BILL ANALYSIS AB 2380 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 13, 2010 Chief Counsel: Gregory Pagan ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY Tom Ammiano, Chair AB 2380 (Lowenthal) - As Amended: March 24, 2010 SUMMARY : Clarifies that a "reasonable suspicion" that a child has been a victim of child abuse or neglect does not require certainty that a child has been abused, and may be based on credible information from other individuals for the purpose of making a report under the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting ACT (CANRA). EXISTING LAW : 1)Requires that any mandated reporter who has knowledge of, or observes, a child in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment whom he or she knows, or reasonably suspects, has been the victim of child abuse shall report that incident immediately to a specified child protection agency by telephone, and requires a written report be sent within 36 hours. [Penal Code Section 11166(a).] 2)Requires that reports of suspected child abuse or neglect shall be made by a mandated reporter to any police or sheriff's department, a county probation department if designated by the county to receive mandated reports, or the county welfare department. (Penal Code Section 11165.9.) 3)Defines a "mandated reporter" as specific child-care custodians, health practitioners, law enforcement officers, and other medical and professional persons. (Penal Code Section 11165.7.) 4)Provides that the reporting duties under CANRA are individual, no supervisor or administrator may impede or inhibit the reporting duties, and no person making a report shall be subject to any sanctions for making the report. [Penal Code Section 11166(g)(1).] AB 2380 Page 2 5)Provides that any mandated reporter who fails to report an instance of known or reasonably suspected child abuse or neglect as required is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in the county jail; by a fine of $1,000; or by both imprisonment and fine. [Penal Code Section 11166(b).] 6)Requires specified reporting agencies to forward to the Department of Justice (DOJ) a report of every case of suspected child abuse or neglect which is determined not to be unfounded; and if a previously filed report proves to be unfounded, the DOJ shall be notified in writing and shall not retain that report. [Penal Code Section 11169(a).] 7)Requires at the time a reporting agency forwards a report of suspected child abuse or neglect to the DOJ, the agency notify the known or suspected child abuser that he or she has been reported to the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI). [Penal Code Section 11165(b).] 8)Requires the DOJ to maintain an index of all reports of child abuse and neglect submitted by the specified reporting agencies. The index shall be continually updated and shall not contain any reports determined to be unfounded. [Penal Code Section 11170(a)(1).] 9)States that the DOJ shall act only as a repository of the suspected child abuse or neglect reports maintained in CACI, and that the reporting agencies are responsible for the accuracy, completeness, and retention of reports. [Penal Code Section 11170(a)(2).] 10)Requires that information from an inconclusive or unsubstantiated suspected child abuse or neglect report shall be deleted from CACI after 10 years if no subsequent report concerning the suspected child abuser is received within the 10-year period. [Penal Code Section 11170(a)(3).] FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown COMMENTS : According to the author, "The Los Angeles City Attorney's office has discovered through their work with the Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect that many mandated reporters are unclear on constitutes 'reasonable suspicion'. Many have reported that they feel they have to wait AB 2380 Page 3 until they have concrete evidence before they can notify the authorities. "This lack of clarity has resulted in many mandated reporters failing to properly report their reasonable suspicions of child abuse or neglect. This is particularly evident among medical professionals, where reports are delayed by hours or even days while a specific medical diagnosis is determined, resulting in destruction of crime scene evidence and greater difficult for law enforcement in locating perpetrators. "This bill clarifies that 'reasonable suspicion' does not require certainty that child abuse or neglect has occurred and that it may be based on any information considered credible by the reporter, including statements by others." REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support Los Angeles City Attorney Opposition None Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744