Rhode Island
| Code | Subject Matter |
| Code § 14-1-59 | Family Court Proceedings: Cooperation of public and private agencies |
| Code § 14-1-59.1 | Family Court Proceedings: Procedural safeguards |
| Code § 14-1-64 | Family Court Proceedings: Disposition of juvenile records |
| Code § 14-1-66 | Family Court Proceedings: Application by victim to obtain name of juvenile |
| Code § 42-72.7-1 | Education, and Mental Health Services: Short title |
| Code § 42-72.7-2 | Education, and Mental Health Services: Program created |
| Code § 42-72.7-3 | Education, and Mental Health Services: Organization |
| Code § 42-72.7-8 | Education, and Mental Health Services: Information sharing -- Confidentiality |
| Code § 42-72.7-10 | Education, and Mental Health Services: Regulations |
| Code § 16-21-23 | School safety plans -- School safety teams and school crisis response teams |
| Code § 16-21-24 | Requirements of school safety plans, school emergency response plans, and school crisis response plans |
| Code § 14-1-6.1 | Family Court Proceedings: Records |
TITLE 14. DELINQUENT AND DEPENDENT CHILDREN
CHAPTER 1. PROCEEDINGS IN FAMILY COURT
R.I. Gen. Laws § 14-1-59 (2009)
§ 14-1-59. Cooperation of public and private agencies
It is made the duty of every state, town, or municipal official
or department, including, but not limited to, the department of children, youth,
and families, the department of health, the department of human services, the
department of elementary and secondary education, the office of substance abuse,
and the department of mental health, retardation, and hospitals, to render
all assistance and cooperation within his, her, or its jurisdictional power
which may further the objects of this chapter. All institutions or agencies
providing services to any child are required to give to the court any information
concerning the child that the court may require. The court is authorized to
seek the cooperation of all societies or organizations having for their object
the protection or aid of children, and their physical or spiritual welfare;
and the court shall utilize the available services of all of those societies
and organizations.
§ 14-1-59.1. Procedural safeguards
The family court, in cooperation with the department of children, youth, and families, shall develop policies for the purpose of identifying procedural safeguards to protect the rights of children in the process of discharge or emancipation and/or disposition of a petition.
§ 14-1-64. Disposition of juvenile records
(a) All police records relating to the arrest, detention, apprehension, and disposition of any juveniles shall be kept in files separate and apart from the arrest records of adults and shall be withheld from public inspection, but the police report relating to the arrest or detention of a juvenile shall be open to inspection and copying upon request and upon payment of copying costs in accordance with § 38-2-4 by the parent, guardian, or attorney of the juvenile involved. After disposition of an offense and upon execution of an appropriate release and upon payment of copying costs in accordance with § 38-2-4 by the parent, guardian or attorney of the juvenile involved, records relating to the arrest, detention, apprehension and disposition of the juveniles shall be open to inspection and copying by the parent, guardian, or attorney of the juvenile involved.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the identity of any juvenile waived pursuant to § 14-1-7.1 or certified and convicted pursuant to § 14-1-7.2 shall be made public.
§ 14-1-66. Application by victim to obtain name of juvenile
Upon written motion by the victim of a crime or his or her attorney, the family court may, in its discretion, and upon good cause shown, divulge the name and address of the juvenile accused of committing the crime solely for the purpose of allowing the victim to commence a civil action against the juvenile and/or his or her parents to recover for damages sustained as a result of the crime; provided, that written notice of the motion shall be given to the juvenile accused of committing the crime or his or her attorney, and further provided that the court shall order that the name and address of the juvenile accused of committing the crime not be divulged by the victim of a crime or his or her attorney to any other person unless and until the civil action is commenced, without further order of the court.
TITLE 42. STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT
CHAPTER 72.7. COORDINATION OF CHILDREN'S COMMUNITY SOCIAL SERVICES,
EDUCATION, AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES -- PILOT PROGRAM
R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-72.7-1 (2009)
This chapter shall be known as the "Coordination of Children's Community Social Services, Education, and Mental Health Services -- Pilot Program".
There is established within the department of children, youth, and families a program to be known as "coordination of children's community social services, education and mental health services -- Pilot Program for Washington County and Pawtucket/Central Falls".
(a) The coordination of children's community social services, education, and mental health pilot program shall oversee children's services councils in two (2) geographic divisions of the state. The pilot program shall be conducted in the existing Pawtucket/Central Falls local coordinating council and the existing Washington County local coordinating council. Each of the local coordinating councils which are conducting the pilot children's services coordination program shall be comprised of their existing membership and may additionally include, but are not limited to, including in their membership, any combination of the following:
(1) A former consumer child now over the age of eighteen (18);
(2) A present or former consumer parent or guardian;
(3) A local school district representative;
(4) A community mental health representative;
(5) A local representative of the department of children, youth, and families;
(6) A local representative of the department of human services;
(7) A representative of the department of mental health, retardation and hospitals;
(8) A representative of a health maintenance organization providing services in the geographic area; and
(9) A representative of the department of health.
(b) A local coordinating councils meeting may proceed only if at least one of the consumer members set forth in this section is present.
(c) Each of the coordination of children's services councils shall convene community planning teams (CPTs, formerly referred to as CASSP Case Review teams) which shall be charged with the responsibility of receiving referrals of a child and family for planning purposes where the child and/or family are in need of education and/or care and treatment. The composition of the community planning team for a particular child may include, but shall not be limited to, any combination of the following:
(1) The child, when appropriate;
(2) The parent(s) and/or guardian(s) of the child;
(3) A representative of the local education authority;
(4) A representative of the community mental health agency which serves the geographic area in which the child resides;
(5) A representative of the local department of children, youth, and families regional office, which serves the geographic area in which the child resides;
(6) Other involved service providers;
(7) Others knowledgeable about the child or invited by a parent;
(8) Others invited by any involved agency;
(9) A representative of the local department of human services office, which serves the geographic area in which the child resides;
(10) A representative of the department of mental health, retardation, and hospitals;
(11) A representative of the health maintenance organization or other health insurer, which provides coverage to the child, if applicable;
(12) A present or former consumer parent or guardian who is not the parent or guardian of the child being considered by the community planning team; and
(13) A representative of the department of health when the community planning team is considering a child under the age of three (3).
(d) A community planning team meeting may proceed only if the child, when appropriate, and/or the parent or guardian of the child is present.
§ 42-72.7-8. Information sharing -- Confidentiality
(a) All public agencies, which have served a family or treated a child referred to a community planning team, shall cooperate with this team. If an agency refers a child and family to the team, that agency shall be responsible for obtaining the consent required to share agency client information with the team. After obtaining the proper consent, all agencies shall promptly deliver, upon request and without charge, such records of services, treatment or education of the child or family as are necessary for a full and informed assessment by the team. If a parent refers a child and family to the team, that parent shall be provided with the necessary consent forms required for agencies to share client information with the team.
(b) Proceedings held to consider the appropriate provision of services for a particular child or family or both who have been referred to the community planning team shall be confidential and not open to the public, unless the child and family who are the subjects of the planning meeting request, in writing, that it be open. All information about specific children and families obtained by the team members in the discharge of their responsibilities to the team shall be confidential.
(c) Demographic, service and cost information which is of a non-identifying nature relating to children and families receiving services through this chapter may be gathered for reporting, assessment and evaluation purposes.
The department of children, youth, and families shall promulgate regulations and interagency agreements necessary and sufficient to effectuate the principles and purposes of this chapter.
TITLE 16. EDUCATION
CHAPTER 21. HEALTH AND SAFETY OF PUPILS
R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-21-23 (2009)
§ 16-21-23. School safety plans -- School safety teams and school crisis response teams
(a) The school committee of each town, city, and regional school department shall adopt a comprehensive school safety plan regarding crisis intervention, emergency response, and management. The plan shall be developed by a school safety team comprised of representatives of the school committee, representatives of student, teacher, and parent organizations, school safety personnel, school administration, and members of local law enforcement, fire, and emergency personnel. Members of the school safety team shall be appointed by the school committee of the town, city, or regional school district.
(b) The school crisis response team shall be comprised of those selected school personnel willing to serve as members of a psychological response team to address the psychological and emotional needs of the school community.
§ 16-21-24. Requirements of school safety plans, school emergency response plans, and school crisis response plans
(a) School safety plans, as required by this chapter, shall include and address, but not to be limited to, the following policies and procedures:
(1) Policies and procedures for responding to violence by students, teachers, other school personnel as well as visitors to the school;
(2) Policies and procedures for responding to acts of violence by students, teachers, other school personnel and visitors to the school;
(3) Appropriate prevention and intervention strategies which are based on data to target priority needs and which make use of effective actions based on currently accepted best practice;
(4) Collaborative arrangements with state and local law enforcement officials, designed to ensure that school safety officers and other security personnel are adequately trained, including being trained to de-escalate potentially violent situations, and are effectively and fairly recruited;
(5) Policies and procedures for contacting appropriate law enforcement officials and EMS/Fire, in the event of a violent incident;
(6) Policies and procedures for notification and activation of the school crisis response team;
(7) Policies and procedures for contacting parents, guardians, or persons in parental relation to the students of the city, town, or region in the event of a violent incident;
(8) Policies and procedures relating to school building security, including where appropriate the use of school safety officers and/or security devices or procedures;
(9) Policies and procedures for the dissemination of informative materials regarding the early detection of potentially violent behaviors, including but not limited to, the identification of family, community, and environmental factors, to teachers, administrators, school personnel, persons in parental relation to students of the city, town, or region students and other persons deemed appropriate to receive that information;
(10) Policies and procedures for annual school safety training and a review of the school crisis response plan for staff and students;
(11) Protocols for responding to bomb threats, hostage-takings, intrusions, and kidnappings;
(12) Strategies for improving communication among students and between students and staff and reporting of potentially violent incidents, such as the establishment of youth-run programs, peer mediation, conflict resolution, creating a forum or designating a mentor for students concerned with bullying or violence, and establishing anonymous reporting mechanisms for school violence;
(13) A description of the duties of hall monitors and any other school safety personnel, including the school crisis response team, and the training requirements of all personnel acting in a school security capacity;
(14) Policies and procedures for providing notice of threats of violence or harm to the student or school employee who is the subject of the threat. The policy shall define "threats of violence or harm" to include violent actions and threats of violent actions either individually or by groups, but shall not include conduct or comments that a reasonable person would not seriously consider to be a legitimate threat;
(15) Policies and procedures for disclosing information that is provided to the school administrators about a student's conduct, including, but not limited to, the student's prior disciplinary records, and history of violence, to classroom teachers, school staff, and school security, if they have been determined by the principal to have a legitimate need for the information in order to fulfill their professional responsibilities and for protecting such information from any further disclosure; and
(16) Procedures for determining whether or not any threats or conduct established in the policy may be grounds for discipline of the student. School districts, school committees, school officials, and school employees providing notice in good faith as required and consistent with the committee's policies adopted under this section are immune from any liability arising out of such notification.
(b) School safety plans, as required by this chapter, shall further include school emergency response plans specific to each school building contained within each city, town, or regional school district. School emergency response plans shall include, and address, but not be limited to, the following elements:
(1) Policies and procedures for the safe evacuation of students, teachers, and other school personnel as well as visitors to the school in the event of a serious violent incident or other emergency, which shall include evacuation routes and shelter sites and procedures for addressing medical needs, transportation, and emergency notification to persons in parental relation to a student. For purposes of this subdivision, "serious violent incident" means an incident of violent criminal conduct that is, or appears to be, life threatening and warrants the evacuation of students and/or staff;
(2) Designation of an emergency response team comprised of school personnel, local law enforcement officials, and representatives from local regional and/or state emergency response agencies, other appropriate incident response teams including a school crisis response team, and a post-incident response team that includes appropriate school personnel, medical personnel, mental health counselors, and others who can assist the school community in coping with the aftermath of a violent incident;
(3) Procedures for assuring that crisis response and law enforcement officials have access to floor plans, blueprints, schematics, or other maps of the school interior and school grounds, and road maps of the immediate surrounding area;
(4) Establishment of internal and external communication systems in emergencies;
(5) Definition of the chain of command in a manner consistent with the national interagency incident management system/incident command system;
(6) Procedures for review and the conduct of drills and other exercises to test components of the emergency response plan; and
(7) Policies and procedures for securing and restricting access to the crime scene in order to preserve evidence in cases of violent crimes on school property.
TITLE 14. DELINQUENT AND DEPENDENT CHILDREN
CHAPTER 1. PROCEEDINGS IN FAMILY COURT
R.I. Gen. Laws § 14-1-6.1 (2009)
(a) In any case where a court shall have obtained jurisdiction of a juvenile having attained the age of seventeen (17) years pursuant to 2007 P.L. 73, Article 22, section 1:
(i) All police records relating to the arrest, detention, apprehension and disposition of the juvenile and all records of identification maintained pursuant to chapter 12-1 of the general laws shall be treated as family court records in accordance with §§ 14-1-64 and 38-2-2 of the general laws; provided, however, that no person and no department, agency or any other instrumentality of the state or of any subdivision thereof shall be held liable or otherwise legally accountable for having disclosed or disseminated any such records in reasonable reliance upon the law in effect between July 1, 2007, and the effective date of this act [November 8, 2007]; and provided further that nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit the use of witness statements and other police records in the course of judicial proceedings initiated prior to the effective date of this act; and
(ii) All court records of such proceedings shall be sealed upon final disposition of the case in the event of a no information, dismissal or not guilty finding or upon the completion of any sentence, probation and/or parole imposed therein.