Existing law, the California Community Care Facilities Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of community care facilities, as defined, by the State Department of Social Services. Existing law, in order to protect the health and safety of persons receiving care or services from individuals or facilities licensed by the state or from individuals certified or approved by a foster family agency, authorizes the California Department of Aging, the State Department of Public Health, the State Department of Health Care Services, the State Department of Social Services, and the Emergency Medical Services Authority to share information with respect to applicants, licensees, certificate holders, or individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action, as defined, resulting in one of specified actions, including, among others, the denial of a license, permit, or certificate of approval. Existing law also authorizes, for the same purpose, the State Department of Social Services and county child welfare agencies to share those same types of information.

This bill would instead require the above-described agencies to share the information relating to administrative actions under the 2 respective provisions. By creating new duties for county officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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

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

Existing law, the California Community Care Facilities Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of community care facilities, as defined, by the State Department of Social Services. Existing law, in order to protect the health and safety of persons receiving care or services from individuals or facilities licensed by the state or from individuals certified or approved by a foster family agency, authorizes the California Department of Aging, the State Department of Public Health, the State Department of Health Care Services, the State Department of Social Services, and the Emergency Medical Services Authority to share information with respect to applicants, licensees, certificate holders, or individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action, as defined, resulting in one of specified actions, including, among others, the denial of a license, permit, or certificate of approval. Existing law also authorizes, for the same purpose, the State Department of Social Services and county child welfare agencies to share those same types of information.

This bill would instead require the above-described agencies to share the information relating to administrative actions under the 2 respective provisions. By creating new duties for county officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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

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

GOVERNOR'S VETO

GV Bill Id:AB 2397

Author:(Obernolte)

As Enrolled Ver:August 30, 2018

2/3 vote

SUMMARY: Requires the sharing of information by specified state and county departments regarding individuals subject to certain administrative actions.

Specifically, this bill:

1. Changes from permissive to requisite the sharing of information by the California Department of Aging (CDA), the Department of Public Health (DPH), the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), the Department of Social Services (DSS), and the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) regarding individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in certain outcomes, as specified.
2. Changes from permissive to requisite the sharing of information by DSS and county child welfare agencies regarding individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in certain outcomes, as specified.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes the California Community Care Facilities Act to provide for the licensure and regulation of community care facilities. (Health and Safety Code Section (HSC) 1500 et seq.)
2. Defines "community care facility" to mean any facility, place, or building that is maintained and operated to provide nonmedical residential care, day treatment, adult day care, or foster family agency services for children, adults, or children and adults, including, but not limited to, individuals with physical disabilities or mental impairments and abused or neglected children. Includes within this definition, among a number of other facilities: adult day programs, foster family homes, small family homes, full-service adoption agencies, and short-term residential therapeutic programs. (HSC 1502 (a))
3. Requires community care facilities operating in California, as specified, to have a valid license. (HSC 1503.5)
4. Establishes the California Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE) Act, which requires facilities that provide personal care and supervision, protective supervision, or health related services for persons 60 years of age or older who voluntarily choose to reside in those facilities to be licensed by DSS. (HSC 1569 et seq.)
5. Establishes the California Child Day Care Facilities Act to provide a comprehensive, quality system for licensing child day care facilities to ensure that working families have access to healthy and safe child care providers and that child care programs contribute positively to a child's emotional, cognitive, and educational development, and are able to respond to, and provide for, the unique characteristics and needs of children. (HSC 1596.70 et seq.)
6. Defines "administrative action" to mean any proceeding initiated by CDA, DPH, DHCS, DSS, EMSA, and county child welfare agencies to determine the rights and duties of various individuals over which the department has jurisdiction and which may include, but is not limited to, action involving the denial of an application for, or the suspension, revocation, or rescission of, any license, special permit, certificate of approval, administrator certificate, criminal record clearance, exemption, or exclusion. (HSC 1522.08 (d))
7. Authorizes, in order to protect the health and safety of people who receive care or services from Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD)-licensed individuals or facilities, or from foster-family-agency-certified or-approved individuals, information to be shared as follows:
   1. CDA, DPH, DHCS, DSS, and EMSA are permitted to share information regarding various individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certification of approval or in the exclusion of any individual from certain settings who is subject to a background check, as specified; and
   2. DSS and county child welfare agencies are permitted to share information regarding various individuals who have been the subject of any administration action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certification of approval or in the exclusion of any individual from certain settings who is subject to a background check, as specified. (HSC 1522.08 (a))
8. Requires DSS to maintain a centralized system for monitoring and tracking final administrative actions to be utilized by CDA, DPH, DHCS, DSS, EMSA, and county child welfare agencies as part of the background check process, as specified. (HSC 1522.08 (b))
9. Requires certain individuals, not including residents, to obtain a criminal record clearance or criminal record exemption from DSS prior to their initial presence in a community care facility or certified family home, as specified. (HSC 1522)

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee on April 18, 2018, this bill may result in the following costs:

1. Negligible cost to affected state departments. These departments currently have data sharing agreements in place administratively.
2. Negligible cost to county child welfare agencies. Reporting of administrative actions to DSS is already mandated for compliance with requirements for the statewide implementation of Resource Family Approval (RFA) program that occurred January 1, 2017.

COMMENTS:

Community care licensing: Within DSS, the CCLD is responsible for the licensure and regulation of a variety of community care facilities, which are defined in state law as "any facility, place, or building that is maintained and operated to provide nonmedical residential care, day treatment, adult day care, or foster family agency services for children, adults, or children and adults, including, but not limited to, the physically handicapped, mentally impaired, incompetent persons, and abused or neglected children" (Health and Safety Code 1502). Community care facilities include adult day programs, foster family agencies, foster family homes, social rehabilitation facilities, transitional shelters, group homes, runaway and homeless youth shelters, and others. CCLD also licenses and regulates child care centers, residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs), and other facilities. As of June 30, 2017, CCLD licensed approximately 72,400 facilities with the total capacity to service almost 1.4 million Californians.

DSS's Caregiver Background Check Bureau (CBCB) receives criminal history records from the state Department of Justice (DOJ) and other entities and uses this information to review the criminal history of all applicants, licensees, adult residents, volunteers in certain situations, and employees in licensed facilities who have client contact as part of a required background check. In order to be present in a licensed facility, these individuals must either obtain a criminal record clearance or a criminal record exemption (exemptions may be granted after conviction for certain crimes if, upon review, it is determined that the individual in question is of good character and does not pose a threat to client well-being).

CBCB also gathers information on administrative actions received from other state departments and agencies; administrative actions are formal actions that are taken against an individual, including suspension or revocation of a license. DSS can determine in certain instances that an individual subject to an administrative action poses a threat to the clients of licensed facilities and can as a result remove that individual from any licensed facility. State law (subdivision (a) of Health and Safety Code Section 1522.08) permits CDA, DPH, DHCS, DSS, and EMSA to share information regarding individuals who have been the subject of an administrative action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certification of approval or in the exclusion of any individual from certain settings, who is subject to a background check; this section of state law also permits DSS and county child welfare agencies to share this information for the same reason.

Caregiver background check audit: In March of 2017, the California State Auditor released a report entitled, "California Department of Social Services: Its Caregiver Background Check Bureau lacks criminal history information it needs to protect vulnerable populations in licensed care facilities." This report documented the results of an audit that focused in part on the DSS background check process for individuals who have contact with clients of community care facilities, focusing on the timeliness and quality of those background checks.

Among the conclusions reached by this audit was that DSS was not receiving sufficient information to protect the health and safety of vulnerable clients. The audit report stated that, "[DSS] and four other state departments are not effectively sharing information about administrative actions they take against individuals, although state law intends for them to do so. Therefore, these five departments do not have access to information that could help them protect vulnerable populations. In addition, [DSS] is not always timely in evaluating whether an individual who has been subject to an administrative action should be allowed to remain present in a licensed facility."

As one of its recommendations, the audit report stated that, "to ensure that all applicable entities share their administrative actions with each other as state law intends, the Legislature should amend state law to require that Social Services, the Department of Aging, Public Health, Health Care Services, Medical Services, and county agencies provide each other their administrative action information." This bill seeks to enact this recommendation.

Need for this bill: According to the author: "[This bill] requires these departments to share information relating to administrative actions with one another. This requirement will allow the departments that oversee some of the same individuals to utilize information from one another to keep the vulnerable populations they are charged with protecting safe."

GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:

This bill would mandate that the Departments of Aging, Health Care Services, Public Health, Social Services and the Emergency Medical Services Authority, share information regarding adverse administrative actions against licensees, facilities or providers.

This bill is unnecessary because the information called for is already being shared as authorized under current law.

Analysis Prepared by: Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089 FN: 0005236

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 2397

Author:

:

Vote:

SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE: 6-0, 6/12/18

AYES: Wiener, Glazer, Leyva, McGuire, Nguyen, Portantino

NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/16/18

AYES: Portantino, Bates, Beall, Bradford, Hill, Nielsen, Wiener

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-0, 4/26/18 (Consent) - See last page for vote

SUBJECT:

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This bill requires, rather than permits, that the California Department of Aging (CDA), the Department of Public Health (DPH), the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), and the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) to share information with respect to applicants, licensees, certificate holders, or individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in the denial of a license, permit, or certificate of approval, as specified.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Establishes the CDA, via the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act, to administer program under the Older Americans Act of 1965, and declares the CDA mission shall be to provide leadership to the area agencies on aging in developing systems of home- and community-based services that maintain individuals in their own homes or in the least restrictive homelike environments. (WIC 9000 et seq.)
2. Establishes DPH to license health facilities and requires DPH to adopt, amend, or repeal, as specified, any reasonable rules and regulations as may be necessary or proper to carry out the exercise of its power. (HSC 131000 et seq.)
3. Establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by DHCS, under which health care services are provided to qualified low-income persons. (WIC 14000)
4. Establishes EMSA to provide leadership in developing and implementing Emergency Medical Services (EMS) systems throughout California and setting standards for the training and scope of practice of various levels of EMS personnel. (HSC 1791.100 et seq.)
5. Establishes the Community Care Facilities Act, which provides for licensure and regulation of community care facilities. The Act defines community care facility to mean any facility, place, or building that is maintained and operated to provide nonmedical residential care, day treatment, adult day care, or foster family agency services for children, adults, or children and adults, including, but not limited to, the physically handicapped, mentally impaired, incompetent persons, and abused or neglected children and includes residential facilities, adult day programs, foster family agencies, full-service adoption agencies, group homes, and short-term residential therapeutic programs, among others. (HSC 1500 et seq.)
6. Establishes the California Child Day Care Facilities Act to provide a comprehensive, quality system for licensing child day care facilities to ensure that working families have access to healthy and safe child care providers and that child care programs contribute positively to a child's emotional, cognitive, and educational development, and are able to respond to, and provide for, the unique characteristics and needs of children. (HSC 1596.70 et seq.)
7. Authorizes specified information to be shared in order to protect the health and safety of people who receive care or services from the Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD)-licensed individuals or facilities, or from individuals certified or approved by a foster family agency as follows:
   1. CDA, DPH, DHCS, CDSS, and EMSA are permitted to share information with respect to applicants, licensees, certificate holders, or individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certificate of approval, or in the exclusion of any person from a facility, certified family home, or resource family home who is subject to a background check, as otherwise provided by law.
   2. CDSS and county child welfare agencies are permitted to share information with respect to applicants, licensees, certificate holders, or individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certificate of approval, or in the exclusion of any person from a facility, certified family home, or resource family home who is subject to a background check, as otherwise provided by law. (HSC 1522.08 (a))
8. Defines “administrative action” to mean any proceeding initiated by CDA, DPH, DHCS, CDSS, EMSA, and county child welfare agencies to determine the rights and duties of various individuals over which the department has jurisdiction and which may include, but is not limited to, action involving the denial of an application for, or the suspension, revocation, or rescission of, any license, special permit, certificate of approval, administrator certificate, criminal record clearance, exemption, or exclusion. (HSC 1522.08 (d))
9. Requires CDSS to maintain a centralized system for monitoring and tracking final administrative actions to be utilized by CDA, DPH, DHCS, CDSS, EMSA, and county child welfare agencies as part of the background check process, as specified, and provides that implementation of the centralized system shall be contingent upon a specific appropriation provided for this purpose in the annual Budget Act. (HSC 1522.08 (b))

This bill:

1. Requires, rather than permits, CDS, DPH, DHCS, CDSS, and EMSA to share information with respect to applicants, licensees, certificate holders, or individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certificate of approval, or in the exclusion of any person from a facility, certified family home, or resource family home who is subject to a background check, as otherwise provided by law.
2. Requires CDSS and county child welfare agencies to share information with respect to applicants, licensees, certificate holders, or individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certificate of approval, or in the exclusion of any person from a facility, certified family home, or resource family home who is subject to a background check, as otherwise provided by law.

Background

Current law allows CDA, DPH, CDSS, DHCS and EMSA to share information about administrative actions with each other, but does not require it. According a report issued by the State Auditor, these five departments often fail to promptly share information with one another resulting in CDSS not being able to adequately safeguard the vulnerable populations they are charged with protecting. AB 2397 corrects this lack of information sharing by requiring the departments to share administrative actions with one another in order to “allow the departments that oversee some of the same individuals to utilize information from one another to keep the vulnerable populations they are charged with protecting safe,” per the author.

Community Care Licensing Division

(CCLD within CDSS is responsible for regulating the facilities it licenses and protecting the health and safety of children, adults, and seniors who are cared for within those facilities. CCLD licenses and oversees community care facilities—including child care facilities, foster family homes, and care facilities for the elderly—throughout California. These facilities typically provide non-medical care and supervision for children and adults in need, which includes persons with disabilities, seniors in need of residential care, children in foster care and at-risk children needing shelter services, families in need of early childhood education, and adult care services. As of June 30, 2017, CCLD licensed approximately 72,400 facilities with the total capacity to service almost 1.4 million Californians. In addition to licensing community care facilities, CDSS is also responsible for investigating all complaints against those facilities.

To protect these vulnerable populations, state law requires all applicants, licensees, adult residents, volunteers under certain conditions, and employees of licensed facilities who have contact with clients to obtain a criminal background check. CDSS uses these background checks to determine whether individuals should be allowed to be present in a licensed facility.

Because an individual who is associated with one licensed facility may also be certified or present in another facility licensed by a different department within Health and Human Services Agency, another layer of protection is authorized in law to allow for information sharing between state departments that have linked oversight roles. The law permits CDA, DPH, DHCS, CDSS, and EMSA to share information about administrative actions resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certification of approval or in the exclusion of any individual from certain settings, who is subject to a background check. Current law also permits CDSS and county child welfare agencies to share this information with each other for the same reason.

If, upon receipt of information regarding an administrative action, CDSS determines that an individual poses a threat to the clients of licensed facilities, CDSS can remove that individual from any licensed facility.

State law also requires CDSS, contingent on funding, to maintain a centralized database that these departments can use to access this information. While CDSS has explored creating a database, the necessary funding has not been included in the state budget. In lieu of this database, and to fulfill the intent of the law, CDSS entered into interagency agreements with each of the four other departments specifying that each department will share administrative action information with CDSS on a monthly basis.

Caregiver Background Check Audit

In March of 2017, the California State Auditor released a report entitled, “California Department of Social Services: Its Caregiver Background Check Bureau lacks criminal history information it needs to protect vulnerable populations in licensed care facilities.” The audit report concerned timeliness and quality of CDSS background check process for individuals who have contact with the clients of facilities it licenses.

The Auditor found that CDSS is not receiving all the information it needs to conduct proper background checks to protect community care facilities’ clients, including children, adults, and the elderly, and is not always timely in evaluating administrative actions taken by other departments to determine whether an individual can remain in a facility. The Auditor also found that CDSS and four other state departments do not promptly share information with one another about administrative actions they take against individuals as the law intends.

Additionally, the Auditor found that the interagency agreements do not allow CDSS to act as a central resource from which the other departments could obtain administrative action information. According to the Auditor, the interagency agreements prevent CDSS from sharing the information it receives with the other departments. Instead, each department has their own agreements to share this information directly with one another.

As part of its recommendations, the Auditor suggested that the Legislature require departments to share information about administrative actions they take against individuals to improve the background check process. According to the administration, CDSS has updated its policies and procedures regarding data sharing agreements with other departments, which include time frames for data exchange of not less than once per month.

Related/Prior Legislation

AB 1914 (Flora, 2018) would have added to the list of specified crimes for which a criminal record exemption may not be granted for purposes of licensure, permitting, certification, employment, volunteering, or residence in certain community care facilities, as specified. The bill was amended to address a policy subject area on June 25, 2018.

AB 3039 (Holden, 2018) would have made numerous changes to the criminal background check process for community care facilities and applied those changes to certain components of licensure, operation, and employment in: community care facilities, Residential Care Facilities for Persons with Chronic Life-Threatening Illness, Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly, child care facilities, as well as home care aide registry applicants and home care organizations. The bill did not pass out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

• Negligible fiscal impact to CDA, DPH, and CDSS as they are already authorized to share this information and currently do share this information when necessary.
• EMSA does not currently share this information frequently, and their licensure department would need to have an interface developed with the Administrative Action Records System to search and upload paramedic licenses. This interface will result in a one-time cost of approximately $50,000. Research and reviewing administrative actions would also require increased workload which could potentially lead to significant increase in costs for EMSA. (GF)
• DHCS currently does not collect or share all of the information that would be required pursuant to this bill. In order to collect and share all of the required information, DHCS would incur costs of approximately $800,000 per year for increased workload to research and develop guidelines; enter into interagency data sharing contracts; and review, process, and share information.
• Negligible costs to county child welfare agencies as reporting of administrative actions to CDSS is already mandated for compliance with requirements for the statewide implementation of Resource Family Approval.

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/16/18)

Association of Regional Center Agencies

California Long-Term Ombudsman Association

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/16/18)

Department of Finance

Department of Health Care Services

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The California Long-Term Care Ombudsman Association writes the following in support of AB 2397, “We believe this is an important bill that will provide consumer protections, in that it will require Department of Aging, Public health, Health Care Services, Medical Services and Social Services to share information between these agencies for individuals utilizing the various services. In additional to sharing of information the bill has a special focus and greater intentionality for when the administrative actions of these agencies impact these often vulnerable older and dependent adults.”

Association of Regional Center Agencies (ARCA) also supports this bill. According to ARCA, “Foster youth are a uniquely vulnerable population – doubly so when they have a developmental disability. Thus, it is critical that people who chose to operate facilities serving those individuals be properly vetted. Mandating the sharing of information between state and county agencies charged with oversight of the foster care system is both a worthy policy and a direct benefit to those individuals served by the foster care system.

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: DHCS writes the following in is opposition to this bill, “DHCS believes that current practices are sufficient in this matter, and that the permissive nature of the statute is beneficial. The bounds for information sharing are better addressed through interagency agreements rather than a one-size-fits-all legislative mandate that is overbroad. The current permissiveness in statute allows for more efficient and effective information sharing that takes into account department-specific considerations and needs. AB 2379, in contrast, treats all information from every department the same in mandating it all be shared with every department listed, even if such information is irrelevant to or inconsistent with the programs administered by a given department.”

The Department of Finance (DOF) is also opposed to this bill due to additional workload and General Fund costs. Additionally, DOF writes, “The provisions of this bill appear to be partially duplicative of existing efforts. While current law is permissive on the sharing of information specified in this bill, Social Services, Aging, Public Health, Health Care Services, and the EMS Authority are already undertaking such efforts through interagency agreements, which cover the majority of this bill’s provisions. Additionally, Social Services has updated its policies and procedures regarding data sharing agreements with other departments. These changes include time frames for data exchange of not less than once per month and the elimination of a sunset date.”

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-0, 4/26/18

AYES: Acosta, Aguiar-Curry, 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, Frazier, Friedman, Gallagher, 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, Rubio, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Voepel, Waldron, Weber, Wood, Rendon

NO VOTE RECORDED: Travis Allen, Fong, Cristina Garcia, Rodriguez

Prepared by:

8/18/18 13:14:51

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair

2017 - 2018 Regular Session

AB 2397 (Obernolte) - Health and human services: information sharing: administrative actions

This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.

Bill Summary:

AB 2397 would require, rather than permit, that the California Department of Aging (CDA), the Department of Public Health (DPH), the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), and the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) to share information with respect to applicants, licensees, certificate holders, or individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in the denial of a license, permit, or certificate of approval, as specified.

Fiscal Impact:

• Negligible fiscal impact to CDA, DPH, and CDSS as they are already authorized to share this information and currently do share this information when necessary.
• EMSA does not currently share this information frequently, and their licensure department would need to have an interface developed with the Administrative Action Records System to search and upload paramedic licenses. This interface will result in a one-time cost of approximately $50,000. Research and reviewing administrative actions would also require increased workload which could potentially lead to significant increase in costs for EMSA. (GF)
• DHCS currently does not collect or share all of the information that would be required pursuant to this bill. In order to collect and share all of the required information, DHCS would incur costs of approximately $800,000 per year for increased workload to research and develop guidelines; enter into interagency data sharing contracts; and review, process, and share information.
• Negligible costs to county child welfare agencies as reporting of administrative actions to CDSS is already mandated for compliance with requirements for the statewide implementation of Resource Family Approval.

Background:

Existing law permits but does not require CDA, DPH, DHCS, CDSS, and EMSA to share information regarding individuals who have been the subject of an administrative action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certification of approval. Current law also permits CDSS and county child welfare agencies to share this information for the same reason.

In March 2017, the California State Auditor released a report that pointed out concerns of timeliness and quality of the CDSS background check process for individuals who have contact with the clients of the facilities it licenses. The Auditor found that CDSS is not receiving all of the information that it needs to conduct proper background checks and is not always timely in evaluating administrative actions taken by other departments to determine whether an individual can remain in a facility. Additionally, the Auditor found that the current interagency agreements prevent CDSS from sharing the information it receives with other departments.

Proposed Law:

This bill would require, rather than permit, CDA, DPH, DHCS, CDSS, and EMSA to share information with respect to applicants, licensees, certificate holders, or individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certificate of approval, or in the exclusion of any person from a facility, certified family home, or resource family home who is subject to a background check, as otherwise provided by law. Additionally, this bill would require CDSS and county child welfare agencies to share information with respect to applicants, licensees, certificate holders, or individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certificate of approval, or in the exclusion of any person from a facility, certified family home, or resource family home who is subject to a background check, as otherwise provided by law.

Related Legislation:

AB 1914 (Flora, 2018) would have added to the list of specified crimes for which a criminal record exemption may not be granted for purposes of licensure, permitting, certification, employment, volunteering, or residence in certain community care facilities, as specified. This bill was gutted and amended to an unrelated issue.

AB 3039 (Holden, 2018) would have made numerous changes to the criminal background check process for community care facilities and applied those changes to certain components of licensure, operation, and employment in: community care facilities, Residential Care Facilities for Persons with Chronic Life-Threatening Illness, RCFEs, child care facilities, as well as home care aide registry applicants and home care organizations. This bill did not pass out of Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Staff Comments:

Staff notes that all of the affected departments are currently authorized but not required to share information on administrative actions. For some departments, the requirement would not necessitate additional resources to adequately comply. However, the increased load for other departments would necessitate additional resources to fully comply with all of the interagency sharing of information.

For instance, though DHCS does currently share some information with CDSS, those data are limited to information that the department oversees and readily has available. Some licensee registration and certification is provided by a third party, and in these cases, DHCS would need to develop guidelines and establish protocols for obtaining additional information to inform other departments.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES

Senator Wiener, Chair

2017 - 2018 Regular

Bill No: AB 2397

Subject: Health and human services: information sharing: administrative actions.

SUMMARY

This bill requires, rather than permits, that the California Department of Aging (CDA), the Department of Public Health (DPH), the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), and the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) share information with respect to applicants, licensees, certificate holders, or individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in the denial of a license, permit, or certificate of approval, as specified.

ABSTRACT

Existing law:

1. Establishes the Department of Aging, via the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act, to administer program under the Older Americans Act of 1965, and declares the DOA mission shall be to provide leadership to the area agencies on aging in developing systems of home- and community-based services that maintain individuals in their own homes or in the least restrictive homelike environments. (WIC 9000 et seq.)
2.  Establishes DPH to license health facilities and requires DPH to adopt, amend, or repeal, as specified, any reasonable rules and regulations as may be necessary or proper to carry out the exercise of its power. (HSC 131000 et seq.)
3. Establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by DHCS, under which health care services are provided to qualified low-income persons. (WIC 14000)
4. Establishes EMSA to provide leadership in developing and implementing Emergency Medical Services (EMS) systems throughout California and setting standards for the training and scope of practice of various levels of EMS personnel. (HSC 1791.100 et seq.)
5. Establishes the Community Care Facilities Act, which provides for licensure and regulation of community care facilities. The Act defines community care facility to mean any facility, place, or building that is maintained and operated to provide nonmedical residential care, day treatment, adult day care, or foster family agency services for children, adults, or children and adults, including, but not limited to, the physically handicapped, mentally impaired, incompetent persons, and abused or neglected children and includes residential facilities, adult day programs, foster family agencies, full-service adoption agencies, group homes, and short-term residential therapeutic programs, among others. (HSC 1500 et seq.)
6. Establishes a regulatory structure for licensed Residential Care Facilities for Persons With Chronic Life-Threatening Illness serving people who are 18 years of age or older or are emancipated minors and requires license holders to provide basic services for each resident, as specified. (HSC 1568 et seq.)
7. Establishes the California Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE) Act, which requires facilities that provide personal care and supervision, protective supervision, or health related services for persons 60 years of age or older who voluntarily choose to reside in those facilities to be licensed. (HSC 1569 et seq.)
8. Establishes the California Child Day Care Facilities Act to provide a comprehensive, quality system for licensing child day care facilities to ensure that working families have access to healthy and safe child care providers and that child care programs contribute positively to a child's emotional, cognitive, and educational development, and are able to respond to, and provide for, the unique characteristics and needs of children. (HSC 1596.70 et seq.)
9. Authorizes specified information to be shared in order to protect the health and safety of people who receive care or services from CCLD-licensed individuals or facilities, or from individuals certified or approved by a foster family agency as follows:
10. CDA, DPH, DHCS, CDSS, and EMSA are permitted to share information with respect to applicants, licensees, certificate holders, or individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certificate of approval, or in the exclusion of any person from a facility, certified family home, or resource family home who is subject to a background check, as otherwise provided by law.
11. CDSS and county child welfare agencies are permitted to share information with respect to applicants, licensees, certificate holders, or individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certificate of approval, or in the exclusion of any person from a facility, certified family home, or resource family home who is subject to a background check, as otherwise provided by law. (HSC 1522.08 (a))
12. Defines “administrative action” to mean any proceeding initiated by CDA, DPH, DHCS, DSS, EMSA, and county child welfare agencies to determine the rights and duties of various individuals over which the department has jurisdiction and which may include, but is not limited to, action involving the denial of an application for, or the suspension, revocation, or rescission of, any license, special permit, certificate of approval, administrator certificate, criminal record clearance, exemption, or exclusion. (HSC 1522.08 (d))
13. Requires CDSS to maintain a centralized system for monitoring and tracking final administrative actions to be utilized by CDA, DPH, DHCS, DSS, EMSA, and county child welfare agencies as part of the background check process, as specified, and provides that implementation of the centralized system shall be contingent upon a specific appropriation provided for this purpose in the annual Budget Act. (HSC 1522.08 (b))

This bill:

1. Requires, rather than permits, CDS, DPH, DHCS, CDSS, and EMSA to share information with respect to applicants, licensees, certificate holders, or individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certificate of approval, or in the exclusion of any person from a facility, certified family home, or resource family home who is subject to a background check, as otherwise provided by law.
2. Requires CDSS and county child welfare agencies to share information with respect to applicants, licensees, certificate holders, or individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certificate of approval, or in the exclusion of any person from a facility, certified family home, or resource family home who is subject to a background check, as otherwise provided by law.

FISCAL IMPACT

According to an analysis prepared by the Assembly Committee on Appropriations on April 18, 2018, this bill would likely have the following fiscal impact:

1. Negligible cost to affected state departments. These departments currently have data sharing agreements in place administratively.
2. Negligible cost to county child welfare agencies. Reporting of administrative actions to CDSS is already mandated for compliance with requirements for the statewide implementation of Resource Family Approval program that occurred January 1, 2017.

BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION

Purpose of the bill:

Current law allows certain state departments to share information about administrative actions with each other, but does not require it. According a report issued by the State Auditor, these five departments often fail to promptly share information with one another resulting in CDSS not being able to adequately safeguard the vulnerable populations they are charged with protecting. AB 2397 corrects this lack of information sharing by requiring the departments to share administrative actions with one another in order to “allow the departments that oversee some of the same individuals to utilize information from one another to keep the vulnerable populations they are charged with protecting safe,” per the author.

Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD)

The Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD) within CDSS is responsible for regulating the facilities it licenses and protecting the health and safety of children, adults, and seniors who are cared for within those facilities. CCLD licenses and oversees community care facilities—including child care facilities, foster family homes, and care facilities for the elderly—throughout California. These facilities typically provide non-medical care and supervision for children and adults in need, which includes persons with disabilities, seniors in need of residential care, children in foster care and at-risk children needing shelter services, families in need of early childhood education, and adult care services. As of June 30, 2017, CCLD licensed approximately 72,400 facilities with the total capacity to service almost 1.4 million Californians. In addition to licensing community care facilities, CDSS is also responsible for investigating all complaints against those facilities.

To protect these vulnerable populations, state law requires all applicants, licensees, adult residents, volunteers under certain conditions, and employees of licensed facilities who have contact with clients to obtain a criminal background check. CDSS uses these background checks to determine whether individuals should be allowed to be present in a licensed facility.

Because an individual who is associated with one licensed facility may also be certified or present in another facility licensed by a different department within Health and Human Services Agency, another layer of protection is authorized in law to allow for information sharing between state departments that have linked oversight roles. The law permits CDA, DPH, DHCS, CDSS, and EMSA to share information administrative actions resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certification of approval or in the exclusion of any individual from certain settings, who is subject to a background check. Current law also permits CDSS and county child welfare agencies to share this information with each other for the same reason.

If, upon receipt of information regarding an administrative action, CDSS determines that an individual poses a threat to the clients of licensed facilities, CDSS can remove that individual from any licensed facility.

State law also requires CDSS, contingent on funding, to maintain a centralized database that these departments can use to access this information. While CDSS has explored creating a database, the necessary funding has not been included in the state budget. In lieu of this database, and to fulfill the intent of the law, CDSS entered into interagency agreements with each of the four other departments specifying that each department will share administrative action information with CDSS on a monthly basis.

Caregiver Background Check Audit

In March of 2017, the California State Auditor released a report entitled, “California Department of Social Services: Its Caregiver Background Check Bureau lacks criminal history information it needs to protect vulnerable populations in licensed care facilities.” The audit report concerned timeliness and quality of CDSS background check process for individuals who have contact with the clients of facilities it licenses.

The Auditor found that CDSS is not receiving all the information it needs to conduct proper background checks to protect community care facilities’ clients, including children, adults, and the elderly, and is not always timely in evaluating administrative actions taken by other departments to determine whether an individual can remain in a facility. The Auditor also found that CDSS and four other state departments do not promptly share information with one another about administrative actions they take against individuals as the law intends.

Additionally, the Auditor found that the interagency agreements do not allow CDSS to act as a central resource from which the other departments could obtain administrative action information. According to the Auditor, the interagency agreements prevent CDSS from sharing the information it receives with the other departments. Instead, each department has their own agreements to share this information directly with one another.

As part of its recommendations, the Auditor suggested that the Legislature require departments to share information about administrative actions they take against individuals to improve the background check process.

Related legislation:

AB 1914 (Flora, 2018) adds to the list of specified crimes for which a criminal record exemption may not be granted for purposes of licensure, permitting, certification, employment, volunteering, or residence in certain community care facilities, as specified. This bill is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Community on Human Services on June 12, 2018.

AB 3039 (Holden, 2018) would have made numerous changes to the criminal background check process for community care facilities and applied those changes to certain components of licensure, operation, and employment in: community care facilities, Residential Care Facilities for Persons with Chronic Life-Threatening Illness, RCFEs, child care facilities, as well as home care aide registry applicants and home care organizations. This bill did not pass out of Assembly Appropriations Committee.

COMMENTS

CDSS reports that the department has already updated most of its interagency agreements with CDA, DPH, DHCS, and EMSA to require the sharing of information that this bill mandates.

PRIOR VOTES

POSITIONS

Support:

Association of Regional Center Agencies

California Long-Term Ombudsman Association

Oppose:

None received

-- END --

Date of Hearing: April 18, 2018

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2397

Author:(Obernolte) – As Introduced Ver:February 14, 2018

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill requires specified state and county departments to share information regarding their adverse administrative actions against individuals subject to background checks by state licensed facilities. Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires, instead of allows, the California Department of Aging (CDA), Department of Public Health (DPH), Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), Department of Social Services (DSS), and the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) to share information about applicants, licensees, certificate holders, or individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certificate of approval, or in the exclusion of any person from a facility, certified family home, or resource family home who is subject to a background check.
2. Requires, instead of allows, DSS and county child welfare agencies to share information for the same purpose as above.

FISCAL EFFECT:

1. Negligible cost to affected state departments. These departments currently have data sharing agreements in place administratively.
2. Negligible cost to county child welfare agencies. Reporting of administrative actions to DSS is already mandated for compliance with requirements for the statewide implementation of Resource Family Approval (RFA) program that occurred January 1, 2017.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. This bill seeks to reduce the safety risk to clients in DSS licensed facilities by implementing a recommendation of the California State Auditor (Report 2016-126, March 14, 2017) to require relevant departments to share information about administrative actions taken against individuals. According to the author:

[This bill] requires these departments to share information relating to administrative actions with one another. This requirement will allow the departments that oversee some of the same individuals to utilize information from one another to keep the vulnerable populations they are charged with protecting safe.

1. Background. DSS’s Caregiver Background Check Bureau (CBCB) receives criminal history records from the state Department of Justice and other entities to review the criminal history of all applicants, licensees, adult residents, volunteers in certain situations, and employees in licensed facilities who have client contact as part of a required background check. In order to be present in a licensed facility, these individuals must either obtain a criminal record clearance or a criminal record exemption.

CBCB also gathers information on administrative actions received from other state departments and agencies. DSS can determine in certain instances that an individual subject to an administrative action poses a threat to the clients of licensed facilities and can remove that individual from any licensed facility.

Current law permits, but does not require, CDA, DPH, DHCS, DSS, and EMSA to share information regarding individuals who have been the subject of an administrative action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certification of approval or in the exclusion of any individual from certain settings, who is subject to a background check. Current law also permits DSS and county child welfare agencies to share this information for the same reason.

Because an individual who is associated with one department may also be certified or present in a facility licensed by another department, current law also requires DSS, contingent on funding, to maintain a centralized database where these departments can access administrative action information. Funding never materialized and DSS instead entered into interagency agreements with each of the four other departments specifying that each department share administrative action information with DSS on a monthly basis.

1. State Auditor’s Report. In March 2017, the California State Auditor released a report regarding background checks for individuals who have contact with clients of facilities licensed by DSS. The report identified several key findings including the lack of receipt and sharing of key information necessary for conducting proper background checks, as well as deficiencies in the criminal history review process itself. The audit report stated:

[DSS] and four other state departments are not effectively sharing information about administrative actions they take against individuals, although state law intends for them to do so. Therefore, these five departments do not have access to information that could help them protect vulnerable populations. In addition, [DSS] is not always timely in evaluating whether an individual who has been subject to an administrative action should be allowed to remain present in a licensed facility.

The Auditor recommended the Legislature require DSS, CDA, DPH, DHCS, EMSA, and county agencies provide each other their administrative action information.

1. Related Legislation. AB 1914 (Flora), of the 2017-18 Legislative Session, implements another key finding in the State Auditor’s report by expanding the list of crimes for which DSS may not grant a criminal record exemption for licensure, employment, volunteering or residence, etc. in a state licensed facility.

Analysis Prepared by: Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 3, 2018

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH

Jim Wood, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2397

Author:(Obernolte) – As Introduced Ver:February 14, 2018

SUBJECT: Health and human services: information sharing: administrative actions.

SUMMARY: Revises existing law to require, instead of allow, the sharing of specified information in order to protect the health and safety of persons receiving care or services from individuals or facilities licensed by the state or from individuals certified or approved by a foster family agency. Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires, instead of allows, the California Department of Aging (DoA), Department of Public Health (DPH), Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), Department of Social Services (DSS), and the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) to share information with respect to applicants, licensees, certificate holders, or individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certificate of approval, or in the exclusion of any person from a facility, certified family home, or resource family home who is subject to a background check, as specified.
2. Requires, instead of allows, the DSS and county child welfare agencies to share information with respect to applicants, licensees, certificate holders, or individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certificate of approval, or in the exclusion of any person from a facility, certified family home, or resource family home who is subject to a background check, as specified.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes DoA to administer programs under the Older Americans Act of 1965 including providing ongoing oversight, monitoring, and service quality evaluation to ensure that service providers are meeting standards of service performance established by DoA.
2. Establishes DPH to license health facilities and requires DPH to adopt, amend, or repeal, as specified, any reasonable rules and regulations as may be necessary or proper to carry out the exercise of its power.
3. Establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by DHCS, under which health care services are provided to qualified low-income persons.
4. Establishes EMSA to provide leadership in developing and implementing Emergency Medical Services (EMS) systems throughout California and setting standards for the training and scope of practice of various levels of EMS personnel.
5. Establishes the Community Care Facilities Act, which allows for the licensure and oversight of out of home placements for abused and neglected children by DSS.
6. Establishes the Community Care Licensing Division (Licensing Division) within DSS and requires DSS to license group care facilities, private foster family agencies, and foster family homes in order to place children who are in the child welfare system. Further requires, prior to licensure, a foster home provider to undergo a criminal background check, as specified.
7. Requires DSS to obtain a full criminal record, if any, for certain individuals, including adults responsible for administration or direct supervision of staff; any person, other than a client, residing in the facility; any person who provides client assistance in dressing, grooming or bathing; and any staff person, volunteer, or employee who has contact with the clients, among others, for purposes of criminal record clearance.
8. Allows the sharing of specified information in order to protect the health and safety of persons receiving care or services from individuals or facilities licensed by the state or from individuals certified or approved by a foster family agency.
9. Permits the DoA, DPH, DHCS, DSS, and EMSA to share information with respect to applicants, licensees, certificate holders, or individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certificate of approval, or in the exclusion of any person from a facility, certified family home, or resource family home who is subject to a background check, as specified.
10. Permits the DSS and county child welfare agencies to share information with respect to applicants, licensees, certificate holders, or individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certificate of approval, or in the exclusion of any person from a facility, certified family home, or resource family home who is subject to a background check, as specified.
11. Requires the DSS to maintain a centralized system for the monitoring and tracking of final administrative actions, to be used by DoA, DPH, DHCS, DSS, EMSA, and the county child welfare agencies as a part of the background check process. Allows DSS to charge a fee to departments under the jurisdiction of the California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHSA) and to county child welfare agencies sufficient to cover the cost of providing those departments with the final administrative action, as specified.
12. Defines administrative action as any proceeding initiated by the DoA, DPH, DHCS, DSS, EMSA, and county child welfare agencies to determine the rights and duties of an applicant, licensee, certificate holder, or other individual or entity over which the department has jurisdiction and may include, but is not limited to, action involving the denial of an application for, or the suspension, revocation, or rescission of, any license, special permit, certificate of approval, administrator certificate, criminal record clearance, exemption, or exclusion.

FISCAL EFFECT: This bill has not yet been analyzed by a fiscal committee.

COMMENTS:

1. PURPOSE OF THIS BILL. According to the author, this bill requires the DoA, DPH, DHCS, EMSA, and DSS to share information about administrative actions with one another. This requirement will allow the departments that oversee some of the same individuals to utilize information from one another in order to keep the vulnerable populations they are responsible for overseeing safe. Current law allows the sharing of this information, but does not require it. According to the auditor’s report, these five state departments often fail to promptly share information with one another regarding Administrative Actions they take against individuals. This results in DSS not being able to adequately safeguard the vulnerable populations they are charged with protecting.
2. BACKGROUND. DSS, through its Licensing Division, is responsible for regulating the care facilities it licenses and protecting the health and safety of children, adults, and seniors in those facilities. The Licensing Division licenses and oversees more than 70,000 community care facilities, including child care facilities, foster family homes, and care facilities for the elderly, throughout California. To protect these vulnerable populations, state law requires all applicants, licensees, adult residents, volunteers under certain conditions, and employees of licensed facilities who have contact with clients to obtain a background check. DSS uses these background checks to determine whether individuals should be allowed to be present in a licensed facility. Its Caregiver Background Check Bureau (CBCB) is responsible for evaluating the character of individuals with criminal records who apply to have access to a licensed facility, such as employees or volunteers.

To determine whether an individual should be permitted to be present in a licensed facility, the CBCB reviews the individual’s criminal history. At a minimum, the criminal history check includes a review of the individual’s record of arrests and prosecutions. The background check process involves a review of the individual’s criminal history received from the Department of Justice (DOJ). In fiscal year 2015–16, DOJ sent the CBCB more than 366,000 background check responses to its criminal history inquiries. More than 23,000 of these inquiries, approximately 6%, resulted in criminal histories that the CBCB needed to evaluate.

In early 2016, DOJ stopped forwarding sentencing information to DSS because it determined that it was not explicitly allowed by state law to provide this element of an individual’s criminal history. It also did not forward information about certain convictions because it believed it was not authorized to share that information. As a result, DSS does not receive information that is valuable to the analysts in the CBCB who make exemption decisions.

In March 2017, as requested by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, the California State Auditor (CSA), presented an audit report concerning the timeliness and quality of the DSS background check process for individuals who have contact with clients of facilities it licenses and concluded that DDS does not receive all of the information it needs to protect vulnerable clients.

Specifically, since July 2006, state law has allowed DSS and four departments that are also in CHHSA to share administrative action information with one another. Further, state law requires DSS, contingent on funding, to maintain a centralized database that these departments can use to access this information. It is important that these five departments share their administrative action information with each other, because an individual who is associated with one department may also be certified or present in a facility licensed by another of these departments.

According to the audit report, DSS has not developed a centralized database of administrative action information because it has not obtained funding for this purpose. According to the former chief of the Licensing Division’s central operations branch, DSS explored creating a database, but the funding that would have been necessary to implement the system was never successfully included in the state budget. In lieu of this database, to fulfill the intent of the law, DSS entered into interagency agreements with each of the four other departments specifying that each department will share administrative action information with DSS on a monthly basis.

However, although they facilitate some information sharing, these interagency agreements are an insufficient replacement for a centralized database. Specifically, they do not allow DSS to act as a central resource from which the other departments could obtain administrative action information. The CSA found this is because the interagency agreements prevent DSS from sharing the information it receives with the other departments. When we asked why DSS does not share the administrative action information with the other departments as the law intends, the chief of the CBCB stated that the other departments have agreements with one another to share this information.

The CSA found that DSS is not receiving all the information it needs to conduct proper background checks to protect community care facilities’ clients, including children, adults, and the elderly, and is not always timely in evaluating administrative actions taken by other departments to determine whether an individual can remain in a facility. The CSA also found that DDS and four other state departments do not promptly share information with one another about administrative actions they take against individuals as the law intends. As part of its recommendations, the State Auditor suggested that the Legislators require departments to share information about administrative actions they take against individuals to improve the background check process.

1. SUPPORT. The Association of Regional Center Agencies states that it is critical that people who chose to operate facilities service foster youth are properly vetted. The California Long-Term Care Ombudsman Association write that this bill will provide consumer protections and has as special focus and greater intentionality for when the administrative actions of these agencies impact vulnerable older and dependent adults.
2. DOUBLE REFFERED. This bill was heard in the Assembly Human Services Committee and passed with a 7-0 vote.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Association of Regional Center Agencies

California Long-Term Care Ombudsman Association

Opposition

None on file.

Analysis Prepared by: Kristene Mapile / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097

Date of Hearing: March 20, 2018

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES

Blanca Rubio, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2397 (

Author:Obernolte) – As Introduced Ver:February 14, 2018

SUBJECT: Health and human services: information sharing: administrative actions

SUMMARY: Requires the sharing of information by specified state and county departments regarding individuals subject to certain administrative actions.

Specifically, this bill:

1. Changes from permissive to requisite the sharing of information by the California Department of Aging (CDA), the Department of Public Health (DPH), the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), the Department of Social Services (DSS), and the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) regarding individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in certain outcomes, as specified.
2. Changes from permissive to requisite the sharing of information by DSS and county child welfare agencies regarding individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in certain outcomes, as specified.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes the California Community Care Facilities Act to provide for the licensure and regulation of community care facilities. (HSC 1500 et seq.)
2. Defines “community care facility” to mean any facility, place, or building that is maintained and operated to provide nonmedical residential care, day treatment, adult day care, or foster family agency services for children, adults, or children and adults, including, but not limited to, individuals with physical disabilities or mental impairments and abused or neglected children. Includes within this definition, among a number of other facilities: adult day programs, foster family homes, small family homes, full-service adoption agencies, and short-term residential therapeutic programs. (HSC 1502 (a))
3. Requires community care facilities operating in California, as specified, to have a valid license. (HSC 1503.5)
4. Establishes the California Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE) Act, which requires facilities that provide personal care and supervision, protective supervision, or health related services for persons 60 years of age or older who voluntarily choose to reside in those facilities to be licensed by DSS. (HSC 1569 et seq.)
5. Establishes the California Child Day Care Facilities Act to provide a comprehensive, quality system for licensing child day care facilities to ensure that working families have access to healthy and safe child care providers and that child care programs contribute positively to a child's emotional, cognitive, and educational development, and are able to respond to, and provide for, the unique characteristics and needs of children. (HSC 1596.70 et seq.)
6. Defines “administrative action” to mean any proceeding initiated by CDA, DPH, DHCS, DSS, EMSA, and county child welfare agencies to determine the rights and duties of various individuals over which the department has jurisdiction and which may include, but is not limited to, action involving the denial of an application for, or the suspension, revocation, or rescission of, any license, special permit, certificate of approval, administrator certificate, criminal record clearance, exemption, or exclusion. (HSC 1522.08 (d))
7. Authorizes, in order to protect the health and safety of people who receive care or services from CCLD-licensed individuals or facilities, or from foster-family-agency-certified or -approved individuals, information to be shared as follows:
   1. CDA, DPH, DHCS, DSS, and EMSA are permitted to share information regarding various individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certification of approval or in the exclusion of any individual from certain settings who is subject to a background check, as specified; and
   2. DSS and county child welfare agencies are permitted to share information regarding various individuals who have been the subject of any administration action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certification of approval or in the exclusion of any individual from certain settings who is subject to a background check, as specified. (HSC 1522.08 (a))
8. Requires DSS to maintain a centralized system for monitoring and tracking final administrative actions to be utilized by CDA, DPH, DHCS, DSS, EMSA, and county child welfare agencies as part of the background check process, as specified. (HSC 1522.08 (b))
9. Requires certain individuals, not including residents, to obtain a criminal record clearance or criminal record exemption from DSS prior to their initial presence in a community care facility or certified family home, as specified. (HSC 1522)

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS:

Community care licensing: Within DSS, the Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD) is responsible for the licensure and regulation of a variety of community care facilities, which are defined in state law as “any facility, place, or building that is maintained and operated to provide nonmedical residential care, day treatment, adult day care, or foster family agency services for children, adults, or children and adults, including, but not limited to, the physically handicapped, mentally impaired, incompetent persons, and abused or neglected children” (Health and Safety Code 1502). Community care facilities include adult day programs, foster family agencies, foster family homes, social rehabilitation facilities, transitional shelters, group homes, runaway and homeless youth shelters, and others. CCLD also licenses and regulates child care centers, residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs), and other facilities. As of June 30, 2017, CCLD licensed approximately 72,400 facilities with the total capacity to service almost 1.4 million Californians.

DSS’s Caregiver Background Check Bureau (CBCB) receives criminal history records from the state Department of Justice (DOJ) and other entities and uses this information to review the criminal history of all applicants, licensees, adult residents, volunteers in certain situations, and employees in licensed facilities who have client contact as part of a required background check. In order to be present in a licensed facility, these individuals must either obtain a criminal record clearance or a criminal record exemption (exemptions may be granted after conviction for certain crimes if, upon review, it is determined that the individual in question is of good character and does not pose a threat to client well-being).

CBCB also gathers information on administrative actions received from other state departments and agencies; administrative actions are formal actions that are taken against an individual, including suspension or revocation of a license. DSS can determine in certain instances that an individual subject to an administrative action poses a threat to the clients of licensed facilities and can as a result remove that individual from any licensed facility. State law (subdivision (a) of Health and Safety Code Section 1522.08) permits CDA, DPH, DHCS, DSS, and EMSA to share information regarding individuals who have been the subject of an administrative action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, revocation, or rescission of a license, permit, or certification of approval or in the exclusion of any individual from certain settings, who is subject to a background check; this section of state law also permits DSS and county child welfare agencies to share this information for the same reason.

Caregiver background check audit: In March of 2017, the California State Auditor released a report entitled, “California Department of Social Services: Its Caregiver Background Check Bureau lacks criminal history information it needs to protect vulnerable populations in licensed care facilities.” This report documented the results of an audit that focused in part on the DSS background check process for individuals who have contact with clients of community care facilities, focusing on the timeliness and quality of those background checks.

Among the conclusions reached by this audit was that DSS was not receiving sufficient information to protect the health and safety of vulnerable clients. The audit report stated that, “[DSS] and four other state departments are not effectively sharing information about administrative actions they take against individuals, although state law intends for them to do so. Therefore, these five departments do not have access to information that could help them protect vulnerable populations. In addition, [DSS] is not always timely in evaluating whether an individual who has been subject to an administrative action should be allowed to remain present in a licensed facility.”

As one of its recommendations, the audit report stated that, “to ensure that all applicable entities share their administrative actions with each other as state law intends, the Legislature should amend state law to require that Social Services, the Department of Aging, Public Health, Health Care Services, Medical Services, and county agencies provide each other their administrative action information.” This bill seeks to enact this recommendation.

Need for this bill: According to the author: “[This bill] requires these departments to share information relating to administrative actions with one another. This requirement will allow the departments that oversee some of the same individuals to utilize information from one another to keep the vulnerable populations they are charged with protecting safe.”

DOUBLE REFERRAL. This bill has been double-referred. Should this bill pass out of this committee, it will be referred to the Assembly Health Committee.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

None on file.

Opposition

None on file.

Analysis Prepared by: Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089