BILL NUMBER: AB 2322 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 23, 2010
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 24, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 19, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 5, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 15, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 13, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 29, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Feuer and Bass
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Adams, Blumenfield, Hall, and Smyth)
(Coauthor: Senator Pavley)
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to amend Sections 830, 5328, 10850.1, 15610.55, 18951, and
18961.5 of, and to add Section 18961.6 to, the Welfare and
Institutions Code, relating to public social services, and declaring
the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2322, Feuer. Abuse of children, elder, or dependent persons:
confidentiality.
Existing law generally provides for the confidentiality of
juvenile court records and records relating to the administration of
public social services. However, records connected to public social
services programs are generally permitted to be disclosed for
purposes related to the administration of those programs and for
other prescribed purposes.
Under existing law, counties are authorized to establish
multidisciplinary personnel teams trained in the prevention,
identification, or treatment of child abuse and neglect cases, or the
abuse of elder or dependent persons. Existing law provides, for
purposes of the disclosure of information, that the activities of
multidisciplinary teams engaged in the prevention, identification,
and treatment of child abuse or the abuse of elder or dependent
persons are activities performed in the administration of public
social services.
This bill would recast these provisions to provide that activities
of multidisciplinary personnel teams engaged in the prevention,
identification, management, or treatment of child abuse or neglect,
or the prevention, identification, management, or treatment of the
abuse of an elder or dependent person, are activities performed in
the administration of public social services.
Existing law provides that testimony about discussions relative to
the disclosure or exchange of the information or writings during
multidisciplinary personnel team meetings is not admissible in any
criminal, civil, or juvenile court proceeding.
Existing law also provides for the California Work Opportunity and
Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which each county
provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income
families.
This bill would include in the definition of a multidisciplinary
personnel team CalWORKs case managers, and social workers with
experience or training in child abuse or neglect prevention,
identification, management, or treatment. This bill would also
include information relevant to the provision of child welfare
services, as defined, as information that may be disclosed and
exchanged by a multidisciplinary personnel team.
Because the California Constitution provides that a statute
excluding relevant evidence in a criminal proceeding requires a 2/3
vote for passage by the Legislature, this bill requires a 2/3 vote.
Existing law permits a county to establish a computerized database
system to allow provider agencies, as defined, to share specified
information regarding families at risk for child abuse or neglect for
the purpose of forming a multidisciplinary personnel team to
prevent, identify, manage, or treat child abuse.
This bill would require the database to include information about
persons living in a child's home and a contact person instead of the
employee assigned to the case from a provider agency. This bill would
require a county that establishes this database system to install
database system controls to monitor system use and to detect any
violations of the system controls.
This bill would in addition, with respect to the County of Los
Angeles, authorize the database to include information about
convictions of family members or persons living in the child's home
for crimes that involved a child as a victim, as specified.
Existing law requires the information obtained pursuant to the
computerized database system to be kept confidential and to be used
solely for the prevention, identification, management, or treatment
of child abuse, child neglect, or both.
This bill would permit the information to be used for the
provision of child welfare services. This bill would also provide
that any person knowingly and intentionally violating the above
confidentiality requirements shall be subject to prescribed
administrative and civil penalties.
Existing law makes all information and records obtained in the
course of providing intake assessment and services under statutes
relating to services for persons with developmental disabilities and
persons with mental illness confidential, and permits disclosure only
under prescribed conditions, including, but not limited to, the
courts as necessary to the administration of justice.
This bill would recast some, but not all, related confidentiality
provisions, to provide that the above information, if relevant to the
provision of child welfare services, as defined, or the
investigation, prevention, identification, management, or treatment
of child abuse or neglect, may be disclosed to multidisciplinary
personnel teams. This bill would also recast some, but not all,
related confidentiality provisions to expressly prohibit this
information from being used in a criminal or delinquency proceeding,
but that evidence identical to the information contained within the
records is admissible if obtained by other means as permitted by law.
Existing law permits a psychotherapist, when the psychotherapist
opines that a patient presents a serious danger of violence to a
reasonably foreseeable victim or victims, to release mental health
information or records to that person or persons, and to law
enforcement agencies.
This bill would recast some, but not all, related confidentiality
provisions to permit a psychotherapist to release the information or
records to county child welfare agencies.
By imposing a higher level of service on local government this
bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to
the necessity of a special statute for the County of Los Angeles.
This bill would incorporate changes to Section 18961.5 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code made by AB 2229, to become operative
only if both this bill and AB 2229 are enacted and become effective
on or before January 1, 2011, and this bill is enacted last.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 830 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
830. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, members of a
multidisciplinary personnel team engaged in the prevention,
identification, management, or treatment of child abuse or neglect
may 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, management, or treatment of child
abuse, or the provision of child welfare services. All discussions
relative to the disclosure or exchange of any such information or
writings during team meetings are confidential unless disclosure is
required by law. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
testimony concerning any such discussion is not admissible in any
criminal, civil, or juvenile court proceeding.
(b) As used in this section:
(1) "Child abuse" has the same meaning as defined in Section
18951.
(2) "Multidisciplinary personnel" means a team as specified in
Section 18951.
(3) "Child welfare services" means those services that are
directed at preventing child abuse or neglect.
SEC. 2. Section 5328 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
5328. All information and records obtained in the course of
providing services under Division 4 (commencing with Section 4000),
Division 4.1 (commencing with Section 4400), Division 4.5 (commencing
with Section 4500), Division 5 (commencing with Section 5000),
Division 6 (commencing with Section 6000), or Division 7 (commencing
with Section 7100), to either voluntary or involuntary recipients of
services shall be confidential. Information and records obtained in
the course of providing similar services to either voluntary or
involuntary recipients prior to 1969 shall also be confidential.
Information and records shall be disclosed only in any of the
following cases:
(a) In communications between qualified professional persons in
the provision of services or appropriate referrals, or in the course
of conservatorship proceedings. The consent of the patient, or his or
her guardian or conservator, shall be obtained before information or
records may be disclosed by a professional person employed by a
facility to a professional person not employed by the facility who
does not have the medical or psychological responsibility for the
patient's care.
(b) When the patient, with the approval of the physician, licensed
psychologist, social worker with a master's degree in social work,
or licensed marriage and family therapist, who is in charge of the
patient, designates persons to whom information or records may be
released, except that nothing in this article shall be construed to
compel a physician, licensed psychologist, social worker with a
master's degree in social work, licensed marriage and family
therapist, nurse, attorney, or other professional person to reveal
information that has been given to him or her in confidence by
members of a patient's family. Nothing in this subdivision shall be
construed to authorize a licensed marriage and family therapist to
provide services or to be in charge of a patient's care beyond his or
her lawful scope of practice.
(c) To the extent necessary for a recipient to make a claim, or
for a claim to be made on behalf of a recipient for aid, insurance,
or medical assistance to which he or she may be entitled.
(d) If the recipient of services is a minor, ward, or conservatee,
and his or her parent, guardian, guardian ad litem, or conservator
designates, in writing, persons to whom records or information may be
disclosed, except that nothing in this article shall be construed to
compel a physician, licensed psychologist, social worker with a
master's degree in social work, licensed marriage and family
therapist, nurse, attorney, or other professional person to reveal
information that has been given to him or her in confidence by
members of a patient's family.
(e) For research, provided that the Director of Mental Health or
the Director of Developmental Services designates by regulation,
rules for the conduct of research and requires the research to be
first reviewed by the appropriate institutional review board or
boards. The rules shall include, but need not be limited to, the
requirement that all researchers shall sign an oath of
confidentiality as follows:
Date
As a condition of doing research concerning persons who have
received services from ____ (fill in the facility, agency or person),
I, ____, agree to obtain the prior informed consent of such persons
who have received services to the maximum degree possible as
determined by the appropriate institutional review board or boards
for protection of human subjects reviewing my research, and I further
agree not to divulge any information obtained in the course of such
research to unauthorized persons, and not to publish or otherwise
make public any information regarding persons who have received
services such that the person who received services is identifiable.
I recognize that the unauthorized release of confidential
information may make me subject to a civil action under provisions of
the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(f) To the courts, as necessary to the administration of justice.
(g) To governmental law enforcement agencies as needed for the
protection of federal and state elective constitutional officers and
their families.
(h) To the Senate Committee on Rules or the Assembly Committee on
Rules for the purposes of legislative investigation authorized by the
committee.
(i) If the recipient of services who applies for life or
disability insurance designates in writing the insurer to which
records or information may be disclosed.
(j) To the attorney for the patient in any and all proceedings
upon presentation of a release of information signed by the patient,
except that when the patient is unable to sign the release, the staff
of the facility, upon satisfying itself of the identity of the
attorney, and of the fact that the attorney does represent the
interests of the patient, may release all information and records
relating to the patient except that nothing in this article shall be
construed to compel a physician, licensed psychologist, social worker
with a master's degree in social work, licensed marriage and family
therapist, nurse, attorney, or other professional person to reveal
information that has been given to him or her in confidence by
members of a patient's family.
(k) Upon written agreement by a person previously confined in or
otherwise treated by a facility, the professional person in charge of
the facility or his or her designee may release any information,
except information that has been given in confidence by members of
the person's family, requested by a probation officer charged with
the evaluation of the person after his or her conviction of a crime
if the professional person in charge of the facility determines that
the information is relevant to the evaluation. The agreement shall
only be operative until sentence is passed on the crime of which the
person was convicted. The confidential information released pursuant
to this subdivision shall be transmitted to the court separately from
the probation report and shall not be placed in the probation
report. The confidential information shall remain confidential except
for purposes of sentencing. After sentencing, the confidential
information shall be sealed.
(l) (1) Between persons who are trained and qualified to serve on
multidisciplinary personnel teams pursuant to subdivision (d) of
Section 18951. The information and records sought to be disclosed
shall be relevant to the provision of child welfare services or the
investigation, prevention, identification, management, or treatment
of child abuse or neglect pursuant to Chapter 11 (commencing with
Section 18950) of Part 6 of Division 9. Information obtained pursuant
to this subdivision shall not be used in any criminal or delinquency
proceeding. Nothing in this subdivision shall prohibit evidence
identical to that contained within the records from being admissible
in a criminal or delinquency proceeding, if the evidence is derived
solely from means other than this subdivision, as permitted by law.
(2) As used in this subdivision, "child welfare services" means
those services that are directed at preventing child abuse or
neglect.
(m) To county patients' rights advocates who have been given
knowing voluntary authorization by a client or a guardian ad litem.
The client or guardian ad litem, whoever entered into the agreement,
may revoke the authorization at any time, either in writing or by
oral declaration to an approved advocate.
(n) To a committee established in compliance with Section 4070.
(o) In providing information as described in Section 7325.5.
Nothing in this subdivision shall permit the release of any
information other than that described in Section 7325.5.
(p) To the county mental health director or the director's
designee, or to a law enforcement officer, or to the person
designated by a law enforcement agency, pursuant to Sections 5152.1
and 5250.1.
(q) If the patient gives his or her consent, information
specifically pertaining to the existence of genetically handicapping
conditions, as defined in Section 125135 of the Health and Safety
Code, may be released to qualified professional persons for purposes
of genetic counseling for blood relatives upon request of the blood
relative. For purposes of this subdivision, "qualified professional
persons" means those persons with the qualifications necessary to
carry out the genetic counseling duties under this subdivision as
determined by the genetic disease unit established in the State
Department of Health Care Services under Section 125000 of the Health
and Safety Code. If the patient does not respond or cannot respond
to a request for permission to release information pursuant to this
subdivision after reasonable attempts have been made over a two-week
period to get a response, the information may be released upon
request of the blood relative.
(r) When the patient, in the opinion of his or her
psychotherapist, presents a serious danger of violence to a
reasonably foreseeable victim or victims, then any of the information
or records specified in this section may be released to that person
or persons and to law enforcement agencies and county child welfare
agencies as the psychotherapist determines is needed for the
protection of that person or persons. For purposes of this
subdivision, "psychotherapist" means anyone so defined within Section
1010 of the Evidence Code.
(s) (1) To the designated officer of an emergency response
employee, and from that designated officer to an emergency response
employee regarding possible exposure to HIV or AIDS, but only to the
extent necessary to comply with provisions of the Ryan White
Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-381; 42
U.S.C. Sec. 201).
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, "designated officer" and
"emergency response employee" have the same meaning as these terms
are used in the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act
of 1990 (P.L. 101-381; 42 U.S.C. Sec. 201).
(3) The designated officer shall be subject to the confidentiality
requirements specified in Section 120980, and may be personally
liable for unauthorized release of any identifying information about
the HIV results. Further, the designated officer shall inform the
exposed emergency response employee that the employee is also subject
to the confidentiality requirements specified in Section 120980, and
may be personally liable for unauthorized release of any identifying
information about the HIV test results.
(t) (1) To a law enforcement officer who personally lodges with a
facility, as defined in paragraph (2), a warrant of arrest or an
abstract of such a warrant showing that the person sought is wanted
for a serious felony, as defined in Section 1192.7 of the Penal Code,
or a violent felony, as defined in Section 667.5 of the Penal Code.
The information sought and released shall be limited to whether or
not the person named in the arrest warrant is presently confined in
the facility. This paragraph shall be implemented with minimum
disruption to health facility operations and patients, in accordance
with Section 5212. If the law enforcement officer is informed that
the person named in the warrant is confined in the facility, the
officer may not enter the facility to arrest the person without
obtaining a valid search warrant or the permission of staff of the
facility.
(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), a facility means all of the
following:
(A) A state hospital, as defined in Section 4001.
(B) A general acute care hospital, as defined in subdivision (a)
of Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code, solely with regard to
information pertaining to a mentally disordered person subject to
this section.
(C) An acute psychiatric hospital, as defined in subdivision (b)
of Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code.
(D) A psychiatric health facility, as described in Section 1250.2
of the Health and Safety Code.
(E) A mental health rehabilitation center, as described in Section
5675.
(F) A skilled nursing facility with a special treatment program
for chronically mentally disordered patients, as described in
Sections 51335 and 72445 to 72475, inclusive, of Title 22 of the
California Code of Regulations.
(u) Between persons who are trained and qualified to serve on
multidisciplinary personnel teams pursuant to Section 15610.55,
15753.5, or 15761. The information and records sought to be disclosed
shall be relevant to the prevention, identification, management, or
treatment of an abused elder or dependent adult pursuant to Chapter
13 (commencing with Section 15750) of Part 3 of Division 9.
(v) The amendment of subdivision (d) enacted at the 1970 Regular
Session of the Legislature does not constitute a change in, but is
declaratory of, the preexisting law.
(w) This section shall not be limited by Section 5150.05 or 5332.
(x) (1) When an employee is served with a notice of adverse
action, as defined in Section 19570 of the Government Code, the
following information and records may be released:
(A) All information and records that the appointing authority
relied upon in issuing the notice of adverse action.
(B) All other information and records that are relevant to the
adverse action, or that would constitute relevant evidence as defined
in Section 210 of the Evidence Code.
(C) The information described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) may be
released only if both of the following conditions are met:
(i) The appointing authority has provided written notice to the
consumer and the consumer's legal representative or, if the consumer
has no legal representative or if the legal representative is a state
agency, to the clients' rights advocate, and the consumer, the
consumer's legal representative, or the clients' rights advocate has
not objected in writing to the appointing authority within five
business days of receipt of the notice, or the appointing authority,
upon review of the objection has determined that the circumstances on
which the adverse action is based are egregious or threaten the
health, safety, or life of the consumer or other consumers and
without the information the adverse action could not be taken.
(ii) The appointing authority, the person against whom the adverse
action has been taken, and the person's representative, if any, have
entered into a stipulation that does all of the following:
(I) Prohibits the parties from disclosing or using the information
or records for any purpose other than the proceedings for which the
information or records were requested or provided.
(II) Requires the employee and the employee's legal representative
to return to the appointing authority all records provided to them
under this subdivision, including, but not limited to, all records
and documents from any source containing confidential information
protected by this section, and all copies of those records and
documents, within 10 days of the date that the adverse action becomes
final except for the actual records and documents or copies thereof
that are no longer in the possession of the employee or the employee'
s legal representative because they were submitted to the
administrative tribunal as a component of an appeal from the adverse
action.
(III) Requires the parties to submit the stipulation to the
administrative tribunal with jurisdiction over the adverse action at
the earliest possible opportunity.
(2) For the purposes of this subdivision, the State Personnel
Board may, prior to any appeal from adverse action being filed with
it, issue a protective order, upon application by the appointing
authority, for the limited purpose of prohibiting the parties from
disclosing or using information or records for any purpose other than
the proceeding for which the information or records were requested
or provided, and to require the employee or the employee's legal
representative to return to the appointing authority all records
provided to them under this subdivision, including, but not limited
to, all records and documents from any source containing confidential
information protected by this section, and all copies of those
records and documents, within 10 days of the date that the adverse
action becomes final, except for the actual records and documents or
copies thereof that are no longer in the possession of the employee
or the employee's legal representatives because they were submitted
to the administrative tribunal as a component of an appeal from the
adverse action.
(3) Individual identifiers, including, but not limited to, names,
social security numbers, and hospital numbers, that are not necessary
for the prosecution or defense of the adverse action, shall not be
disclosed.
(4) All records, documents, or other materials containing
confidential information protected by this section that have been
submitted or otherwise disclosed to the administrative agency or
other person as a component of an appeal from an adverse action
shall, upon proper motion by the appointing authority to the
administrative tribunal, be placed under administrative seal and
shall not, thereafter, be subject to disclosure to any person or
entity except upon the issuance of an order of a court of competent
jurisdiction.
(5) For purposes of this subdivision, an adverse action becomes
final when the employee fails to answer within the time specified in
Section 19575 of the Government Code, or, after filing an answer,
withdraws the appeal, or, upon exhaustion of the administrative
appeal or of the judicial review remedies as otherwise provided by
law.
SEC. 3. Section 10850.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
10850.1. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for
purposes of Section 10850, the activities of a multidisciplinary
personnel team engaged in the prevention, identification, management,
or treatment of child abuse or neglect, or of the abuse of elder or
dependent persons are activities performed in the administration of
public social services, and a member of the team may disclose and
exchange any information or writing that also is kept or maintained
in connection with any program of public social services or otherwise
designated as confidential under state law which he or she
reasonably believes is relevant to the prevention, identification,
management, or treatment of child abuse or neglect, or of the abuse
of elder or dependent persons to other members of the team. All
discussions relative to the disclosure or exchange of any such
information or writing during team meetings are confidential and,
notwithstanding any other provision of law, testimony concerning any
such discussion is not admissible in any criminal, civil, or juvenile
court proceeding.
(b) As used in this section:
(1) "Child abuse" has the same meaning as defined in Section
18951. As used in this section, "abuse of elder or dependent persons"
has the meaning given in Section 15610.07.
(2) "Multidisciplinary personnel team" means a team as specified
in Section 15610.55 relative to the abuse of elder or dependent
persons or 18951 relative to child abuse or neglect.
SEC. 4. Section 15610.55 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
15610.55. (a) "Multidisciplinary personnel team" means any team
of two or more persons who are trained in the prevention,
identification, management, or treatment of abuse of elderly or
dependent adults and who are qualified to provide a broad range of
services related to abuse of elderly or dependent adults.
(b) A multidisciplinary personnel team may include, but need not
be limited to, any of the following:
(1) Psychiatrists, psychologists, or other trained counseling
personnel.
(2) Police officers or other law enforcement agents.
(3) Medical personnel with sufficient training to provide health
services.
(4) Social workers with experience or training in prevention of
abuse of elderly or dependent adults.
(5) Public guardians.
(6) The local long-term care ombudsman.
SEC. 5. Section 18951 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
18951. As used in this chapter:
(a) "Child" means an individual under 18 years of age.
(b) "Child services" means services for or on behalf of children,
and includes the following:
(1) Protective services.
(2) Caretaker services.
(3) Day care services, including dropoff care.
(4) Homemaker services or family aides.
(5) Counseling services.
(c) "Adult services" means services for or on behalf of a parent
of a child, which shall include, but not be limited to, the
following:
(1) Access to voluntary placement, long or short term.
(2) Counseling services before and after a crisis.
(3) Homemaker services or family aides.
(d) "Multidisciplinary personnel" means any team of three or more
persons who are trained in the prevention, identification,
management, or treatment of child abuse or neglect cases and who are
qualified to provide a broad range of services related to child abuse
or neglect. The team may include, but need not be limited to, any of
the following:
(1) Psychiatrists, psychologists, marriage and family therapists,
or other trained counseling personnel.
(2) Police officers or other law enforcement agents.
(3) Medical personnel with sufficient training to provide health
services.
(4) Social workers with experience or training in child abuse
prevention, identification, management, or treatment.
(5) A public or private school teacher, administrative officer,
supervisor of child welfare and attendance, or certificated pupil
personnel employee.
(6) A CalWORKs case manager, whose primary responsibility is to
provide cross program case planning and coordination of CalWORKs and
child welfare services for those mutual cases or families that may be
eligible for CalWORKs services and that, with the informed written
consent of the family, receive cross program case planning and
coordination.
(e) "Child abuse" as used in this chapter means a situation in
which a child suffers from any one or more of the following:
(1) Serious physical injury inflicted upon the child by other than
accidental means.
(2) Harm by reason of intentional neglect or malnutrition or
sexual abuse.
(3) Going without necessary and basic physical care.
(4) Willful mental injury, negligent treatment, or maltreatment of
a child under the age of 18 years by a person who is responsible for
the child's welfare under circumstances that indicate that the child'
s health or welfare is harmed or threatened thereby, as determined in
accordance with regulations prescribed by the Director of Social
Services.
(5) Any condition that results in the violation of the rights or
physical, mental, or moral welfare of a child or jeopardizes the
child's present or future health, opportunity for normal development
or capacity for independence.
(f) "Parent" means any person who exercises care, custody, and
control of the child as established by law.
SEC. 6. 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
purposes of forming a multidisciplinary personnel team, as defined in
subdivision (d) of Section 18951, for the prevention,
identification, management, or treatment of child abuse or neglect,
or for the provision of child welfare services to a child or child's
family.
(b) Each county shall develop its own standards for defining "at
risk" before establishing this system. Only information about
children, the families of children, and persons living in the child's
home, 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 and persons living in the child's home.
(2) The number assigned to the case by each provider agency.
(3) The name and telephone number of each employee assigned to the
case, or a contact person, from each provider agency.
(4) The date or dates of contact between each provider agency and
a family member or a person living in the child's home.
(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, or for
the provision of child welfare services. Any person knowingly and
intentionally violating this subdivision shall be subject to any
administrative or civil penalties set forth in the respective
statutes governing the confidentiality of the records maintained by
the provider agencies.
(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.
(i) A county that establishes a computerized database system
pursuant to this section shall install system controls to monitor
system use and to detect any violations of the system controls.
SEC. 6.5. 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
purposes of forming a multidisciplinary personnel team, 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 or neglect,
or for the provision of child welfare services to a child or child's
family.
(b) Each county shall develop its own standards for defining "at
risk" before establishing this system. Only information about
children, the families of children, and persons living in the child's
home, 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 and persons living in the child's home.
(2) The number assigned to the case by each provider agency.
(3) The name and telephone number of each employee assigned to the
case, or a contact person, from each provider agency.
(4) The date or dates of contact between each provider agency and
a family member or a person living in the child's home.
(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, or for the provision of child welfare services. Any
person knowingly and intentionally violating this subdivision shall
be subject to any administrative or civil penalties set forth in the
respective statutes governing the confidentiality of the records
maintained by the provider agencies.
(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.
(i) A county that establishes a computerized database system
pursuant to this section shall install system controls to monitor
system use and to detect any violations of the system controls.
SEC. 7. Section 18961.6 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
18961.6. (a) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 18961.5,
if the County of Los Angeles establishes a database pursuant to
Section 18961.5, the database may also include the convictions of
family members and persons living in the child's home for crimes that
involved a child as a victim.
(b) Information entered pursuant to subdivision (a) shall only be
accessible to those provider agencies, as described in subdivision
(h) of Section 18961.5, currently entitled to obtain criminal history
records. These provider agencies shall include, but not be limited
to, children's services, probation, and law enforcement. The County
of Los Angeles shall install system controls to only allow access to
the information entered pursuant to subdivision (a) to those provider
agencies, as described in subdivision (h) of Section 18961.5,
currently entitled to obtain criminal history records, including, but
not limited to, children's services, probation, and law enforcement.
Nothing in this section shall preclude the information entered
pursuant to subdivision (a) from being discussed in the context of a
multidisciplinary team, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section
18951.
(c) If the database of the County of Los Angeles includes
conviction information pursuant to subdivision (a), the conviction
information added to the database pursuant to subdivision (a) shall
be removed from the database 50 years after the date of the
conviction.
SEC. 8. Section 6.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to
Section 18961.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code proposed by both
this bill and AB 2229. It shall only become operative if (1) both
bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2011,
but this bill becomes operative first, (2) each bill amends Section
18961.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and (3) this bill is
enacted after AB 2229, in which case Section 18961.5 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code, as amended by Section 6 of this bill, shall
remain operative only until the operative date of AB 2229, at which
time Section 6.5 of this bill shall become operative.
SEC. 9. The Legislature finds and declares that a special law is
necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable within the
meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution
because of the unique circumstances concerning the County of Los
Angeles.
SEC. 10. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.
SEC. 11. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to ensure the safety of children and families by helping
county employees better identify instances of child abuse and
neglect, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.