SB 1631

Senate Engrossed
DCS; sexual abuse
  allegations; interviews
State of Arizona
Senate
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
CHAPTER 185
SENATE BILL 1631
AN
ACT
amending section 8-817, arizona
revised statutes; relating to CRIMINAL conduct allegation INVESTIGATIONS.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 8-817, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE8-817. Initial screening and safety assessment and investigation
protocols
A. The department shall develop, establish and
implement initial screening and safety assessment protocols in consultation
with the attorney general and statewide with county attorneys, chiefs of
police, sheriffs, medical experts, victims' rights advocates, domestic violence
victim advocates and mandatory reporters. Any initial screening and
safety assessment model shall be based on an evidence-informed safety
assessment model prescribed in section 8-456 and shall ensure valid and
reliable responses. The department shall establish written policies
and procedures to implement the use of the initial screening and safety
assessment protocols.
B. To ensure thorough investigations of those
accused of crimes against children, in each county, the county attorney, in
cooperation with the sheriff, the chief law enforcement officer for each
municipality in the county and the department shall develop, adopt and
implement protocols to guide the conduct of investigations of allegations
involving criminal conduct.� The protocols shall include:
1. The process for notification of receipt of
criminal conduct allegations.
2. The standards for interdisciplinary
investigations of specific types of abuse and neglect, including timely
forensic medical evaluations.
3. The standards for interdisciplinary
investigations involving Native American children in compliance with the Indian
child welfare act.
4. Procedures for sharing information and standards
for the timely disclosure of information.
5. Procedures for coordination of screening,
response and investigation with other involved professional disciplines and
notification of case status and standards for the timely disclosure of related
information.
6. The training required for the involved child
safety workers, law enforcement officers and prosecutors to execute the
investigation protocols, including forensic interviewing skills.
7. The process to ensure review of and compliance
with the investigation protocols and the reporting of activity under the
protocols.
8. Procedures for annual reports to be transmitted
within forty-five days after the end of each fiscal year independently
from each county attorney to the governor, the speaker of the house of
representatives and the president of the senate and a copy of these reports to
be provided to the secretary of state. Each report made pursuant to
this paragraph must be independently prepared and submitted without any input
from or communication with the other reporting entities.� Each report is a
public document and shall include:
(a) The number of criminal conduct allegations
investigated and how many of these investigations were conducted jointly
pursuant to the investigation protocols established in this subsection.
(b) Information from each county attorney regarding
the number of cases presented for review, the number of persons charged in
those cases, the reasons why charges were not pursued and the disposition of
these cases.
(c) The reasons why a joint investigation did not
take place.
9. Procedures for dispute resolution.
10. A requirement that if a child
alleges sexual abuse or a report of an allegation of abuse or neglect alleges
sexual abuse, a person who is trained in forensic interviewing must conduct a
forensic interview with the child immediately or within seventy-two hours
after receiving the report of an allegation of abuse or neglect that alleges
sexual abuse.� For the purposes of this paragraph, "sexual abuse"
means inflicting or allowing any of the following offenses:
(a) Sexual
abuse pursuant to section 13-1404.
(b) Sexual
conduct with a minor pursuant to section 13-1405.
(c) Sexual
assault pursuant to section 13-1406.
(d) Molestation
of a child pursuant to section 13-1410.
(e) Commercial
sexual exploitation of a minor pursuant to section 13-3552.
(f) Sexual
exploitation of a minor pursuant to section 13-3553.
(g) Incest
pursuant to section 13-3608.
(h) Child sex
trafficking pursuant to section 13-3212.
C. The seventy-two-hour
interview requirement prescribed in subsection B, paragraph 10 of this section
does not apply if the department shows good cause for the delay.� For the
purposes of this subsection, "good cause" includes all of the
following:
1. The child is receiving in-patient
care for physical or mental health care during the seventy-two-hour
period.
2. The child is not physically
present in this state or has not been located by the department.
3. The child's parent or guardian is
not the subject of the report of an allegation of abuse or neglect that alleges
sexual abuse but has not been responsive or is unable or unwilling to make the
child available for the forensic interview during the seventy-two-hour
period.
4. Any other good cause that is
documented by the department.
C. D. The
department shall cooperate with the county attorney and the appropriate law
enforcement agency pursuant to the investigation protocols adopted in this
section. In instances of criminal conduct against a child, the
department shall protect the victim's rights of the children in its custody
against harassment, intimidation and abuse, as applicable, pursuant to article
II, section 2.1, Constitution of Arizona.
D. E. The
county attorney and the law enforcement agency shall cooperate with the
department pursuant to the investigation protocols adopted in this section.
F. A failure to meet the requirements
of this section does not affect the admissibility of evidence or statements
that are made by a child in any criminal, civil or dependency proceeding.
END_STATUTE
APPROVED BY THE GOVERNOR JUNE 19, 2026.
FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE JUNE 22, 2026.