Sec. 19a-112a. Commission on the Standardization of the Collection of Evidence in Sexual Assault Investigations. Protocol. Sexual assault evidence collection kit. Preservation of evidence. Costs. Trai - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 19a-112a. Commission on the Standardization of the Collection of Evidence in Sexual Assault Investigations. Protocol. Sexual assault evidence collection kit. Preservation of evidence. Costs. Training and sexual assault examiner programs. (a) There is created a Commission on the Standardization of the Collection of Evidence in Sexual Assault Investigations composed of fourteen members as follows: The Chief State's Attorney or a designee; the executive director of the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women or a designee; the Commissioner of Children and Families or a designee; one member from the Division of State Police and one member from the Division of Scientific Services appointed by the Commissioner of Public Safety; one member from Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services, Inc. appointed by its board of directors; one member from the Connecticut Hospital Association appointed by the president of the association; one emergency physician appointed by the president of the Connecticut College of Emergency Physicians; one obstetrician-gynecologist and one pediatrician appointed by the president of the Connecticut State Medical Society; one nurse appointed by the president of the Connecticut Nurses' Association; one emergency nurse appointed by the president of the Emergency Nurses' Association of Connecticut; and one police chief appointed by the president of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association. The Chief State's Attorney or a designee shall be chairman of the commission. The commission shall be within the Division of Criminal Justice for administrative purposes only.

      (b) (1) For the purposes of this section, "protocol" means the state of Connecticut Technical Guidelines for Health Care Response to Victims of Sexual Assault, including the Interim Sexual Assault Toxicology Screen Protocol, as revised from time to time and as incorporated in regulations adopted in accordance with subdivision (2) of this subsection, pertaining to the collection of evidence in any sexual assault investigation.

      (2) The commission shall recommend the protocol to the Chief State's Attorney for adoption as regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54. Such protocol shall include nonoccupational post-exposure prophylaxis for human immunodeficiency virus (nPEP), as recommended by the National Centers for Disease Control. The commission shall annually review the protocol and may annually recommend changes to the protocol for adoption as regulations.

      (c) The commission shall design a sexual assault evidence collection kit and may annually recommend changes in the kit to the Chief State's Attorney. Each kit shall include instructions on the proper use of the kit, standardized reporting forms, standardized tests which shall be performed if the victim so consents and standardized receptacles for the collection and preservation of evidence. The commission shall provide the kits to all health care facilities in the state at which evidence collection examinations are performed at no cost to such health care facilities.

      (d) Each health care facility in the state which provides for the collection of sexual assault evidence shall follow the protocol as described in subsection (b) of this section and, with the consent of the victim, shall collect sexual assault evidence. The health care facility shall contact a police department which shall transfer evidence collected pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, in a manner that maintains the integrity of the evidence, to the Division of Scientific Services within the Department of Public Safety or the Federal Bureau of Investigation laboratory. The agency that receives such evidence shall hold that evidence for sixty days after such collection, except that, if the victim reports the sexual assault to the police, the evidence shall be analyzed upon request of the police department that transferred the evidence to such agency and held by the agency or police department until the conclusion of any criminal proceedings.

      (e) (1) No costs incurred by a health care facility for the examination of a victim of sexual assault, when such examination is performed for the purpose of gathering evidence as prescribed in the protocol, including the costs of testing for pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and the costs of prophylactic treatment as provided in the protocol, shall be charged directly or indirectly to such victim. Any such costs shall be charged to the Division of Criminal Justice.

      (2) No costs incurred by a health care facility for any toxicology screening of a victim of sexual assault, when such screening is performed as prescribed in the protocol, shall be charged directly or indirectly to such victim. Any such costs shall be charged to the Division of Scientific Services within the Department of Public Safety.

      (f) The commission shall advise the Chief State's Attorney on the establishment of a mandatory training program for health care facility staff regarding the implementation of the regulations, the use of the evidence collection kit and procedures for handling evidence.

      (g) The commission shall advise the Chief State's Attorney not later than July 1, 1997, on the development of a sexual assault examiner program and annually thereafter on the implementation and effectiveness of such program.

      (P.A. 88-210, S. 1, 3; P.A. 92-151, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-91, S. 1, 2; 93-340, S. 6, 19; 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 97-257, S. 2, 13; P.A. 98-5; 98-24; P.A. 99-218, S. 7, 16; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 162, 163; P.A. 05-272, S. 16.)

      History: P.A. 92-151 added new Subsecs. (d) and (e) concerning the holding of evidence and costs associated with gathering evidence; P.A. 93-91 substituted commissioner and department of children and families for commissioner and department of children and youth services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-340 amended Subsec. (a) to increase the membership of the commission from 11 to 13 members, add the commissioner of children and youth services [sic] or his designee as a member, specify that one member shall be from the division of state police rather than from the state police major crimes division, specify that the member from the state police forensic science laboratory be appointed by the commissioner of public safety rather than the director of said laboratory, replace "emergency room physician" with "emergency physician" and specify that said physician be appointed by the president of the Connecticut College of Emergency Physicians rather than the president of the Connecticut State Medical Society, specify that the president of the Connecticut Nurses' Association appoint one nurse rather than one emergency room nurse, add one emergency nurse appointed by the president of the Emergency Nurses' Association as a member, designate the chief state's attorney or his designee as chairman and specify that the commission be within the division of criminal justice, rather than the department of administrative services, for administrative purposes, amended Subsec. (b) to replace "hospital protocol" with "health care facility protocol", require the commission to recommend the protocol to the chief state's attorney rather than to the commissioner of health services, require the regulations to be adopted by January 1, 1994, rather than by May 26, 1989, require the commission to review the protocol annually and authorize the commission to recommend changes to the protocol annually rather than every two years, amended Subsec. (c) to require the commission to design a sexual assault evidence kit "not later than January 1, 1994", authorize the commission to annually recommend changes in the kit to the chief state's attorney and replace "institutions in the state with emergency rooms or trauma center facilities" with "health care facilities in the state at which evidence collection examinations are performed", amended Subsec. (d) to replace "institution in the state with an emergency room or trauma center facility" with "health care facility in the state", amended Subsec. (e) to replace "hospital or other medical facility" with "health care facility" and added Subsecs. (f) and (g) requiring the commission to advise the chief state's attorney on the establishment of a training program for health care facility staff and on the development, implementation and effectiveness of a sexual assault examiner program, respectively, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-381 replaced department and commissioner of health services with department and commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 97-257 amended Subsecs. (b) and (g) by changing "January 1, 1994" to "July 1, 1997", amended Subsec. (c) by deleting reference to January 1, 1994, and amended Subsec. (d) by changing "request" to "consent" and amending procedure for the analysis of evidence by the state police forensic science laboratory or the Department of Health toxicology laboratory, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-5 amended Subsec. (a) to increase the membership of the commission from 13 to 14 members by adding one police chief appointed by the president of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association; P.A. 98-24 amended Subsec. (d) to authorize the transfer of evidence to the Federal Bureau of Investigation laboratory; P.A. 99-218 deleted the Commissioner of Public Health from membership on the commission, replaced state police forensic science laboratory with Division of Scientific Services, deleted reference to the Department of Public Health toxicological laboratory and made technical changes, effective July 1, 1999; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 amended Subsec. (b) to insert Subdiv. designators, redefine "protocol" as "the state of Connecticut Technical Guidelines for Health Care Response to Victims of Sexual Assault, including the Interim Sexual Assault Toxicology Screen Protocol, as revised from time to time and as incorporated in regulations adopted in accordance with subdivision (2) of this subsection, pertaining to the collection of evidence in any sexual assault investigation" rather than "the state of Connecticut health care facility protocol for victims of sexual assault which shall consist of regulations adopted in accordance with this subsection pertaining to the collection of evidence in any sex offense crime" and delete obsolete provision requiring the regulations to be adopted not later than July 31, 1997, and amended Subsec. (e) to designate existing provisions as Subdiv. (1) and amend said Subdiv. to include "the costs of testing for pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and the costs of prophylactic treatment as provided in the protocol" in the costs incurred by a health care facility that shall not be charged to the victim and make technical changes and to add new Subdiv. (2) prohibiting the charging to the victim of costs incurred for any toxicology screening performed as prescribed in the protocol and requiring the costs be charged to the Division of Scientific Services within the Department of Public Safety, effective August 20, 2003; P.A. 05-272 amended Subsec. (b)(2) by requiring protocol for health care response to victims of sexual assault to include nonoccupational post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV (nPEP), as recommended by the National Centers for Disease Control, effective July 1, 2005.

      See Sec. 4-38f for definition of "administrative purposes only".

      Cited. 242 C. 1. Statute does not render statements made to physicians and nurses at health care facility where rape kit for collection of forensic evidence is being administered testimonial in nature; section is part of a statutory scheme that provides for health and well-being of victims of sexual assault. 285 C. 162.