§ 4–1302.07. Expungement.

(a) The staff who maintain the Child Protection Register shall expunge an inconclusive report from the Child Protection Register one year after the date the report was entered in the Child Protection Register if no subsequent substantiated or inconclusive reports involving the person identified as responsible or possibly responsible for the abuse or neglect was entered in the Child Protection Register during the preceding one-year period.

(b) The staff that maintain the Child Protection Register shall expunge a substantiated report from the Child Protection Register:

(1) Three years after the date that the report was entered in the Child Protection Register if the child was not removed pursuant to § 4-1303.04 and no subsequent substantiated or inconclusive report involving the person identified as responsible for the abuse or neglect was entered in the Child Protection Register during the preceding 3-year period; or

(2) Three years from the date that the child, if removed pursuant to § 4-1303.04 and a court made a finding that the child was abused or neglected, was reunified with the person identified as responsible for the abuse or neglect, or 5 years from the date that the substantiated report was entered in the Child Protection Register, whichever occurs first; provided, that no subsequent substantiated or inconclusive report involving the person identified as responsible for the abuse or neglect was entered in the Child Protection Register.

(c) If, during the time a prior substantiated or inconclusive report is on the Child Protection Register, a subsequent substantiated or inconclusive report is entered in the Child Protection Register that identifies the same individual as responsible or possibly responsible for the abuse or neglect, the prior report shall not be expunged until the subsequent report is expunged from the Child Protection Register.

(d) The staff who maintain the Child Protection Register shall expunge from the Child Protection Register:

(1) Any unfounded report immediately upon such classification by the Agency; and

(2) Any material successfully challenged as incorrect pursuant to the rules adopted under § 4-1302.06.

(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or other District law, substantiated reports involving a child fatality, sexual abuse, sex trafficking, or serious physical injury shall not be expunged from the Child Protection Register.

(f) For purposes of this section, a serious physical injury includes:

(1) Broken bones or fractures;

(2) Medical abuse;

(3) Adult-sized human bites;

(4) Cases involving children who have been tortured, tied, or confined;

(5) Suspicious burns or head injuries, or significant injuries with an implausible explanation;

(6) A physical injury that:

(A) Creates a substantial risk of death;

(B) Causes serious and protracted impairment of health or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily organ;

(D) Requires surgical procedures.".

(g) The Mayor or the Mayor's designee shall have the right to overrule any expungement provided by this section on a case-by-case basis.

(Sept. 23, 1977, D.C. Law 2-22, title II, § 207, 24 DCR 3341; Oct. 19, 2002, D.C. Law 14-206, § 2(l), 49 DCR 7815; Mar. 13, 2004, D.C. Law 15-105,§ 35, 51 DCR 881; Mar. 10, 2023, D.C. Law 24-317, § 3(c), 70 DCR 851.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 6-2117.

1973 Ed., § 6-2117.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 14-206 rewrote the section.

D.C. Law 15-105, in subsec. (b)(1), substituted “the child who is the subject of the report” for “that child”.

Applicability

Section 7094 of D.C. Law 25-50 repealed section 4 of D.C. Law 24-317 removing the applicability provision impacting this section. Therefore the amendment of this section by section 3(c) of Law 24-317 has been implemented.

Applicability of D.C. Law 24-317: § 4 of D.C. Law 24-317 provided that the change made to this section by § 3(c) of D.C. Law 24-317 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented.

Emergency Legislation

For temporary (90 day) delay of the applicability of provisions changing the manner in which the Child and Family Services Agency will process reports of child abuse and neglect, see § 3 of Improved Child Abuse Investigations Technical Emergency Amendment Act of 2002 (D.C. Act 14-494, October 23, 2002, 49 DCR 9781).

For temporary (90 day) delay of the applicability of provisions changing the manner in which the Child and Family Services Agency will process reports of child abuse and neglect, see § 3 of Improved Child Abuse Investigations Technical Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2002 (D.C. Act 14-603, January 7, 2003, 50 DCR 687).

Temporary Legislation

For temporary (225 day) amendment of section, see § 3(b) of Improved Child Abuse Investigations Technical Temporary Amendment Act of 2002 (D.C. Law 14-240, March 25, 2003, law notification 50 DCR 2753).

Editor's Notes

Application of Law 14-206: Section 16(b) of D.C. Law 14-310 provided that section 2(a)(2), (4), (5), (6), and (7), (b), (c), (d), (e), (h), (i), (j), (k), and (l) of D.C. Law 14-206 shall apply as of October 1, 2003.