AB 998: Multidisciplinary teams: human trafficking and domestic violence.

Existing law authorizes a city, county, city and county, or community-based nonprofit organization to establish a family justice center to assist victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, elder or dependent adult abuse, and human trafficking, to ensure that victims of abuse are able to access all needed services in one location in order to enhance victim safety, increase offender accountability, and improve access to services for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, elder or dependent adult abuse, and human trafficking. Existing law also authorizes counties to establish multidisciplinary personnel teams regarding issues like child abuse to allow various agencies to collaborate.

This bill would authorize a city, county, city and county, or community-based nonprofit organization to establish a domestic violence multidisciplinary personnel team and a human trafficking multidisciplinary personnel team consisting of two or more persons who are trained in the prevention, identification, management, or treatment of domestic violence or human trafficking cases and who are qualified to provide a broad range of services related to domestic violence or human trafficking. The bill would authorize members of those multidisciplinary personnel teams to disclose to one another information and records that may be confidential but that are relevant to the prevention, identification, management, or treatment of those crimes. The bill would impose additional requirements on the disclosure and use of that information, including, among other things, that members of the team not disclose confidential information obtained from an individual unless they have obtained that individuals informed, written, and reasonably time-limited consent to the disclosure, as specified. The bill would make information and records communicated or provided to the team members by all providers and agencies, as well as records created in the course of an investigation, confidential and protected from discovery and disclosure. The bill would make discussions relating to the disclosure or exchange of that information or records during team meetings confidential, unless required by law, and would prohibit testimony concerning those discussions from being admissible in any criminal, civil, or juvenile court proceeding.

The California Constitution provides for the Right to Truth-In-Evidence, which requires a ²/₃ vote of the Legislature to exclude any relevant evidence from any criminal proceeding, as specified.

Because this bill would exclude from a criminal proceeding information and records provided to the team and records created in the course of an investigation, as well as testimony concerning discussions relating to the disclosure or exchange of information between members of the multidisciplinary personnel teams, it requires a ²/₃ vote of the Legislature.

The bill would make existing civil and criminal penalties for inappropriate disclosure of confidential information applicable to multidisciplinary team members. By expanding the scope of persons subject to criminal penalties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.