BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2229| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 2229 Author: Brownley (D) Amended: 8/2/10 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 5-0, 6/22/10 AYES: Liu, Emmerson, Romero, Runner, Yee SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/29/10 AYES: Leno, Cogdill, Cedillo, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg, Wright SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 6/2/10 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Mandated child abuse reporting SOURCE : Los Angeles County District Attorney DIGEST : This bill establishes time-limited authority for counties to create two-person multidisciplinary personnel teams engaged in the investigation of suspected child abuse or neglect, as specified. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1. Authorizes members of a multidisciplinary personnel team CONTINUED AB 2229 Page 2 (MPT) 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 part of a juvenile court record or otherwise designated as confidential under state law if the member of the team having that information reasonably believes it is generally relevant to the prevention, identification or treatment of child abuse. 2. Defines "multidisciplinary personnel" as any team of three or more persons who are trained in the prevention, identification, and 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 not be limited to: Psychiatrists, psychologists, or other trained counseling personnel. Police officers or other law enforcement agents. Medical personnel with sufficient training to provide health services. Social workers with training or experience in child abuse prevention. Any public or private school teacher, administrative officer, supervisor of child welfare and attendance, or certificated pupil personnel employee. 3. Provides that any county may establish a computerized data base system within that county to allow provider agencies, as defined, to share specified identifying information regarding families at risk for child abuse and neglect, for the purposes of forming MPTs. This bill: 1. Allows a county to establish, notwithstanding any other provision of law, a child abuse MPT within that county to allow provider agencies, as defined, to share confidential information in order for provider agencies to investigate reports of suspected child abuse or neglect, or for the purpose of child welfare agencies making a detention determination. AB 2229 Page 3 2. Defines "child abuse multidisciplinary personnel team," related to the provisions below, to mean any team of two or more persons (current law defines as three 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. Allows this team to include, but not be limited to, the same persons that are included in a three-person MPT, pursuant to current law. (See list above.) 3. Defines "provider agency" to mean any governmental or other agency that has as one of its purposes the prevention, identification, management, or treatment of child abuse or neglect. Specifies provider agencies to include, but not be limited to, the following entities or service agencies (identical to current law specifying three-person MPTs): social services; children's services; health services; mental health services; probation; law enforcement; and schools. 4. Allows members of a child abuse investigation and prevention MPT to disclose and exchange with one another information and writings, as specified, during a 30-day period, or longer if documented good cause exists, following a report of suspected child abuse or neglect, notwithstanding any other provision of law. Provides that 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. 5. Allows disclosure and exchange of information pursuant to the above to 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. 6. Prohibits the disclosure and exchange of information to be made to anyone other than members of the child abuse MPT, and those qualified to receive information, as AB 2229 Page 4 specified. 7. Allows the child abuse MPT to designate persons to be a member of the team for a particular case, as specified, and allows a person designated as a team member to receive and disclose relevant information and records, subject to the confidentiality provisions specified in the bill. 8. Requires the sharing of the information above to be governed by 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. 9. Requires every member of the child abuse MPT who receives information or records regarding children and families in his or her capacity as a member of the team to 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. Requires the information or records obtained to be maintained in a manner that ensures the maximum protection of privacy and confidentiality rights. Provides that this section shall not be construed to restrict guarantees of confidentiality provided under state or federal law. 10.Provides that the 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. Provides that existing civil and criminal penalties shall apply to the inappropriate disclosure of information held by the team members. 11.Specifies that the sharing of a computerized data base system that a county is authorized to establish related to child abuse and neglect be available for the purpose of the child abuse MPT established pursuant to these provisions, in addition to the MPT authorized in current AB 2229 Page 5 law. 12.Repeals the provisions above on January 1, 2014. Background MPTs have been authorized in California to allow for a coordinated interagency response to elder and child abuse cases for more than twenty years. MPTs, formed and operated at the county level are afforded the ability to share confidential information among team members for the purposes of preventing, identifying, or treating child abuse. According to the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's guide, "Forming a Multidisciplinary Team to Investigate Child Abuse," MPTs are an effective tool for conducting a timely and objective investigation while causing as little added trauma to children and families. Additionally, MPTs operate, not just to investigate possible child abuse and neglect, but to facilitate coordination among the different agencies and entities participating on the team so that decisions can be made through team decision-making. Existing state and federal laws prohibit most county health and human services programs and educational entities from sharing confidential patient, recipient, and student information without the express consent of the individual, or in the case of minors, the parent or guardian. Confidential information may be shared in rare cases among government agencies although written permission is often required, and civil and criminal penalties may apply if the information is unlawfully disclosed. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 6/29/10) (prior version of bill) Los Angeles County District Attorney (source) ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the bill's sponsor, the Los Angeles County District Attorney (on behalf of the Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect), this bill AB 2229 Page 6 seeks to remedy the problem faced by members of an MPT investigating a potential case of child abuse who are time-limited in making detention determinations, and face barriers accessing necessary information from other members of the MPT because current law requires discussions among three or more MPT members, and is unclear regarding telephonic and electronic communications. ASSEMBLY FLOOR : AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez NO VOTE RECORDED: Tom Berryhill, Lieu, Audra Strickland, Vacancy CTW:mw 8/3/10 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****