BILL NUMBER: AB 2229 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 2, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 15, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 29, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 15, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 7, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Brownley
FEBRUARY 18, 2010
An act to amend Section 18961.5 of, and to add and repeal Section
18961.7 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to child
abuse reporting.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2229, as amended, Brownley. Mandated child abuse reporting.
Existing law authorizes members of a multidisciplinary personnel
team engaged in the prevention, identification, and treatment of
child abuse to disclose and exchange information and writings to and
with one another relating to any incidents of child abuse that may
also be a part of a juvenile court record or otherwise designated as
confidential under state law if the member of the team having that
information or writing reasonably believes it is generally relevant
to the prevention, identification, or treatment of child abuse. Under
existing law, all discussions relative to the disclosure or exchange
of this information during team meetings are confidential and
testimony concerning those discussions is not admissible in any
criminal, civil, or juvenile court proceeding. A multidisciplinary
personnel team is defined for purposes of this provision to mean any
team of 3 or more persons who are trained in the prevention,
identification, and treatment of child abuse, as specified.
This bill would, until January 1, 2014, additionally authorize the
disclosure and exchange of information to occur telephonically and
electronically, for 30 days, or longer if documented good cause
exists, following a report of suspected child abuse or neglect, if
there is adequate verification of the identity of the
multidisciplinary personnel who are involved in that disclosure or
exchange of information. The bill would revise the definition of a
multidisciplinary personnel team for purposes of this provision to
mean any team of 2 or more persons created to investigate a report of
suspected child abuse, as specified, who are trained in the
prevention, identification, and treatment of child abuse, as
specified. The bill would require that the sharing of information
permitted in the period following a report of suspected child abuse
or neglect be governed by memoranda of understanding among
participating provider agencies, as defined, that prescribe the types
of information that may be shared and the process to ensure that
specified confidentiality requirements are met
protocols developed in each county describing how and what
information may be shared to ensure that confidential information is
not disclosed in violation of state or federal law .
Existing law provides that a county may establish a computerized
data base system within that county to allow provider agencies to
share identifying information regarding families at risk for child
abuse or neglect, for the purpose of forming multidisciplinary
personnel teams for the prevention, identification, management, or
treatment of child abuse. A multidisciplinary personnel team is
defined for purposes of this provision to mean any team of 3 or more
persons who are trained in the prevention, identification, and
treatment of child abuse, as specified.
This bill would revise the definition of multidisciplinary
personnel teams for purposes of this provision to additionally
include any team of 2 or more persons who are trained in the
prevention, identification, management, or treatment of child abuse,
as specified.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 18961.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
18961.5. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any
county may establish a computerized database system within that
county to allow provider agencies, as defined in subdivision (h), to
share identifying information, as specified in subdivision (c),
regarding families at risk for child abuse or neglect, for the
purpose of forming multidisciplinary personnel teams, as defined in
either subdivision (d) of Section 18951 or paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b) of Section 18961.7, for the prevention,
identification, management, or treatment of child abuse.
(b) Each county shall develop its own standards for defining "at
risk" before joining this system. Only information about children or
the families of children at risk for child abuse or neglect may be
entered into a computerized database system established pursuant to
this section.
(c) With regard to a case in which a child or family has been
identified as at risk for child abuse or neglect under this section,
only the following information shall be entered into the system:
(1) The name, address, telephone number, and date and place of
birth of family members.
(2) The number assigned to the case by each provider agency.
(3) The name and telephone number of each employee assigned to the
case from each provider agency.
(4) The date or dates of contact between each provider agency and
a family member or family members.
(d) The information may only be entered into the system by, or
disclosed to, provider agency employees designated by the director of
each participating provider agency. Members of the multidisciplinary
personnel teams shall be drawn from these designated employees, or
other persons, as specified in Section 18961. The heads of provider
agencies shall establish a system by which unauthorized personnel
cannot access the data contained in the system.
(e) The information obtained pursuant to this section shall be
kept confidential and shall be used solely for the prevention,
identification, management, or treatment of child abuse, child
neglect, or both.
(f) This section shall not supplant any duties required by the
Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (Article 2.5 (commencing with
Section 11164) of Chapter 2 of Title 1 of Part 3 of the Penal Code).
(g) No employee of a provider agency which serves children and
their families shall be civilly or criminally liable for furnishing
or sharing information as authorized by this section.
(h) For the purposes of this section, "provider agency" means any
governmental or other agency which has as one of its purposes the
prevention, identification, management, or treatment of child abuse
or neglect. The provider agencies serving children and their families
which may share information under this section shall include, but
not be limited to, the following entities or service agencies:
(1) Social services.
(2) Children's services.
(3) Health services.
(4) Mental health services.
(5) Probation.
(6) Law enforcement.
(7) Schools.
SEC. 2. Section 18961.7 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
18961.7. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county
may establish a child abuse multidisciplinary personnel team within
that county to allow provider agencies to share confidential
information in order for provider agencies to investigate reports of
suspected child abuse or neglect made pursuant to Section 11160,
11166, or 11166.05 of the Penal Code, or for the purpose of child
welfare agencies making a detention determination.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall
have the following meanings:
(1) "Child abuse multidisciplinary personnel team" means any team
of two or more persons who are trained in the prevention,
identification, or treatment of child abuse and neglect cases and who
are qualified to provide a broad range of services related to child
abuse. The team may include, but shall not be limited to:
(A) Psychiatrists, psychologists, marriage and family therapists,
or other trained counseling personnel.
(B) Police officers or other law enforcement agents.
(C) Medical personnel with sufficient training to provide health
services.
(D) Social services workers with experience or training in child
abuse prevention.
(E) Any public or private school teacher, administrative officer,
supervisor of child welfare attendance, or certified pupil personnel
employee.
(2) "Provider agency" means any governmental or other agency that
has as one of its purposes the prevention, identification,
management, or treatment of child abuse or neglect. The provider
agencies serving children and their families that may share
information under this section shall include, but not be limited to,
the following entities or service agencies:
(A) Social services.
(B) Children's services.
(C) Health services.
(D) Mental health services.
(E) Probation.
(F) Law enforcement.
(G) Schools.
(c) (1) Notwithstanding Section 827 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code or any other provision of law, during a 30-day
period, or longer if documented good cause exists, following a report
of suspected child abuse or neglect, members of a child abuse
multidisciplinary personnel team engaged in the prevention,
identification, and treatment of child abuse may disclose to and
exchange with one another information and writings that relate to any
incident of child abuse that may also be designated as confidential
under state law if the member of the team having that information or
writing reasonably believes it is generally relevant to the
prevention, identification, or treatment of child abuse. Any
discussion relative to the disclosure or exchange of the information
or writings during a team meeting is confidential and,
notwithstanding any other provision of law, testimony concerning that
discussion is not admissible in any criminal, civil, or juvenile
court proceeding.
(2) Disclosure and exchange of information pursuant to this
section may occur telephonically and electronically if there is
adequate verification of the identity of the child abuse
multidisciplinary personnel who are involved in that disclosure or
exchange of information.
(3) Disclosure and exchange of information pursuant to this
section shall not be made to anyone other than members of the child
abuse multidisciplinary personnel team, and those qualified to
receive information as set forth in subdivision (d).
(d) The child abuse multidisciplinary personnel team may designate
persons qualified pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) to be
a member of the team for a particular case. A person designated as a
team member pursuant to this subdivision may receive and disclose
relevant information and records, subject to the confidentiality
provisions of subdivision (f).
(e) The sharing of information permitted under subdivision (c)
shall be governed by memoranda of understanding among the
participating service providers or provider agencies. These memoranda
shall specify the types of information that may be shared, and the
process to be used to ensure that current confidentiality
requirements, as described in subdivision (f), are met.
(e) The sharing of information permitted under subdivision (c)
shall be governed by protocols developed in each county describing
how and what information may be shared by the child abuse
multidisciplinary team to ensure that confidential information
gathered by the team is not disclosed in violation of state or
federal law. A copy of the protocols shall be distributed to each
participating agency and to persons in those agencies who participate
in the child abuse multidisciplinary team.
(f) Every member of the child abuse multidisciplinary personnel
team who receives information or records regarding children and
families in his or her capacity as a member of the team shall be
under the same privacy and confidentiality obligations and subject to
the same confidentiality penalties as the person disclosing or
providing the information or records. The information or records
obtained shall be maintained in a manner that ensures the maximum
protection of privacy and confidentiality rights.
(g) This section shall not be construed to restrict guarantees of
confidentiality provided under state or federal law.
(h) Information and records communicated or provided to the team
members by all providers and agencies, as well as information and
records created in the course of a child abuse or neglect
investigation, shall be deemed private and confidential and shall be
protected from discovery and disclosure by all applicable statutory
and common law protections. Existing civil and criminal penalties
shall apply to the inappropriate disclosure of information held by
the team members.
(i) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2014, and as of that date is repealed.