Bill
AB 520
AB 520 strengthens child safety by requiring ongoing background checks every five years for child-placing personnel and allows licensing actions based on substantiated maltreatment
Revises provisions relating to adoption. Chapter 307 (2025)
Status & Key Dates
- Introduced: February 10, 2025
- Enrolled: May 29, 2025; Approved by Governor: June 5, 2025
- Chaptered as: Chapter 307 (2025 session)
- Fiscal effect: State — Yes; Local government — No
- Required two‑thirds majority for final passage
Purpose and intent
AB 520 codifies and clarifies background‑check requirements and related procedures for child‑placing agencies and persons who provide services to children, updates certain adoption record‑release rules, and authorizes remote attendance at adoption hearings in specified circumstances — all intended to strengthen child safety and modernize procedural practices.
Key provisions
- Background investigations
- The Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) must obtain background and personal‑history information for:
- every initial applicant for a license to operate a child‑placing agency; and
- every person (licensee, employee, volunteer, independent contractor) who provides or will provide services to children.
- Investigations must be repeated at least once every five years after the initial investigation.
- DCFS must adopt regulations describing when a person may be deemed to have a substantiated history of maltreating a child and therefore be unacceptable to provide services to children.
- DCFS may charge individuals for costs charged by local law enforcement, the Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History, and the FBI for fingerprint processing and criminal history reports.
Licensing consequences
State Register for Adoptions
Remote participation in adoption hearings
Notable amendments and changes during passage
- Several provisions in earlier drafts (including some procedural sections for obtaining Central Repository checks and certain record‑retention requirements) were removed or revised by agency‑proposed amendments and subsequent legislative amendments (Assembly Amend. No. 458; Senate Amend. No. 675). The final enrolled version focuses on the investigation, fingerprinting/ FBI submission requirement, five‑year recheck mandate, regulatory standard for “substantiated history,” authority to charge processing fees, limited State Register release under extenuating circumstances, and remote hearing participation.
Who is affected
- Child‑placing agencies (applicants and licensees) — licensing process, compliance responsibilities, and potential sanctions.
- Individuals providing services to children through such agencies (employees, volunteers, independent contractors) — required fingerprinting/consent for checks and periodic rechecks.
- Prospective adoptive parents and agency representatives — remote hearing access.
- Natural parents listed in the State Register — potential for limited release of identifying information under extenuating circumstances.
Procedural/timeline aspects
- Background checks must occur on initial licensing and at least every five years thereafter.
- DCFS will adopt regulations defining unacceptable histories and procedures for determinations.
- DCFS may recoup fees charged by law‑enforcement repositories for fingerprint handling and criminal history reports.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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