Benton bill to help prevent false reports of child abuse heads to governor

April 6, 2007

OLYMPIA…On April 3, the House joined the Senate in unanimously passing a bill by Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, that will help prevent false reports of child abuse. The Senate cast a unanimous vote on the measure on March 12. The bill now heads to the governor to be signed into law. 

“This is an important change in law that gets at a serious problem,” Benton said. “A family in my community was falsely accused of child abuse and suffered a great deal of stress during the investigation. Child Protective Services (CPS) is overworked as it is, and these kinds of false complaints unfairly add to their workload.” 

The measure, Substitute Senate Bill 5839, does three things:

• It removes the word “maliciously” from the false reporting statute, making it easier to hold people who make false reports accountable. A false report is a misdemeanor.

• It requires CPS to include a clear statement that false reporting is a crime in any materials relating to the reporting of abuse or neglect.

• It requires CPS to send a certified letter to individuals determined to have made a false report warning that subsequent false reports will be referred to law enforcement for investigation. 

Benton consulted with CPS staff at the Department of Social and Health Services during committee work on the bill to make sure any concerns they had were addressed.

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Additional contact Penny Drost at (360) 786-7522
or penny.drost@leg.wa.gov