPI BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY; TO AMEND SECTIONS 43-1-55, 97-3-54.8, 97-3-54.9 AND 43-47-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING SECTIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 97-29-49, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-29-49. (1) A person who is eighteen (18) years of age or older commits the misdemeanor of prostitution if the person knowingly or intentionally performs, or offers or agrees to perform, sexual intercourse or sexual conduct for money or other property. "Sexual conduct" includes cunnilingus, fellatio, masturbation of another, anal intercourse or the causing of penetration to any extent and with any object or body part of the genital or anal opening of another.
(2) Any person violating the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine not exceeding Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) or by confinement in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, or both.
(3) In addition to the
mandatory reporting provisions contained in Section 97-5-51, any law
enforcement officer who * * *takes encounters a minor under eighteen (18) years of
age * * * and has reasonable cause to suspect that the
minor has engaged in acts described in this section may take the minor into
emergency custody in accordance with the requirements of the Youth Court
Act for the purpose of obtaining an order of removal of the minor, and
shall * * *
contact and make a report to the Department of Child Protection
Services * * * as required in Section 43-21-353 for suspected
child sexual abuse or neglect, and the department shall commence an initial
investigation into suspected child sexual abuse or neglect as required in
Section 43-21-353.
(4) If it is determined
that a person suspected of or charged with engaging in prostitution is engaging
in those acts as a direct result of being a trafficked person, as defined by
Section 97-3-54.4, that person shall be immune from prosecution for
prostitution as * * * an adult * * *. If the person suspected
of engaging in acts that would constitute prostitution is under the age of
eighteen (18) the provisions of Section 97-3-54.1(4) shall be applicable.
SECTION 2. Section 43-15-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-15-13. (1) For purposes of this section, "children" means persons found within the state who are under the age of twenty-one (21) years, and who were placed in the custody of the Department of Child Protection Services by the youth court of the appropriate county. For purposes of this chapter, "commercial sexual exploitation" means any sexual act or crime of a sexual nature, which is committed against a child for financial or economic gain, to obtain a thing of value, for quid pro quo exchange of property or any other purpose.
(2) The Department of Child Protection Services shall establish a foster care placement program for children whose custody lies with the department, with the following objectives:
(a) Protecting and promoting the health, safety and welfare of children;
(b) Preventing the unnecessary separation of children from their families by identifying family problems, assisting families in resolving their problems and preventing the breakup of the family where the prevention of child removal is desirable and possible when the child can be cared for at home without endangering the child's health and safety;
(c) Remedying or assisting in the solution of problems that may result in the neglect, abuse, exploitation, commercial sexual exploitation, human trafficking or delinquency of children;
(d) Restoring to their families children who have been removed, by the provision of services to the child and the families when the child can be cared for at home without endangering the child's health and safety;
(e) Placing children in suitable adoptive homes approved by a licensed adoption agency or family protection specialist, in cases where restoration to the biological family is not safe, possible or appropriate;
(f) Assuring safe and adequate care of children away from their homes, in cases where the child cannot be returned home or cannot be placed for adoption, including temporary or emergency placement with a relative or fictive kin pending youth court action on the case. At the time of placement, the department shall implement concurrent planning, as described in subsection (8) of this section, so that permanency may occur at the earliest opportunity. Consideration of possible failure or delay of reunification should be given, to the end that the placement made is the best available placement to provide permanency for the child; and
(g) Providing a family protection specialist or worker or team of such specialists or workers for a family and child throughout the implementation of their permanent living arrangement plan. Wherever feasible, the same family protection specialist or worker or team shall remain on the case until the child is no longer under the jurisdiction of the youth court.
(3) The Department of Child
Protection Services shall administer a system of individualized plans * * *, reviews and reports once
every six (6) months for each child under its custody within the State of
Mississippi, which document each child who has been adjudged a
neglected, abandoned or abused child, including a child alleged to have
experienced commercial sexual exploitation and/or human trafficking and
whose custody was changed by court order as a result of that adjudication, and
each public or private facility licensed by the department. The Department of
Child Protection Services' administrative review shall be completed on each
child within the first three (3) months and a relative placement, fictive kin
placement, or foster care review once every six (6) months after the child's
initial forty-eight-hour shelter hearing. That system shall be for the purpose
of enhancing potential family life for the child by the development of
individual plans to return the child to the child's natural parent or parents,
or to refer the child to the appropriate court for termination of parental
rights and placement in a permanent relative's home, adoptive home or
foster/adoptive home. The goal of the Department of Child Protection Services
shall be to return the child to the child's natural parent(s) or refer the
child to the appropriate court for termination of parental rights and placement
in a permanent relative's home, adoptive home or foster/adoptive home within
the time periods specified in this subsection or in subsection (4) of this
section. In furthering this goal, the department shall establish policy and
procedures designed to appropriately place children in permanent homes, provide
counseling services and other appropriate services to children who have been
victims of commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking. The policy * * * shall include a system of reviews for
all children in foster care, as follows: foster care counselors in the
department shall make all possible contact with the child's natural parent(s),
custodial parent(s) of all siblings of the child, and any interested relative for
the first two (2) months following the child's entry into the foster care
system, and provide care for victims of commercial sexual exploitation or
human trafficking. For purposes of contacting custodial parent(s) of a
sibling, siblings include those who are considered a sibling under state law,
and those who would have been considered a sibling under state law, except for
termination or disruption of parental rights. For any child who has been in
foster care for fifteen (15) of the last twenty-two (22) months regardless of
whether the foster care was continuous for all of those twenty-two (22) months,
the department shall file a petition to terminate the parental rights of the
child's parents. The time period starts to run from the date the court makes a
finding of abuse and/or neglect, or commercial sexual exploitation or human
trafficking, or sixty (60) days from when the child was removed from his or
her home, whichever is earlier. The department can choose not to file a
termination of parental rights petition if the following apply:
(a) The child is being cared for by a relative; and/or
(b) The department has documented compelling and extraordinary reasons why termination of parental rights would not be in the best interests of the child. Before granting or denying a request by the department for an extension of time for filing a termination of parental rights action, the court shall receive a written report on the progress which a parent of the child has made in treatment, to be made to the court in writing by a mental health/substance abuse therapist or counselor.
(4) In the case of any child who is placed in foster care on or after July 1, 1998, except in cases of aggravated circumstances prescribed in Section 43-21-603(7)(c), the child's natural parent(s) will have a reasonable time to be determined by the court, which shall not exceed a six-month period of time, in which to meet the service agreement with the department for the benefit of the child unless the department has documented extraordinary and compelling reasons for extending the time period in the best interest of the child. If this agreement has not been satisfactorily met, simultaneously the child will be referred to the appropriate court for termination of parental rights and placement in a permanent relative's home, adoptive home or a foster/adoptive home. For children under the age of three (3) years, termination of parental rights shall be initiated within six (6) months, unless the department has documented compelling and extraordinary circumstances, and placement in a permanent relative's home, adoptive home or foster/adoptive home within two (2) months. For children who have been abandoned under the provisions of Section 97-5-1, termination of parental rights shall be initiated within thirty (30) days and placement in an adoptive home shall be initiated without necessity for placement in a foster home. The department need not initiate termination of parental rights proceedings where the child has been placed in durable legal custody, durable legal relative guardianship, or long-term or formalized foster care by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(5) The foster care review once every six (6) months shall be conducted by the youth court or its designee(s), and/or by personnel within the Department of Child Protection Services or by a designee or designees of the department and may include others appointed by the department, and the review shall include at a minimum an evaluation of the child based on the following:
(a) The extent of the care and support provided by the parents or parent while the child is in temporary custody;
(b) The extent of communication with the child by parents, parent or guardian;
(c) The degree of compliance by the agency and the parents with the social service plan established;
(d) The methods of achieving the goal and the plan establishing a permanent home for the child;
(e) Social services offered and/or utilized to facilitate plans for establishing a permanent home for the child; and
(f) Relevant testimony and recommendations from the foster parent of the child, the grandparents of the child, the guardian ad litem of the child, when appointed, the Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) of the child, representatives of any private care agency that has cared for the child, the family protection worker or family protection specialist assigned to the case, and any other relevant testimony pertaining to the case.
Each child's review plan once every six (6) months shall be filed with the court which awarded custody and shall be made available to natural parents or foster parents upon approval of the court. The court shall make a finding as to the degree of compliance by the agency and the parent(s) with the child's social service plan. The court also shall find that the child's health and safety are the paramount concern. In the interest of the child, the court shall, where appropriate, initiate proceedings on its own motion. The Department of Child Protection Services shall report to the Legislature as to the number of those children, the findings of the foster care review board and relevant statistical information in foster care in a semiannual report to the Legislature to be submitted to the Joint Oversight Committee of the Department of Child Protection Services. The report shall not refer to the specific name of any child in foster care.
(6) (a) The Department of Child Protection Services, with the cooperation and assistance of the State Department of Health, shall develop and implement a training program for foster care parents to indoctrinate them as to their proper responsibilities upon a child's entry into their foster care. The program shall provide a minimum of twelve (12) clock hours of training, which shall include training foster care parents about providing mental and physical support to children who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking. The foster care training program shall be satisfactorily completed by such foster care parents before or within ninety (90) days after child placement with the parent. Record of the foster care parent's training program participation shall be filed with the court as part of a child's foster care review plan once every six (6) months.
(b) (i) The court may waive foster care training for an appropriate relative placement.
(ii) A relative exempted from foster care training is not eligible for board payments, foster care payments, kinship care payments, therapeutic care payments, or any other monthly payments from the department to assist in the care of the child.
(7) When the Department of Child Protection Services is considering placement of a child in a foster home and when the department deems it to be in the best interest of the child, the department shall give first priority to placing the child in the home of one (1) of the child's relatives within the third degree, as computed by the civil law rule.
(a) In placing the child in a relative's home, the department may waive any rule, regulation or policy applicable to placement in foster care that would otherwise require the child to have a separate bed or bedroom or have a bedroom of a certain size, if placing the child in a relative's home would be in the best interest of the child and those requirements cannot be met in the relative's home.
(b) The court may waive foster care training for a relative only when appropriate.
(8) The Legislature recognizes that the best interests of the child require that the child be placed in the most permanent living arrangement as soon as is practicably possible. To achieve this goal, the Department of Child Protection Services is directed to conduct concurrent planning so that a permanent living arrangement may occur at the earliest opportunity. Permanent living arrangements may include prevention of placement of a child outside the home of the family when the child can be cared for at home without endangering the child's health or safety; reunification with the family, when safe and appropriate, if temporary placement is necessary; or movement of the child toward the most permanent living arrangement and permanent legal status. When a child is placed in foster care or relative care, the department shall first ensure and document that reasonable efforts, as defined in Section 43-21-105, were made to prevent or eliminate the need to remove the child from the child's home. The department's first priority shall be to make reasonable efforts to reunify the family when temporary placement of the child occurs or shall request a finding from the court that reasonable efforts are not appropriate or have been unsuccessful. A decision to place a child in foster care or relative care shall be made with consideration of the child's health, safety and best interests. At the time of placement, consideration should also be given so that if reunification fails or is delayed, the placement made is the best available placement to provide a permanent living arrangement for the child. The department shall adopt rules addressing concurrent planning for reunification and a permanent living arrangement. The department shall consider the following factors when determining appropriateness of concurrent planning:
(a) The likelihood of prompt reunification;
(b) The past history of the family;
(c) The barriers to reunification being addressed by the family;
(d) The level of cooperation of the family;
(e) The foster parents' willingness to work with the family to reunite;
(f) The willingness and ability of the foster family or relative placement to provide an adoptive home or long-term placement;
(g) The age of the child; and
(h) Placement of siblings.
(9) If the department has placed a child in foster care or relative care under a court order, the department may not change the child's placement unless the department specifically documents to the court that the current placement is unsafe or unsuitable or that another placement is in the child's best interests unless the new placement is in an adoptive home or other permanent placement. Except in emergency circumstances as determined by the department or where the court orders placement of the child under Section 43-21-303, the foster parents, grandparents or other relatives of the child shall be given an opportunity to contest the specific reasons documented by the department at least seventy-two (72) hours before any such departure, and the court may conduct a review of that placement unless the new placement is in an adoptive home or other permanent placement. When a child is returned to foster care or relative care, the former foster parents or relative placement shall be given the prior right of return placement in order to eliminate additional trauma to the child.
(10) The Department of Child Protection Services shall provide the foster parents, grandparents or other relatives with at least a seventy-two-hour notice of departure for any child placed in their foster care or relative care, except in emergency circumstances as determined by the department or where the court orders placement of the child under Section 43-21-303. The parent/legal guardian, grandparents of the child, guardian ad litem and the court exercising jurisdiction shall be notified in writing when the child leaves foster care or relative care placement, regardless of whether the child's departure was planned or unplanned. The only exceptions to giving a written notice to the parent(s) are when a parent has voluntarily released the child for adoption or the parent's legal rights to the child have been terminated through the appropriate court with jurisdiction.
(11) The Department of Child Protection Services shall extend the following rights to persons who provide foster care and relative care:
(a) A clear understanding of their role while providing care and the roles of the birth parent(s) and the placement agency in respect to the child in care;
(b) Respect, consideration, trust and value as a family who is making an important contribution to the agency's objectives;
(c) Involvement in all the agency's crucial decisions regarding the child as team members who have pertinent information based on their day-to-day knowledge of the child in care;
(d) Support from the family protection worker or the family protection specialist in efforts to do a better day-to-day job in caring for the child and in working to achieve the agency's objectives for the child and the birth family through provision of:
(i) Pertinent information about the child and the birth family;
(ii) Help in using appropriate resources to meet the child's needs, including counseling or other services for victims of commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking;
(iii) Direct interviews between the family protection worker or specialist and the child, previously discussed and understood by the foster parents;
(iv) Information regarding whether the child experienced commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking;
(e) The opportunity to develop confidence in making day-to-day decisions in regard to the child;
(f) The opportunity to learn and grow in their vocation through planned education in caring for the child;
(g) The opportunity to be heard regarding agency practices that they may question;
(h) Reimbursement for costs of the child's care in the form of a board payment based on the age of the child as prescribed in Section 43-15-17 unless the relative is exempt from foster care training and chooses to exercise the exemption; and
(i) Reimbursement for property damages caused by children in the custody of the Department of Child Protection Services in an amount not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), as evidenced by written documentation. The Department of Child Protection Services shall not incur liability for any damages as a result of providing this reimbursement.
(12) The Department of Child Protection Services shall require the following responsibilities from participating persons who provide foster care and relative care:
(a) Understanding the department's function in regard to the foster care and relative care program and related social service programs;
(b) Sharing with the department any information which may contribute to the care of children;
(c) Functioning within the established goals and objectives to improve the general welfare of the child;
(d) Recognizing the problems in home placement that will require professional advice and assistance and that such help should be utilized to its full potential;
(e) Recognizing that the family who cares for the child will be one of the primary resources for preparing a child for any future plans that are made, including return to birth parent(s), termination of parental rights or reinstitutionalization;
(f) Expressing their views of agency practices which relate to the child with the appropriate staff member;
(g) Understanding that all information shared with the persons who provide foster care or relative care about the child and his/her birth parent(s) must be held in the strictest of confidence;
(h) Cooperating with any plan to reunite the child with his birth family and work with the birth family to achieve this goal; and
(i) Attending dispositional review hearings and termination of parental rights hearings conducted by a court of competent jurisdiction, or providing their recommendations to the court in writing.
SECTION 3. Section 43-15-51, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-15-51. (1) The district
attorneys * * *,
the Department of Human Services or the Department of Child Protection
Services may initiate formal cooperative agreements with the appropriate
agencies to create multidisciplinary child protection teams in order to
implement a coordinated multidisciplinary team approach to intervention in
reports involving alleged commercial sexual exploitation, human trafficking,
or severe or potential felony child physical or sexual abuse, exploitation,
or maltreatment. The multidisciplinary team also may be known as a child abuse
task force. The purpose of the team or task force shall be to assist in the
evaluation and investigation of reports and to provide consultation and
coordination for agencies involved in child protection cases. The agencies to
be included as members of the multidisciplinary team are: the district
attorney's office, city and county law enforcement agencies, county attorneys,
youth court prosecutors, the Human Trafficking Coordinator or his or her
designee and other agencies as appropriate. The Department of Child
Protection Services shall be included as a member of the multidisciplinary team
if the department does not initiate creation of the team.
(2) To implement the multidisciplinary child abuse team, the team or task force must be authorized by court order from the appropriate youth court. The court order will designate which agencies will participate in the cooperative multidisciplinary team.
(3) (a) Teams created
under this section may invite other persons to serve on the team who have
knowledge of and experience in child abuse and neglect and commercial sexual
exploitation and human trafficking matters. These persons may include
licensed mental and physical health practitioners and physicians, dentists,
representatives of the district attorney's office and the Attorney General's
office, experts in the assessment and treatment of substance abuse or sexual
abuse, the victim assistance coordinator of the district attorney's office * * *, staff members of a child advocacy
center and experts in providing services to commercial sexual exploitation
and human trafficking victims.
(b) (i) A child advocacy center means an agency that advocates on behalf of children alleged to have been abused and assists in the coordination of the investigation of child abuse by providing a location for forensic interviews and promoting the coordination of services for children alleged to have been abused. A child advocacy center provides services that include, but are not limited to, forensic medical examinations, mental health and related support services, court advocacy, consultation, training for social workers, law enforcement training, and child abuse multidisciplinary teams, and staffing of multidisciplinary teams.
(ii) Child advocacy centers may provide a video-taped forensic interview of the child in a child friendly environment or separate building. The purpose of the video-taped forensic interview is to prevent further trauma to a child in the investigation and prosecution of child physical and sexual abuse cases. Child advocacy centers can also assist child victims by providing therapeutic counseling subsequent to the interview by a qualified therapist. Child advocacy centers can also assist law enforcement and prosecutors by acquainting child victim witnesses and their parents or guardians to the courtroom through child court school programs.
(4) A team or task force created under this section shall review records on cases referred to the team by the Department of Human Services or law enforcement or the district attorney's office. The team shall meet at least monthly.
(5) No person shall disclose information obtained from a meeting of the multidisciplinary team unless necessary to comply with Department of Human Services' regulations or conduct and proceeding in youth court or criminal court proceedings or as authorized by a court of competent jurisdiction.
SECTION 4. Section 97-3-54.1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-3-54.1. (1) (a) A person who coerces, recruits, entices, harbors, transports, provides or obtains by any means, or attempts to coerce, recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide or obtain by any means, another person, intending or knowing that the person will be subjected to forced labor or services, or who benefits, whether financially or by receiving anything of value from participating in an enterprise that he knows or reasonably should have known has engaged in such acts, shall be guilty of the crime of human trafficking.
(b) A person who knowingly purchases the forced labor or services of a trafficked person or who otherwise knowingly subjects, or attempts to subject, another person to forced labor or services or who benefits, whether financially or by receiving anything of value from participating in an enterprise that he knows or reasonably should have known has engaged in such acts, shall be guilty of the crime of procuring involuntary servitude.
(c) A person who knowingly subjects, or attempts to subject, or who recruits, entices, harbors, transports, provides or obtains by any means, or attempts to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide or obtain by any means, a minor, knowing that the minor will engage in commercial sexual activity, sexually explicit performance, or the production of sexually oriented material, or causes or attempts to cause a minor to engage in commercial sexual activity, sexually explicit performance, or the production of sexually oriented material, shall be guilty of procuring sexual servitude of a minor and shall be punished by commitment to the custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than five (5) nor more than thirty (30) years, or by a fine of not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) nor more than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00), or both. It is not a defense in a prosecution under this section that a minor consented to engage in the commercial sexual activity, sexually explicit performance, or the production of sexually oriented material, or that the defendant reasonably believed that the minor was eighteen (18) years of age or older.
(2) If the victim is not a minor, a person who is convicted of an offense set forth in subsection (1)(a) or (b) of this section shall be committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than two (2) years nor more than twenty (20) years, or by a fine of not less than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) nor more than One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), or both. If the victim of the offense is a minor, a person who is convicted of an offense set forth in subsection (1)(a) or (b) of this section shall be committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than five (5) years nor more than twenty (20) years, or by a fine of not less than Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00) nor more than One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), or both.
(3) An enterprise may be prosecuted for an offense under this chapter if:
(a) An agent of the enterprise knowingly engages in conduct that constitutes an offense under this chapter while acting within the scope of employment and for the benefit of the entity.
(b) An employee of the enterprise engages in conduct that constitutes an offense under this chapter and the commission of the offense was part of a pattern of illegal activity for the benefit of the enterprise, which an agent of the enterprise either knew was occurring or recklessly disregarded, and the agent failed to take effective action to stop the illegal activity.
(c) It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution of an enterprise that the enterprise had in place adequate procedures, including an effective complaint procedure, designed to prevent persons associated with the enterprise from engaging in the unlawful conduct and to promptly correct any violations of this chapter.
(d) The court may consider the severity of the enterprise's offense and order penalties, including: (i) a fine of not more than One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00); (ii) disgorgement of profit; and (iii) debarment from government contracts. Additionally, the court may order any of the relief provided in Section 97-3-54.7.
(4) In addition to the
mandatory reporting provisions contained in Sections 43-21-353 and 97-5-51,
any person who has reasonable cause to suspect that a minor under the age of
eighteen (18) is a trafficked person shall immediately make a report of the
suspected child abuse or neglect to the Department of Child Protection
Services * * * and to the Statewide Human Trafficking
Coordinator. The Department of Child Protection Services * * * or the
Statewide Human Trafficking Coordinator, whichever is applicable, shall
then immediately notify the law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction where
the suspected child abuse * * *or neglect or trafficking occurred as required in
Section 43-21-353, and the department that received the report shall
also commence an initial investigation into the suspected abuse or neglect as
required in Section 43-21-353. The department that received such report
shall provide an annual report to the Speaker of the Mississippi House of
Representatives, the Lieutenant Governor, the Chairpersons of the House and
Senate Judiciary Committees that includes the number of reports received, the
number of cases screened in or out, the number of cases in which care and
services were provided as a result of the report, and the type of care and
services that were provided. A minor who has been identified as a victim
of trafficking shall not be liable for criminal activity in violation of this
section.
(5) It is an affirmative defense in a prosecution under this act that the defendant:
(a) Is a victim; and
(b) Committed the offense under a reasonable apprehension created by a person that, if the defendant did not commit the act, the person would inflict serious harm on the defendant, a member of the defendant's family, or a close associate.
SECTION 5. Section 43-21-353, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-21-353. (1) Any
attorney, physician, dentist, intern, resident, nurse, psychologist, social
worker, family protection worker, family protection specialist, child
caregiver, minister, law enforcement officer, public or private school employee
or any other person having reasonable cause to suspect that a child is a
neglected child, * * *or an abused child, a victim of commercial sexual
exploitation or human trafficking shall cause an oral report to be made
immediately by telephone or otherwise and followed as soon thereafter as
possible by a report in writing to the Department of Child Protection
Services * * * and immediately a referral shall be made by the Department
of Child Protection Services * * * to the youth court
intake unit, which unit shall promptly comply with Section 43-21-357. In the
course of an investigation, at the initial time of contact with the
individual(s) about whom a report has been made under this Youth Court Act or
with the individual(s) responsible for the health or welfare of a child about
whom a report has been made under this chapter, the Department of Child
Protection Services * * *Department of Human Services shall inform the individual of
the specific complaints or allegations made against the individual. Consistent
with subsection (4), the identity of the person who reported his or her
suspicion shall not be disclosed. Where appropriate, the Department of
Child Protection Services * * * shall additionally
make a referral to the youth court prosecutor.
Upon receiving a report that
a child has been sexually abused, or a victim of commercial sexual
exploitation or human trafficking, or burned, tortured, mutilated,
or otherwise physically abused in such a manner as to cause serious bodily
harm, or upon receiving any report of abuse that would be a felony under state
or federal law, the department * * * shall immediately notify the
law enforcement agency in whose jurisdiction the abuse occurred. * * *
Within forty-eight (48)
hours, the department shall notify the appropriate prosecutor * * * and the
Statewide Human Trafficking Coordinator. The department * * * shall have the duty to
provide the law enforcement agency all the names and facts known at the time of
the report; this duty shall be of a continuing nature. The law enforcement
agency and the department * * * shall investigate the
reported abuse immediately and shall file a preliminary report with the
appropriate prosecutor's office within twenty-four (24) hours and shall make
additional reports as new or additional information or evidence becomes
available. The department * * * shall advise the clerk of the
youth court and the youth court prosecutor of all cases of abuse reported to
the department within seventy-two (72) hours and shall update such report as
information becomes available.
(2) Any report * * * shall
contain the names and addresses of the child and his parents or other persons
responsible for his care, if known, the child's age, the nature and extent of
the child's injuries, including any evidence of previous injuries * * *, any other information that might
be helpful in establishing the cause of the injury, and the identity of
the perpetrator.
(3) The Department of
Child Protection Services * * * shall maintain a
statewide incoming wide-area telephone service or similar service for the
purpose of receiving reports of suspected cases of child abuse, commercial
sexual exploitation or human trafficking; provided that any attorney,
physician, dentist, intern, resident, nurse, psychologist, social worker,
family protection worker, family protection specialist, child caregiver,
minister, law enforcement officer or public or private school employee who is
required to report under subsection (1) of this section shall report in the
manner required in subsection (1).
(4) Reports of abuse * * *, neglect, commercial sexual
exploitation or human trafficking made under this chapter and the identity
of the reporter are confidential except when the court in which the
investigation report is filed, in its discretion, determines the testimony of
the person reporting to be material to a judicial proceeding or when the
identity of the reporter is released to law enforcement agencies and the
appropriate prosecutor pursuant to subsection (1). Reports made under this
section to any law enforcement agency or prosecutorial officer are for the
purpose of criminal investigation and prosecution only and no information from
these reports may be released to the public except as provided by Section 43-21-261.
Disclosure of any information by the prosecutor shall be according to the
Mississippi Uniform Rules of Circuit and County Court Procedure. The identity
of the reporting party shall not be disclosed to anyone other than law
enforcement officers or prosecutors without an order from the appropriate youth
court. Any person disclosing any reports made under this section in a manner
not expressly provided for in this section or Section 43-21-261 shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor and subject to the penalties prescribed by Section 43-21-267.
(5) All final dispositions
of law enforcement investigations described in subsection (1) of this section
shall be determined only by the appropriate prosecutor or court. All final
dispositions of investigations by the Department of Child Protection
Services * * * as described in subsection (1) of this section
shall be determined only by the youth court. Reports made under subsection (1)
of this section by the Department of Child Protection Services * * * to the law
enforcement agency and to the district attorney's office shall include the
following, if known to the department:
(a) The name and address of the child;
(b) The names and addresses of the parents;
(c) The name and address of the suspected perpetrator;
(d) The names and addresses of all witnesses, including the reporting party if a material witness to the abuse;
(e) A brief statement of the facts indicating that the child has been abused, including whether the child experienced commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking, and any other information from the agency files or known to the family protection worker or family protection specialist making the investigation, including medical records or other records, which may assist law enforcement or the district attorney in investigating and/or prosecuting the case; and
(f) What, if any,
action is being taken by the Department of Child Protection Services * * *.
(6) In any investigation of
a report made under this chapter of the abuse or neglect of a child as defined
in Section 43-21-105(l) or (m), the Department of Child Protection
Services * * * may request the appropriate law enforcement
officer with jurisdiction to accompany the department in its investigation, and
in such cases the law enforcement officer shall comply with such request.
(7) Anyone who willfully violates any provision of this section shall be, upon being found guilty, punished by a fine not to exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or by imprisonment in jail not to exceed one (1) year, or both.
(8) If a report is made
directly to the Department of Child Protection Services * * * that a child has
been abused or neglected or experienced commercial sexual exploitation or
human trafficking in an out-of-home setting, a referral shall be made
immediately to the law enforcement agency in whose jurisdiction the abuse
occurred and the department shall notify the district attorney's office and
Statewide Human Trafficking Coordinator within forty-eight (48) hours of
such report. The Department of Child Protection Services * * * shall investigate
the out-of-home setting report of abuse or neglect to determine whether the
child who is the subject of the report, or other children in the same
environment, comes within the jurisdiction of the youth court and shall report
to the youth court the department's findings and recommendation as to whether
the child who is the subject of the report or other children in the same
environment require the protection of the youth court. The law enforcement
agency shall investigate the reported abuse immediately and shall file a
preliminary report with the district attorney's office within forty-eight (48)
hours and shall make additional reports as new information or evidence becomes
available. If the out-of-home setting is a licensed facility, an additional
referral shall be made by the Department of Child Protection Services * * * to the licensing
agency. The licensing agency shall investigate the report and shall provide
the department * * *, the law enforcement agency and the district
attorney's office with their written findings from such investigation as well
as that licensing agency's recommendations and actions taken.
(9) If a child protective investigation does not result in an out-of-home placement, a child protective investigator must provide information to the parent or guardians about community service programs that provide respite care, counseling and support for children who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking, voluntary guardianship or other support services for families in crisis.
SECTION 6. Section 43-21-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-21-105. The following words and phrases, for purposes of this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly otherwise requires:
(a) "Youth court" means the Youth Court Division.
(b) "Judge" means the judge of the Youth Court Division.
(c) "Designee" means any person that the judge appoints to perform a duty which this chapter requires to be done by the judge or his designee. The judge may not appoint a person who is involved in law enforcement or who is an employee of the Mississippi Department of Human Services or the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services to be his designee.
(d) "Child" and "youth" are synonymous, and each means a person who has not reached his eighteenth birthday. A child who has not reached his eighteenth birthday and is on active duty for a branch of the armed services or is married is not considered a "child" or "youth" for the purposes of this chapter.
(e) "Parent" means the father or mother to whom the child has been born, or the father or mother by whom the child has been legally adopted.
(f) "Guardian" means a court-appointed guardian of the person of a child.
(g) "Custodian" means any person having the present care or custody of a child whether such person be a parent or otherwise.
(h) "Legal custodian" means a court-appointed custodian of the child.
(i) "Delinquent child" means a child who has reached his tenth birthday and who has committed a delinquent act.
(j) "Delinquent act" is any act, which if committed by an adult, is designated as a crime under state or federal law, or municipal or county ordinance other than offenses punishable by life imprisonment or death. A delinquent act includes escape from lawful detention and violations of the Uniform Controlled Substances Law and violent behavior.
(k) "Child in need of supervision" means a child who has reached his seventh birthday and is in need of treatment or rehabilitation because the child:
(i) Is habitually disobedient of reasonable and lawful commands of his parent, guardian or custodian and is ungovernable; or
(ii) While being required to attend school, willfully and habitually violates the rules thereof or willfully and habitually absents himself therefrom; or
(iii) Runs away from home without good cause; or
(iv) Has committed a delinquent act or acts.
(l) "Neglected child" means a child:
(i) Whose parent, guardian or custodian or any person responsible for his care or support, neglects or refuses, when able so to do, to provide for him proper and necessary care or support, or education as required by law, or medical, surgical, or other care necessary for his well-being; however, a parent who withholds medical treatment from any child who in good faith is under treatment by spiritual means alone through prayer in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious denomination by a duly accredited practitioner thereof shall not, for that reason alone, be considered to be neglectful under any provision of this chapter; or
(ii) Who is otherwise without proper care, custody, supervision or support; or
(iii) Who, for any reason, lacks the special care made necessary for him by reason of his mental condition, whether the mental condition is having mental illness or having an intellectual disability; or
(iv) Who, for any reason, lacks the care necessary for his health, morals or well-being.
(m) "Abused child" means a child whose parent, guardian or custodian or any person responsible for his care or support, whether legally obligated to do so or not, has caused or allowed to be caused, upon the child, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, commercial sexual exploitation, emotional abuse, mental injury, nonaccidental physical injury or other maltreatment. However, physical discipline, including spanking, performed on a child by a parent, guardian or custodian in a reasonable manner shall not be deemed abuse under this section. "Abused child" also means a child who is or has been trafficked within the meaning of the Mississippi Human Trafficking Act by any person, without regard to the relationship of the person to the child.
(n) "Sexual abuse" means obscene or pornographic photographing, filming or depiction of children for commercial purposes, or the rape, molestation, incest, prostitution or other such forms of sexual exploitation of children under circumstances which indicate that the child's health or welfare is harmed or threatened.
(o) "A child in need of special care" means a child with any mental or physical illness that cannot be treated with the dispositional alternatives ordinarily available to the youth court.
(p) A "dependent
child" means any child who is not a child in need of supervision, a delinquent
child, an abused child or a neglected child, and which child has been
voluntarily placed in the custody of the Department of * * * Child Protection Services by his
parent, guardian or custodian.
(q) "Custody" means the physical possession of the child by any person.
(r) "Legal custody" means the legal status created by a court order which gives the legal custodian the responsibilities of physical possession of the child and the duty to provide him with food, shelter, education and reasonable medical care, all subject to residual rights and responsibilities of the parent or guardian of the person.
(s) "Detention" means the care of children in physically restrictive facilities.
(t) "Shelter" means care of children in physically nonrestrictive facilities.
(u) "Records involving children" means any of the following from which the child can be identified:
(i) All youth court records as defined in Section 43-21-251;
(ii) All social records as defined in Section 43-21-253;
(iii) All law enforcement records as defined in Section 43-21-255;
(iv) All agency records as defined in Section 43-21-257; and
(v) All other documents maintained by any representative of the state, county, municipality or other public agency insofar as they relate to the apprehension, custody, adjudication or disposition of a child who is the subject of a youth court cause.
(v) "Any person responsible for care or support" means the person who is providing for the child at a given time. This term shall include, but is not limited to, stepparents, foster parents, relatives, nonlicensed babysitters or other similar persons responsible for a child and staff of residential care facilities and group homes that are licensed by the Department of Human Services or Department of Child Protection Services.
(w) The singular includes the plural, the plural the singular and the masculine the feminine when consistent with the intent of this chapter.
(x) "Out-of-home" setting means the temporary supervision or care of children by the staff of licensed day care centers, the staff of public, private and state schools, the staff of juvenile detention facilities, the staff of unlicensed residential care facilities and group homes and the staff of, or individuals representing, churches, civic or social organizations.
(y) "Durable legal custody" means the legal status created by a court order which gives the durable legal custodian the responsibilities of physical possession of the child and the duty to provide him with care, nurture, welfare, food, shelter, education and reasonable medical care. All these duties as enumerated are subject to the residual rights and responsibilities of the natural parent(s) or guardian(s) of the child or children.
(z) "Status offense" means conduct subject to adjudication by the youth court that would not be a crime if committed by an adult.
(aa) "Financially able" means a parent or child who is ineligible for a court-appointed attorney.
(bb) "Assessment" means an individualized examination of a child to determine the child's psychosocial needs and problems, including the type and extent of any mental health, substance abuse or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders and recommendations for treatment. The term includes, but is not limited to, a drug and alcohol, psychological or psychiatric evaluation, records review, clinical interview or the administration of a formal test and instrument.
(cc) "Screening" means a process, with or without the administration of a formal instrument, that is designed to identify a child who is at increased risk of having mental health, substance abuse or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders that warrant immediate attention, intervention or more comprehensive assessment.
(dd) "Durable legal relative guardianship" means the legal status created by a youth court order that conveys the physical and legal custody of a child or children by durable legal guardianship to a relative or fictive kin who is licensed as a foster or resource parent.
(ee) "Relative" means a person related to the child by affinity or consanguinity within the third degree.
(ff) "Fictive kin" means a person not related to the child legally or biologically but who is considered a relative due to a significant, familial-like and ongoing relationship with the child and family.
(gg) "Reasonable efforts" means the exercise of reasonable care and due diligence by the Department of Human Services, the Department of Child Protection Services, or any other appropriate entity or person to use appropriate and available services to prevent the unnecessary removal of the child from the home or provide other services related to meeting the needs of the child and the parents.
(hh) "Commercial sexual exploitation" means any sexual act or crime of a sexual nature, which is committed against a child for financial or economic gain, to obtain a thing of value for quid pro quo exchange of property or for any other purpose.
SECTION 7. Section 97-5-51, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-5-51. (1) Definitions. For the purposes of this section:
(a) "Sex crime against a minor" means any offense under at least one (1) of the following statutes when committed by an adult against a minor who is under the age of sixteen (16):
(i) Section 97-3-65 relating to rape;
(ii) Section 97-3-71 relating to rape and assault with intent to ravish;
(iii) Section 97-3-95 relating to sexual battery;
(iv) Section 97-5-23 relating to the touching of a child, mentally defective or incapacitated person or physically helpless person for lustful purposes;
(v) Section 97-5-41 relating to the carnal knowledge of a stepchild, adopted child or child of a cohabiting partner;
(vi) Section 97-5-33 relating to exploitation of children;
(vii) Section 97-3-54.1(1)(c) relating to procuring sexual servitude of a minor;
(viii) Section 43-47-18 relating to sexual abuse of a vulnerable person;
(ix) Section 97-1-7
relating to the attempt to commit any of the offenses listed in this subsection * * *;
(x) Section 97-29-51 relating to procuring sexual services of a minor; and
(xi) Section 43-47-18 and Section 43-47-19 relating to sexual battery abuse of a vulnerable person who is a minor.
(b) "Mandatory reporter" means any of the following individuals performing their occupational duties: health care practitioner, clergy member, teaching or child care provider, law enforcement officer, or commercial image processor.
(c) "Health care practitioner" means any individual who provides health care services, including a physician, surgeon, physical therapist, psychiatrist, psychologist, medical resident, medical intern, hospital staff member, licensed nurse, midwife and emergency medical technician or paramedic.
(d) "Clergy member" means any priest, rabbi or duly ordained deacon or minister.
(e) "Teaching or child care provider" means anyone who provides training or supervision of a minor under the age of sixteen (16), including a teacher, teacher's aide, principal or staff member of a public or private school, social worker, probation officer, foster home parent, group home or other child care institutional staff member, personnel of residential home facilities, a licensed or unlicensed day care provider.
(f) "Commercial image processor" means any person who, for compensation: (i) develops exposed photographic film into negatives, slides or prints; (ii) makes prints from negatives or slides; or (iii) processes or stores digital media or images from any digital process, including, but not limited to, website applications, photography, live streaming of video, posting, creation of power points or any other means of intellectual property communication or media including conversion or manipulation of still shots or video into a digital show stored on a photography site or a media storage site.
(g) "Caretaker" means any person legally obligated to provide or secure adequate care for a minor under the age of sixteen (16), including a parent, guardian, tutor, legal custodian or foster home parent.
(2) (a) Mandatory reporter requirement. A mandatory reporter shall make a report if it would be reasonable for the mandatory reporter to suspect that a sex crime against a minor has occurred.
(b) Failure to file a mandatory report shall be punished as provided in this section.
(c) Reports made under this section and the identity of the mandatory reporter are confidential except when the court determines the testimony of the person reporting to be material to a judicial proceeding or when the identity of the reporter is released to law enforcement agencies and the appropriate prosecutor. The identity of the reporting party shall not be disclosed to anyone other than law enforcement or prosecutors except under court order; violation of this requirement is a misdemeanor. Reports made under this section are for the purpose of criminal investigation and prosecution only and information from these reports is not a public record. Disclosure of any information by the prosecutor shall conform to the Mississippi Uniform Rules of Circuit and County Court Procedure.
(d) Any mandatory reporter who makes a required report under this section or participates in a judicial proceeding resulting from a mandatory report shall be presumed to be acting in good faith. Any person or institution reporting in good faith shall be immune from any liability, civil or criminal, that might otherwise be incurred or imposed.
(3) (a) Mandatory reporting procedure. A report required under subsection (2) must be made immediately to the law enforcement agency in whose jurisdiction the reporter believes the sex crime against the minor occurred. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection (3), a mandatory reporter may not delegate to any other person the responsibility to report, but shall make the report personally.
(i) The reporting
requirement under this subsection (3) is satisfied if a mandatory reporter in
good faith reports a suspected sex crime against a minor to the Department of * * * Child Protection Services under
Section 43-21-353.
(ii) The reporting requirement under this subsection (3) is satisfied if a mandatory reporter reports a suspected sex crime against a minor by following a reporting procedure that is imposed:
1. By state agency rule as part of licensure of any person or entity holding a state license to provide services that include the treatment or education of abused or neglected children; or
2. By statute.
(b) Contents of the report. The report shall identify, to the extent known to the reporter, the following:
(i) The name and address of the minor victim;
(ii) The name and address of the minor's caretaker;
(iii) Any other pertinent information known to the reporter.
(4) A law enforcement officer who receives a mandated report under this section shall file an affidavit against the offender on behalf of the State of Mississippi if there is probable cause to believe that the offender has committed a sex crime against a minor.
(5) Collection of forensic samples. (a) (i) When an abortion is performed on a minor who is less than fourteen (14) years of age at the time of the abortion procedure, fetal tissue extracted during the abortion shall be collected in accordance with rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this section if it would be reasonable to suspect that the pregnancy being terminated is the result of a sex crime against a minor.
(ii) When a minor who is under sixteen (16) years of age gives birth to an infant, umbilical cord blood shall be collected, if possible, in accordance with rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this section if it would be reasonable to suspect that the minor's pregnancy resulted from a sex crime against a minor.
(iii) It shall be reasonable to suspect that a sex crime against a minor has occurred if the mother of an infant was less than sixteen (16) years of age at the time of conception and at least one (1) of the following conditions also applies:
1. The mother of the infant will not identify the father of the infant;
2. The mother of the infant lists the father of the infant as unknown;
3. The person the mother identifies as the father of the infant disputes his fatherhood;
4. The person the mother identifies as the father of the infant is twenty-one (21) years of age or older; or
5. The person the mother identifies as the father is deceased.
(b) The State Medical Examiner shall adopt rules and regulations consistent with Section 99-49-1 that prescribe:
(i) The amount and type of fetal tissue or umbilical cord blood to be collected pursuant to this section;
(ii) Procedures for the proper preservation of the tissue or blood for the purpose of DNA testing and examination;
(iii) Procedures for documenting the chain of custody of such tissue or blood for use as evidence;
(iv) Procedures for proper disposal of fetal tissue or umbilical cord blood collected pursuant to this section;
(v) A uniform reporting instrument mandated to be utilized, which shall include the complete residence address and name of the parent or legal guardian of the minor who is the subject of the report required under this subsection (5); and
(vi) Procedures for communication with law enforcement agencies regarding evidence and information obtained pursuant to this section.
(6) Penalties. (a) A person who is convicted of a first offense under this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00).
(b) A person who is convicted of a second offense under this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or imprisoned for not more than thirty (30) days, or both.
(c) A person who is convicted of a third or subsequent offense under this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or imprisoned for not more than one (1) year, or both.
(7) A health care practitioner or health care facility shall be immune from any penalty, civil or criminal, for good-faith compliance with any rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this section.
SECTION 8. Section 19-5-353, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
19-5-353. (1) The initial minimum standard of training for local public safety and 911 telecommunicators shall be determined by the Board of Emergency Telecommunications Standards and Training. All courses approved for minimum standards shall be taught by instructors certified by the course originator as instructors for such courses.
(2) The minimum standards may be changed at any time by the Board of Emergency Telecommunications Standards and Training, but shall always include at least two (2) hours of training related to handling complaints and/or calls of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children as defined in Section 43-21-105, communicating with such victims and requiring the local public safety and 911 telecommunicators to contact the Department of Child Protection Services when human trafficking or commercial sexual exploitation is suspected.
(3) Changes in the minimum standards may be made upon request from any bona fide public safety, emergency medical or fire organization operating within the State of Mississippi. Requests for change shall be in writing submitted to either the State Law Enforcement Training Academy; the State Fire Academy; the Mississippi Chapter of the Associated Public Safety Communications Officers, Incorporated; the Mississippi Chapter of the National Emergency Number Association; the Mississippi State Board of Health, Emergency Medical Services Division; the Mississippi Justice Information Center; the Mississippi Sheriff's Association; the Mississippi Fire Chief's Association; the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police; or Mississippians for Emergency Medical Services.
(4) The minimum standards in no way are intended to restrict or limit any additional training which any department or agency may wish to employ, or any state or federal required training, but to serve as a basis or foundation for basic training.
(5) Persons in the employment of any public safety, fire, 911 PSAP or emergency medical agency as a telecommunicator on July 1, 1993, shall have three (3) years to be certified in the minimum standards courses provided they have been employed by such agency for a period of more than one (1) year prior to July 1, 1993.
(6) Persons having been employed by any public safety, fire, 911 PSAP or emergency medical agency as a telecommunicator for less than one (1) year prior to July 1, 1993, shall be required to have completed all the requirements for minimum training standards, as set forth in Sections 19-5-351 through 19-5-361, within one (1) year from July 1, 1993. Persons certified on or before July 1, 1993, in any course or courses chosen shall be given credit for these courses, provided the courses are still current and such persons can provide a course completion certificate.
(7) Any person hired to perform the duties of a telecommunicator in any public safety, fire, 911 PSAP or emergency medical agency after July 1, 1993, shall complete the minimum training standards as set forth in Sections 19-5-351 through 19-5-361 within twelve (12) months of their employment or within twelve (12) months from the date that the Board of Emergency Telecommunications Standards and Training shall become operational.
(8) Professional certificates remain the property of the board, and the board reserves the right to either reprimand the holder of a certificate, suspend a certificate upon conditions imposed by the board, or cancel and recall any certificate when:
(a) The certificate was issued by administrative error;
(b) The certificate was obtained through misrepresentation or fraud;
(c) The holder has been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude;
(d) The holder has been convicted of a felony; or
(e) Other due cause as determined by the board.
When the board believes there is a reasonable basis for either the reprimand, suspension, cancellation of, or recalling the certification of a telecommunicator, notice and opportunity for a hearing shall be provided. Any telecommunicator aggrieved by the findings and order of the board may file an appeal with the chancery court of the county in which such person is employed from the final order of the board. Any telecommunicator whose certification has been cancelled pursuant to Sections 19-5-351 through 19-5-361 may reapply for certification but not sooner than two (2) years after the date on which the order of the board canceling such certification became final.
(9) Any state agency, political subdivision or "for-profit" ambulance, security or fire service company that employs a person as a telecommunicator who does not meet the requirements of Sections 19-5-351 through 19-5-361, or that employs a person whose certificate has been suspended or revoked under provisions of Sections 19-5-351 through 19-5-361, is prohibited from paying the salary of such person, and any person violating this subsection shall be personally liable for making such payment.
(10) These minimum standards and time limitations shall in no way conflict with other state and federal training as may be required to comply with established laws or regulations.
SECTION 9. Section 45-6-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
45-6-7. In addition to the powers conferred upon the board elsewhere in this chapter, the board shall have power to:
(a) Promulgate rules and regulations for the administration of this chapter, including the authority to require the submission of reports and information by law enforcement agencies of the state and its political subdivisions.
(b) Establish minimum educational and training standards for admission to employment or appointment as a law enforcement officer or a part-time law enforcement officer: (i) in a permanent position; and (ii) in a probationary status. The minimum educational and training standards for any law enforcement officer assigned to field or investigative duties shall include at least two (2) hours of training related to handling complaints of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children as defined in Section 43-21-105, communicating with such victims, and requiring the officer to contact the Department of Child Protection Services when human trafficking or commercial sexual exploitation is suspected.
(c) Certify persons as being qualified under the provisions of this chapter to be law enforcement officers or part-time law enforcement officers.
(d) Revoke certification for cause and in the manner provided in this chapter. The board is authorized to subpoena documents regarding revocations. The board shall maintain a current list of all persons certified under this chapter who have been placed on probation, suspended, subjected to revocation of certification, or any combination of these.
(e) Establish minimum curriculum requirements for basic and advanced courses and programs for schools operated by or for the state or any political subdivision thereof for the specific purpose of training police and other law enforcement officers, both full- and part-time, which shall include a minimum of two (2) hours of training in a course or courses related to the identification of and support for victims of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation.
(f) Consult and cooperate with counties, municipalities, state agencies, other governmental agencies, and with universities, colleges, community and junior colleges and other institutions concerning the development of training schools, programs or courses of instruction for personnel defined in this chapter.
(g) Make recommendations concerning any matter within its purview pursuant to this chapter.
(h) Make such inspection and evaluation as may be necessary to determine if governmental units are complying with the provisions of this chapter.
(i) Approve law enforcement officer training schools for operation by or for the state or any political subdivision thereof for the specific purpose of training personnel defined in this chapter.
(j) Upon the request of agencies employing personnel defined in this chapter, conduct surveys or aid municipalities and counties to conduct surveys through qualified public or private agencies and assist in the implementation of any recommendations resulting from such surveys.
(k) Upon request of agencies within the purview of this chapter, conduct general and specific management surveys and studies of the operations of the requesting agencies at no cost to those agencies. The role of the board under this subsection shall be that of management consultant.
(l) Adopt and amend regulations consistent with law, for its internal management and control of board programs.
(m) Enter into contracts or do such things as may be necessary and incidental to the administration of this chapter.
(n) Establish jointly with the State Board of Education the minimum level of basic law enforcement training required of persons employed by school districts as school security guards, or school resource officers or in other positions that have the powers of a peace officer.
SECTION 10. Section 43-1-55, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-1-55. (1) The Office of Family and Children's Services and the Division of Aging and Adult Services shall devise formal standards for employment as a family protection worker and as a family protection specialist within their respective offices and for service delivery designed to measure the quality of services delivered to clients, as well as the timeliness of services. The standards shall include at least two (2) hours of training regarding the subject of identifying, assessing and providing comprehensive services to a child who has experienced or is alleged to have experienced commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking. For family protection workers, this training may be included in the four (4) weeks of intensive training described in paragraph (b) of this subsection. Each family protection worker and family protection specialist shall be assessed annually by a supervisor who is a licensed social worker who is knowledgeable in the standards promulgated. The standards devised by each office shall be applicable to all family protection workers and family protection specialists working under that office.
(2) The Office of Family and Children's Services shall devise formal standards for family protection workers of the Department of Human Services who are not licensed social workers. Those standards shall require that:
(a) In order to be employed as a family protection worker, a person must have a bachelor's degree in either psychology, sociology, nursing, family studies, or a related field, or a graduate degree in either psychology, sociology, nursing, criminal justice, counseling, marriage and family therapy or a related field. The determination of what is a related field shall be made by certification of the State Personnel Board; and
(b) Before a person may provide services as a family protection worker, the person shall complete four (4) weeks of intensive training provided by the training unit of the Office of Family and Children's Services, and shall take and receive a passing score on the certification test administered by the training unit upon completion of the four-week training. Upon receiving a passing score on the certification test, the person shall be certified as a family protection worker by the Department of Human Services. Any person who does not receive a passing score on the certification test shall not be employed or maintain employment as a family protection worker for the department. Further, a person, qualified as a family protection worker through the procedures set forth above, shall not conduct forensic interviews of children until the worker receives additional specialized training in child forensic interview protocols and techniques by a course or curriculum approved by the Department of Human Services to be not less than forty (40) hours.
(3) For the purpose of providing services in child abuse or neglect cases, youth court proceedings, vulnerable adults cases, and such other cases as designated by the Executive Director of Human Services, the caseworker or service provider shall be a family protection specialist or a family protection worker whose work is overseen by a family protection specialist who is a licensed social worker.
(4) The Department of Human Services and the Office of Family and Children's Services shall seek to employ and use family protection specialists to provide the services of the office, and may employ and use family protection workers to provide those services only in counties in which there is not a sufficient number of family protection specialists to adequately provide those services in the county.
(5) (a) There is created a Training and Testing Advisory Council to review the department's program of training and testing of family protection workers and to make recommendations pertaining to the program to the department. The advisory council shall be composed of the following ten (10) members: two (2) employees of the department appointed by the Executive Director of Human Services, including one (1) representative of the Office of Family and Children's Services and one (1) representative of the Division of Aging and Adult Services; the Chairman of the Consortium of Accredited Schools of Social Work in Mississippi; and the executive director or a board member of a professional association or licensing board for each field of study named in subsection (2)(a) of this section, as follows: the Mississippi Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers; a marriage and family therapist who is a member of the Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage and Family Therapists, to be selected by the four (4) members of the board of examiners who are marriage and family therapists; the Mississippi Nurses Association; the Mississippi Prosecutors Association; the Mississippi Counseling Association; the Mississippi Psychological Association; and an officer of the Alabama-Mississippi Sociological Association who is a Mississippi resident elected by the executive committee of the association. The executive director of each association (excluding the Alabama-Mississippi Sociological Association) and chairman of the consortium may designate an alternate member to serve in his stead on the advisory council. Members of the advisory council shall serve without salary or per diem.
(b) A majority of the advisory council members shall select from their membership a chairperson to preside over meetings and a vice chairperson to preside in the absence of the chairperson or when the chairperson is excused. The advisory council shall adopt procedures governing the manner of conducting its business. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum to do business.
(6) This section and Section 43-27-107, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall stand repealed on July 1, 2019.
SECTION 11. Section 97-3-54.8, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-3-54.8. Relief for Victims of Human Trafficking Fund. (1) There is hereby created in the State Treasury a special fund to be known as the "Relief for Victims of Human Trafficking Fund." The fund shall be a continuing fund, not subject to fiscal-year limitations, and shall consist of:
(a) Monies appropriated by the Legislature;
(b) The interest accruing to the fund;
(c) Donations or grant funds received; and
(d) Monies received from such other sources as may be provided by law.
(2) The monies in the
Relief for Victims of Human Trafficking Fund shall be used by the Mississippi * * * Bureau of
Investigation of the Department of Public Safety solely for the administration
of programs designed to assist victims of human trafficking, to conduct
training on human trafficking to law enforcement, court personnel, attorneys,
and nongovernmental service providers, and to support the duties of the
Statewide Human Trafficking Coordinator as set forth in this act and as
otherwise provided by law.
(3) From and after July 1, 2016, the expenses of the Relief for Victims of Human Trafficking Fund program shall be defrayed by appropriation from the State General Fund and all user charges and fees authorized under this section shall be deposited into the State General Fund as authorized by law and as determined by the State Fiscal Officer.
(4) From and after July 1, 2016, no state agency shall charge another state agency a fee, assessment, rent or other charge for services or resources received by authority of this section.
SECTION 12. Section 97-3-54.9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-3-54.9. Statewide Human Trafficking Coordinator; duties.
(1) There is created the
position of statewide human trafficking coordinator within the * * * Mississippi Bureau
of Investigation of the Department of Public Safety office. The duties of
the coordinator shall be as follows:
(a) Coordinate the implementation of this act;
(b) Evaluate state efforts to combat human trafficking;
(c) Collect data on human trafficking activity within the state on an ongoing basis, including types of activities reported, efforts to combat human trafficking, and impact on victims and on the state;
(d) Exclude from publicly released portions of the data collected under subsection (1)(c) the identity of any victim and the victim's family;
(e) Promote public awareness about human trafficking, remedies and services for victims, and national hotline information;
(f) Create and maintain a website to publicize the coordinator's work;
(g) Submit to the Legislature an annual report of its evaluation under subsection (1)(b) and any other annual report required by law, including any recommendations, and summary of data collected under subsection (1)(c) and any other data otherwise required by law to be collected by the coordinator;
(h) Develop and implement rules and regulations pertaining to the use of the Relief for Victims of Human Trafficking Fund to support services for victims of human trafficking in Mississippi;
(i) Assist in the
creation and operations of local human trafficking task forces or working
groups around the state, including serving on a task force or a
multidisciplinary child protection team; * * *
(j) Conduct other
activities, including, but not limited to, applying for grants to enhance
investigation and prosecution of trafficking offenses or to improve victim
services to combat human trafficking within this state which are appropriate * * *; and
(k) Perform any other duties specifically required by law for the coordinator.
(2) The coordinator shall be authorized to seek input and assistance from state agencies, nongovernmental agencies, service providers and other individuals in the performance of the foregoing duties.
(3) Each state agency, board and commission shall be required to fully cooperate with the coordinator in the performance of the duties of that position.
(4) Every investigation of an offense under this chapter shall be reported to the coordinator by the initiating law enforcement agency pursuant to guidelines established by the coordinator.
(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 43-21-261, disclosure by any state agency, nongovernmental agency, service provider or local or state law enforcement agency of nonidentifying information regarding a minor victim to the coordinator for the purposes of evaluating and collecting data regarding trafficking offenses in the state is specifically authorized.
SECTION 13. Section 43-47-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-47-7. (1) (a) Except as otherwise provided by Section 43-47-37 for vulnerable persons in care facilities and by Section 43-7-65 for the State Ombudsman Program, any person including, but not limited to, the following, who knows or suspects that a vulnerable person has been or is being abused, neglected or exploited shall immediately report such knowledge or suspicion to the Department of Human Services or to the county department of human services where the vulnerable person is located. If the vulnerable person is a minor, then such report may be made to the Department of Child Protection Services:
(i) Attorney, physician, osteopathic physician, medical examiner, chiropractor or nurse engaged in the admission, examination, care or treatment of vulnerable persons;
(ii) Health professional or mental health professional other than one listed in subparagraph (i);
(iii) Practitioner who relies solely on spiritual means for healing;
(iv) Social worker, family protection worker, family protection specialist or other professional care, residential or institutional staff;
(v) State, county or municipal criminal justice employee or law enforcement officer;
(vi) Human rights advocacy committee or long-term care ombudsman council member; or
(vii) Accountant, stockbroker, financial advisor or consultant, insurance agent or consultant, investment advisor or consultant, financial planner, or any officer or employee of a bank, savings and loan, credit union or any other financial service provider.
(b) To the extent possible, a report made pursuant to paragraph (a) must contain, but need not be limited to, the following information:
(i) Name, age, race, sex, physical description and location of each vulnerable person alleged to have been abused, neglected or exploited.
(ii) Names, addresses and telephone numbers of the vulnerable person's family members.
(iii) Name, address and telephone number of each alleged perpetrator.
(iv) Name, address and telephone number of the caregiver of the vulnerable person, if different from the alleged perpetrator.
(v) Description of the neglect, exploitation, physical or psychological injuries sustained.
(vi) Actions taken by the reporter, if any, such as notification of the criminal justice agency.
(vii) Any other information available to the reporting person which may establish the cause of abuse, neglect or exploitation that occurred or is occurring.
In addition to the above, any person or entity holding or required to hold a license as specified in Title 73, Professions and Vocations, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall be required to give his, her or its name, address and telephone number in the report of the alleged abuse, neglect or exploitation.
(c) The department, or its designees, shall report to an appropriate criminal investigative or prosecutive authority any person required by this section to report or who fails to comply with this section. A person who fails to make a report as required under this subsection or who, because of the circumstances, should have known or suspected beyond a reasonable doubt that a vulnerable person suffers from exploitation, abuse, neglect or self-neglect but who knowingly fails to comply with this section shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, or both such fine and imprisonment. However, for purposes of this subsection (1), any recognized legal financial transaction shall not be considered cause to report the knowledge or suspicion of the financial exploitation of a vulnerable person. If a person convicted under this section is a member of a profession or occupation that is licensed, certified or regulated by the state, the court shall notify the appropriate licensing, certifying or regulating entity of the conviction.
(2) Reports received by law enforcement authorities or other agencies shall be forwarded immediately to the Department of Human Services or the county department of human services. The Department of Human Services shall investigate the reported abuse, neglect or exploitation immediately and shall file a preliminary report of its findings with the Office of the Attorney General within forty-eight (48) hours if immediate attention is needed, or seventy-two (72) hours if the vulnerable person is not in immediate danger and shall make additional reports as new information or evidence becomes available. The Department of Human Services, upon request, shall forward a statement to the person making the initial report required by this section as to what action is being taken, if any.
(3) The report may be made orally or in writing, but where made orally, it shall be followed up by a written report. A person who fails to report or to otherwise comply with this section, as provided herein, shall have no civil or criminal liability, other than that expressly provided for in this section, to any person or entity in connection with any failure to report or to otherwise comply with the requirements of this section.
(4) Anyone who makes a report required by this section or who testifies or participates in any judicial proceedings arising from the report or who participates in a required investigation or evaluation shall be presumed to be acting in good faith and in so doing shall be immune from liability, civil or criminal, that might otherwise be incurred or imposed. However, the immunity provided under this subsection shall not apply to any suspect or perpetrator of any abuse, neglect or exploitation.
(5) A person who intentionally makes a false report under the provisions of this section may be found liable in a civil suit for any actual damages suffered by the person or persons so reported and for any punitive damages set by the court or jury.
(6) The Executive Director of the Department of Human Services shall establish a statewide central register of reports made pursuant to this section. The central register shall be capable of receiving reports of vulnerable persons in need of protective services seven (7) days a week, twenty-four (24) hours a day. To effectuate this purpose, the executive director shall establish a single toll-free statewide phone number that all persons may use to report vulnerable persons in need of protective services, and that all persons authorized by subsection (7) of this section may use for determining the existence of prior reports in order to evaluate the condition or circumstances of the vulnerable person before them. Such oral reports and evidence of previous reports shall be transmitted to the appropriate county department of human services. The central register shall include, but not be limited to, the following information: the name and identifying information of the individual reported, the county department of human services responsible for the investigation of each such report, the names, affiliations and purposes of any person requesting or receiving information which the executive director believes might be helpful in the furtherance of the purposes of this chapter, the name, address, birth date, social security number of the perpetrator of abuse, neglect and/or exploitation, and the type of abuse, neglect and/or exploitation of which there was substantial evidence upon investigation of the report. The central register shall inform the person making reports required under this section of his or her right to request statements from the department as to what action is being taken, if any.
Each person, business, organization or other entity, whether public or private, operated for profit, operated for nonprofit or a voluntary unit of government not responsible for law enforcement providing care, supervision or treatment of vulnerable persons shall conduct criminal history records checks on each new employee of the entity who provides, and/or would provide direct patient care or services to adults or vulnerable persons, as provided in Section 43-11-13.
The department shall not release data that would be harmful or detrimental to the vulnerable person or that would identify or locate a person who, in good faith, made a report or cooperated in a subsequent investigation unless ordered to do so by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(7) Reports made pursuant to this section, reports written or photographs taken concerning such reports in the possession of the Department of Human Services or the county department of human services shall be confidential and shall only be made available to:
(a) A physician who has before him a vulnerable person whom he reasonably suspects may be abused, neglected or exploited, as defined in Section 43-47-5;
(b) A duly authorized agency having the responsibility for the care or supervision of a subject of the report;
(c) A grand jury or a court of competent jurisdiction, upon finding that the information in the record is necessary for the determination of charges before the grand jury;
(d) A district attorney or other law enforcement official.
Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (b) of this subsection, the department may not disclose a report of the abandonment, exploitation, abuse, neglect or self-neglect of a vulnerable person to the vulnerable person's guardian, attorney-in-fact, surrogate decision maker, or caregiver who is a perpetrator or alleged perpetrator of the abandonment, exploitation, abuse or neglect of the vulnerable person.
Any person given access to the names or other information identifying the subject of the report, except the subject of the report, shall not divulge or make public such identifying information unless he is a district attorney or other law enforcement official and the purpose is to initiate court action. Any person who willfully permits the release of any data or information obtained pursuant to this section to persons or agencies not permitted to such access by this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(8) Upon reasonable cause to believe that a caretaker or other person has abused, neglected or exploited a vulnerable person, the department shall promptly notify the district attorney of the county in which the vulnerable person is located and the Office of the Attorney General, except as provided in Section 43-47-37(2).
SECTION 14. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.