MO HB1650

Creates a State Legal Expense Fund to pay claims and judgments against the state, state agencies, and state officers/employees for conduct arising from official duties, with a $350,000 cap on noneconomic damages.

Expands fund coverage to include physicians, dentists, nurses, and other health care professionals providing services at county jails, health departments, federally funded community health centers, and free clinics without compensation.

Adds "SAFE CARE providers" (physicians, advanced practice nurses, and physician assistants trained in child abuse forensic evaluations) as eligible for state legal expense fund protection under the same conditions as other health care professionals.

Allows child abuse medical resource centers to collaborate directly with SAFE CARE providers and other health care professionals to provide specialized forensic medical evaluation training for child abuse victims without requiring formal collaborative agreements.

Defines the SAFE CARE network as a statewide collaborative of trained providers and medical resource centers that provides training, mentoring, peer review, and recommendations for screening and evidence collection in child abuse cases.