An Act Concerning Medical Records Pertaining To Prenatal Care And Mandated Reports.
Summary
HB 6186 would amend Connecticut’s child abuse and neglect mandated reporting statute to prohibit reporters from including a medical record pertaining to a mother’s prenatal care in a report made under the child protection reporting laws. The bill leaves the existing required contents of mandated reports intact, including information about the child, the alleged injury or neglect, prior incidents, suspected responsible persons, and any action taken to assist the child, but carves out prenatal-care medical records from what may be submitted.
The measure is set to take effect October 1, 2025, and would modify section 17a-101d of the general statutes. In practical terms, it narrows the information that can be transmitted in child abuse or neglect reports by protecting prenatal-care records from inclusion, while still preserving the state’s mandatory reporting framework for suspected abuse, maltreatment, or neglect.
Impact
The bill would change Connecticut General Statutes section 17a-101d by adding an explicit prohibition on including a mother’s prenatal-care medical records in mandated child abuse and neglect reports. It affects mandated reporters, child protection agencies, and any entities handling reports under sections 17a-101a to 17a-101c and 17a-103, but does not alter the underlying duty to report suspected abuse or neglect or the other required report contents.
Sentiment
The available voting history shows strong support in the Children Committee, with the bill advancing 17-0 on both the vote to draft and the joint favorable vote. No committee transcript is provided, but the unanimous votes suggest the measure was viewed favorably and without recorded opposition at the committee stage.
Contention
No direct committee debate is available, and the vote history shows no recorded dissent. The only apparent policy issue is the balance between child-protection reporting and privacy/confidentiality for prenatal medical records: supporters appear to favor limiting unnecessary disclosure of a mother’s prenatal-care records, while any concern would likely center on whether excluding that information could affect investigations or reporting completeness. The committee action indicates that, at least in this stage, that concern did not generate opposition.