AB 2005: Child Abuse Central Index.
- Session Year: 2017-2018
- House: Assembly
- Latest Version Date: 2018-08-31
Existing law designates certain individuals, such as teachers, peace officers, physicians, and clergy members, among others, as mandated reporters and requires them to report suspected child abuse or neglect to certain specified agencies whenever the mandated reporter, in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment, has knowledge of or observes a child whom the mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse or neglect. Existing law requires specified local agencies receiving reports from mandated reporters to forward a report to the Department of Justice in writing of every case it investigates of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that is determined to be substantiated. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to act as a repository of reports of suspected child abuse and severe neglect to be maintained in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI). Existing law, as of January 1, 2012, prohibits a police or sheriffs department from forwarding any such report to the Department of Justice.
This bill would instead authorize a police or sheriffs department to forward a substantiated report of suspected child abuse or severe neglect taken on or after January 1, 2019, except as specified, to the Department of Justice. The bill would require any police or sheriffs department that forwards a report to comply with the same requirements placed on other reporting agencies and would require the police or sheriffs department to adopt notification and grievance procedures that are consistent with specified regulations of the Department of Social Services. This bill would also make conforming changes.
Existing law designates certain individuals, such as teachers, peace officers, physicians, and clergy members, among others, as mandated reporters and requires them to report suspected child abuse or neglect to certain specified agencies whenever the mandated reporter, in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment, has knowledge of or observes a child whom the mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse or neglect. Existing law requires specified local agencies receiving reports from mandated reporters to forward a report to the Department of Justice in writing of every case it investigates of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that is determined to be substantiated. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to act as a repository of reports of suspected child abuse and severe neglect to be maintained in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI). Existing law, as of January 1, 2012, prohibits a police or sheriffs department from forwarding any such report to the Department of Justice.
This bill would instead authorize a police or sheriffs department to forward a substantiated report of suspected child abuse, abuse or severe neglect taken on or after January 1, 2019, except as specified, to the Department of Justice. The bill would require any police or sheriffs department that forwards a report to comply with the same requirements placed on other reporting agencies and would require the police or sheriffs department to adopt notification and grievance procedures that are consistent with specified regulations of the Department of Social Services. This bill would also make conforming changes.
Existing law designates certain individuals, such as teachers, peace officers, physicians, and clergy members, among others, as mandated reporters and requires them to report suspected child abuse or neglect to certain specified agencies whenever the mandated reporter, in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment, has knowledge of or observes a child whom the mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse or neglect. Existing law requires specified local agencies receiving reports from mandated reporters to forward a report to the Department of Justice in writing of every case it investigates of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that is determined to be substantiated. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to act as a repository of reports of suspected child abuse and severe neglect to be maintained in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI). Existing law, as of January 1, 2012, prohibits a police or sheriffs department from forwarding any such report to the Department of Justice.
This bill would instead authorize a police or sheriffs department to forward a substantiated report of suspected child abuse, except as specified, to the Department of Justice. The bill would require any police or sheriffs department that forwards a report to comply with the same requirements placed on other reporting agencies and would require the police or sheriffs department to adopt notification and grievance procedures that are consistent with specified regulations of the Department of Social Services. This bill would also make conforming changes.
Existing law designates certain individuals, such as teachers, peace officers, physicians, and clergy members, among others, as mandated reporters and requires them to report suspected child abuse or neglect to certain specified agencies whenever the mandated reporter, in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment, has knowledge of or observes a child whom the mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse or neglect. Existing law requires specified local agencies receiving reports from mandated reporters to forward a report to the Department of Justice in writing of every case it investigates of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that is determined to be substantiated. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to act as a repository of reports of suspected child abuse and severe neglect to be maintained in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI). Existing law, as of January 1, 2012, prohibits a police or sheriffs department from forwarding any such report to the Department of Justice.
This bill would instead authorize a police or sheriffs department to forward a substantiated report of suspected child abuse, except as specified, to the Department of Justice. The bill would require any police or sheriffs department that forwards a report to comply with the same requirements placed on other reporting agencies and would require the police or sheriffs department to adopt notification and grievance procedures that are consistent with specified regulations of the Department of Social Services. This bill would also make conforming changes.
Existing law designates certain individuals, such as teachers, peace officers, physicians, and clergy members, among others, as mandated reporters and requires them to report suspected child abuse or neglect to certain specified agencies whenever the mandated reporter, in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment, has knowledge of or observes a child whom the mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse or neglect. Existing law requires specified local agencies receiving reports from mandated reporters to forward a report to the Department of Justice in writing of every case it investigates of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that is determined to be substantiated. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to act as a repository of reports of suspected child abuse and severe neglect to be maintained in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI). Existing law, as of January 1, 2012, prohibits a police or sheriffs department from forwarding any such report to the Department of Justice. The bill would also make conforming changes
This bill would delete the provision prohibiting instead authorize a police or sheriffs department from forwarding to forward a substantiated report of suspected child abuse abuse, except as specified, to the Department of Justice thereby requiring a police or sheriffs department receiving a report of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect to forward any such reports that are investigated and determined to be substantiated to the Department of Justice. The bill would require any police or sheriffs department that forwards a report to comply with the same requirements placed on other reporting agencies and would require the police or sheriffs department to adopt notification and grievance procedures that are consistent with specified regulations of the Department of Social Services. This bill would also make conforming changes.
By requiring local agencies to forward these reports to the Department of Justice, 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.Existing law designates certain individuals, such as teachers, peace officers, physicians, and clergy members, among others, as mandated reporters and requires them to report suspected child abuse or neglect to certain specified agencies whenever the mandated reporter, in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment, has knowledge of or observes a child whom the mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse or neglect. Existing law requires specified local agencies receiving reports from mandated reporters to forward a report to the Department of Justice in writing of every case it investigates of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that is determined to be substantiated. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to act as a repository of reports of suspected child abuse and severe neglect to be maintained in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI). Existing law, as of January 1, 2012, prohibits a police or sheriffs department from forwarding any such report to the Department of Justice. The bill would also make conforming changes
This bill would delete the provision prohibiting a police or sheriffs department from forwarding a report of suspected child abuse to the Department of Justice thereby requiring a police or sheriffs department receiving a report of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect to forward any such reports that are investigated and determined to be substantiated to the Department of Justice.
By requiring local agencies to forward these reports to the Department of Justice, 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
(a)Except for a police department or sheriffs department, an agency specified in Section 11165.9 shall forward to the Department of Justice a report in writing of every case it investigates of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that is determined to be substantiated, other than cases coming within subdivision (b) of Section 11165.2. An agency shall not forward a report to the Department of Justice unless it has conducted an active investigation and determined that the report is substantiated, as defined in Section 11165.12. If a previously filed report subsequently proves to be not substantiated, the Department of Justice shall be notified in writing of that fact and shall not retain the report. The reports required by this section shall be in a form approved by the Department of Justice and may be sent by fax or electronic transmission. An agency specified in Section 11165.9 receiving a written report from another agency specified in Section 11165.9 shall not send that report to the Department of Justice.
(b)A police or sheriffs department to whom a report is made pursuant to Section 11165.9 may forward to the Department of Justice a report in writing of its investigation of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect reported on or after January 1, 2019, that is determined to be substantiated, other than cases coming within subdivision (b) of Section 11165.2. A police or sheriffs department shall not forward a report to the Department of Justice pursuant to this subdivision unless it has conducted an active investigation and determined that the report is substantiated, as defined in Section 11165.12. If a previously filed report subsequently proves to be not substantiated, the Department of Justice shall be notified in writing of that fact and shall not retain the report. A police or sheriffs department that forwards a report to the department pursuant to this subdivision is subject to all of the requirements imposed by this section and shall adopt notification and grievance procedures that are consistent with Section 31-021 of Chapter 31-000 of, and Section 31-501 of Chapter 31-500 of, Division 31 of the State Department of Social Services Manual of Policies and Procedures, or any successor regulation thereto.
(c)At the time an agency specified in Section 11165.9 forwards a report in writing to the Department of Justice pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b), the agency shall also notify in writing the known or suspected child abuser that he or she has been reported to the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI). The notice required by this section shall be in a form approved by the Department of Justice. The requirements of this subdivision shall apply with respect to reports forwarded to the department on or after the date on which this subdivision becomes operative.
(d)Subject to subdivision (e), any person who is listed on the CACI has the right to a hearing before the agency that requested his or her inclusion in the CACI to challenge his or her listing on the CACI. The hearing shall satisfy due process requirements. It is the intent of the Legislature that the hearing provided for by this subdivision shall not be construed to be inconsistent with hearing proceedings available to persons who have been listed on the CACI prior to the enactment of the act that added this subdivision.
(e)A hearing requested pursuant to subdivision (d) shall be denied when a court of competent jurisdiction has determined that suspected child abuse or neglect has occurred, or when the allegation of child abuse or neglect resulting in the referral to the CACI is pending before the court. A person who is listed on the CACI and has been denied a hearing pursuant to this subdivision has a right to a hearing pursuant to subdivision (d) only if the courts jurisdiction has terminated, the court has not made a finding concerning whether the suspected child abuse or neglect was substantiated, and a hearing has not previously been provided to the listed person pursuant to subdivision (d).
(f)Any person listed in the CACI who has reached 100 years of age shall have his or her listing removed from the CACI.
(g)Any person listed in the CACI as of January 1, 2013, who was listed prior to reaching 18 years of age, and who is listed once in CACI with no subsequent listings, shall be removed from the CACI 10 years from the date of the incident resulting in the CACI listing.
(h)If, after a hearing pursuant to subdivision (d) or a court proceeding described in subdivision (e), it is determined the persons CACI listing was based on a report that was not substantiated, the agency shall notify the Department of Justice of that result and the department shall remove that persons name from the CACI.
(i)Agencies, including police departments and sheriffs departments, shall retain child abuse or neglect investigative reports that result or resulted in a report filed with the Department of Justice pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) for the same period of time that the information is required to be maintained on the CACI pursuant to this section and subdivision (a) of Section 11170. This section does not prohibit an agency from retaining the reports for a longer period of time if required by law.
(j)The immunity provisions of Section 11172 do not apply to the submission of a report by an agency pursuant to this section. However, this section does not alter or diminish any other immunity provisions of state or federal law.
SEC. 2.Section 11170 of the Penal Code is amended to read:11170.(a)(1)The Department of Justice shall maintain an index of all reports of child abuse and severe neglect submitted pursuant to Section 11169. The index shall be continually updated by the department and shall not contain any reports that are determined to be not substantiated. The department may adopt rules governing recordkeeping and reporting pursuant to this article.
(2)The department shall act only as a repository of reports of suspected child abuse and severe neglect to be maintained in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) pursuant to paragraph (1). The submitting agencies are responsible for the accuracy, completeness, and retention of the reports described in this section. The department shall be responsible for ensuring that the CACI accurately reflects the report it receives from the submitting agency.
(3)Only information from reports that are reported as substantiated shall be filed pursuant to paragraph (1), and all other determinations shall be removed from the central list. If a person listed in the CACI was under 18 years of age at the time of the report, the information shall be deleted from the CACI 10 years from the date of the incident resulting in the CACI listing, if no subsequent report concerning the same person is received during that time period.
(b)The requirements of subdivision (c) of Section 11169 apply to any information provided pursuant to this subdivision.
(1)The Department of Justice shall immediately notify an agency that submits a report pursuant to Section 11169, or a prosecutor who requests notification, of any information maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) that is relevant to the known or suspected instance of child abuse or severe neglect reported by the agency. The agency shall make that information available to the reporting health care practitioner who is treating a person reported as a possible victim of known or suspected child abuse. The agency shall make that information available to the reporting child custodian, Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act guardian ad litem appointed under Rule 5.662 of the California Rules of Court, or counsel appointed under Section 317 or 318 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or the appropriate licensing agency, if he or she or the licensing agency is handling or investigating a case of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect.
(2)When a report is made pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 11166, or Section 11166.05, the investigating agency, upon completion of the investigation or after there has been a final disposition in the matter, shall inform the person required or authorized to report of the results of the investigation and of any action the agency is taking with regard to the child or family.
(3)The Department of Justice shall make relevant information from the CACI available to a law enforcement agency, county welfare department, tribal agency pursuant to Section 10553.12 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or county probation department that is conducting a child abuse investigation.
(4)The department shall make available to the State Department of Social Services, to any county licensing agency that has contracted with the state for the performance of licensing duties, to a county approving resource families pursuant to Section 16519.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or to a tribal court or tribal child welfare agency of a tribe, consortium of tribes, or tribal organization that has entered into an agreement with the state pursuant to Section 10553.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section and subdivisions (a) or (b) of Section 11169 concerning any person who is an applicant for licensure or approval, or any adult who resides or is employed in the home of an applicant for licensure or approval, or who is an applicant for employment in a position having supervisorial or disciplinary power over a child or children, or who will provide 24-hour care for a child or children in a residential home or facility, pursuant to Section 1522.1 or 1596.877 of the Health and Safety Code, or Section 8714, 8802, 8912, or 9000 of the Family Code, or Section 11403.2 or 16519.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(5)The Department of Justice shall make available to a Court Appointed Special Advocate program that is conducting a background investigation of an applicant seeking employment with the program or a volunteer position as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, as defined in Section 101 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, information contained in the index regarding known or suspected child abuse by the applicant.
(6)For purposes of child death review, the Department of Justice shall make available to the chairperson, or the chairpersons designee, for each county child death review team, or the State Child Death Review Council, information for investigative purposes only that is maintained in the CACI pursuant to subdivision (a) relating to the death of one or more children and any prior child abuse or neglect investigation reports maintained involving the same victims, siblings, or suspects. Local child death review teams may share any relevant information regarding case reviews involving child death with other child death review teams.
(7)The department shall make available to investigative agencies or probation officers, or court investigators acting pursuant to Section 1513 of the Probate Code, responsible for placing children or assessing the possible placement of children pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 300), Article 7 (commencing with Section 305), Article 10 (commencing with Section 360), or Article 14 (commencing with Section 601) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or Article 2 (commencing with Section 1510) or Article 3 (commencing with Section 1540) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Probate Code, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser contained in the index concerning any adult residing in the home where the child may be placed, when this information is requested for purposes of ensuring that the placement is in the best interest of the child. Upon receipt of relevant information concerning child abuse or neglect investigation reports contained in the CACI from the Department of Justice pursuant to this subdivision, the agency or court investigator shall notify, in writing, the person listed in the CACI that he or she is in the index. The notification shall include the name of the reporting agency and the date of the report.
(8)Pursuant to Section 10553.12 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the department shall make available to a tribal agency information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section and subdivisions (a) or (b) of Section 11169 who is being considered as a prospective foster or adoptive parent, an adult who resides or is employed in the home of an applicant for approval, any person who has a familial or intimate relationship with any person living in the home of an applicant, or an employee of the tribal agency who may have contact with children.
(9)The Department of Justice shall make available to a government agency conducting a background investigation pursuant to Section 1031 of the Government Code of an applicant seeking employment as a peace officer, as defined in Section 830, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section concerning the applicant.
(10)The Department of Justice shall make available to a county child welfare agency or delegated county adoption agency, as defined in Section 8515 of the Family Code, conducting a background investigation, or a government agency conducting a background investigation on behalf of one of those agencies, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section and subdivisions (a) or (b) of Section 11169 concerning any applicant seeking employment or volunteer status with the agency who, in the course of his or her employment or volunteer work, will have direct contact with children who are alleged to have been, are at risk of, or have suffered, abuse or neglect.
(11)(A)Persons or agencies, as specified in subdivision (b), if investigating a case of known or suspected child abuse or neglect, or the State Department of Social Services or any county licensing agency pursuant to paragraph (4), or a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program conducting a background investigation for employment or volunteer candidates pursuant to paragraph (5), or an investigative agency, probation officer, or court investigator responsible for placing children or assessing the possible placement of children pursuant to paragraph (7), or a government agency conducting a background investigation of an applicant seeking employment as a peace officer pursuant to paragraph (9), or a county child welfare agency or delegated county adoption agency conducting a background investigation of an applicant seeking employment or volunteer status who, in the course of his or her employment or volunteer work, will have direct contact with children who are alleged to have been, are at risk of, or have suffered, abuse or neglect, pursuant to paragraph (10), to whom disclosure of any information maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) is authorized, are responsible for obtaining the original investigative report from the reporting agency, and for drawing independent conclusions regarding the quality of the evidence disclosed, and its sufficiency for making decisions regarding investigation, prosecution, licensing, placement of a child, employment or volunteer positions with a CASA program, or employment as a peace officer.
(B)If CACI information is requested by an agency for the temporary placement of a child in an emergency situation pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 305) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the department is exempt from the requirements of Section 1798.18 of the Civil Code if compliance would cause a delay in providing an expedited response to the agencys inquiry and if further delay in placement may be detrimental to the child.
(12)(A)Whenever information contained in the Department of Justice files is furnished as the result of an application for employment or licensing or volunteer status pursuant to paragraph (4), (5), (8), (9), or (10), the Department of Justice may charge the person or entity making the request a fee. The fee shall not exceed the reasonable costs to the department of providing the information. The only increase shall be at a rate not to exceed the legislatively approved cost-of-living adjustment for the department. In no case shall the fee exceed fifteen dollars ($15).
(B)All moneys received by the department pursuant to this section to process trustline applications for purposes of Chapter 3.35 (commencing with Section 1596.60) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code shall be deposited in a special account in the General Fund that is hereby established and named the Department of Justice Child Abuse Fund. Moneys in the fund shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure by the department to offset the costs incurred to process trustline automated child abuse or neglect system checks pursuant to this section.
(C)All moneys, other than those described in subparagraph (B), received by the department pursuant to this paragraph shall be deposited in a special account in the General Fund which is hereby created and named the Department of Justice Sexual Habitual Offender Fund. The funds shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure by the department to offset the costs incurred pursuant to Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 13885) and Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 13890) of Title 6 of Part 4, and the DNA and Forensic Identification Data Base and Data Bank Act of 1998 (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 295) of Title 9 of Part 1), and for maintenance and improvements to the statewide Sexual Habitual Offender Program and the California DNA offender identification file (CAL-DNA) authorized by Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 13885) of Title 6 of Part 4 and the DNA and Forensic Identification Data Base and Data Bank Act of 1998 (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 295) of Title 9 of Part 1).
(c)(1)The Department of Justice shall make available to any agency responsible for placing children pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 305) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, upon request, relevant information concerning child abuse or neglect reports contained in the index, when making a placement with a responsible relative pursuant to Sections 281.5, 305, and 361.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Upon receipt of relevant information concerning child abuse or neglect reports contained in the index from the Department of Justice pursuant to this subdivision, the agency shall also notify in writing the person listed in the CACI that he or she is in the index. The notification shall include the location of the original investigative report and the submitting agency. The notification shall be submitted to the person listed at the same time that all other parties are notified of the information, and no later than the actual judicial proceeding that determines placement.
(2)If information is requested by an agency for the placement of a child with a responsible relative in an emergency situation pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 305) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the department is exempt from the requirements of Section 1798.18 of the Civil Code if compliance would cause a delay in providing an expedited response to the child protective agencys inquiry and if further delay in placement may be detrimental to the child.
(d)The department shall make available any information maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) to out-of-state law enforcement agencies conducting investigations of known or suspected child abuse or neglect only when an agency makes the request for information in writing and on official letterhead, or as designated by the department, identifying the suspected abuser or victim by name and date of birth or approximate age. The request shall be signed by the department supervisor of the requesting law enforcement agency. The written requests shall cite the out-of-state statute or interstate compact provision that requires that the information contained within these reports shall be disclosed only to law enforcement, prosecutorial entities, or multidisciplinary investigative teams, and shall cite the safeguards in place to prevent unlawful disclosure of any confidential information provided by the requesting state or the applicable interstate compact provision.
(e)(1)The department shall make available to an out-of-state agency, for purposes of approving a prospective foster or adoptive parent in compliance with the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-248), information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) concerning the prospective foster or adoptive parent, and any other adult living in the home of the prospective foster or adoptive parent. The department shall make that information available only when the out-of-state agency makes the request indicating that continual compliance will be maintained with the requirement in paragraph (20) of subsection (a) of Section 671 of Title 42 of the United States Code that requires the state to have in place safeguards to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of information in any child abuse and neglect registry maintained by the state and prevent the information from being used for a purpose other than the conducting of background checks in foster or adoption placement cases.
(2)With respect to any information provided by the department in response to the out-of-state agencys request, the out-of-state agency is responsible for obtaining the original investigative report from the reporting agency, and for drawing independent conclusions regarding the quality of the evidence disclosed and its sufficiency for making decisions regarding the approval of prospective foster or adoptive parents.
(3)(A)Whenever information contained in the index is furnished pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall charge the out-of-state agency making the request a fee. The fee shall not exceed the reasonable costs to the department of providing the information. The only increase shall be at a rate not to exceed the legislatively approved cost-of-living adjustment for the department. In no case shall the fee exceed fifteen dollars ($15).
(B)All moneys received by the department pursuant to this subdivision shall be deposited in the Department of Justice Child Abuse Fund, established under subparagraph (B) of paragraph (12) of subdivision (b). Moneys in the fund shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure by the department to offset the costs incurred to process requests for information pursuant to this subdivision.
(f)(1)Any person may determine if he or she is listed in the CACI by making a request in writing to the Department of Justice. The request shall be notarized and include the persons name, address, date of birth, and either a social security number or a California identification number. Upon receipt of a notarized request, the Department of Justice shall make available to the requesting person information identifying the date of the report and the submitting agency. The requesting person is responsible for obtaining the investigative report from the submitting agency pursuant to paragraph (11) of subdivision (b) of Section 11167.5.
(2)No person or agency shall require or request another person to furnish a copy of a record concerning himself or herself, or notification that a record concerning himself or herself exists or does not exist, pursuant to paragraph (1).
(g)If a person is listed in the CACI only as a victim of child abuse or neglect, and that person is 18 years of age or older, that person may have his or her name removed from the index by making a written request to the Department of Justice. The request shall be notarized and include the persons name, address, social security number, and date of birth.
(a)Except for a police department or sheriffs department, an agency specified in Section 11165.9 shall forward to the Department of Justice a report in writing of every case it investigates of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that is determined to be substantiated, other than cases coming within subdivision (b) of Section 11165.2. An agency shall not forward a report to the Department of Justice unless it has conducted an active investigation and determined that the report is substantiated, as defined in Section 11165.12. If a previously filed report subsequently proves to be not substantiated, the Department of Justice shall be notified in writing of that fact and shall not retain the report. The reports required by this section shall be in a form approved by the Department of Justice and may be sent by fax or electronic transmission. An agency specified in Section 11165.9 receiving a written report from another agency specified in Section 11165.9 shall not send that report to the Department of Justice.
(b)A police or sheriffs department to whom a report is made pursuant to Section 11165.9 may forward to the Department of Justice a report in writing of its investigation of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect reported on or after January 1, 2019, that is determined to be substantiated, other than cases coming within subdivision (b) of Section 11165.2. A police or sheriffs department shall not forward a report to the Department of Justice pursuant to this subdivision unless it has conducted an active investigation and determined that the report is substantiated, as defined in Section 11165.12. If a previously filed report subsequently proves to be not substantiated, the Department of Justice shall be notified in writing of that fact and shall not retain the report. A police or sheriffs department that forwards a report to the department pursuant to this subdivision is subject to all of the requirements imposed by this section and shall adopt notification and grievance procedures that are consistent with Section 31-021 of Chapter 31-000 of, and Section 31-501 of Chapter 31-500 of, Division 31 of the State Department of Social Services Manual of Policies and Procedures, or any successor regulation thereto.
(c)At the time an agency specified in Section 11165.9 forwards a report in writing to the Department of Justice pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b), the agency shall also notify in writing the known or suspected child abuser that he or she has been reported to the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI). The notice required by this section shall be in a form approved by the Department of Justice. The requirements of this subdivision shall apply with respect to reports forwarded to the department on or after the date on which this subdivision becomes operative.
(d)Subject to subdivision (e), any person who is listed on the CACI has the right to a hearing before the agency that requested his or her inclusion in the CACI to challenge his or her listing on the CACI. The hearing shall satisfy due process requirements. It is the intent of the Legislature that the hearing provided for by this subdivision shall not be construed to be inconsistent with hearing proceedings available to persons who have been listed on the CACI prior to the enactment of the act that added this subdivision.
(e)A hearing requested pursuant to subdivision (d) shall be denied when a court of competent jurisdiction has determined that suspected child abuse or neglect has occurred, or when the allegation of child abuse or neglect resulting in the referral to the CACI is pending before the court. A person who is listed on the CACI and has been denied a hearing pursuant to this subdivision has a right to a hearing pursuant to subdivision (d) only if the courts jurisdiction has terminated, the court has not made a finding concerning whether the suspected child abuse or neglect was substantiated, and a hearing has not previously been provided to the listed person pursuant to subdivision (d).
(f)Any person listed in the CACI who has reached 100 years of age shall have his or her listing removed from the CACI.
(g)Any person listed in the CACI as of January 1, 2013, who was listed prior to reaching 18 years of age, and who is listed once in CACI with no subsequent listings, shall be removed from the CACI 10 years from the date of the incident resulting in the CACI listing.
(h)If, after a hearing pursuant to subdivision (d) or a court proceeding described in subdivision (e), it is determined the persons CACI listing was based on a report that was not substantiated, the agency shall notify the Department of Justice of that result and the department shall remove that persons name from the CACI.
(i)Agencies, including police departments and sheriffs departments, shall retain child abuse or neglect investigative reports that result or resulted in a report filed with the Department of Justice pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) for the same period of time that the information is required to be maintained on the CACI pursuant to this section and subdivision (a) of Section 11170. This section does not prohibit an agency from retaining the reports for a longer period of time if required by law.
(j)The immunity provisions of Section 11172 do not apply to the submission of a report by an agency pursuant to this section. However, this section does not alter or diminish any other immunity provisions of state or federal law.
SEC. 2.Section 11170 of the Penal Code is amended to read:11170.(a)(1)The Department of Justice shall maintain an index of all reports of child abuse and severe neglect submitted pursuant to Section 11169. The index shall be continually updated by the department and shall not contain any reports that are determined to be not substantiated. The department may adopt rules governing recordkeeping and reporting pursuant to this article.
(2)The department shall act only as a repository of reports of suspected child abuse and severe neglect to be maintained in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) pursuant to paragraph (1). The submitting agencies are responsible for the accuracy, completeness, and retention of the reports described in this section. The department shall be responsible for ensuring that the CACI accurately reflects the report it receives from the submitting agency.
(3)Only information from reports that are reported as substantiated shall be filed pursuant to paragraph (1), and all other determinations shall be removed from the central list. If a person listed in the CACI was under 18 years of age at the time of the report, the information shall be deleted from the CACI 10 years from the date of the incident resulting in the CACI listing, if no subsequent report concerning the same person is received during that time period.
(b)The requirements of subdivision (c) of Section 11169 apply to any information provided pursuant to this subdivision.
(1)The Department of Justice shall immediately notify an agency that submits a report pursuant to Section 11169, or a prosecutor who requests notification, of any information maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) that is relevant to the known or suspected instance of child abuse or severe neglect reported by the agency. The agency shall make that information available to the reporting health care practitioner who is treating a person reported as a possible victim of known or suspected child abuse. The agency shall make that information available to the reporting child custodian, Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act guardian ad litem appointed under Rule 5.662 of the California Rules of Court, or counsel appointed under Section 317 or 318 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or the appropriate licensing agency, if he or she or the licensing agency is handling or investigating a case of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect.
(2)When a report is made pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 11166, or Section 11166.05, the investigating agency, upon completion of the investigation or after there has been a final disposition in the matter, shall inform the person required or authorized to report of the results of the investigation and of any action the agency is taking with regard to the child or family.
(3)The Department of Justice shall make relevant information from the CACI available to a law enforcement agency, county welfare department, tribal agency pursuant to Section 10553.12 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or county probation department that is conducting a child abuse investigation.
(4)The department shall make available to the State Department of Social Services, to any county licensing agency that has contracted with the state for the performance of licensing duties, to a county approving resource families pursuant to Section 16519.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or to a tribal court or tribal child welfare agency of a tribe, consortium of tribes, or tribal organization that has entered into an agreement with the state pursuant to Section 10553.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section and subdivisions (a) or (b) of Section 11169 concerning any person who is an applicant for licensure or approval, or any adult who resides or is employed in the home of an applicant for licensure or approval, or who is an applicant for employment in a position having supervisorial or disciplinary power over a child or children, or who will provide 24-hour care for a child or children in a residential home or facility, pursuant to Section 1522.1 or 1596.877 of the Health and Safety Code, or Section 8714, 8802, 8912, or 9000 of the Family Code, or Section 11403.2 or 16519.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(5)The Department of Justice shall make available to a Court Appointed Special Advocate program that is conducting a background investigation of an applicant seeking employment with the program or a volunteer position as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, as defined in Section 101 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, information contained in the index regarding known or suspected child abuse by the applicant.
(6)For purposes of child death review, the Department of Justice shall make available to the chairperson, or the chairpersons designee, for each county child death review team, or the State Child Death Review Council, information for investigative purposes only that is maintained in the CACI pursuant to subdivision (a) relating to the death of one or more children and any prior child abuse or neglect investigation reports maintained involving the same victims, siblings, or suspects. Local child death review teams may share any relevant information regarding case reviews involving child death with other child death review teams.
(7)The department shall make available to investigative agencies or probation officers, or court investigators acting pursuant to Section 1513 of the Probate Code, responsible for placing children or assessing the possible placement of children pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 300), Article 7 (commencing with Section 305), Article 10 (commencing with Section 360), or Article 14 (commencing with Section 601) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or Article 2 (commencing with Section 1510) or Article 3 (commencing with Section 1540) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Probate Code, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser contained in the index concerning any adult residing in the home where the child may be placed, when this information is requested for purposes of ensuring that the placement is in the best interest of the child. Upon receipt of relevant information concerning child abuse or neglect investigation reports contained in the CACI from the Department of Justice pursuant to this subdivision, the agency or court investigator shall notify, in writing, the person listed in the CACI that he or she is in the index. The notification shall include the name of the reporting agency and the date of the report.
(8)Pursuant to Section 10553.12 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the department shall make available to a tribal agency information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section and subdivisions (a) or (b) of Section 11169 who is being considered as a prospective foster or adoptive parent, an adult who resides or is employed in the home of an applicant for approval, any person who has a familial or intimate relationship with any person living in the home of an applicant, or an employee of the tribal agency who may have contact with children.
(9)The Department of Justice shall make available to a government agency conducting a background investigation pursuant to Section 1031 of the Government Code of an applicant seeking employment as a peace officer, as defined in Section 830, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section concerning the applicant.
(10)The Department of Justice shall make available to a county child welfare agency or delegated county adoption agency, as defined in Section 8515 of the Family Code, conducting a background investigation, or a government agency conducting a background investigation on behalf of one of those agencies, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section and subdivisions (a) or (b) of Section 11169 concerning any applicant seeking employment or volunteer status with the agency who, in the course of his or her employment or volunteer work, will have direct contact with children who are alleged to have been, are at risk of, or have suffered, abuse or neglect.
(11)(A)Persons or agencies, as specified in subdivision (b), if investigating a case of known or suspected child abuse or neglect, or the State Department of Social Services or any county licensing agency pursuant to paragraph (4), or a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program conducting a background investigation for employment or volunteer candidates pursuant to paragraph (5), or an investigative agency, probation officer, or court investigator responsible for placing children or assessing the possible placement of children pursuant to paragraph (7), or a government agency conducting a background investigation of an applicant seeking employment as a peace officer pursuant to paragraph (9), or a county child welfare agency or delegated county adoption agency conducting a background investigation of an applicant seeking employment or volunteer status who, in the course of his or her employment or volunteer work, will have direct contact with children who are alleged to have been, are at risk of, or have suffered, abuse or neglect, pursuant to paragraph (10), to whom disclosure of any information maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) is authorized, are responsible for obtaining the original investigative report from the reporting agency, and for drawing independent conclusions regarding the quality of the evidence disclosed, and its sufficiency for making decisions regarding investigation, prosecution, licensing, placement of a child, employment or volunteer positions with a CASA program, or employment as a peace officer.
(B)If CACI information is requested by an agency for the temporary placement of a child in an emergency situation pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 305) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the department is exempt from the requirements of Section 1798.18 of the Civil Code if compliance would cause a delay in providing an expedited response to the agencys inquiry and if further delay in placement may be detrimental to the child.
(12)(A)Whenever information contained in the Department of Justice files is furnished as the result of an application for employment or licensing or volunteer status pursuant to paragraph (4), (5), (8), (9), or (10), the Department of Justice may charge the person or entity making the request a fee. The fee shall not exceed the reasonable costs to the department of providing the information. The only increase shall be at a rate not to exceed the legislatively approved cost-of-living adjustment for the department. In no case shall the fee exceed fifteen dollars ($15).
(B)All moneys received by the department pursuant to this section to process trustline applications for purposes of Chapter 3.35 (commencing with Section 1596.60) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code shall be deposited in a special account in the General Fund that is hereby established and named the Department of Justice Child Abuse Fund. Moneys in the fund shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure by the department to offset the costs incurred to process trustline automated child abuse or neglect system checks pursuant to this section.
(C)All moneys, other than those described in subparagraph (B), received by the department pursuant to this paragraph shall be deposited in a special account in the General Fund which is hereby created and named the Department of Justice Sexual Habitual Offender Fund. The funds shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure by the department to offset the costs incurred pursuant to Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 13885) and Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 13890) of Title 6 of Part 4, and the DNA and Forensic Identification Data Base and Data Bank Act of 1998 (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 295) of Title 9 of Part 1), and for maintenance and improvements to the statewide Sexual Habitual Offender Program and the California DNA offender identification file (CAL-DNA) authorized by Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 13885) of Title 6 of Part 4 and the DNA and Forensic Identification Data Base and Data Bank Act of 1998 (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 295) of Title 9 of Part 1).
(c)(1)The Department of Justice shall make available to any agency responsible for placing children pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 305) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, upon request, relevant information concerning child abuse or neglect reports contained in the index, when making a placement with a responsible relative pursuant to Sections 281.5, 305, and 361.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Upon receipt of relevant information concerning child abuse or neglect reports contained in the index from the Department of Justice pursuant to this subdivision, the agency shall also notify in writing the person listed in the CACI that he or she is in the index. The notification shall include the location of the original investigative report and the submitting agency. The notification shall be submitted to the person listed at the same time that all other parties are notified of the information, and no later than the actual judicial proceeding that determines placement.
(2)If information is requested by an agency for the placement of a child with a responsible relative in an emergency situation pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 305) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the department is exempt from the requirements of Section 1798.18 of the Civil Code if compliance would cause a delay in providing an expedited response to the child protective agencys inquiry and if further delay in placement may be detrimental to the child.
(d)The department shall make available any information maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) to out-of-state law enforcement agencies conducting investigations of known or suspected child abuse or neglect only when an agency makes the request for information in writing and on official letterhead, or as designated by the department, identifying the suspected abuser or victim by name and date of birth or approximate age. The request shall be signed by the department supervisor of the requesting law enforcement agency. The written requests shall cite the out-of-state statute or interstate compact provision that requires that the information contained within these reports shall be disclosed only to law enforcement, prosecutorial entities, or multidisciplinary investigative teams, and shall cite the safeguards in place to prevent unlawful disclosure of any confidential information provided by the requesting state or the applicable interstate compact provision.
(e)(1)The department shall make available to an out-of-state agency, for purposes of approving a prospective foster or adoptive parent in compliance with the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-248), information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) concerning the prospective foster or adoptive parent, and any other adult living in the home of the prospective foster or adoptive parent. The department shall make that information available only when the out-of-state agency makes the request indicating that continual compliance will be maintained with the requirement in paragraph (20) of subsection (a) of Section 671 of Title 42 of the United States Code that requires the state to have in place safeguards to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of information in any child abuse and neglect registry maintained by the state and prevent the information from being used for a purpose other than the conducting of background checks in foster or adoption placement cases.
(2)With respect to any information provided by the department in response to the out-of-state agencys request, the out-of-state agency is responsible for obtaining the original investigative report from the reporting agency, and for drawing independent conclusions regarding the quality of the evidence disclosed and its sufficiency for making decisions regarding the approval of prospective foster or adoptive parents.
(3)(A)Whenever information contained in the index is furnished pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall charge the out-of-state agency making the request a fee. The fee shall not exceed the reasonable costs to the department of providing the information. The only increase shall be at a rate not to exceed the legislatively approved cost-of-living adjustment for the department. In no case shall the fee exceed fifteen dollars ($15).
(B)All moneys received by the department pursuant to this subdivision shall be deposited in the Department of Justice Child Abuse Fund, established under subparagraph (B) of paragraph (12) of subdivision (b). Moneys in the fund shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure by the department to offset the costs incurred to process requests for information pursuant to this subdivision.
(f)(1)Any person may determine if he or she is listed in the CACI by making a request in writing to the Department of Justice. The request shall be notarized and include the persons name, address, date of birth, and either a social security number or a California identification number. Upon receipt of a notarized request, the Department of Justice shall make available to the requesting person information identifying the date of the report and the submitting agency. The requesting person is responsible for obtaining the investigative report from the submitting agency pursuant to paragraph (11) of subdivision (b) of Section 11167.5.
(2)No person or agency shall require or request another person to furnish a copy of a record concerning himself or herself, or notification that a record concerning himself or herself exists or does not exist, pursuant to paragraph (1).
(g)If a person is listed in the CACI only as a victim of child abuse or neglect, and that person is 18 years of age or older, that person may have his or her name removed from the index by making a written request to the Department of Justice. The request shall be notarized and include the persons name, address, social security number, and date of birth.
(a)Except for a police department or sheriffs department, an agency specified in Section 11165.9 shall forward to the Department of Justice a report in writing of every case it investigates of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that is determined to be substantiated, other than cases coming within subdivision (b) of Section 11165.2. An agency shall not forward a report to the Department of Justice unless it has conducted an active investigation and determined that the report is substantiated, as defined in Section 11165.12. If a previously filed report subsequently proves to be not substantiated, the Department of Justice shall be notified in writing of that fact and shall not retain the report. The reports required by this section shall be in a form approved by the Department of Justice and may be sent by fax or electronic transmission. An agency specified in Section 11165.9 receiving a written report from another agency specified in Section 11165.9 shall not send that report to the Department of Justice.
(b)A police or sheriffs department to whom a report is made pursuant to Section 11165.9 may forward to the Department of Justice a report in writing of its investigation of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that is determined to be substantiated, other than cases coming within subdivision (b) of Section 11165.2. A police or sheriffs department shall not forward a report to the Department of Justice pursuant to this subdivision unless it has conducted an active investigation and determined that the report is substantiated, as defined in Section 11165.12. If a previously filed report subsequently proves to be not substantiated, the Department of Justice shall be notified in writing of that fact and shall not retain the report. A police or sheriffs department that forwards a report to the department pursuant to this subdivision is subject to all of the requirements imposed by this section and shall adopt notification and grievance procedures that are consistent with Section 31-021 of Chapter 31-000 of, and Section 31-501 of Chapter 31-500 of of, Division 31 of the State Department of Social Services Manual of Policies and Procedures, or any successor regulation thereto.
(c)At the time an agency specified in Section 11165.9 forwards a report in writing to the Department of Justice pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b), the agency shall also notify in writing the known or suspected child abuser that he or she has been reported to the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI). The notice required by this section shall be in a form approved by the Department of Justice. The requirements of this subdivision shall apply with respect to reports forwarded to the department on or after the date on which this subdivision becomes operative.
(d)Subject to subdivision (e), any person who is listed on the CACI has the right to a hearing before the agency that requested his or her inclusion in the CACI to challenge his or her listing on the CACI. The hearing shall satisfy due process requirements. It is the intent of the Legislature that the hearing provided for by this subdivision shall not be construed to be inconsistent with hearing proceedings available to persons who have been listed on the CACI prior to the enactment of the act that added this subdivision.
(e)A hearing requested pursuant to subdivision (d) shall be denied when a court of competent jurisdiction has determined that suspected child abuse or neglect has occurred, or when the allegation of child abuse or neglect resulting in the referral to the CACI is pending before the court. A person who is listed on the CACI and has been denied a hearing pursuant to this subdivision has a right to a hearing pursuant to subdivision (d) only if the courts jurisdiction has terminated, the court has not made a finding concerning whether the suspected child abuse or neglect was substantiated, and a hearing has not previously been provided to the listed person pursuant to subdivision (d).
(f)Any person listed in the CACI who has reached 100 years of age shall have his or her listing removed from the CACI.
(g)Any person listed in the CACI as of January 1, 2013, who was listed prior to reaching 18 years of age, and who is listed once in CACI with no subsequent listings, shall be removed from the CACI 10 years from the date of the incident resulting in the CACI listing.
(h)If, after a hearing pursuant to subdivision (d) or a court proceeding described in subdivision (e), it is determined the persons CACI listing was based on a report that was not substantiated, the agency shall notify the Department of Justice of that result and the department shall remove that persons name from the CACI.
(i)Agencies, including police departments and sheriffs departments, shall retain child abuse or neglect investigative reports that result or resulted in a report filed with the Department of Justice pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) for the same period of time that the information is required to be maintained on the CACI pursuant to this section and subdivision (a) of Section 11170. This section does not prohibit an agency from retaining the reports for a longer period of time if required by law.
(j)The immunity provisions of Section 11172 do not apply to the submission of a report by an agency pursuant to this section. However, this section does not alter or diminish any other immunity provisions of state or federal law.
SEC. 2.Section 11170 of the Penal Code is amended to read:11170.(a)(1)The Department of Justice shall maintain an index of all reports of child abuse and severe neglect submitted pursuant to Section 11169. The index shall be continually updated by the department and shall not contain any reports that are determined to be not substantiated. The department may adopt rules governing recordkeeping and reporting pursuant to this article.
(2)The department shall act only as a repository of reports of suspected child abuse and severe neglect to be maintained in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) pursuant to paragraph (1). The submitting agencies are responsible for the accuracy, completeness, and retention of the reports described in this section. The department shall be responsible for ensuring that the CACI accurately reflects the report it receives from the submitting agency.
(3)Only information from reports that are reported as substantiated shall be filed pursuant to paragraph (1), and all other determinations shall be removed from the central list. If a person listed in the CACI was under 18 years of age at the time of the report, the information shall be deleted from the CACI 10 years from the date of the incident resulting in the CACI listing, if no subsequent report concerning the same person is received during that time period.
(b)The requirements of subdivision (c) of Section 11169 apply to any information provided pursuant to this subdivision.
(1)The Department of Justice shall immediately notify an agency that submits a report pursuant to Section 11169, or a prosecutor who requests notification, of any information maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) that is relevant to the known or suspected instance of child abuse or severe neglect reported by the agency. The agency shall make that information available to the reporting health care practitioner who is treating a person reported as a possible victim of known or suspected child abuse. The agency shall make that information available to the reporting child custodian, Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act guardian ad litem appointed under Rule 5.662 of the California Rules of Court, or counsel appointed under Section 317 or 318 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or the appropriate licensing agency, if he or she or the licensing agency is handling or investigating a case of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect.
(2)When a report is made pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 11166, or Section 11166.05, the investigating agency, upon completion of the investigation or after there has been a final disposition in the matter, shall inform the person required or authorized to report of the results of the investigation and of any action the agency is taking with regard to the child or family.
(3)The Department of Justice shall make relevant information from the CACI available to a law enforcement agency, county welfare department, tribal agency pursuant to Section 10553.12 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or county probation department that is conducting a child abuse investigation.
(4)The department shall make available to the State Department of Social Services, to any county licensing agency that has contracted with the state for the performance of licensing duties, to a county approving resource families pursuant to Section 16519.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or to a tribal court or tribal child welfare agency of a tribe, consortium of tribes, or tribal organization that has entered into an agreement with the state pursuant to Section 10553.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section and subdivisions (a) or (b) of Section 11169 concerning any person who is an applicant for licensure or approval, or any adult who resides or is employed in the home of an applicant for licensure or approval, or who is an applicant for employment in a position having supervisorial or disciplinary power over a child or children, or who will provide 24-hour care for a child or children in a residential home or facility, pursuant to Section 1522.1 or 1596.877 of the Health and Safety Code, or Section 8714, 8802, 8912, or 9000 of the Family Code, or Section 11403.2 or 16519.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(5)The Department of Justice shall make available to a Court Appointed Special Advocate program that is conducting a background investigation of an applicant seeking employment with the program or a volunteer position as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, as defined in Section 101 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, information contained in the index regarding known or suspected child abuse by the applicant.
(6)For purposes of child death review, the Department of Justice shall make available to the chairperson, or the chairpersons designee, for each county child death review team, or the State Child Death Review Council, information for investigative purposes only that is maintained in the CACI pursuant to subdivision (a) relating to the death of one or more children and any prior child abuse or neglect investigation reports maintained involving the same victims, siblings, or suspects. Local child death review teams may share any relevant information regarding case reviews involving child death with other child death review teams.
(7)The department shall make available to investigative agencies or probation officers, or court investigators acting pursuant to Section 1513 of the Probate Code, responsible for placing children or assessing the possible placement of children pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 300), Article 7 (commencing with Section 305), Article 10 (commencing with Section 360), or Article 14 (commencing with Section 601) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or Article 2 (commencing with Section 1510) or Article 3 (commencing with Section 1540) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Probate Code, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser contained in the index concerning any adult residing in the home where the child may be placed, when this information is requested for purposes of ensuring that the placement is in the best interest of the child. Upon receipt of relevant information concerning child abuse or neglect investigation reports contained in the CACI from the Department of Justice pursuant to this subdivision, the agency or court investigator shall notify, in writing, the person listed in the CACI that he or she is in the index. The notification shall include the name of the reporting agency and the date of the report.
(8)Pursuant to Section 10553.12 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the department shall make available to a tribal agency information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section and subdivisions (a) or (b) of Section 11169 who is being considered as a prospective foster or adoptive parent, an adult who resides or is employed in the home of an applicant for approval, any person who has a familial or intimate relationship with any person living in the home of an applicant, or an employee of the tribal agency who may have contact with children.
(9)The Department of Justice shall make available to a government agency conducting a background investigation pursuant to Section 1031 of the Government Code of an applicant seeking employment as a peace officer, as defined in Section 830, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section concerning the applicant.
(10)The Department of Justice shall make available to a county child welfare agency or delegated county adoption agency, as defined in Section 8515 of the Family Code, conducting a background investigation, or a government agency conducting a background investigation on behalf of one of those agencies, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section and subdivisions (a) or (b) of Section 11169 concerning any applicant seeking employment or volunteer status with the agency who, in the course of his or her employment or volunteer work, will have direct contact with children who are alleged to have been, are at risk of, or have suffered, abuse or neglect.
(11)(A)Persons or agencies, as specified in subdivision (b), if investigating a case of known or suspected child abuse or neglect, or the State Department of Social Services or any county licensing agency pursuant to paragraph (4), or a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program conducting a background investigation for employment or volunteer candidates pursuant to paragraph (5), or an investigative agency, probation officer, or court investigator responsible for placing children or assessing the possible placement of children pursuant to paragraph (7), or a government agency conducting a background investigation of an applicant seeking employment as a peace officer pursuant to paragraph (9), or a county child welfare agency or delegated county adoption agency conducting a background investigation of an applicant seeking employment or volunteer status who, in the course of his or her employment or volunteer work, will have direct contact with children who are alleged to have been, are at risk of, or have suffered, abuse or neglect, pursuant to paragraph (10), to whom disclosure of any information maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) is authorized, are responsible for obtaining the original investigative report from the reporting agency, and for drawing independent conclusions regarding the quality of the evidence disclosed, and its sufficiency for making decisions regarding investigation, prosecution, licensing, placement of a child, employment or volunteer positions with a CASA program, or employment as a peace officer.
(B)If CACI information is requested by an agency for the temporary placement of a child in an emergency situation pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 305) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the department is exempt from the requirements of Section 1798.18 of the Civil Code if compliance would cause a delay in providing an expedited response to the agencys inquiry and if further delay in placement may be detrimental to the child.
(12)(A)Whenever information contained in the Department of Justice files is furnished as the result of an application for employment or licensing or volunteer status pursuant to paragraph (4), (5), (8), (9), or (10), the Department of Justice may charge the person or entity making the request a fee. The fee shall not exceed the reasonable costs to the department of providing the information. The only increase shall be at a rate not to exceed the legislatively approved cost-of-living adjustment for the department. In no case shall the fee exceed fifteen dollars ($15).
(B)All moneys received by the department pursuant to this section to process trustline applications for purposes of Chapter 3.35 (commencing with Section 1596.60) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code shall be deposited in a special account in the General Fund that is hereby established and named the Department of Justice Child Abuse Fund. Moneys in the fund shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure by the department to offset the costs incurred to process trustline automated child abuse or neglect system checks pursuant to this section.
(C)All moneys, other than those described in subparagraph (B), received by the department pursuant to this paragraph shall be deposited in a special account in the General Fund which is hereby created and named the Department of Justice Sexual Habitual Offender Fund. The funds shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure by the department to offset the costs incurred pursuant to Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 13885) and Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 13890) of Title 6 of Part 4, and the DNA and Forensic Identification Data Base and Data Bank Act of 1998 (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 295) of Title 9 of Part 1), and for maintenance and improvements to the statewide Sexual Habitual Offender Program and the California DNA offender identification file (CAL-DNA) authorized by Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 13885) of Title 6 of Part 4 and the DNA and Forensic Identification Data Base and Data Bank Act of 1998 (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 295) of Title 9 of Part 1).
(c)(1)The Department of Justice shall make available to any agency responsible for placing children pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 305) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, upon request, relevant information concerning child abuse or neglect reports contained in the index, when making a placement with a responsible relative pursuant to Sections 281.5, 305, and 361.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Upon receipt of relevant information concerning child abuse or neglect reports contained in the index from the Department of Justice pursuant to this subdivision, the agency shall also notify in writing the person listed in the CACI that he or she is in the index. The notification shall include the location of the original investigative report and the submitting agency. The notification shall be submitted to the person listed at the same time that all other parties are notified of the information, and no later than the actual judicial proceeding that determines placement.
(2)If information is requested by an agency for the placement of a child with a responsible relative in an emergency situation pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 305) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the department is exempt from the requirements of Section 1798.18 of the Civil Code if compliance would cause a delay in providing an expedited response to the child protective agencys inquiry and if further delay in placement may be detrimental to the child.
(d)The department shall make available any information maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) to out-of-state law enforcement agencies conducting investigations of known or suspected child abuse or neglect only when an agency makes the request for information in writing and on official letterhead, or as designated by the department, identifying the suspected abuser or victim by name and date of birth or approximate age. The request shall be signed by the department supervisor of the requesting law enforcement agency. The written requests shall cite the out-of-state statute or interstate compact provision that requires that the information contained within these reports shall be disclosed only to law enforcement, prosecutorial entities, or multidisciplinary investigative teams, and shall cite the safeguards in place to prevent unlawful disclosure of any confidential information provided by the requesting state or the applicable interstate compact provision.
(e)(1)The department shall make available to an out-of-state agency, for purposes of approving a prospective foster or adoptive parent in compliance with the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-248), information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) concerning the prospective foster or adoptive parent, and any other adult living in the home of the prospective foster or adoptive parent. The department shall make that information available only when the out-of-state agency makes the request indicating that continual compliance will be maintained with the requirement in paragraph (20) of subsection (a) of Section 671 of Title 42 of the United States Code that requires the state to have in place safeguards to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of information in any child abuse and neglect registry maintained by the state and prevent the information from being used for a purpose other than the conducting of background checks in foster or adoption placement cases.
(2)With respect to any information provided by the department in response to the out-of-state agencys request, the out-of-state agency is responsible for obtaining the original investigative report from the reporting agency, and for drawing independent conclusions regarding the quality of the evidence disclosed and its sufficiency for making decisions regarding the approval of prospective foster or adoptive parents.
(3)(A)Whenever information contained in the index is furnished pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall charge the out-of-state agency making the request a fee. The fee shall not exceed the reasonable costs to the department of providing the information. The only increase shall be at a rate not to exceed the legislatively approved cost-of-living adjustment for the department. In no case shall the fee exceed fifteen dollars ($15).
(B)All moneys received by the department pursuant to this subdivision shall be deposited in the Department of Justice Child Abuse Fund, established under subparagraph (B) of paragraph (12) of subdivision (b). Moneys in the fund shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure by the department to offset the costs incurred to process requests for information pursuant to this subdivision.
(f)(1)Any person may determine if he or she is listed in the CACI by making a request in writing to the Department of Justice. The request shall be notarized and include the persons name, address, date of birth, and either a social security number or a California identification number. Upon receipt of a notarized request, the Department of Justice shall make available to the requesting person information identifying the date of the report and the submitting agency. The requesting person is responsible for obtaining the investigative report from the submitting agency pursuant to paragraph (11) of subdivision (b) of Section 11167.5.
(2)No person or agency shall require or request another person to furnish a copy of a record concerning himself or herself, or notification that a record concerning himself or herself exists or does not exist, pursuant to paragraph (1).
(g)If a person is listed in the CACI only as a victim of child abuse or neglect, and that person is 18 years of age or older, that person may have his or her name removed from the index by making a written request to the Department of Justice. The request shall be notarized and include the persons name, address, social security number, and date of birth.
(a)Except for a police department or sheriffs department, an agency specified in Section 11165.9 shall forward to the Department of Justice a report in writing of every case it investigates of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that is determined to be substantiated, other than cases coming within subdivision (b) of Section 11165.2. An agency shall not forward a report to the Department of Justice unless it has conducted an active investigation and determined that the report is substantiated, as defined in Section 11165.12. If a previously filed report subsequently proves to be not substantiated, the Department of Justice shall be notified in writing of that fact and shall not retain the report. The reports required by this section shall be in a form approved by the Department of Justice and may be sent by fax or electronic transmission. An agency specified in Section 11165.9 receiving a written report from another agency specified in Section 11165.9 shall not send that report to the Department of Justice.
(b)A police or sheriffs department to whom a report is made pursuant to Section 11165.9 may forward to the Department of Justice a report in writing of its investigation of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that is determined to be substantiated, other than cases coming within subdivision (b) of Section 11165.2. A police or sheriffs department shall not forward a report to the Department of Justice pursuant to this subdivision unless it has conducted an active investigation and determined that the report is substantiated, as defined in Section 11165.12. If a previously filed report subsequently proves to be not substantiated, the Department of Justice shall be notified in writing of that fact and shall not retain the report. A police or sheriffs department that forwards a report to the department pursuant to this subdivision is subject to all of the requirements imposed by this section and shall adopt notification and grievance procedures that are consistent with Section 31-501 of Chapter 31-500 of Division 31 of the State Department of Social Services Manual of Policies and Procedures, as it existed on January 1, 2019. or any successor regulation thereto.
(c)At the time an agency specified in Section 11165.9 forwards a report in writing to the Department of Justice pursuant to subdivision (a), (a) or (b), the agency shall also notify in writing the known or suspected child abuser that he or she has been reported to the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI). The notice required by this section shall be in a form approved by the Department of Justice. The requirements of this subdivision shall apply with respect to reports forwarded to the department on or after the date on which this subdivision becomes operative.
(d)Subject to subdivision (e), any person who is listed on the CACI has the right to a hearing before the agency that requested his or her inclusion in the CACI to challenge his or her listing on the CACI. The hearing shall satisfy due process requirements. It is the intent of the Legislature that the hearing provided for by this subdivision shall not be construed to be inconsistent with hearing proceedings available to persons who have been listed on the CACI prior to the enactment of the act that added this subdivision.
(e)A hearing requested pursuant to subdivision (d) shall be denied when a court of competent jurisdiction has determined that suspected child abuse or neglect has occurred, or when the allegation of child abuse or neglect resulting in the referral to the CACI is pending before the court. A person who is listed on the CACI and has been denied a hearing pursuant to this subdivision has a right to a hearing pursuant to subdivision (d) only if the courts jurisdiction has terminated, the court has not made a finding concerning whether the suspected child abuse or neglect was substantiated, and a hearing has not previously been provided to the listed person pursuant to subdivision (d).
(f)Any person listed in the CACI who has reached 100 years of age shall have his or her listing removed from the CACI.
(g)Any person listed in the CACI as of January 1, 2013, who was listed prior to reaching 18 years of age, and who is listed once in CACI with no subsequent listings, shall be removed from the CACI 10 years from the date of the incident resulting in the CACI listing.
(h)If, after a hearing pursuant to subdivision (d) or a court proceeding described in subdivision (e), it is determined the persons CACI listing was based on a report that was not substantiated, the agency shall notify the Department of Justice of that result and the department shall remove that persons name from the CACI.
(i)Agencies, including police departments and sheriffs departments, shall retain child abuse or neglect investigative reports that result or resulted in a report filed with the Department of Justice pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) for the same period of time that the information is required to be maintained on the CACI pursuant to this section and subdivision (a) of Section 11170. This section does not prohibit an agency from retaining the reports for a longer period of time if required by law.
(j)The immunity provisions of Section 11172 does do not apply to the submission of a report by an agency pursuant to this section. However, this section does not alter or diminish any other immunity provisions of state or federal law.
SEC. 2.Section 11170 of the Penal Code is amended to read:11170.(a)(1)The Department of Justice shall maintain an index of all reports of child abuse and severe neglect submitted pursuant to Section 11169. The index shall be continually updated by the department and shall not contain any reports that are determined to be not substantiated. The department may adopt rules governing recordkeeping and reporting pursuant to this article.
(2)The department shall act only as a repository of reports of suspected child abuse and severe neglect to be maintained in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) pursuant to paragraph (1). The submitting agencies are responsible for the accuracy, completeness, and retention of the reports described in this section. The department shall be responsible for ensuring that the CACI accurately reflects the report it receives from the submitting agency.
(3)Only information from reports that are reported as substantiated shall be filed pursuant to paragraph (1), and all other determinations shall be removed from the central list. If a person listed in the CACI was under 18 years of age at the time of the report, the information shall be deleted from the CACI 10 years from the date of the incident resulting in the CACI listing, if no subsequent report concerning the same person is received during that time period.
(b)The requirements of subdivision (c) of Section 11169 apply to any information provided pursuant to this subdivision.
(1)The Department of Justice shall immediately notify an agency that submits a report pursuant to Section 11169, or a prosecutor who requests notification, of any information maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) that is relevant to the known or suspected instance of child abuse or severe neglect reported by the agency. The agency shall make that information available to the reporting health care practitioner who is treating a person reported as a possible victim of known or suspected child abuse. The agency shall make that information available to the reporting child custodian, Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act guardian ad litem appointed under Rule 5.662 of the California Rules of Court, or counsel appointed under Section 317 or 318 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or the appropriate licensing agency, if he or she or the licensing agency is handling or investigating a case of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect.
(2)When a report is made pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 11166, or Section 11166.05, the investigating agency, upon completion of the investigation or after there has been a final disposition in the matter, shall inform the person required or authorized to report of the results of the investigation and of any action the agency is taking with regard to the child or family.
(3)The Department of Justice shall make relevant information from the CACI available to a law enforcement agency, county welfare department, tribal agency pursuant to Section 10553.12 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or county probation department that is conducting a child abuse investigation.
(4)The department shall make available to the State Department of Social Services, to any county licensing agency that has contracted with the state for the performance of licensing duties, to a county approving resource families pursuant to Section 16519.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or to a tribal court or tribal child welfare agency of a tribe, consortium of tribes, or tribal organization that has entered into an agreement with the state pursuant to Section 10553.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section and subdivisions (a) or (b) of Section 11169 concerning any person who is an applicant for licensure or approval, or any adult who resides or is employed in the home of an applicant for licensure or approval, or who is an applicant for employment in a position having supervisorial or disciplinary power over a child or children, or who will provide 24-hour care for a child or children in a residential home or facility, pursuant to Section 1522.1 or 1596.877 of the Health and Safety Code, or Section 8714, 8802, 8912, or 9000 of the Family Code, or Section 11403.2 or 16519.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(5)The Department of Justice shall make available to a Court Appointed Special Advocate program that is conducting a background investigation of an applicant seeking employment with the program or a volunteer position as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, as defined in Section 101 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, information contained in the index regarding known or suspected child abuse by the applicant.
(6)For purposes of child death review, the Department of Justice shall make available to the chairperson, or the chairpersons designee, for each county child death review team, or the State Child Death Review Council, information for investigative purposes only that is maintained in the CACI pursuant to subdivision (a) relating to the death of one or more children and any prior child abuse or neglect investigation reports maintained involving the same victims, siblings, or suspects. Local child death review teams may share any relevant information regarding case reviews involving child death with other child death review teams.
(7)The department shall make available to investigative agencies or probation officers, or court investigators acting pursuant to Section 1513 of the Probate Code, responsible for placing children or assessing the possible placement of children pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 300), Article 7 (commencing with Section 305), Article 10 (commencing with Section 360), or Article 14 (commencing with Section 601) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or Article 2 (commencing with Section 1510) or Article 3 (commencing with Section 1540) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Probate Code, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser contained in the index concerning any adult residing in the home where the child may be placed, when this information is requested for purposes of ensuring that the placement is in the best interest of the child. Upon receipt of relevant information concerning child abuse or neglect investigation reports contained in the CACI from the Department of Justice pursuant to this subdivision, the agency or court investigator shall notify, in writing, the person listed in the CACI that he or she is in the index. The notification shall include the name of the reporting agency and the date of the report.
(8)Pursuant to Section 10553.12 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the department shall make available to a tribal agency information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section and subdivisions (a) or (b) of Section 11169 who is being considered as a prospective foster or adoptive parent, an adult who resides or is employed in the home of an applicant for approval, any person who has a familial or intimate relationship with any person living in the home of an applicant, or an employee of the tribal agency who may have contact with children.
(9)The Department of Justice shall make available to a government agency conducting a background investigation pursuant to Section 1031 of the Government Code of an applicant seeking employment as a peace officer, as defined in Section 830, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section concerning the applicant.
(10)The Department of Justice shall make available to a county child welfare agency or delegated county adoption agency, as defined in Section 8515 of the Family Code, conducting a background investigation, or a government agency conducting a background investigation on behalf of one of those agencies, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section and subdivisions (a) or (b) of Section 11169 concerning any applicant seeking employment or volunteer status with the agency who, in the course of his or her employment or volunteer work, will have direct contact with children who are alleged to have been, are at risk of, or have suffered, abuse or neglect.
(11)(A)Persons or agencies, as specified in subdivision (b), if investigating a case of known or suspected child abuse or neglect, or the State Department of Social Services or any county licensing agency pursuant to paragraph (4), or a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program conducting a background investigation for employment or volunteer candidates pursuant to paragraph (5), or an investigative agency, probation officer, or court investigator responsible for placing children or assessing the possible placement of children pursuant to paragraph (7), or a government agency conducting a background investigation of an applicant seeking employment as a peace officer pursuant to paragraph (9), or a county child welfare agency or delegated county adoption agency conducting a background investigation of an applicant seeking employment or volunteer status who, in the course of his or her employment or volunteer work, will have direct contact with children who are alleged to have been, are at risk of, or have suffered, abuse or neglect, pursuant to paragraph (10), to whom disclosure of any information maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) is authorized, are responsible for obtaining the original investigative report from the reporting agency, and for drawing independent conclusions regarding the quality of the evidence disclosed, and its sufficiency for making decisions regarding investigation, prosecution, licensing, placement of a child, employment or volunteer positions with a CASA program, or employment as a peace officer.
(B)If CACI information is requested by an agency for the temporary placement of a child in an emergency situation pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 305) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the department is exempt from the requirements of Section 1798.18 of the Civil Code if compliance would cause a delay in providing an expedited response to the agencys inquiry and if further delay in placement may be detrimental to the child.
(12)(A)Whenever information contained in the Department of Justice files is furnished as the result of an application for employment or licensing or volunteer status pursuant to paragraph (4), (5), (8), (9), or (10), the Department of Justice may charge the person or entity making the request a fee. The fee shall not exceed the reasonable costs to the department of providing the information. The only increase shall be at a rate not to exceed the legislatively approved cost-of-living adjustment for the department. In no case shall the fee exceed fifteen dollars ($15).
(B)All moneys received by the department pursuant to this section to process trustline applications for purposes of Chapter 3.35 (commencing with Section 1596.60) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code shall be deposited in a special account in the General Fund that is hereby established and named the Department of Justice Child Abuse Fund. Moneys in the fund shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure by the department to offset the costs incurred to process trustline automated child abuse or neglect system checks pursuant to this section.
(C)All moneys, other than those described in subparagraph (B), received by the department pursuant to this paragraph shall be deposited in a special account in the General Fund which is hereby created and named the Department of Justice Sexual Habitual Offender Fund. The funds shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure by the department to offset the costs incurred pursuant to Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 13885) and Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 13890) of Title 6 of Part 4, and the DNA and Forensic Identification Data Base and Data Bank Act of 1998 (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 295) of Title 9 of Part 1), and for maintenance and improvements to the statewide Sexual Habitual Offender Program and the California DNA offender identification file (CAL-DNA) authorized by Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 13885) of Title 6 of Part 4 and the DNA and Forensic Identification Data Base and Data Bank Act of 1998 (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 295) of Title 9 of Part 1).
(c)(1)The Department of Justice shall make available to any agency responsible for placing children pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 305) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, upon request, relevant information concerning child abuse or neglect reports contained in the index, when making a placement with a responsible relative pursuant to Sections 281.5, 305, and 361.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Upon receipt of relevant information concerning child abuse or neglect reports contained in the index from the Department of Justice pursuant to this subdivision, the agency shall also notify in writing the person listed in the CACI that he or she is in the index. The notification shall include the location of the original investigative report and the submitting agency. The notification shall be submitted to the person listed at the same time that all other parties are notified of the information, and no later than the actual judicial proceeding that determines placement.
(2)If information is requested by an agency for the placement of a child with a responsible relative in an emergency situation pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 305) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the department is exempt from the requirements of Section 1798.18 of the Civil Code if compliance would cause a delay in providing an expedited response to the child protective agencys inquiry and if further delay in placement may be detrimental to the child.
(d)The department shall make available any information maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) to out-of-state law enforcement agencies conducting investigations of known or suspected child abuse or neglect only when an agency makes the request for information in writing and on official letterhead, or as designated by the department, identifying the suspected abuser or victim by name and date of birth or approximate age. The request shall be signed by the department supervisor of the requesting law enforcement agency. The written requests shall cite the out-of-state statute or interstate compact provision that requires that the information contained within these reports shall be disclosed only to law enforcement, prosecutorial entities, or multidisciplinary investigative teams, and shall cite the safeguards in place to prevent unlawful disclosure of any confidential information provided by the requesting state or the applicable interstate compact provision.
(e)(1)The department shall make available to an out-of-state agency, for purposes of approving a prospective foster or adoptive parent in compliance with the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-248), information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) concerning the prospective foster or adoptive parent, and any other adult living in the home of the prospective foster or adoptive parent. The department shall make that information available only when the out-of-state agency makes the request indicating that continual compliance will be maintained with the requirement in paragraph (20) of subsection (a) of Section 671 of Title 42 of the United States Code that requires the state to have in place safeguards to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of information in any child abuse and neglect registry maintained by the state and prevent the information from being used for a purpose other than the conducting of background checks in foster or adoption placement cases.
(2)With respect to any information provided by the department in response to the out-of-state agencys request, the out-of-state agency is responsible for obtaining the original investigative report from the reporting agency, and for drawing independent conclusions regarding the quality of the evidence disclosed and its sufficiency for making decisions regarding the approval of prospective foster or adoptive parents.
(3)(A)Whenever information contained in the index is furnished pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall charge the out-of-state agency making the request a fee. The fee shall not exceed the reasonable costs to the department of providing the information. The only increase shall be at a rate not to exceed the legislatively approved cost-of-living adjustment for the department. In no case shall the fee exceed fifteen dollars ($15).
(B)All moneys received by the department pursuant to this subdivision shall be deposited in the Department of Justice Child Abuse Fund, established under subparagraph (B) of paragraph (12) of subdivision (b). Moneys in the fund shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure by the department to offset the costs incurred to process requests for information pursuant to this subdivision.
(f)(1)Any person may determine if he or she is listed in the CACI by making a request in writing to the Department of Justice. The request shall be notarized and include the persons name, address, date of birth, and either a social security number or a California identification number. Upon receipt of a notarized request, the Department of Justice shall make available to the requesting person information identifying the date of the report and the submitting agency. The requesting person is responsible for obtaining the investigative report from the submitting agency pursuant to paragraph (11) of subdivision (b) of Section 11167.5.
(2)No person or agency shall require or request another person to furnish a copy of a record concerning himself or herself, or notification that a record concerning himself or herself exists or does not exist, pursuant to paragraph (1).
(g)If a person is listed in the CACI only as a victim of child abuse or neglect, and that person is 18 years of age or older, that person may have his or her name removed from the index by making a written request to the Department of Justice. The request shall be notarized and include the persons name, address, social security number, and date of birth.
(a)An Except for a police department or sheriffs department, an agency specified in Section 11165.9 shall forward to the Department of Justice a report in writing of every case it investigates of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that is determined to be substantiated, other than cases coming within subdivision (b) of Section 11165.2. An agency shall not forward a report to the Department of Justice unless it has conducted an active investigation and determined that the report is substantiated, as defined in Section 11165.12. If a report has previously been filed which previously filed report subsequently proves to be not substantiated, the Department of Justice shall be notified in writing of that fact and shall not retain the report. The reports required by this section shall be in a form approved by the Department of Justice and may be sent by fax or electronic transmission. An agency specified in Section 11165.9 receiving a written report from another agency specified in Section 11165.9 shall not send that report to the Department of Justice.
(b)On and after January 1, 2012, a police department or sheriffs department specified in Section 11165.9 shall no longer forward to the Department of Justice a report in writing of any case it investigates of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect.(b)A police or sheriffs department to whom a report is made pursuant to Section 11165.9 may forward to the Department of Justice a report in writing of its investigation of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that is determined to be substantiated, other than cases coming within subdivision (b) of Section 11165.2. A police or sheriffs department shall not forward a report to the Department of Justice pursuant to this subdivision unless it has conducted an active investigation and determined that the report is substantiated, as defined in Section 11165.12. If a previously filed report subsequently proves to be not substantiated, the Department of Justice shall be notified in writing of that fact and shall not retain the report. A police or sheriffs department that forwards a report to the department pursuant to this subdivision is subject to all of the requirements imposed by this section and shall adopt notification and grievance procedures that are consistent with Section 31-501 of Chapter 31-500 of Division 31 of the State Department of Social Services Manual of Policies and Procedures, as it existed on January 1, 2019.
(c)At the time an agency specified in Section 11165.9 forwards a report in writing to the Department of Justice pursuant to subdivision (a), the agency shall also notify in writing the known or suspected child abuser that he or she has been reported to the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI). The notice required by this section shall be in a form approved by the Department of Justice. The requirements of this subdivision shall apply with respect to reports forwarded to the department on or after the date on which this subdivision becomes operative.
(d)Subject to subdivision (e), any person who is listed on the CACI has the right to a hearing before the agency that requested his or her inclusion in the CACI to challenge his or her listing on the CACI. The hearing shall satisfy due process requirements. It is the intent of the Legislature that the hearing provided for by this subdivision shall not be construed to be inconsistent with hearing proceedings available to persons who have been listed on the CACI prior to the enactment of the act that added this subdivision.
(e)A hearing requested pursuant to subdivision (d) shall be denied when a court of competent jurisdiction has determined that suspected child abuse or neglect has occurred, or when the allegation of child abuse or neglect resulting in the referral to the CACI is pending before the court. A person who is listed on the CACI and has been denied a hearing pursuant to this subdivision has a right to a hearing pursuant to subdivision (d) only if the courts jurisdiction has terminated, the court has not made a finding concerning whether the suspected child abuse or neglect was substantiated, and a hearing has not previously been provided to the listed person pursuant to subdivision (d).
(f)Any person listed in the CACI who has reached 100 years of age shall have his or her listing removed from the CACI.
(g)Any person listed in the CACI as of January 1, 2013, who was listed prior to reaching 18 years of age, and who is listed once in CACI with no subsequent listings, shall be removed from the CACI 10 years from the date of the incident resulting in the CACI listing.
(h)If, after a hearing pursuant to subdivision (d) or a court proceeding described in subdivision (e), it is determined the persons CACI listing was based on a report that was not substantiated, the agency shall notify the Department of Justice of that result and the department shall remove that persons name from the CACI.
(i)Agencies, including police departments and sheriffs departments, shall retain child abuse or neglect investigative reports that result or resulted in a report filed with the Department of Justice pursuant to subdivision (a) for the same period of time that the information is required to be maintained on the CACI pursuant to this section and subdivision (a) of Section 11170. Nothing in this This section precludes does not prohibit an agency from retaining the reports for a longer period of time if required by law.
(j)The immunity provisions of Section 11172 shall does not apply to the submission of a report by an agency pursuant to this section. However, nothing in this section shall be construed to does not alter or diminish any other immunity provisions of state or federal law.
SECTION 1.Section 11169 of the Penal Code is amended to read:11169.(a)An agency specified in Section 11165.9 shall forward to the Department of Justice a report in writing of every case it investigates of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that is determined to be substantiated, other than cases coming within subdivision (b) of Section 11165.2. An agency shall not forward a report to the Department of Justice unless it has conducted an active investigation and determined that the report is substantiated, as defined in Section 11165.12. If a report has previously been filed which subsequently proves to be not substantiated, the Department of Justice shall be notified in writing of that fact and shall not retain the report. The reports required by this section shall be in a form approved by the Department of Justice and may be sent by fax or electronic transmission. An agency specified in Section 11165.9 receiving a written report from another agency specified in Section 11165.9 shall not send that report to the Department of Justice.(b)At the time an agency specified in Section 11165.9 forwards a report in writing to the Department of Justice pursuant to subdivision (a), the agency shall also notify in writing the known or suspected child abuser that he or she has been reported to the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI).The notice required by this section shall be in a form approved by the Department of Justice. The requirements of this subdivision shall apply with respect to reports forwarded to the department on or after the date on which this subdivision becomes operative.(c)Subject to subdivision (d), any person who is listed on the CACI has the right to a hearing before the agency that requested his or her inclusion in the CACI to challenge his or her listing on the CACI. The hearing shall satisfy due process requirements. It is the intent of the Legislature that the hearing provided for by this subdivision shall not be construed to be inconsistent with hearing proceedings available to persons who have been listed on the CACI prior to the enactment of the act that added this subdivision.(d)A hearing requested pursuant to subdivision (c) shall be denied when a court of competent jurisdiction has determined that suspected child abuse or neglect has occurred, or when the allegation of child abuse or neglect resulting in the referral to the CACI is pending before the court. A person who is listed on the CACI and has been denied a hearing pursuant to this subdivision has a right to a hearing pursuant to subdivision (c) only if the courts jurisdiction has terminated, the court has not made a finding concerning whether the suspected child abuse or neglect was substantiated, and a hearing has not previously been provided to the listed person pursuant to subdivision (c).(e)Any person listed in the CACI who has reached 100 years of age shall have his or her listing removed from the CACI.(f)Any person listed in the CACI as of January 1, 2013, who was listed prior to reaching 18 years of age, and who is listed once in CACI with no subsequent listings, shall be removed from the CACI 10 years from the date of the incident resulting in the CACI listing.(g)If, after a hearing pursuant to subdivision (c) or a court proceeding described in subdivision (d), it is determined the persons CACI listing was based on a report that was not substantiated, the agency shall notify the Department of Justice of that result and the department shall remove that persons name from the CACI.(h)Agencies, including police departments and sheriffs departments, shall retain child abuse or neglect investigative reports that result or resulted in a report filed with the Department of Justice pursuant to subdivision (a) for the same period of time that the information is required to be maintained on the CACI pursuant to this section and subdivision (a) of Section 11170. Nothing in this section precludes an agency from retaining the reports for a longer period of time if required by law.(i)The immunity provisions of Section 11172 shall not apply to the submission of a report by an agency pursuant to this section. However, nothing in this section shall be construed to alter or diminish any other immunity provisions of state or federal law.SEC. 2.Section 11170 of the Penal Code is amended to read:11170.(a)(1)The Department of Justice shall maintain an index of all reports of child abuse and severe neglect submitted pursuant to Section 11169. The index shall be continually updated by the department and shall not contain any reports that are determined to be not substantiated. The department may adopt rules governing recordkeeping and reporting pursuant to this article.
(2)The department shall act only as a repository of reports of suspected child abuse and severe neglect to be maintained in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) pursuant to paragraph (1). The submitting agencies are responsible for the accuracy, completeness, and retention of the reports described in this section. The department shall be responsible for ensuring that the CACI accurately reflects the report it receives from the submitting agency.
(3)Only information from reports that are reported as substantiated shall be filed pursuant to paragraph (1), and all other determinations shall be removed from the central list. If a person listed in the CACI was under 18 years of age at the time of the report, the information shall be deleted from the CACI 10 years from the date of the incident resulting in the CACI listing, if no subsequent report concerning the same person is received during that time period.
(b)The provisions requirements of subdivision (b) (c) of Section 11169 apply to any information provided pursuant to this subdivision.
(1)The Department of Justice shall immediately notify an agency that submits a report pursuant to Section 11169, or a prosecutor who requests notification, of any information maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) that is relevant to the known or suspected instance of child abuse or severe neglect reported by the agency. The agency shall make that information available to the reporting health care practitioner who is treating a person reported as a possible victim of known or suspected child abuse. The agency shall make that information available to the reporting child custodian, Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act guardian ad litem appointed under Rule 5.662 of the California Rules of Court, or counsel appointed under Section 317 or 318 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or the appropriate licensing agency, if he or she or the licensing agency is handling or investigating a case of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect.
(2)When a report is made pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 11166, or Section 11166.05, the investigating agency, upon completion of the investigation or after there has been a final disposition in the matter, shall inform the person required or authorized to report of the results of the investigation and of any action the agency is taking with regard to the child or family.
(3)The Department of Justice shall make relevant information from the CACI available to a law enforcement agency, county welfare department, tribal agency pursuant to Section 10553.12 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or county probation department that is conducting a child abuse investigation.
(4)The department shall make available to the State Department of Social Services, to any county licensing agency that has contracted with the state for the performance of licensing duties, to a county approving resource families pursuant to Section 16519.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or to a tribal court or tribal child welfare agency of a tribe, consortium of tribes, or tribal organization that has entered into an agreement with the state pursuant to Section 10553.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section and subdivision (a) subdivisions (a) or (b) of Section 11169 concerning any person who is an applicant for licensure or approval, or any adult who resides or is employed in the home of an applicant for licensure or approval, or who is an applicant for employment in a position having supervisorial or disciplinary power over a child or children, or who will provide 24-hour care for a child or children in a residential home or facility, pursuant to Section 1522.1 or 1596.877 of the Health and Safety Code, or Section 8714, 8802, 8912, or 9000 of the Family Code, or Section 11403.2 or 16519.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(5)The Department of Justice shall make available to a Court Appointed Special Advocate program that is conducting a background investigation of an applicant seeking employment with the program or a volunteer position as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, as defined in Section 101 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, information contained in the index regarding known or suspected child abuse by the applicant.
(6)For purposes of child death review, the Department of Justice shall make available to the chairperson, or the chairpersons designee, for each county child death review team, or the State Child Death Review Council, information for investigative purposes only that is maintained in the CACI pursuant to subdivision (a) relating to the death of one or more children and any prior child abuse or neglect investigation reports maintained involving the same victims, siblings, or suspects. Local child death review teams may share any relevant information regarding case reviews involving child death with other child death review teams.
(7)The department shall make available to investigative agencies or probation officers, or court investigators acting pursuant to Section 1513 of the Probate Code, responsible for placing children or assessing the possible placement of children pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 300), Article 7 (commencing with Section 305), Article 10 (commencing with Section 360), or Article 14 (commencing with Section 601) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or Article 2 (commencing with Section 1510) or Article 3 (commencing with Section 1540) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Probate Code, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser contained in the index concerning any adult residing in the home where the child may be placed, when this information is requested for purposes of ensuring that the placement is in the best interest of the child. Upon receipt of relevant information concerning child abuse or neglect investigation reports contained in the CACI from the Department of Justice pursuant to this subdivision, the agency or court investigator shall notify, in writing, the person listed in the CACI that he or she is in the index. The notification shall include the name of the reporting agency and the date of the report.
(8)Pursuant to Section 10553.12 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the department shall make available to a tribal agency information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section or subdivision (a) and subdivisions (a) or (b) of Section 11169 who is being considered as a prospective foster or adoptive parent, an adult who resides or is employed in the home of an applicant for approval, any person who has a familial or intimate relationship with any person living in the home of an applicant, or an employee of the tribal agency who may have contact with children.
(9)The Department of Justice shall make available to a government agency conducting a background investigation pursuant to Section 1031 of the Government Code of an applicant seeking employment as a peace officer, as defined in Section 830, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section concerning the applicant.
(10)The Department of Justice shall make available to a county child welfare agency or delegated county adoption agency, as defined in Section 8515 of the Family Code, conducting a background investigation, or a government agency conducting a background investigation on behalf of one of those agencies, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section and subdivision (a) subdivisions (a) or (b) of Section 11169 concerning any applicant seeking employment or volunteer status with the agency who, in the course of his or her employment or volunteer work, will have direct contact with children who are alleged to have been, are at risk of, or have suffered, abuse or neglect.
(11)(A)Persons or agencies, as specified in subdivision (b), if investigating a case of known or suspected child abuse or neglect, or the State Department of Social Services or any county licensing agency pursuant to paragraph (4), or a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program conducting a background investigation for employment or volunteer candidates pursuant to paragraph (5), or an investigative agency, probation officer, or court investigator responsible for placing children or assessing the possible placement of children pursuant to paragraph (7), or a government agency conducting a background investigation of an applicant seeking employment as a peace officer pursuant to paragraph (9), or a county child welfare agency or delegated county adoption agency conducting a background investigation of an applicant seeking employment or volunteer status who, in the course of his or her employment or volunteer work, will have direct contact with children who are alleged to have been, are at risk of, or have suffered, abuse or neglect, pursuant to paragraph (10), to whom disclosure of any information maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) is authorized, are responsible for obtaining the original investigative report from the reporting agency, and for drawing independent conclusions regarding the quality of the evidence disclosed, and its sufficiency for making decisions regarding investigation, prosecution, licensing, placement of a child, employment or volunteer positions with a CASA program, or employment as a peace officer.
(B)If CACI information is requested by an agency for the temporary placement of a child in an emergency situation pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 305) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the department is exempt from the requirements of Section 1798.18 of the Civil Code if compliance would cause a delay in providing an expedited response to the agencys inquiry and if further delay in placement may be detrimental to the child.
(12)(A)Whenever information contained in the Department of Justice files is furnished as the result of an application for employment or licensing or volunteer status pursuant to paragraph (4), (5), (8), (9), or (10), the Department of Justice may charge the person or entity making the request a fee. The fee shall not exceed the reasonable costs to the department of providing the information. The only increase shall be at a rate not to exceed the legislatively approved cost-of-living adjustment for the department. In no case shall the fee exceed fifteen dollars ($15).
(B)All moneys received by the department pursuant to this section to process trustline applications for purposes of Chapter 3.35 (commencing with Section 1596.60) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code shall be deposited in a special account in the General Fund that is hereby established and named the Department of Justice Child Abuse Fund. Moneys in the fund shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure by the department to offset the costs incurred to process trustline automated child abuse or neglect system checks pursuant to this section.
(C)All moneys, other than those described in subparagraph (B), received by the department pursuant to this paragraph shall be deposited in a special account in the General Fund which is hereby created and named the Department of Justice Sexual Habitual Offender Fund. The funds shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure by the department to offset the costs incurred pursuant to Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 13885) and Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 13890) of Title 6 of Part 4, and the DNA and Forensic Identification Data Base and Data Bank Act of 1998 (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 295) of Title 9 of Part 1), and for maintenance and improvements to the statewide Sexual Habitual Offender Program and the California DNA offender identification file (CAL-DNA) authorized by Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 13885) of Title 6 of Part 4 and the DNA and Forensic Identification Data Base and Data Bank Act of 1998 (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 295) of Title 9 of Part 1).
(c)(1)The Department of Justice shall make available to any agency responsible for placing children pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 305) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, upon request, relevant information concerning child abuse or neglect reports contained in the index, when making a placement with a responsible relative pursuant to Sections 281.5, 305, and 361.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Upon receipt of relevant information concerning child abuse or neglect reports contained in the index from the Department of Justice pursuant to this subdivision, the agency shall also notify in writing the person listed in the CACI that he or she is in the index. The notification shall include the location of the original investigative report and the submitting agency. The notification shall be submitted to the person listed at the same time that all other parties are notified of the information, and no later than the actual judicial proceeding that determines placement.
(2)If information is requested by an agency for the placement of a child with a responsible relative in an emergency situation pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 305) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the department is exempt from the requirements of Section 1798.18 of the Civil Code if compliance would cause a delay in providing an expedited response to the child protective agencys inquiry and if further delay in placement may be detrimental to the child.
(d)The department shall make available any information maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) to out-of-state law enforcement agencies conducting investigations of known or suspected child abuse or neglect only when an agency makes the request for information in writing and on official letterhead, or as designated by the department, identifying the suspected abuser or victim by name and date of birth or approximate age. The request shall be signed by the department supervisor of the requesting law enforcement agency. The written requests shall cite the out-of-state statute or interstate compact provision that requires that the information contained within these reports shall be disclosed only to law enforcement, prosecutorial entities, or multidisciplinary investigative teams, and shall cite the safeguards in place to prevent unlawful disclosure of any confidential information provided by the requesting state or the applicable interstate compact provision.
(e)(1)The department shall make available to an out-of-state agency, for purposes of approving a prospective foster or adoptive parent in compliance with the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-248), information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) concerning the prospective foster or adoptive parent, and any other adult living in the home of the prospective foster or adoptive parent. The department shall make that information available only when the out-of-state agency makes the request indicating that continual compliance will be maintained with the requirement in paragraph (20) of subsection (a) of Section 671 of Title 42 of the United States Code that requires the state to have in place safeguards to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of information in any child abuse and neglect registry maintained by the state and prevent the information from being used for a purpose other than the conducting of background checks in foster or adoption placement cases.
(2)With respect to any information provided by the department in response to the out-of-state agencys request, the out-of-state agency is responsible for obtaining the original investigative report from the reporting agency, and for drawing independent conclusions regarding the quality of the evidence disclosed and its sufficiency for making decisions regarding the approval of prospective foster or adoptive parents.
(3)(A)Whenever information contained in the index is furnished pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall charge the out-of-state agency making the request a fee. The fee shall not exceed the reasonable costs to the department of providing the information. The only increase shall be at a rate not to exceed the legislatively approved cost-of-living adjustment for the department. In no case shall the fee exceed fifteen dollars ($15).
(B)All moneys received by the department pursuant to this subdivision shall be deposited in the Department of Justice Child Abuse Fund, established under subparagraph (B) of paragraph (12) of subdivision (b). Moneys in the fund shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure by the department to offset the costs incurred to process requests for information pursuant to this subdivision.
(f)(1)Any person may determine if he or she is listed in the CACI by making a request in writing to the Department of Justice. The request shall be notarized and include the persons name, address, date of birth, and either a social security number or a California identification number. Upon receipt of a notarized request, the Department of Justice shall make available to the requesting person information identifying the date of the report and the submitting agency. The requesting person is responsible for obtaining the investigative report from the submitting agency pursuant to paragraph (11) of subdivision (b) of Section 11167.5.
(2)No person or agency shall require or request another person to furnish a copy of a record concerning himself or herself, or notification that a record concerning himself or herself exists or does not exist, pursuant to paragraph (1).
(g)If a person is listed in the CACI only as a victim of child abuse or neglect, and that person is 18 years of age or older, that person may have his or her name removed from the index by making a written request to the Department of Justice. The request shall be notarized and include the persons name, address, social security number, and date of birth.
SEC. 3.If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.(a)An agency specified in Section 11165.9 shall forward to the Department of Justice a report in writing of every case it investigates of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that is determined to be substantiated, other than cases coming within subdivision (b) of Section 11165.2. An agency shall not forward a report to the Department of Justice unless it has conducted an active investigation and determined that the report is substantiated, as defined in Section 11165.12. If a report has previously been filed which subsequently proves to be not substantiated, the Department of Justice shall be notified in writing of that fact and shall not retain the report. The reports required by this section shall be in a form approved by the Department of Justice and may be sent by fax or electronic transmission. An agency specified in Section 11165.9 receiving a written report from another agency specified in Section 11165.9 shall not send that report to the Department of Justice.
(b)On and after January 1, 2012, a police department or sheriffs department specified in Section 11165.9 shall no longer forward to the Department of Justice a report in writing of any case it investigates of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect.(c)(b)At the time an agency specified in Section 11165.9 forwards a report in writing to the Department of Justice pursuant to subdivision (a), the agency shall also notify in writing the known or suspected child abuser that he or she has been reported to the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI).The notice required by this section shall be in a form approved by the Department of Justice. The requirements of this subdivision shall apply with respect to reports forwarded to the department on or after the date on which this subdivision becomes operative.
(d)(c)Subject to subdivision (e), (d), any person who is listed on the CACI has the right to a hearing before the agency that requested his or her inclusion in the CACI to challenge his or her listing on the CACI. The hearing shall satisfy due process requirements. It is the intent of the Legislature that the hearing provided for by this subdivision shall not be construed to be inconsistent with hearing proceedings available to persons who have been listed on the CACI prior to the enactment of the act that added this subdivision.
(e)(d)A hearing requested pursuant to subdivision (d) (c) shall be denied when a court of competent jurisdiction has determined that suspected child abuse or neglect has occurred, or when the allegation of child abuse or neglect resulting in the referral to the CACI is pending before the court. A person who is listed on the CACI and has been denied a hearing pursuant to this subdivision has a right to a hearing pursuant to subdivision (d) (c) only if the courts jurisdiction has terminated, the court has not made a finding concerning whether the suspected child abuse or neglect was substantiated, and a hearing has not previously been provided to the listed person pursuant to subdivision (d). (c).
(f)(e)Any person listed in the CACI who has reached 100 years of age shall have his or her listing removed from the CACI.
(g)(f)Any person listed in the CACI as of January 1, 2013, who was listed prior to reaching 18 years of age, and who is listed once in CACI with no subsequent listings, shall be removed from the CACI 10 years from the date of the incident resulting in the CACI listing.
(h)(g)If, after a hearing pursuant to subdivision (d) (c) or a court proceeding described in subdivision (e), (d), it is determined the persons CACI listing was based on a report that was not substantiated, the agency shall notify the Department of Justice of that result and the department shall remove that persons name from the CACI.
(i)(h)Agencies, including police departments and sheriffs departments, shall retain child abuse or neglect investigative reports that result or resulted in a report filed with the Department of Justice pursuant to subdivision (a) for the same period of time that the information is required to be maintained on the CACI pursuant to this section and subdivision (a) of Section 11170. Nothing in this section precludes an agency from retaining the reports for a longer period of time if required by law.
(j)(i)The immunity provisions of Section 11172 shall not apply to the submission of a report by an agency pursuant to this section. However, nothing in this section shall be construed to alter or diminish any other immunity provisions of state or federal law.
SEC. 2.Section 11170 of the Penal Code is amended to read:11170.(a)(1)The Department of Justice shall maintain an index of all reports of child abuse and severe neglect submitted pursuant to Section 11169. The index shall be continually updated by the department and shall not contain any reports that are determined to be not substantiated. The department may adopt rules governing recordkeeping and reporting pursuant to this article.
(2)The department shall act only as a repository of reports of suspected child abuse and severe neglect to be maintained in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) pursuant to paragraph (1). The submitting agencies are responsible for the accuracy, completeness, and retention of the reports described in this section. The department shall be responsible for ensuring that the CACI accurately reflects the report it receives from the submitting agency.
(3)Only information from reports that are reported as substantiated shall be filed pursuant to paragraph (1), and all other determinations shall be removed from the central list. If a person listed in the CACI was under 18 years of age at the time of the report, the information shall be deleted from the CACI 10 years from the date of the incident resulting in the CACI listing, if no subsequent report concerning the same person is received during that time period.
(b)The provisions of subdivision (c) (b) of Section 11169 apply to any information provided pursuant to this subdivision.
(1)The Department of Justice shall immediately notify an agency that submits a report pursuant to Section 11169, or a prosecutor who requests notification, of any information maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) that is relevant to the known or suspected instance of child abuse or severe neglect reported by the agency. The agency shall make that information available to the reporting health care practitioner who is treating a person reported as a possible victim of known or suspected child abuse. The agency shall make that information available to the reporting child custodian, Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act guardian ad litem appointed under Rule 5.662 of the California Rules of Court, or counsel appointed under Section 317 or 318 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or the appropriate licensing agency, if he or she or the licensing agency is handling or investigating a case of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect.
(2)When a report is made pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 11166, or Section 11166.05, the investigating agency, upon completion of the investigation or after there has been a final disposition in the matter, shall inform the person required or authorized to report of the results of the investigation and of any action the agency is taking with regard to the child or family.
(3)The Department of Justice shall make relevant information from the CACI available to a law enforcement agency, county welfare department, tribal agency pursuant to Section 10553.12 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or county probation department that is conducting a child abuse investigation.
(4)The department shall make available to the State Department of Social Services, to any county licensing agency that has contracted with the state for the performance of licensing duties, to a county approving resource families pursuant to Section 16519.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or to a tribal court or tribal child welfare agency of a tribe, consortium of tribes, or tribal organization that has entered into an agreement with the state pursuant to Section 10553.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section and subdivision (a) of Section 11169 concerning any person who is an applicant for licensure or approval, or any adult who resides or is employed in the home of an applicant for licensure or approval, or who is an applicant for employment in a position having supervisorial or disciplinary power over a child or children, or who will provide 24-hour care for a child or children in a residential home or facility, pursuant to Section 1522.1 or 1596.877 of the Health and Safety Code, or Section 8714, 8802, 8912, or 9000 of the Family Code, or Section 11403.2 or 16519.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(5)The Department of Justice shall make available to a Court Appointed Special Advocate program that is conducting a background investigation of an applicant seeking employment with the program or a volunteer position as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, as defined in Section 101 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, information contained in the index regarding known or suspected child abuse by the applicant.
(6)For purposes of child death review, the Department of Justice shall make available to the chairperson, or the chairpersons designee, for each county child death review team, or the State Child Death Review Council, information for investigative purposes only that is maintained in the CACI pursuant to subdivision (a) relating to the death of one or more children and any prior child abuse or neglect investigation reports maintained involving the same victims, siblings, or suspects. Local child death review teams may share any relevant information regarding case reviews involving child death with other child death review teams.
(7)The department shall make available to investigative agencies or probation officers, or court investigators acting pursuant to Section 1513 of the Probate Code, responsible for placing children or assessing the possible placement of children pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 300), Article 7 (commencing with Section 305), Article 10 (commencing with Section 360), or Article 14 (commencing with Section 601) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or Article 2 (commencing with Section 1510) or Article 3 (commencing with Section 1540) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Probate Code, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser contained in the index concerning any adult residing in the home where the child may be placed, when this information is requested for purposes of ensuring that the placement is in the best interest of the child. Upon receipt of relevant information concerning child abuse or neglect investigation reports contained in the CACI from the Department of Justice pursuant to this subdivision, the agency or court investigator shall notify, in writing, the person listed in the CACI that he or she is in the index. The notification shall include the name of the reporting agency and the date of the report.
(8)Pursuant to Section 10553.12 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the department shall make available to a tribal agency information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section or subdivision (a) of Section 11169 who is being considered as a prospective foster or adoptive parent, an adult who resides or is employed in the home of an applicant for approval, any person who has a familial or intimate relationship with any person living in the home of an applicant, or an employee of the tribal agency who may have contact with children.
(9)The Department of Justice shall make available to a government agency conducting a background investigation pursuant to Section 1031 of the Government Code of an applicant seeking employment as a peace officer, as defined in Section 830, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section concerning the applicant.
(10)The Department of Justice shall make available to a county child welfare agency or delegated county adoption agency, as defined in Section 8515 of the Family Code, conducting a background investigation, or a government agency conducting a background investigation on behalf of one of those agencies, information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to this section and subdivision (a) of Section 11169 concerning any applicant seeking employment or volunteer status with the agency who, in the course of his or her employment or volunteer work, will have direct contact with children who are alleged to have been, are at risk of, or have suffered, abuse or neglect.
(11)(A)Persons or agencies, as specified in subdivision (b), if investigating a case of known or suspected child abuse or neglect, or the State Department of Social Services or any county licensing agency pursuant to paragraph (4), or a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program conducting a background investigation for employment or volunteer candidates pursuant to paragraph (5), or an investigative agency, probation officer, or court investigator responsible for placing children or assessing the possible placement of children pursuant to paragraph (7), or a government agency conducting a background investigation of an applicant seeking employment as a peace officer pursuant to paragraph (9), or a county child welfare agency or delegated county adoption agency conducting a background investigation of an applicant seeking employment or volunteer status who, in the course of his or her employment or volunteer work, will have direct contact with children who are alleged to have been, are at risk of, or have suffered, abuse or neglect, pursuant to paragraph (10), to whom disclosure of any information maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) is authorized, are responsible for obtaining the original investigative report from the reporting agency, and for drawing independent conclusions regarding the quality of the evidence disclosed, and its sufficiency for making decisions regarding investigation, prosecution, licensing, placement of a child, employment or volunteer positions with a CASA program, or employment as a peace officer.
(B)If CACI information is requested by an agency for the temporary placement of a child in an emergency situation pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 305) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the department is exempt from the requirements of Section 1798.18 of the Civil Code if compliance would cause a delay in providing an expedited response to the agencys inquiry and if further delay in placement may be detrimental to the child.
(12)(A)Whenever information contained in the Department of Justice files is furnished as the result of an application for employment or licensing or volunteer status pursuant to paragraph (4), (5), (8), (9), or (10), the Department of Justice may charge the person or entity making the request a fee. The fee shall not exceed the reasonable costs to the department of providing the information. The only increase shall be at a rate not to exceed the legislatively approved cost-of-living adjustment for the department. In no case shall the fee exceed fifteen dollars ($15).
(B)All moneys received by the department pursuant to this section to process trustline applications for purposes of Chapter 3.35 (commencing with Section 1596.60) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code shall be deposited in a special account in the General Fund that is hereby established and named the Department of Justice Child Abuse Fund. Moneys in the fund shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure by the department to offset the costs incurred to process trustline automated child abuse or neglect system checks pursuant to this section.
(C)All moneys, other than those described in subparagraph (B), received by the department pursuant to this paragraph shall be deposited in a special account in the General Fund which is hereby created and named the Department of Justice Sexual Habitual Offender Fund. The funds shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure by the department to offset the costs incurred pursuant to Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 13885) and Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 13890) of Title 6 of Part 4, and the DNA and Forensic Identification Data Base and Data Bank Act of 1998 (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 295) of Title 9 of Part 1), and for maintenance and improvements to the statewide Sexual Habitual Offender Program and the California DNA offender identification file (CAL-DNA) authorized by Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 13885) of Title 6 of Part 4 and the DNA and Forensic Identification Data Base and Data Bank Act of 1998 (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 295) of Title 9 of Part 1).
(c)(1)The Department of Justice shall make available to any agency responsible for placing children pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 305) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, upon request, relevant information concerning child abuse or neglect reports contained in the index, when making a placement with a responsible relative pursuant to Sections 281.5, 305, and 361.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Upon receipt of relevant information concerning child abuse or neglect reports contained in the index from the Department of Justice pursuant to this subdivision, the agency shall also notify in writing the person listed in the CACI that he or she is in the index. The notification shall include the location of the original investigative report and the submitting agency. The notification shall be submitted to the person listed at the same time that all other parties are notified of the information, and no later than the actual judicial proceeding that determines placement.
(2)If information is requested by an agency for the placement of a child with a responsible relative in an emergency situation pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 305) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the department is exempt from the requirements of Section 1798.18 of the Civil Code if compliance would cause a delay in providing an expedited response to the child protective agencys inquiry and if further delay in placement may be detrimental to the child.
(d)The department shall make available any information maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) to out-of-state law enforcement agencies conducting investigations of known or suspected child abuse or neglect only when an agency makes the request for information in writing and on official letterhead, or as designated by the department, identifying the suspected abuser or victim by name and date of birth or approximate age. The request shall be signed by the department supervisor of the requesting law enforcement agency. The written requests shall cite the out-of-state statute or interstate compact provision that requires that the information contained within these reports shall be disclosed only to law enforcement, prosecutorial entities, or multidisciplinary investigative teams, and shall cite the safeguards in place to prevent unlawful disclosure of any confidential information provided by the requesting state or the applicable interstate compact provision.
(e)(1)The department shall make available to an out-of-state agency, for purposes of approving a prospective foster or adoptive parent in compliance with the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-248), information regarding a known or suspected child abuser maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) concerning the prospective foster or adoptive parent, and any other adult living in the home of the prospective foster or adoptive parent. The department shall make that information available only when the out-of-state agency makes the request indicating that continual compliance will be maintained with the requirement in paragraph (20) of subsection (a) of Section 671 of Title 42 of the United States Code that requires the state to have in place safeguards to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of information in any child abuse and neglect registry maintained by the state and prevent the information from being used for a purpose other than the conducting of background checks in foster or adoption placement cases.
(2)With respect to any information provided by the department in response to the out-of-state agencys request, the out-of-state agency is responsible for obtaining the original investigative report from the reporting agency, and for drawing independent conclusions regarding the quality of the evidence disclosed and its sufficiency for making decisions regarding the approval of prospective foster or adoptive parents.
(3)(A)Whenever information contained in the index is furnished pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall charge the out-of-state agency making the request a fee. The fee shall not exceed the reasonable costs to the department of providing the information. The only increase shall be at a rate not to exceed the legislatively approved cost-of-living adjustment for the department. In no case shall the fee exceed fifteen dollars ($15).
(B)All moneys received by the department pursuant to this subdivision shall be deposited in the Department of Justice Child Abuse Fund, established under subparagraph (B) of paragraph (12) of subdivision (b). Moneys in the fund shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure by the department to offset the costs incurred to process requests for information pursuant to this subdivision.
(f)(1)Any person may determine if he or she is listed in the CACI by making a request in writing to the Department of Justice. The request shall be notarized and include the persons name, address, date of birth, and either a social security number or a California identification number. Upon receipt of a notarized request, the Department of Justice shall make available to the requesting person information identifying the date of the report and the submitting agency. The requesting person is responsible for obtaining the investigative report from the submitting agency pursuant to paragraph (11) of subdivision (b) of Section 11167.5.
(2)No person or agency shall require or request another person to furnish a copy of a record concerning himself or herself, or notification that a record concerning himself or herself exists or does not exist, pursuant to paragraph (1).
(g)If a person is listed in the CACI only as a victim of child abuse or neglect, and that person is 18 years of age or older, that person may have his or her name removed from the index by making a written request to the Department of Justice. The request shall be notarized and include the persons name, address, social security number, and date of birth.
SEC. 3.If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
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Date
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Status
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| Sep 21, 2018 | Vetoed by Governor. |
| Sep 6, 2018 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m. |
| Aug 29, 2018 | Assembly Rule 77 suspended. |
| Aug 28, 2018 | In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after August 30 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77. |
| Aug 28, 2018 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. |
| Aug 24, 2018 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| Aug 23, 2018 | Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading. |
| Aug 20, 2018 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| Aug 17, 2018 | From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (August 16). |
| Aug 6, 2018 | In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file. |
| Jun 20, 2018 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 19). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jun 11, 2018 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on PUB. S. |
| Jun 7, 2018 | Referred to Com. on PUB. S. |
| May 31, 2018 | In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. |
| May 30, 2018 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. |
| May 29, 2018 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| May 25, 2018 | From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 12. Noes 0.) (May 25). |
| Apr 4, 2018 | In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to suspense file. |
| Mar 21, 2018 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (March 20). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Feb 12, 2018 | Referred to Com. on PUB. S. |
| Feb 2, 2018 | From printer. May be heard in committee March 4. |
| Feb 1, 2018 | Read first time. To print. |
|
Date
|
Description
|
Location
|
Votes
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29, 2018 | AB 2005 SANTIAGO Concurrence in Senate Amendments | Assembly Floor |
Passed |
|
| Aug 28, 2018 | Assembly 3rd Reading AB2005 Santiago By Delgado | Senate Floor |
Passed |
|
| Aug 16, 2018 | Do pass as amended | Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Aug 6, 2018 | Placed on suspense file | Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Jun 19, 2018 | Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Senate Standing Committee on Public Safety |
Passed |
|
| May 30, 2018 | AB 2005 SANTIAGO Assembly Third Reading | Assembly Floor |
Passed |
|
| May 25, 2018 | Do pass as amended. | Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Mar 20, 2018 | Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Assembly Standing Committee on Public Safety |
Passed |
This list shows positions taken on this bill by organizations on the date displayed, which is linked to the original source.
Positions by individuals are not included.
|
Organization
|
Position
|
Date
|
|---|---|---|
| American Civil Liberties Union | ** Against | Aug 24, 2018 |
| Assembly Floor Vote: 78 - 0 | ** Against | Jun 18, 2018 |
| Association of Deputy District Attorneys | * Support | Jun 19, 2018 |
| California District Attorneys Association | ** Support | Aug 24, 2018 |
| California Police Chiefs Association | ** Support | Aug 24, 2018 |
| California State Sheriffs' Association | ** Support | Aug 24, 2018 |
| Ican Associates For The Prevention Of Child Abuse | ** Support | Aug 24, 2018 |
| Los Angeles County | * Support | Jun 19, 2018 |
| Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors | ** Support | Aug 24, 2018 |
| Los Angeles County District Attorney'S Office | ** Support | Aug 24, 2018 |
| Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association | * Support | Jun 19, 2018 |
| Los Angeles County Sheriff'S Department | ** Support | Aug 24, 2018 |
| Los Angeles County Sherriff's Department | * Support | Jun 19, 2018 |
| Los Angeles County Sherriff's Department | * Support | Jun 19, 2018 |
| Los Angeles District Attorney's Office | * Support | Mar 20, 2018 |
| Peace Officers Research Association Of California | ** Support | Aug 24, 2018 |
| PURPOSE | ** Against | Jun 18, 2018 |
| Riverside Sheriffs' Association | * Support | Jun 19, 2018 |
| San Bernardino County Sheriff'S Department | ** Support | Aug 24, 2018 |
| San Bernardino Sheriff's Department | * Support | Jun 19, 2018 |
| The Health Officers Association Of California | ** Support | Aug 24, 2018 |
GOVERNOR'S VETO
GV Bill Id:AB 2005
Author:(Santiago)
As Enrolled Ver:September 6, 2018
2/3 vote
ASSEMBLY: | 78-0 | (May 30, 2018) | SENATE: | 38-0 | (August 28, 2018) |
ASSEMBLY: | 78-0 | (August 29, 2018) |
Original Committee Reference: PUB. S.
SUMMARY: Authorizes a police or sheriff's department receiving a report of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect to forward any such reports that are investigated and determined to be substantiated to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for inclusion in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI).
The Senate amendments:
- Specify that law enforcement can only forward reports of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect made on or after January 1, 2019.
- Provide that law enforcement must adopt notification and grievance procedures that are consistent with those currently used by the Department of Social Services, as specified, or any successor regulations.
EXISTING LAW:
- Requires mandated reporters to make reports of suspected child abuse or neglect to any police department or sheriff's department, not including a school district police or security department, county probation department, if designated by the county to receive mandated reports, or the county welfare department.
- Requires that any specified mandated reporter who has knowledge of or observes a child, in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment whom the reporter knows, or reasonably suspects, has been the victim of child abuse, to report it immediately to a specified child protection agency.
- Requires specified local agencies to send the DOJ reports of every case of child abuse or severe neglect that they investigate and determine to be substantiated.
- Defines "substantiated" as "a report that is determined by the investigator who conducted the investigation to constitute child abuse or neglect … based upon evidence that makes it more likely than not that child abuse or neglect, as defined, occurred. A substantiated report shall not include a report where the investigator who conducted the investigation found the report to be false, inherently improbable, to involve an accidental injury, or to not constitute child abuse or neglect."
- Directs the DOJ to maintain an index, referred to as the CACI, of all substantiated reports of child abuse and neglect submitted as specified.
- Allows DOJ to disclose information contained in the CACI to multiple identified parties for purposes of child abuse investigation, licensing, and employment applications for positions that have interaction with children.
- Requires reporting agencies to provide written notification to a person reported to the CACI.
- Provide that, except in those cases where a court has determined that suspected child abuse or neglect has occurred or a case is currently pending before the court, any person listed in the CACI has the right to hearing which comports with due process before the agency that requested the person's CACI inclusion.
- Requires a reporting agency to notify the DOJ when a due process hearing results in a finding that a CACI listing was based on an unsubstantiated report.
- Requires the DOJ to remove a person's name from the CACI when it is notified that the due process hearing resulted in a finding that the listing was based on an unsubstantiated report.
- Provides that any person listed in CACI who has reached age 100 is to be removed from CACI.
- Provides that any non-reoffending minor who is listed in CACI shall be removed after 10 years.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill
- Eliminated a provision in existing law which prohibits law enforcement from forwarding reports of child abuse and neglect to the DOJ for inclusion in the CACI.
- Allowed, but did not require, a police or sheriff's department to forward a substantiated report of child abuse or severe neglect to DOJ for inclusion in the CACI.
- Required any police or sheriff's department electing to forward substantiated reports of abuse and neglect to the DOJ to adopt notification and grievance procedure that are consistent with those used by the Department of Social Services, as specified.
- Made conforming changes to other provisions.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, ongoing costs of $157,000 to DOJ to support 1.0 Program Technician II and 1.0 Program Technician to process the anticipated increased submissions of CACI forms. (General Fund)
COMMENTS: According to the author, ''Our children deserve our fullest attention. They count on us to care for them, to protect them. We must focus as many resources as we can afford towards this goal. Police and sheriff departments are uniquely positioned to help stem the level of violence perpetrated against our children, they are on the ground every day and in many cases, they are the only point of contact between a victim of child abuse and our justice system. AB 2005 will ensure that these departments of law enforcement can continue to serve our communities and protect our children fully.''
This bill would authorize a law enforcement agency to forward a report of child abuse or neglect to the Department of Justice for inclusion in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI).
In 2011 I signed AB 717 (Ammiano), which was intended to update the procedures governing the index as well as establish due process protections for individuals added to the database. At that time, the ability of law enforcement to submit cases to the index was eliminated, in part to eliminate redundancies and reduce costs.
I am not fundamentally opposed to once again granting law enforcement the authority to submit cases to the index, however this bill does so in a manner that would undoubtedly lead to inconsistent application across and within counties. I encourage the proponents to work with the relevant stakeholders, including the Department of Social Services and Department of Justice, to further refine this proposal for future consideration.
Analysis Prepared by: Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0005351
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
CSA1 Bill Id:AB 2005
Author:(Santiago)
As Amended Ver:August 23, 2018
Majority vote
ASSEMBLY: | 78-0 | (May 30, 2018) | SENATE: | 38-0 | (August 28, 2018) |
Original Committee Reference: PUB. S.
SUMMARY: Authorizes a police or sheriff's department receiving a report of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect to forward any such reports that are investigated and determined to be substantiated to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for inclusion in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI).
The Senate amendments:
- Specify that law enforcement can only forward reports of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect made on or after January 1, 2019.
- Provide that law enforcement must adopt notification and grievance procedures that are consistent with those currently used by the Department of Social Services, as specified, or any successor regulations.
EXISTING LAW:
- Requires mandated reporters to make reports of suspected child abuse or neglect to any police department or sheriff's department, not including a school district police or security department, county probation department, if designated by the county to receive mandated reports, or the county welfare department.
- Requires that any specified mandated reporter who has knowledge of or observes a child, in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment whom the reporter knows, or reasonably suspects, has been the victim of child abuse, to report it immediately to a specified child protection agency.
- Requires specified local agencies to send the DOJ reports of every case of child abuse or severe neglect that they investigate and determine to be substantiated.
- Defines "substantiated" as "a report that is determined by the investigator who conducted the investigation to constitute child abuse or neglect … based upon evidence that makes it more likely than not that child abuse or neglect, as defined, occurred. A substantiated report shall not include a report where the investigator who conducted the investigation found the report to be false, inherently improbable, to involve an accidental injury, or to not constitute child abuse or neglect."
- Directs the DOJ to maintain an index, referred to as the CACI, of all substantiated reports of child abuse and neglect submitted as specified.
- Allows DOJ to disclose information contained in the CACI to multiple identified parties for purposes of child abuse investigation, licensing, and employment applications for positions that have interaction with children.
- Requires reporting agencies to provide written notification to a person reported to the CACI.
- Provide that, except in those cases where a court has determined that suspected child abuse or neglect has occurred or a case is currently pending before the court, any person listed in the CACI has the right to hearing which comports with due process before the agency that requested the person's CACI inclusion.
- Requires a reporting agency to notify the DOJ when a due process hearing results in a finding that a CACI listing was based on an unsubstantiated report.
- Requires the DOJ to remove a person's name from the CACI when it is notified that the due process hearing resulted in a finding that the listing was based on an unsubstantiated report.
- Provides that any person listed in CACI who has reached age 100 is to be removed from CACI.
- Provides that any non-reoffending minor who is listed in CACI shall be removed after 10 years.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill
- Eliminated a provision in existing law which prohibits law enforcement from forwarding reports of child abuse and neglect to the DOJ for inclusion in the CACI.
- Allowed, but did not require, a police or sheriff's department to forward a substantiated report of child abuse or severe neglect to DOJ for inclusion in the CACI.
- Required any police or sheriff's department electing to forward substantiated reports of abuse and neglect to the DOJ to adopt notification and grievance procedure that are consistent with those used by the Department of Social Services, as specified.
- Made conforming changes to other provisions.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, ongoing costs of $157,000 to DOJ to support 1.0 Program Technician II and 1.0 Program Technician to process the anticipated increased submissions of CACI forms. (General Fund)
COMMENTS: According to the author, ''Our children deserve our fullest attention. They count on us to care for them, to protect them. We must focus as many resources as we can afford towards this goal. Police and sheriff departments are uniquely positioned to help stem the level of violence perpetrated against our children, they are on the ground every day and in many cases, they are the only point of contact between a victim of child abuse and our justice system. AB 2005 will ensure that these departments of law enforcement can continue to serve our communities and protect our children fully.''
Analysis Prepared by: Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0004875
Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 | AB 2005 |
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2005
Amended: 8/23/18 in Senate
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/19/18
AYES: Skinner, Anderson, Bradford, Jackson, Mitchell, Stone, Wiener
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/16/18
AYES: Portantino, Bates, Beall, Bradford, Hill, Nielsen, Wiener
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/30/18 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Child Abuse Central Index
SOURCE: Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
DIGEST:
This bill authorizes a police or sheriff’s department receiving a report of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect to forward a substantiated report of child abuse or severe neglect to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for inclusion in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI).
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/23/18 clarify that it applies to reports filed by law enforcement on or after January 1, 2019.
Existing law:
- Requires mandated reporters to make reports of suspected child abuse or neglect to any police department or sheriff’s department, not including a school district police or security department, county probation department, if designated by the county to receive mandated reports, or the county welfare department.” (Pen. Code, § 11165.9.)
- Requires that any specified mandated reporter who has knowledge of or observes a child, in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment whom the reporter knows, or reasonably suspects, has been the victim of child abuse, to report it immediately to a specified child protection agency. (Pen. Code, § 11166, subd. (a).)
- Requires specified local agencies to send the DOJ reports of every case of child abuse or severe neglect that they investigate and determine to be substantiated. (Penal Code, § 11169, subd. (a).)
- Defines “substantiated” as “a report that is determined by the investigator who conducted the investigation to constitute child abuse or neglect … based upon evidence that makes it more likely than not that child abuse or neglect, as defined, occurred. A substantiated report shall not include a report where the investigator who conducted the investigation found the report to be false, inherently improbable, to involve an accidental injury, or to not constitute child abuse or neglect.” (Pen. Code, § 11165.12, subd. (b).)
- Directs the DOJ to maintain an index, referred to as the CACI, of all substantiated reports of child abuse and neglect submitted as specified. (Pen. Code § 11170, subds. (a)(1) and (a)(3).)
- Allows DOJ to disclose information contained in the CACI to multiple identified parties for purposes of child abuse investigation, licensing, and employment applications for positions that have interaction with children. (Pen. Code, § 11170, subd. (b).)
- Requires reporting agencies to provide written notification to a person reported to the CACI. (Pen. Code, § 11169, subd. (c).)
- Provides that, except in those cases where a court has determined that suspected child abuse or neglect has occurred or a case is currently pending before the court, any person listed in the CACI has the right to hearing which comports with due process before the agency that requested the person's CACI inclusion. (Pen. Code, §11169, subds. (d) and (e).)
- Requires a reporting agency to notify the DOJ when a due process hearing results in a finding that a CACI listing was based on an unsubstantiated report. (Pen. Code, § 11169, subd. (h).)
- Requires the DOJ to remove a person's name from the CACI when it is notified that the due process hearing resulted in a finding that the listing was based on an unsubstantiated report. (Pen. Code, § 11169, subd. (h).)
- Requires that any person listed in CACI who has reached age 100 is to be removed from CACI. (Pen. Code, §11169, subd. (f).)
- Provides that any non-reoffending minor who is listed in CACI shall be removed after 10 years. (Pen. Code, § 11169, subd. (g).)
- Prohibits, as of January 1, 2012, a police or sheriff’s department from forwarding to DOJ for inclusion in the CACI a report of any case it investigates of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect. (Pen. Code, § 11169, subd. (b).)
This bill:
- Eliminates the provision in existing law which prohibits law enforcement from forwarding reports of abuse and neglect to the DOJ for inclusion in the CACI, and instead authorizes a police or sheriff’s department to forward to DOJ a report of its investigation of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that is determined to be substantiated.
- Specifies that if a previously filed report subsequently proves to be not substantiated, DOJ shall be notified in writing of that fact and shall not retain the report.
- States that a police or sheriff’s department that forwards a substantiated report of child abuse or severe neglect to DOJ is subject to all of the requirements imposed by the statutes governing CACI and requires DOJ adopt notification and grievance procedures that are consistent with specified regulations of the Department of Social Services (DSS), or any successor regulation thereto.
Background
- Background on CACI
CACI was created in 1965 as a centralized system for collecting reports of suspected child abuse. This is not an index of persons who necessarily have been convicted of any crime; it is an index of persons against whom reports of child abuse or neglect have been made, investigated, and determined by the reporting agency (local welfare departments and law enforcement) to meet the requirements for inclusion, according to standards that have changed over the years.
Access to CACI initially was limited to official investigations of open child abuse cases, but in 1986 the Legislature expanded access to allow DSS to use the information for conducting background checks on applications for licenses, adoptions, and employment in child care and related services positions.
DOJ provides the following summary of CACI on its Web site:
The Attorney General administers the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI), which was created by the Legislature in 1965 as a tool for state and local agencies to help protect the health and safety of California's children.
Each year, child abuse investigations are reported to the CACI. These reports pertain to investigations of alleged physical abuse, sexual abuse, mental/emotional abuse, and/or severe neglect of a child. The reports are submitted by county welfare and probation departments.
The information in the Index is available to aid law enforcement investigations, prosecutions, and to provide notification of new child abuse investigation reports involving the same suspects and/or victims. Information also is provided to designated social welfare agencies to help screen applicants for licensing or employment in child care facilities and foster homes, and to aid in background checks for other possible child placements, and adoptions. Dissemination of CACI information is restricted and controlled by the Penal Code.
Information on file in the Child Abuse Central Index include:
- Names and personal descriptors of the suspects and victims listed on reports;
- Reporting agency that investigated the incident;
- The name and/or number assigned to the case by the investigating agency;
- Type(s) of abuse investigated; and
- The findings of the investigation for the incident are substantiated.
It is important to note that the effectiveness of the index is only as good as the quality of the information reported. Each reporting agency is required by law to forward to the DOJ a report of every child abuse incident it investigates, unless the incident is determined to be unfounded or general neglect. Each reporting agency is responsible for the accuracy, completeness and retention of the original reports. The CACI serves as a “pointer” back to the original submitting agency.(See <http://oag.ca.gov/childabuse [as of June 11, 2018].)
DOJ is not authorized to remove suspect records from CACI unless requested by the original reporting agency. (<https://oag.ca.gov/childabuse/selfinquiry [as of June 11, 2018].)
- Prior Legislation and Litigation
In 1963, the Legislature began requiring physicians to report suspected child abuse. (See Smith v. M.D. (2003) 105 Cal.App.4th 1169.) Two years later, the Legislature expanded the reporting scheme to require that instances of suspected abuse and neglect be referred to a central registry maintained by DOJ. In the early 1980s, the Legislature revised the then-existing laws and enacted the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA), which created the current version of the CACI. These revisions did not require that listed individuals be notified of the listing, nor were individuals even able to determine whether they were listed in the CACI.
In Burt v. County of Orange (2004) 120 Cal.App.4th 273, the Court of Appeal held that a CACI listing implicates an individual's state constitutional right to familial and informational privacy, thus entitling the person to due process. (Id. at pp. 284-285.) Although the CACI does not explicitly grant a hearing for a listed individual to challenge placement on the CACI, the statutory scheme contained an implicit right to a hearing. (Id. at p. 285.) The Court declined to provide guidance on what procedures that hearing should include. The Court merely stated that the county social services agency was required to afford a listed individual a "reasonable" opportunity to be heard. (Id. at p. 286.)
In Humphries v. Los Angeles County (9th Cir. 2009) 554 F.3d 1170, 1200, the Ninth Circuit held that an erroneous listing of parents who were accused of child abuse on the CACI without notice and an opportunity to be heard would violate the parents' due process rights. Specifically,"[t]he lack of any meaningful, guaranteed procedural safeguards before the initial placement on CACI combined with the lack of any effective process for removal from CACI violates the [parents'] due process rights." (Id.) The court ruled that, "California must promptly notify a suspected child abuser that his name is on the CACI and provide 'some kind of hearing' by which he can challenge his inclusion." (Id. at 1201.)
In 2011, the Legislature amended CANRA to provide for a hearing to seek removal from the CACI. (See AB 717, Ammiano, Chapter 468, Statutes of 2011.) The same legislation also limited the reports of abuse and neglect for inclusion in CACI to substantiated reports. Inconclusive and unfounded reports were removed. And of particular significance to this bill, the Legislature also amended CANRA to prohibit law enforcement from forwarding reports of abuse and neglect to the DOJ for inclusion in the CACI. The policy committee analyses for AB 717 do not specifically discuss why the statute was amended to prohibit law enforcement from forwarding reports of abuse and neglect to the DOJ.
This bill undoes the latter legislative change and instead provides that a police or sheriff’s department receiving a report of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect may forward any such reports that are investigated and determined to be substantiated to DOJ for inclusion in CACI.
- Current Practice
DSS child welfare staff will submit the names of perpetrators from “substantiated” referrals of abuse and/or neglect to the DOJ for inclusion in the CACI. Staff will further inform those persons that their name has been submitted for listing on the CACI, and provide them with information on the process to grieve/contest the listing.
In response to the settlement in Gomez v. Saenz, all child welfare departments in California have agreed to notify individuals of their listing on the CACI, give individuals the right to grieve the listing, and provide grievance hearings for those who challenge the listing.
Pursuant to the Gomez v. Saenz settlement, when submitting a person’s name for listing on the CACI, DSS is required to provide the person (by mail) with three forms – the completed Notice of Child Abuse Central Index Listing (SOC 832), the Request for Grievance Hearing (SOC 834), and the Grievance Procedures for Challenging Reference to the Child Abuse Central Index (SOC 833). (http://www.cdss.ca.gov/cdssweb/entres/forms/English/SOC833.pdf)
If an individual requests a grievance hearing, there are strict procedures to follow. For example, the hearing must occur within 10 business days, and no later than 60 calendar days from the request for a hearing. The complaining party is entitled to have an attorney or other representative assist him or her at the hearing. The grievance hearing officer must be a person not directly involved in the decision or in the investigation that is the subject of the hearing; nor can a coworker or direct supervisor of persons involved in making the finding be the hearing officer. The complaining party and his or her representatives must be permitted to examine all records and relevant evidence. The complaining party is entitled to a witness list. All testimony must be given under oath or affirmation. The proceedings must be audio recorded as part of the official administrative record. There must be a written decision, and the complainant may challenge that decision by means of a writ of mandate. (http://www.cdss.ca.gov/cdssweb/entres/forms/English/SOC833.pdf)
This bill requires a police or sheriff’s department that chooses to submit a substantiated report of child abuse or severe neglect to DOJ for inclusion in CACI to adopt notification and grievance procedures that are consistent with DSS’s policies and procedures on challenging inclusion in CACI.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, ongoing costs of $157,000 to DOJ to support 1.0 Program Technician II and 1.0 Program Technician to process the anticipated increased submissions of CACI forms. (General Fund)
Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office (co-source)
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (co-source)
California District Attorneys Association
California Police Chiefs Association
California State Sheriffs’ Association
ICAN Associates for the Prevention of Child Abuse
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Peace Officers Research Association of California
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department
The Health Officers Association of California
OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/23/18)
American Civil Liberties Union
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/30/18
AYES: Acosta, Aguiar-Curry, Travis Allen, Arambula, Baker, Berman, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonta, Brough, Burke, Caballero, Calderon, Carrillo, Cervantes, Chau, Chávez, Chen, Chiu, Choi, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Cunningham, Dahle, Daly, Eggman, Flora, Fong, Frazier, Friedman, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gipson, Gloria, Gonzalez Fletcher, Gray, Grayson, Harper, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Kamlager-Dove, Kiley, Lackey, Levine, Limón, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Patterson, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Reyes, Rodriguez, Rubio, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Voepel, Waldron, Weber, Wood, Rendon
Prepared by: Mary Kennedy / PUB. S. /
8/24/18 14:45:13
**** END ****
Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 | AB 2005 |
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2005
Amended: 8/17/18 in Senate
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/19/18
AYES: Skinner, Anderson, Bradford, Jackson, Mitchell, Stone, Wiener
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/16/18
AYES: Portantino, Bates, Beall, Bradford, Hill, Nielsen, Wiener
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/30/18 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Child Abuse Central Index
SOURCE: Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
DIGEST:
This bill authorizes a police or sheriff’s department receiving a report of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect to forward a substantiated report of child abuse or severe neglect to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for inclusion in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI).
Existing law:
- Requires mandated reporters to make reports of suspected child abuse or neglect to any police department or sheriff’s department, not including a school district police or security department, county probation department, if designated by the county to receive mandated reports, or the county welfare department.” (Pen. Code, § 11165.9.)
- Requires that any specified mandated reporter who has knowledge of or observes a child, in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment whom the reporter knows, or reasonably suspects, has been the victim of child abuse, to report it immediately to a specified child protection agency. (Pen. Code, § 11166, subd. (a).)
- Requires specified local agencies to send the DOJ reports of every case of child abuse or severe neglect that they investigate and determine to be substantiated. (Penal Code, § 11169, subd. (a).)
- Defines “substantiated” as “a report that is determined by the investigator who conducted the investigation to constitute child abuse or neglect … based upon evidence that makes it more likely than not that child abuse or neglect, as defined, occurred. A substantiated report shall not include a report where the investigator who conducted the investigation found the report to be false, inherently improbable, to involve an accidental injury, or to not constitute child abuse or neglect.” (Pen. Code, § 11165.12, subd. (b).)
- Directs the DOJ to maintain an index, referred to as the CACI, of all substantiated reports of child abuse and neglect submitted as specified. (Pen. Code § 11170, subds. (a)(1) and (a)(3).)
- Allows DOJ to disclose information contained in the CACI to multiple identified parties for purposes of child abuse investigation, licensing, and employment applications for positions that have interaction with children. (Pen. Code, § 11170, subd. (b).)
- Requires reporting agencies to provide written notification to a person reported to the CACI. (Pen. Code, § 11169, subd. (c).)
- Provides that, except in those cases where a court has determined that suspected child abuse or neglect has occurred or a case is currently pending before the court, any person listed in the CACI has the right to hearing which comports with due process before the agency that requested the person's CACI inclusion. (Pen. Code, §11169, subds. (d) and (e).)
- Requires a reporting agency to notify the DOJ when a due process hearing results in a finding that a CACI listing was based on an unsubstantiated report. (Pen. Code, § 11169, subd. (h).)
- Requires the DOJ to remove a person's name from the CACI when it is notified that the due process hearing resulted in a finding that the listing was based on an unsubstantiated report. (Pen. Code, § 11169, subd. (h).)
- Requires that any person listed in CACI who has reached age 100 is to be removed from CACI. (Pen. Code, §11169, subd. (f).)
- Provides that any non-reoffending minor who is listed in CACI shall be removed after 10 years. (Pen. Code, § 11169, subd. (g).)
- Prohibits, as of January 1, 2012, a police or sheriff’s department from forwarding to DOJ for inclusion in the CACI a report of any case it investigates of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect. (Pen. Code, § 11169, subd. (b).)
This bill:
- Eliminates the provision in existing law which prohibits law enforcement from forwarding reports of abuse and neglect to the DOJ for inclusion in the CACI, and instead authorizes a police or sheriff’s department to forward to DOJ a report of its investigation of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that is determined to be substantiated.
- Specifies that if a previously filed report subsequently proves to be not substantiated, DOJ shall be notified in writing of that fact and shall not retain the report.
- States that a police or sheriff’s department that forwards a substantiated report of child abuse or severe neglect to DOJ is subject to all of the requirements imposed by the statutes governing CACI and requires DOJ adopt notification and grievance procedures that are consistent with specified regulations of the Department of Social Services (DSS), or any successor regulation thereto.
Background
- Background on CACI
CACI was created in 1965 as a centralized system for collecting reports of suspected child abuse. This is not an index of persons who necessarily have been convicted of any crime; it is an index of persons against whom reports of child abuse or neglect have been made, investigated, and determined by the reporting agency (local welfare departments and law enforcement) to meet the requirements for inclusion, according to standards that have changed over the years.
Access to CACI initially was limited to official investigations of open child abuse cases, but in 1986 the Legislature expanded access to allow DSS to use the information for conducting background checks on applications for licenses, adoptions, and employment in child care and related services positions.
DOJ provides the following summary of CACI on its Web site:
The Attorney General administers the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI), which was created by the Legislature in 1965 as a tool for state and local agencies to help protect the health and safety of California's children.
Each year, child abuse investigations are reported to the CACI. These reports pertain to investigations of alleged physical abuse, sexual abuse, mental/emotional abuse, and/or severe neglect of a child. The reports are submitted by county welfare and probation departments.
The information in the Index is available to aid law enforcement investigations, prosecutions, and to provide notification of new child abuse investigation reports involving the same suspects and/or victims. Information also is provided to designated social welfare agencies to help screen applicants for licensing or employment in child care facilities and foster homes, and to aid in background checks for other possible child placements, and adoptions. Dissemination of CACI information is restricted and controlled by the Penal Code.
Information on file in the Child Abuse Central Index include:
- Names and personal descriptors of the suspects and victims listed on reports;
- Reporting agency that investigated the incident;
- The name and/or number assigned to the case by the investigating agency;
- Type(s) of abuse investigated; and
- The findings of the investigation for the incident are substantiated.
It is important to note that the effectiveness of the index is only as good as the quality of the information reported. Each reporting agency is required by law to forward to the DOJ a report of every child abuse incident it investigates, unless the incident is determined to be unfounded or general neglect. Each reporting agency is responsible for the accuracy, completeness and retention of the original reports. The CACI serves as a “pointer” back to the original submitting agency.(See <http://oag.ca.gov/childabuse [as of June 11, 2018].)
DOJ is not authorized to remove suspect records from CACI unless requested by the original reporting agency. (<https://oag.ca.gov/childabuse/selfinquiry [as of June 11, 2018].)
- Prior Legislation and Litigation
In 1963, the Legislature began requiring physicians to report suspected child abuse. (See Smith v. M.D. (2003) 105 Cal.App.4th 1169.) Two years later, the Legislature expanded the reporting scheme to require that instances of suspected abuse and neglect be referred to a central registry maintained by DOJ. In the early 1980s, the Legislature revised the then-existing laws and enacted the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA), which created the current version of the CACI. These revisions did not require that listed individuals be notified of the listing, nor were individuals even able to determine whether they were listed in the CACI.
In Burt v. County of Orange (2004) 120 Cal.App.4th 273, the Court of Appeal held that a CACI listing implicates an individual's state constitutional right to familial and informational privacy, thus entitling the person to due process. (Id. at pp. 284-285.) Although the CACI does not explicitly grant a hearing for a listed individual to challenge placement on the CACI, the statutory scheme contained an implicit right to a hearing. (Id. at p. 285.) The Court declined to provide guidance on what procedures that hearing should include. The Court merely stated that the county social services agency was required to afford a listed individual a "reasonable" opportunity to be heard. (Id. at p. 286.)
In Humphries v. Los Angeles County (9th Cir. 2009) 554 F.3d 1170, 1200, the Ninth Circuit held that an erroneous listing of parents who were accused of child abuse on the CACI without notice and an opportunity to be heard would violate the parents' due process rights. Specifically,"[t]he lack of any meaningful, guaranteed procedural safeguards before the initial placement on CACI combined with the lack of any effective process for removal from CACI violates the [parents'] due process rights." (Id.) The court ruled that, "California must promptly notify a suspected child abuser that his name is on the CACI and provide 'some kind of hearing' by which he can challenge his inclusion." (Id. at 1201.)
In 2011, the Legislature amended CANRA to provide for a hearing to seek removal from the CACI. (See AB 717, Ammiano, Chapter 468, Statutes of 2011.) The same legislation also limited the reports of abuse and neglect for inclusion in CACI to substantiated reports. Inconclusive and unfounded reports were removed. And of particular significance to this bill, the Legislature also amended CANRA to prohibit law enforcement from forwarding reports of abuse and neglect to the DOJ for inclusion in the CACI. The policy committee analyses for AB 717 do not specifically discuss why the statute was amended to prohibit law enforcement from forwarding reports of abuse and neglect to the DOJ.
This bill undoes the latter legislative change and instead provides that a police or sheriff’s department receiving a report of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect may forward any such reports that are investigated and determined to be substantiated to DOJ for inclusion in CACI.
- Current Practice
(DSS child welfare staff will submit the names of perpetrators from “substantiated” referrals of abuse and/or neglect to the DOJ for inclusion in the CACI. Staff will further inform those persons that their name has been submitted for listing on the CACI, and provide them with information on the process to grieve/contest the listing.
In response to the settlement in Gomez v. Saenz, all child welfare departments in California have agreed to notify individuals of their listing on the CACI, give individuals the right to grieve the listing, and provide grievance hearings for those who challenge the listing.
Pursuant to the Gomez v. Saenz settlement, when submitting a person’s name for listing on the CACI, DSS is required to provide the person (by mail) with three forms – the completed Notice of Child Abuse Central Index Listing (SOC 832), the Request for Grievance Hearing (SOC 834), and the Grievance Procedures for Challenging Reference to the Child Abuse Central Index (SOC 833). (http://www.cdss.ca.gov/cdssweb/entres/forms/English/SOC833.pdf)
If an individual requests a grievance hearing, there are strict procedures to follow. For example, the hearing must occur within 10 business days, and no later than 60 calendar days from the request for a hearing. The complaining party is entitled to have an attorney or other representative assist him or her at the hearing. The grievance hearing officer must be a person not directly involved in the decision or in the investigation that is the subject of the hearing; nor can a coworker or direct supervisor of persons involved in making the finding be the hearing officer. The complaining party and his or her representatives must be permitted to examine all records and relevant evidence. The complaining party is entitled to a witness list. All testimony must be given under oath or affirmation. The proceedings must be audio recorded as part of the official administrative record. There must be a written decision, and the complainant may challenge that decision by means of a writ of mandate. (http://www.cdss.ca.gov/cdssweb/entres/forms/English/SOC833.pdf)
This bill requires a police or sheriff’s department that chooses to submit a substantiated report of child abuse or severe neglect to DOJ for inclusion in CACI to adopt notification and grievance procedures that are consistent with DSS’s policies and procedures on challenging inclusion in CACI.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, ongoing costs of $157,000 to DOJ to support 1.0 Program Technician II and 1.0 Program Technician to process the anticipated increased submissions of CACI forms. (General Fund)
Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office (co-source)
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (co-source)
California District Attorneys Association
California Police Chiefs Association
California State Sheriffs’ Association
ICAN Associates for the Prevention of Child Abuse
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Peace Officers Research Association of California
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department
The Health Officers Association of California
OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/16/18)
American Civil Liberties Union
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/30/18
AYES: Acosta, Aguiar-Curry, Travis Allen, Arambula, Baker, Berman, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonta, Brough, Burke, Caballero, Calderon, Carrillo, Cervantes, Chau, Chávez, Chen, Chiu, Choi, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Cunningham, Dahle, Daly, Eggman, Flora, Fong, Frazier, Friedman, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gipson, Gloria, Gonzalez Fletcher, Gray, Grayson, Harper, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Kamlager-Dove, Kiley, Lackey, Levine, Limón, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Patterson, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Reyes, Rodriguez, Rubio, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Voepel, Waldron, Weber, Wood, Rendon
Prepared by: Mary Kennedy / PUB. S. /
8/20/18 9:15:26
**** END ****
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair
2017 - 2018 Regular Session
AB 2005 (Santiago) - Child Abuse Central Index
Version: June 11, 2018 | Policy Vote: PUB. S. 7 - 0 |
Urgency: No | Mandate: No |
Hearing Date: August 16, 2018 | Consultant: Shaun Naidu |
Bill Summary:
AB 2005 would allow local law enforcement agency to forward a substantiated report of suspected child abuse, except as specified, to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and would require an agency that does so to adopt notification and grievance procedures that are consistent with specified regulations of the Department of Social Services (DSS).
*********** ANALYSIS ADDENDUM – SUSPENSE FILE ***********
The following information is revised to reflect amendments
adopted by the committee on August 16, 2018
Fiscal Impact:
Ongoing costs of $157,000 to DOJ to support 1.0 Program Technician II and 1.0 Program Technician to process the anticipated increased submissions of CACI forms. (General Fund)
Committee Amendments:
Require law enforcement agencies that choose to submit a report to CACI to adopt grievance procedures that are consistent with DSS Manual of Policies and Procedures section 31-021.
-- END --
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair
2017 - 2018 Regular Session
AB 2005 (Santiago) - Child Abuse Central Index
Version: | Policy Vote: |
Urgency: | Mandate: |
Hearing Date: | Consultant: |
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary:
AB 2005 would allow local law enforcement agency to forward a substantiated report of suspected child abuse, except as specified, to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and would require an agency that does so to adopt notification and grievance procedures that are consistent with specified regulations of the Department of Social Services (DSS).
Fiscal Impact:
Ongoing costs of $157,000 to DOJ to support 1.0 Program Technician II and 1.0 Program Technician to process the anticipated increased submissions of CACI forms. (General Fund)
Background:
The Child Abuse Central Index was created in 1965 as a centralized system for collecting reports of suspected child abuse. It is not an index of persons who necessarily have been convicted of any crime; it is an index of persons against whom reports of child abuse or neglect have been made, investigated, and determined by the reporting agency (local welfare departments and law enforcement) to meet the requirements for inclusion, according to standards that have changed over the years.
Access to CACI initially was limited to official investigations of open child abuse cases, but in 1986 the Legislature expanded access to allow DSS to use the information for conducting background checks on applications for licenses, adoptions, and employment in child care and related services positions.
In 1963, the Legislature began requiring physicians to report suspected child abuse. (See Smith v. M.D. (2003) 105 Cal.App.4th 1169.) Two years later, the Legislature expanded the reporting scheme to require that instances of suspected abuse and neglect be referred to a central registry maintained by DOJ. In the early 1980s, the Legislature revised the then-existing laws and enacted the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA), which created the current version of CACI. These revisions did not require that listed individuals be notified of the listing, nor were individuals able to determine whether they were included in the index.
In Burt v. County of Orange (2004) 120 Cal.App.4th 273, the Court of Appeal held that a CACI listing implicates an individual's state constitutional right to familial and informational privacy, thus entitling the person to due process. (Id. at pp. 284-285.) Although CACI does not explicitly grant a hearing for a listed individual to challenge placement on the CACI, the statutory scheme contained an implicit right to a hearing. (Id. at p. 285.) The court declined to provide guidance on what procedures that hearing should include but merely stated that the county social services agency was required to afford a listed individual a "reasonable" opportunity to be heard. (Id. at p. 286.)
In Humphries v. Los Angeles County (9th Cir. 2009) 554 F.3d 1170, 1200, the Ninth Circuit held that an erroneous listing of parents who were accused of child abuse on CACI without notice and an opportunity to be heard would violate the parents' due process rights. Specifically,"[t]he lack of any meaningful, guaranteed procedural safeguards before the initial placement on CACI combined with the lack of any effective process for removal from CACI violates the [parents'] due process rights." (Id.) The court ruled that, "California must promptly notify a suspected child abuser that his name is on the CACI and provide 'some kind of hearing' by which he can challenge his inclusion." (Id. at 1201.) Subsequently, the Legislature amended CANRA in 2011 to provide a person a hearing to seek removal from CACI, limit the reports of abuse and neglect for inclusion in CACI to substantiated reports, remove inconclusive and unfounded reports, and prohibit law enforcement from forwarding reports of abuse and neglect to the DOJ for inclusion in CACI.
Proposed Law:
This bill would:
- Allow a police or sheriff’s department to forward a substantiated report of suspected child abuse, except as specified, to DOJ.
- Require any police or sheriff’s department that forwards a report to comply with the same requirements placed on other reporting agencies and would require the law enforcement agency to adopt notification and grievance procedures that are consistent with specified regulations promulgated by the Department of Social Services.
Related Legislation:
AB 1707 (Ammiano, Ch. 848, Stats. 2012) removed non-reoffending minors from CACI after ten years and amended CACI notice provisions.
AB 717 (Ammiano, Ch. 468, Stats. 2011) amended CACI provisions by including only substantiated reports and removing inconclusive and unfounded reports from CACI.
SB 1312 (Peace, Ch. 91, Stats. 2002) would have made numerous changes to CACI including the purging of old reports. The provisions dealing with CACI were deleted before SB 1312 was chaptered.
AB 2442 (Keeley, Ch. 1064, Stats. 2002) established the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act Task Force for the purpose of reviewing the act and CACI.
AB 1447 (Granlund, 2000) would have made numerous changes to CACI including the purging of old reports. AB 1477 was never heard by the Senate Committee on Judiciary.
Staff Comments:
This bill would require law enforcement agencies that report to DOJ individuals to include in CACI to adopt notification and grievance procedures that are consistent with specified regulations promulgated by DSS, specifically, section 31-501 of the department’s Manual of Policies and Procedures. Staff notes that section 31-021 of the manual also outlines CACI grievance procedures that local child welfare agencies must follow.
-- END --
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Nancy Skinner, Chair
2017 - 2018 Regular
Bill No: AB 2005 Hearing Date: June 19, 2018
Author: | Santiago | ||
Version: | June 11, 2018 | ||
Urgency: | No | Fiscal: | Yes |
Consultant: | SC | ||
Subject: Child Abuse Central Index
HISTORY
Source: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office
Prior Legislation: AB 1707 (Ammiano), Ch. 848, Stats. 2012
AB 717 (Ammiano), Ch. 468, Stats. 2011
AB 2442 (Keeley), Ch. 1064, Stats. 2002
AB 1447 (Granlund), 2000, never heard in Sen. Judiciary Comm.
Support: California District Attorneys Association; California Police Chiefs Association; California State Sheriffs’ Association; ICAN Associates for the Prevention of Child Abuse; Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors; San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department
Opposition: American Civil Liberties Union of California
Assembly Floor Vote: 78 - 0
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to authorize a police or sheriff’s department receiving a report of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect to forward a substantiated report of child abuse or severe neglect to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for inclusion in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI).
Existing law requires mandated reporters to make reports of suspected child abuse or neglect to any police department or sheriff’s department, not including a school district police or security department, county probation department, if designated by the county to receive mandated reports, or the county welfare department.” (Pen. Code, § 11165.9.)
Existing law requires that any specified mandated reporter who has knowledge of or observes a child, in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment whom the reporter knows, or reasonably suspects, has been the victim of child abuse, to report it immediately to a specified child protection agency. (Pen. Code, § 11166, subd. (a).)
Existing law requires specified local agencies to send the DOJ reports of every case of child abuse or severe neglect that they investigate and determine to be substantiated. (Penal Code, § 11169, subd. (a).)
Existing law defines “substantiated” as “a report that is determined by the investigator who conducted the investigation to constitute child abuse or neglect … based upon evidence that makes it more likely than not that child abuse or neglect, as defined, occurred. A substantiated report shall not include a report where the investigator who conducted the investigation found the report to be false, inherently improbable, to involve an accidental injury, or to not constitute child abuse or neglect.” (Pen. Code, § 11165.12, subd. (b).)
Existing law directs the DOJ to maintain an index, referred to as the CACI, of all substantiated reports of child abuse and neglect submitted as specified. (Pen. Code § 11170, subds. (a)(1) and (a)(3).)
Existing law allows DOJ to disclose information contained in the CACI to multiple identified parties for purposes of child abuse investigation, licensing, and employment applications for positions that have interaction with children. (Pen. Code, § 11170, subd. (b).)
Existing law requires reporting agencies to provide written notification to a person reported to the CACI. (Pen. Code, § 11169, subd. (c).)
Existing law provide that, except in those cases where a court has determined that suspected child abuse or neglect has occurred or a case is currently pending before the court, any person listed in the CACI has the right to hearing which comports with due process before the agency that requested the person's CACI inclusion. (Pen. Code, §11169, subds. (d) and (e).)
Existing law requires a reporting agency to notify the DOJ when a due process hearing results in a finding that a CACI listing was based on an unsubstantiated report. (Pen. Code, § 11169, subd. (h).)
Existing law requires the DOJ to remove a person's name from the CACI when it is notified that the due process hearing resulted in a finding that the listing was based on an unsubstantiated report. (Pen. Code, § 11169, subd. (h).)
Existing law provides that any person listed in CACI who has reached age 100 is to be removed from CACI. (Pen. Code, §11169, subd. (f).)
Existing law provides that any non-reoffending minor who is listed in CACI shall be removed after 10 years. (Pen. Code, § 11169, subd. (g).)
Existing law, as of January 1, 2012, prohibits a police or sheriff’s department from forwarding to DOJ for inclusion in the CACI a report of any case it investigates of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect. (Pen. Code, § 11169, subd. (b).)
This bill eliminates the provision in existing law which prohibits law enforcement from forwarding reports of abuse and neglect to the DOJ for inclusion in the CACI, and instead authorizes a police or sheriff’s department to forward to DOJ a report of its investigation of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that is determined to be substantiated.
This bill specifies that if a previously filed report subsequently proves to be not substantiated, DOJ shall be notified in writing of that fact and shall not retain the report.
This bill states that a police or sheriff’s department that forwards a substantiated report of child abuse or severe neglect to DOJ is subject to all of the requirements imposed by the statutes governing CACI and requires the department adopt notification and grievance procedures that are consistent with specified regulations of the Department of Social Services, or any successor regulation thereto.
COMMENTS
- Need for This Bill
According to the author of this bill:
Because CPS agencies only investigate child abuse or severe neglect cases involving family members, only known or suspected familial abusers are reported to the DOJ. These agencies do not report non-familial abusers to the CACI. The elimination of law enforcement’s authority to make these reports has resulted in the omission of reports of non-familial abusers in the CACI. This has created a public safety concern because known or suspected non-familial abusers, such as teachers, day care workers, coaches and clergy, are not being reported to the CACI.
According to the Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect (ICAN), there has been a significant reduction in entries to the CACI since the 2012 amendment took away law enforcement’s authority to forward reports to the DOJ. Prior to the 2012 amendment, there were approximately 18,000-19,000 annual entries. Today, the number of actual entries is closer to 6,000-7,000. AB 2005 will ensure the CACI continues to be a critical and useful tool to those charged with child abuse investigations.
- Background on CACI
CACI was created in 1965 as a centralized system for collecting reports of suspected child abuse. This is not an index of persons who necessarily have been convicted of any crime; it is an index of persons against whom reports of child abuse or neglect have been made, investigated, and determined by the reporting agency (local welfare departments and law enforcement) to meet the requirements for inclusion, according to standards that have changed over the years.
Access to CACI initially was limited to official investigations of open child abuse cases, but in 1986 the Legislature expanded access to allow the Department of Social Services (DSS) to use the information for conducting background checks on applications for licenses, adoptions, and employment in child care and related services positions.
DOJ provides the following summary of CACI on its Web site:
The Attorney General administers the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI), which was created by the Legislature in 1965 as a tool for state and local agencies to help protect the health and safety of California's children.
Each year, child abuse investigations are reported to the CACI. These reports pertain to investigations of alleged physical abuse, sexual abuse, mental/emotional abuse, and/or severe neglect of a child. The reports are submitted by county welfare and probation departments.
The information in the Index is available to aid law enforcement investigations, prosecutions, and to provide notification of new child abuse investigation reports involving the same suspects and/or victims. Information also is provided to designated social welfare agencies to help screen applicants for licensing or employment in child care facilities and foster homes, and to aid in background checks for other possible child placements, and adoptions. Dissemination of CACI information is restricted and controlled by the Penal Code.
Information on file in the Child Abuse Central Index include:
- Names and personal descriptors of the suspects and victims listed on reports;
- Reporting agency that investigated the incident;
- The name and/or number assigned to the case by the investigating agency;
- Type(s) of abuse investigated; and
- The findings of the investigation for the incident are substantiated.
It is important to note that the effectiveness of the index is only as good as the quality of the information reported. Each reporting agency is required by law to forward to the DOJ a report of every child abuse incident it investigates, unless the incident is determined to be unfounded or general neglect. Each reporting agency is responsible for the accuracy, completeness and retention of the original reports. The CACI serves as a “pointer” back to the original submitting agency.
(See <http://oag.ca.gov/childabuse> [as of June 11, 2018].)
DOJ is not authorized to remove suspect records from CACI unless requested by the original reporting agency. (<https://oag.ca.gov/childabuse/selfinquiry> [as of June 11, 2018].)
- Prior Legislation and Litigation
In 1963, the Legislature began requiring physicians to report suspected child abuse. (See Smith v. M.D. (2003) 105 Cal.App.4th 1169.) Two years later, the Legislature expanded the reporting scheme to require that instances of suspected abuse and neglect be referred to a central registry maintained by DOJ. In the early 1980s, the Legislature revised the then-existing laws and enacted the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA), which created the current version of the CACI. These revisions did not require that listed individuals be notified of the listing, nor were individuals even able to determine whether they were listed in the CACI.
In Burt v. County of Orange (2004) 120 Cal.App.4th 273, the Court of Appeal held that a CACI listing implicates an individual's state constitutional right to familial and informational privacy, thus entitling the person to due process. (Id. at pp. 284-285.) Although the CACI does not explicitly grant a hearing for a listed individual to challenge placement on the CACI, the statutory scheme contained an implicit right to a hearing. (Id. at p. 285.) The court declined to
provide guidance on what procedures that hearing should include. The court merely stated that the county social services agency was required to afford a listed individual a "reasonable" opportunity to be heard. (Id. at p. 286.)
In Humphries v. Los Angeles County (9th Cir. 2009) 554 F.3d 1170, 1200, the Ninth Circuit held that an erroneous listing of parents who were accused of child abuse on the CACI without notice and an opportunity to be heard would violate the parents' due process rights. Specifically,"[t]he lack of any meaningful, guaranteed procedural safeguards before the initial placement on CACI combined with the lack of any effective process for removal from CACI violates the [parents'] due process rights." (Id.) The court ruled that, "California must promptly notify a suspected child abuser that his name is on the CACI and provide 'some kind of hearing' by which he can challenge his inclusion." (Id. at 1201.)
In 2011, the Legislature amended the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act to provide for a hearing to seek removal from the CACI. (See AB 717 (Ammiano), Chapter 468, Statutes of 2011.) The same legislation also limited the reports of abuse and neglect for inclusion in CACI to substantiated reports. Inconclusive and unfounded reports were removed. And of particular significance to this bill, the Legislature also amended the Act to prohibit law enforcement from forwarding reports of abuse and neglect to the DOJ for inclusion in the CACI. The policy committee analyses for AB 717 (Ammiano) do not specifically discuss why the statute was amended to prohibit law enforcement from forwarding reports of abuse and neglect to the DOJ.
This bill would undo the latter legislative change and instead would provide that a police or sheriff’s department receiving a report of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect may forward any such reports that are investigated and determined to be substantiated to DOJ for inclusion in CACI.
- Current Practice
Department of Social Services (DSS) child welfare staff will submit the names of perpetrators from “substantiated” referrals of abuse and/or neglect to the DOJ for inclusion in the CACI. Staff will further inform those persons that their name has been submitted for listing on the CACI, and provide them with information on the process to grieve/contest the listing.
In response to the settlement in Gomez v. Saenz, all child welfare departments in California have agreed to notify individuals of their listing on the CACI, give individuals the right to grieve the listing, and provide grievance hearings for those who challenge the listing.
Pursuant to the Gomez v. Saenz settlement, when submitting a person’s name for listing on the CACI, the Department is required to provide the person (by mail) with three forms – the completed Notice of Child Abuse Central Index Listing (SOC 832), the Request for Grievance Hearing (SOC 834), and the Grievance Procedures for Challenging Reference to the Child Abuse Central Index (SOC 833). (http://www.cdss.ca.gov/cdssweb/entres/forms/English/SOC833.pdf)
If an individual requests a grievance hearing, there are strict procedures to follow. For example, the hearing must occur within 10 business days, and no later than 60 calendar days from the request for a hearing. The complaining party is entitled to have an attorney or other representative assist him or her at the hearing. The grievance hearing officer must be a person
not directly involved in the decision or in the investigation that is the subject of the hearing; nor can a coworker or direct supervisor of persons involved in making the finding be the hearing officer. The complaining party and his or her representatives must be permitted to examine all records and relevant evidence. The complaining party is entitled to a witness list. All testimony
must be given under oath or affirmation. The proceedings must be audio recorded as part of the official administrative record. There must be a written decision, and the complainant may challenge that decision by means of a writ of mandate. (http://www.cdss.ca.gov/cdssweb/entres/forms/English/SOC833.pdf)
This bill requires a police or sheriff’s department that chooses to submit a substantiated report of child abuse or severe neglect to DOJ for inclusion in CACI to adopt notification and grievance procedures that are consistent with DSS’s policies and procedures on challenging inclusion in CACI.
-- END –
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
ATR Bill Id:AB 2005
Author:(Santiago)
As Introduced Ver:May 25, 2018
Majority vote
Committee | Votes | Ayes | Noes |
Public Safety | 7-0 | Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Carrillo, Gonzalez Fletcher, Kiley, Quirk, Santiago | |
Appropriations | 12-0 | Gonzalez Fletcher, Bloom, Bonta, Calderon, Carrillo, Chau, Eggman, Friedman, Eduardo Garcia, Nazarian, Quirk, Reyes |
|
SUMMARY: Authorizes a police or sheriff's department receiving a report of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect to forward any such reports that are investigated and determined to be substantiated to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for inclusion in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI). Specifically, this bill:
- Eliminates a provision in existing law which prohibits law enforcement from forwarding reports of child abuse and neglect to the DOJ for inclusion in the CACI.
- Allows, but does not require, a police or sheriff's department to forward a substantiated report of child abuse or severe neglect to DOJ for inclusion in the CACI.
- Requires any police or sheriff's department electing to forward substantiated reports of abuse and neglect to the DOJ to adopt notification and grievance procedure that are consistent with those used by the Department of Social Services, as specified.
- Makes conforming changes to other provisions.
EXISTING LAW:
- Requires mandated reporters to make reports of suspected child abuse or neglect to any police department or sheriff's department, not including a school district police or security department, county probation department, if designated by the county to receive mandated reports, or the county welfare department.''
- Requires that any specified mandated reporter who has knowledge of or observes a child, in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment whom the reporter knows, or reasonably suspects, has been the victim of child abuse, to report it immediately to a specified child protection agency.
- Requires specified local agencies to send the DOJ reports of every case of child abuse or severe neglect that they investigate and determine to be substantiated.
- Defines "substantiated" as "a report that is determined by the investigator who conducted the investigation to constitute child abuse or neglect … based upon evidence that makes it more likely than not that child abuse or neglect, as defined, occurred. A substantiated report shall not include a report where the investigator who conducted the investigation found the report to be false, inherently improbable, to involve an accidental injury, or to not constitute child abuse or neglect."
- Directs the DOJ to maintain an index, referred to as the CACI, of all substantiated reports of child abuse and neglect submitted as specified.
- Allows DOJ to disclose information contained in the CACI to multiple identified parties for purposes of child abuse investigation, licensing, and employment applications for positions that have interaction with children.
- Requires reporting agencies to provide written notification to a person reported to the CACI.
- Provide that, except in those cases where a court has determined that suspected child abuse or neglect has occurred or a case is currently pending before the court, any person listed in the CACI has the right to hearing which comports with due process before the agency that requested the person's CACI inclusion.
- Requires a reporting agency to notify the DOJ when a due process hearing results in a finding that a CACI listing was based on an unsubstantiated report.
- Requires the DOJ to remove a person's name from the CACI when it is notified that the due process hearing resulted in a finding that the listing was based on an unsubstantiated report.
- Provides that any person listed in CACI who has reached age 100 is to be removed from CACI.
- Provides that any non-reoffending minor who is listed in CACI shall be removed after 10 years.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, General Fund costs to DOJ of $86,000 in the first year and $157,000 in the second year and ongoing for two staff positions to handle an increased number of child abuse reporting forms.
COMMENTS: According to the author, ''Our children deserve our fullest attention. They count on us to care for them, to protect them. We must focus as many resources as we can afford towards this goal. Police and sheriff departments are uniquely positioned to help stem the level of violence perpetrated against our children, they are on the ground every day and in many cases, they are the only point of contact between a victim of child abuse and our justice system. AB 2005 will ensure that these departments of law enforcement can continue to serve our communities and protect our children fully.''
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by: Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0003235
Date of Hearing: April 4, 2018
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, Chair
ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2005
Author:(Santiago) – As Introduced Ver:February 1, 2018
Policy Committee: | Public Safety | Vote: | 7 - 0 |
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires a police or sheriff’s department receiving a report of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect to forward any such report that is investigated and determined to be substantiated to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for inclusion in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI).
FISCAL EFFECT:
- GF costs to DOJ of $86,000 in the first year and $157,000 in the second year and ongoing for two staff positions to handle an increased number of child abuse reporting forms.
- Minor local costs, unlikely to reach the threshold of a state mandate. Therefore, these costs would not likely be reimbursable.
COMMENTS:
- Background. CACI was created in 1965 as a centralized system for collecting reports of suspected child abuse. The standards for which offenders to include in the database have changed over the years. In 2011, the Legislature passed AB 717 (Ammiano), Chapter 468, Statutes of 2011, which amended CACI. AB 717 limited the reports of abuse and neglect for inclusion in CACI to only substantiated reports and provided for hearings for those seeking to have their name removed from the index. AB 717 also prohibited law enforcement from forwarding reports of abuse and neglect to the DOJ for inclusion in the CACI, leaving this function to child protective services departments.
- Purpose. Writing in support of the bill, the Los Angeles County District Attorney, a co-sponsor of this bill, states:
Under current law, Child Protective Service agencies (CPS), such as the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), have the authority to forward child abuse or severe neglect reports to the CACI. Because DCFS and CPS agencies only investigate child abuse or severe neglect cases involving family members, only known or suspected familial abusers are reported to the DOJ. These agencies do not report non-familial abusers to the CACI. The elimination of law enforcement’s authority to make these reports has resulted in the omission of reports of non-familial abusers in the CACI. This has created a public safety concern because known or suspected non-familial abusers, such as teachers, day care workers, coaches and clergy, are not being reported to the CACI.
Analysis Prepared by: Jessica Peters / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
Date of Hearing: March 20, 2018
Counsel: Sandra Uribe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON
Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Chair
ABPCA Bill Id:
Author:() – As Ver:
SUMMARY:
Requires a police or sheriff’s department receiving a report of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect to forward any such reports that are investigated and determined to be substantiated to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for inclusion in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI). Specifically, this bill: Eliminates a provision in existing law which prohibits law enforcement from forwarding reports of abuse and neglect to the DOJ for inclusion in the CACI.
EXISTING LAW:
- Requires mandated reporters to make reports of suspected child abuse or neglect to any police department or sheriff’s department, not including a school district police or security department, county probation department, if designated by the county to receive mandated reports, or the county welfare department.” (Pen. Code, § 11165.9.)
- Requires that any specified mandated reporter who has knowledge of or observes a child, in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment whom the reporter knows, or reasonably suspects, has been the victim of child abuse, to report it immediately to a specified child protection agency. (Pen. Code, § 11166, subd. (a).
- Requires specified local agencies to send the DOJ reports of every case of child abuse or severe neglect that they investigate and determine to be substantiated. (Penal Code, § 11169, subd. (a).)
- Defines “substantiated” as “a report that is determined by the investigator who conducted the investigation to constitute child abuse or neglect … based upon evidence that makes it more likely than not that child abuse or neglect, as defined, occurred. A substantiated report shall not include a report where the investigator who conducted the investigation found the report to be false, inherently improbable, to involve an accidental injury, or to not constitute child abuse or neglect.” (Pen. Code, § 11165.12, subd. (b).)
- Directs the DOJ to maintain an index, referred to as the CACI, of all substantiated reports of child abuse and neglect submitted as specified. (Pen. Code § 11170, subds. (a)(1) and (a)(3).)
- Allows DOJ to disclose information contained in the CACI to multiple identified parties for purposes of child abuse investigation, licensing, and employment applications for positions that have interaction with children. (Pen. Code, § 11170, subd. (b).)
- Requires reporting agencies to provide written notification to a person reported to the CACI. (Pen. Code, § 11169, subd. (c).)
- Provide that, except in those cases where a court has determined that suspected child abuse or neglect has occurred or a case is currently pending before the court, any person listed in the CACI has the right to hearing which comports with due process before the agency that requested the person's CACI inclusion. (Pen. Code, §11169, subds. (d) and (e).)
- Requires a reporting agency to notify the DOJ when a due process hearing results in a finding that a CACI listing was based on an unsubstantiated report. (Pen. Code, § 11169, subd. (h).)
- Requires the DOJ to remove a person's name from the CACI when it is notified that the due process hearing resulted in a finding that the listing was based on an unsubstantiated report. (Pen. Code, § 11169, subd. (h).)
- Provides that any person listed in CACI who has reached age 100 is to be removed from CACI. (Pen. Code, §11169, subd. (f).)
- Provides that any non-reoffending minor who is listed in CACI shall be removed after 10 years. (Pen. Code, § 11169, subd. (g).)
FISCAL EFFECT:
Unknown
COMMENTS:
- Author's Statement: According to the author, “Our children deserve our fullest attention. They count on us to care for them, to protect them. We must focus as many resources as we can afford towards this goal. Police and sheriff departments are uniquely positioned to help stem the level of violence perpetrated against our children, they are on the ground every day and in many cases, they are the only point of contact between a victim of child abuse and our justice system. AB 2005 will ensure that these departments of law enforcement can continue to serve our communities and protect our children fully.”
- Background: CACI was created in 1965 as a centralized system for collecting reports of suspected child abuse. This is not an index of persons who necessarily have been convicted of any crime; it is an index of persons against whom reports of child abuse or neglect have been made, investigated, and determined by the reporting agency (local welfare departments and law enforcement) to meet the requirements for inclusion, according to standards that have changed over the years.
Access to CACI initially was limited to official investigations of open child abuse cases, but in 1986 the Legislature expanded access to allow the Department of Social Services (DSS) to use the information for conducting background checks on applications for licenses, adoptions, and employment in child care and related services positions.
DOJ provides the following summary of CACI on its Web site:
“The Attorney General administers the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI), which was created by the Legislature in 1965 as a tool for state and local agencies to help protect the health and safety of California's children.
“Each year, child abuse investigations are reported to the CACI. These reports pertain to investigations of alleged physical abuse, sexual abuse, mental/emotional abuse, and/or severe neglect of a child. The reports are submitted by county welfare and probation departments.
“The information in the Index is available to aid law enforcement investigations, prosecutions, and to provide notification of new child abuse investigation reports involving the same suspects and/or victims. Information also is provided to designated social welfare agencies to help screen applicants for licensing or employment in child care facilities and foster homes, and to aid in background checks for other possible child placements, and adoptions. Dissemination of CACI information is restricted and controlled by the Penal Code.
“Information on file in the Child Abuse Central Index include:
- "Names and personal descriptors of the suspects and victims listed on reports;
- "Reporting agency that investigated the incident;
- "The name and/or number assigned to the case by the investigating agency;
- "Type(s) of abuse investigated; and
- "The findings of the investigation for the incident are substantiated.
“It is important to note that the effectiveness of the index is only as good as the quality of the information reported. Each reporting agency is required by law to forward to the DOJ a report of every child abuse incident it investigates, unless the incident is determined to be unfounded or general neglect. Each reporting agency is responsible for the accuracy, completeness and retention of the original reports. The CACI serves as a 'pointer' back to the original submitting agency.” (See <http://oag.ca.gov/childabuse>.)
DOJ is not authorized to remove suspect records from CACI unless requested by the original reporting agency. (https://oag.ca.gov/childabuse/selfinquiry.)
- Prior Legislation and Litigation: In 1963, the Legislature began requiring physicians to report suspected child abuse. [See Smith v. M.D. (2003) 105 Cal.App.4th 1169 (discussing evolution of child abuse detection laws).] Two years later, the Legislature expanded the reporting scheme to require that instances of suspected abuse and neglect be referred to a central registry maintained by DOJ. In the early 1980s, the Legislature revised the then-existing laws and enacted the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA), which created the current version of the CACI. These revisions did not require that listed individuals be notified of the listing, nor were individuals even able to determine whether they were listed in the CACI.
In Burt v. County of Orange (2004) 120 Cal.App.4th 273, the Court of Appeal held that a CACI listing implicates an individual's state constitutional right to familial and informational privacy, thus entitling the person to due process. (Id. at pp. 284-285.) Although the CACI does not explicitly grant a hearing for a listed individual to challenge placement on the CACI, the statutory scheme contained an implicit right to a hearing. (Id. at p. 285.) The court declined to provide guidance on what procedures that hearing should include. The court merely stated that the county social services agency was required to afford a listed individual a "reasonable" opportunity to be heard. (Id. at p. 286.)
In Humphries v. Los Angeles County (9th Cir. 2009) 554 F.3d 1170, 1200, the Ninth Circuit held that an erroneous listing of parents who were accused of child abuse on the CACI without notice and an opportunity to be heard would violate the parents' due process rights. Specifically,"[t]he lack of any meaningful, guaranteed procedural safeguards before the initial placement on CACI combined with the lack of any effective process for removal from CACI violates the [parents'] due process rights." (Id.) The court ruled that, "California must promptly notify a suspected child abuser that his name is on the CACI and provide 'some kind of hearing' by which he can challenge his inclusion." (Id. at 1201.)
In 2011, the Legislature amended the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act to provide for a hearing to seek removal from the CACI. (See AB 717 (Ammiano), Chapter 468, Statutes of 2011.) The same legislation also limited the reports of abuse and neglect for inclusion in CACI to substantiated reports. Inconclusive and unfounded reports were removed. And of particular significance to this bill, the Legislature also amended the Act to prohibit law enforcement from forwarding reports of abuse and neglect to the DOJ for inclusion in the CACI.
This bill would undo the latter legislative change.
The policy committee analyses for AB 717 (Ammiano) do not specifically discuss why the statute was amended to prohibit law enforcement from forwarding reports of abuse and neglect to the DOJ. However, both the Assembly Public Safety Committee and Senate Public Safety Committee analyses noted that bill codified several requirements addressed in court settlements as well as constitutional deficiencies noted in other cases. Thus, it is likely that the provision was a result of a settlement in Gomez v. Saenz (2003) which required county social service agencies, but not law enforcement agencies, to provide notice and a hearing. As a result, there was no method for removal of a CACI report when the report was made by a law enforcement agency.
- Current Practice: Department of Social Services (DSS) child welfare staff will submit the names of perpetrators from “substantiated” referrals of abuse and/or neglect to the DOJ for inclusion in the CACI. Staff will further inform those persons that their name has been submitted for listing on the CACI, and provide them with information on the process to grieve/contest the listing.
In response to the settlement in Gomez v. Saenz, all child welfare departments in California have agreed to notify individuals of their listing on the CACI, give individuals the right to grieve the listing, and provide grievance hearings for those who challenge the listing.
Pursuant to the Gomez v. Saenz settlement, when submitting a person’s name for listing on the CACI, the Department is required to provide the person (by mail) with three forms – the completed Notice of Child Abuse Central Index Listing (SOC 832), the Request for Grievance Hearing (SOC 834), and the Grievance Procedures for Challenging Reference to the Child Abuse Central Index (SOC 833). (http://www.cdss.ca.gov/cdssweb/entres/forms/English/SOC833.pdf)
If an individual requests a grievance hearing, there are strict procedures to follow. For example, the hearing must occur within 10 business days, and no later than 60 calendar days from the request for a hearing. The complaining party is entitled to have an attorney or other representative assist him or her at the hearing. The grievance hearing officer must be a person not directly involved in the decision or in the investigation that is the subject of the hearing; nor can a coworker or direct supervisor of persons involved in making the finding be the hearing officer. The complaining party and his or her representatives must be permitted to examine all records and relevant evidence. The complaining party is entitled to a witness list. All testimony must be given under oath or affirmation. The proceedings must be audio recorded as part of the official administrative record. There must be a written decision, and the complainant may challenge that decision by means of a writ of mandate. (http://www.cdss.ca.gov/cdssweb/entres/forms/English/SOC833.pdf)
If law enforcement agencies become authorized to forward reports of abuse and neglect for inclusion in the CACI, they should also be required to provide notice and establish a grievance procedure in order to comply with due process. Otherwise, the CACI will again be subject to litigation on the basis that it violates due process.
- Argument in Support: According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney, a co-sponsor of this bill, “Under current law, Child Protective Service agencies (CPS), such as the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), have the authority to forward child abuse or severe neglect reports to the CACI. Because DCFS and CPS agencies only investigate child abuse or severe neglect cases involving family members, only known or suspected familial abusers are reported to the DOJ. These agencies do not report non-familial abusers to the CACI. The elimination of law enforcement’s authority to make these reports has resulted in the omission of reports of non-familial abusers in the CACI. This has created a public safety concern because known or suspected non-familial abusers, such as teachers, day care workers, coaches and clergy, are not being reported to the CACI.”
- Argument in Opposition: According to the American Civil Liberties Union of California, “[T]he Legislature made significant changes to Penal Code section 11169 in an attempt to put in place some procedural safeguards. The changes included changing the standard for the inclusion of report on CACI from “determined not to be unfounded” to “determined to be substantiated,” giving persons listed on the CACI the right to a hearing to challenge the listing, and adding subdivision (b) to bar police and sheriffs’ departments from forwarding reports to CACI. In addition to these statutory changes, a settlement decision in the case of Gomez v. Saenz put in place more specific due process requirements regarding reports of abuse submitted to CACI by social service agencies, including a requirement that these agencies provide notice of the CACI listing, including case specific information found in the investigation, as well as notice of the right to request a hearing and the hearing procedures. See Gomez v. Saenz Settlement: Training for Child Welfare Workers and Supervisors, available at http://calswec.berkeley.edu/files/uploads/pdf/CalSWEC/Gomez_vs_Saenz_TraineeManual.pdf.
“Despite these changes, serious concerns remain. The standard for finding a report to be “substantiated” requires only that the investigator who conducted the investigation – not an independent reviewer – determine that it is “more likely than not” that the abuse occurred. Penal Code §11165.12. The change to this standard would not have helped the Humphries, who were the subject of a report identified as “substantiated” by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. CACI remains a database of unproven allegations that can nonetheless subject the persons listed to the stigma of being identified as child abusers as well as numerous practical consequences.
“There are additional concerns specifically applicable to law enforcement reports. Law enforcement agencies, unlike social services agencies, are not subject to the specific due process requirements of the Gomez v. Saenz settlement agreement. If they resume reporting to CACI, as proposed in AB 2005, the only due process standards applicable to them will be the very general requirements set forth in the statute.” - Related Legislation: AB 1911 (Lackey) requires every county to establish an on-line database to for specified agencies to track the reporting of allegations of child abuse and neglect and to facilitate reporting to the CACI. AB 1911 will be heard in this committee today.
- Prior Legislation:
- AB 1707 (Ammiano), Chapter 848, Statutes of 2012, removed non-reoffending minors from the CACI after 10 years, and amended the CACI notice provisions.
- AB 717 (Ammiano), Chapter 468, Statutes of 2011, amended the CACI provisions by including only substantiated reports and removing inconclusive and unfounded reports from CACI.
- SB 1312 (Peace), Chapter 91, Statutes of 2002, would have made numerous changes to CACI including the purging of old reports. The provisions dealing with CACI were deleted before SB 1312 was chaptered.
- AB 2442 (Keeley), Chapter 1064, Statutes of 2002, established the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act Task Force for the purpose of reviewing the act and CACI.
- AB 1447 (Granlund), of the 1999-2000 Legislative Session, would have made numerous changes to CACI including the purging of old reports. AB 1477 was never heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
- AB 1707 (Ammiano), Chapter 848, Statutes of 2012, removed non-reoffending minors from the CACI after 10 years, and amended the CACI notice provisions.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Los Angeles County District Attorney (Co-Sponsor)
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (Co-Sponsor)
California Police Chiefs Association
California State Sheriffs Association
ICAN Associates for the Prevention of Child Abuse
Riverside Sheriffs’ Association
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department
Opposition
American Civil Liberties Union of California
Analysis Prepared by:
Discussed in Hearing
1MIN
Assembly Floor
2MIN
Senate Floor
1H
Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations
11MIN
Senate Standing Committee on Public Safety
48SEC
Assembly Floor
13MIN
Assembly Standing Committee on Public Safety
Bill Author
Bill Co-Author(s):