Central Registry Due Process

View the model as adopted by the American Legislative Exchange Council.

A “Central Registry of Child Abusers” should be just that—a list of people convicted of abusing a child.

Instead, far too many innocent parents get included because it is way too easy to end up on that list.

Parents have even gone to family court and had a judge give them their children back, only to then have an investigator or investigator’s supervisor add their name to the list.

It shouldn’t work that way. Before a name ends up on the list, a parent should be entitled to a hearing, including a right to be represented, call witnesses, and defend themselves.

If so many states allow the use of this list by potential employers—and they do—to determine whether or not they will hire someone, then we must make sure the people on the list actually belong there.

This model, drafted by a bipartisan coalition of lawyers and family defenders and adopted by ALEC in 2020, is ready to be modified to address that issue in your state.

Read related stories on these pages:

https://parentalrightsfoundation.org/blacklisted-for-not-seeking-unnecessary-treatment/

https://parentalrightsfoundation.org/innocent-parents-removed-from-abuse-registry-in-new-york/

Listen to our EPPiC Broadcast episode about this and our Confidential Reporting here: