BILL ANALYSIS
SB 702
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 30, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Jim Beall, Jr., Chair
SB 702 (DeSaulnier) - As Amended: June 26, 2009
SENATE VOTE : 29-4
SUBJECT : Ancillary day care centers: employees: TrustLine
providers
SUMMARY : Expands the list of persons who are entrusted with the
supervision of children who must be "TrustLined." Specifically,
this bill :
1)Requires a business, which provides temporary day care
services for children whose parents are shopping at their
business, to obtain a TrustLine clearance for any person that
supervises children.
2)Allows a 12-month phase in period for these businesses to
comply with the new TrustLine requirement.
3)Defines a business providing temporary day care as an
"ancillary day care center," as specified.
EXISTING LAW
1)Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to:
a) License, regulate, and fine child day care facilities,
as specified; and,
b) Establish a database called the "Trustline Registry"
that provides parents with background information on
unlicensed child care providers (e.g. babysitters and
nannies). Health & Safety Code 1596.605 (a)(1)
2)Defines "Day care center" as any child day care facility other
than a family day care home, and includes infant centers,
preschools, extended day care facilities, and school-age child
care centers. Health & Safety Code 1596.76
3)Outlines the TrustLine requirements that a person applying for
the clearance must obtain, including fingerprints, and
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specifies the process that law enforcement and DSS must follow
to process the fingerprints and application. Health & Safety
Code 1596.603
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill was proposed by a
constituent whose child was abused while in the care of a
gymnasium child care center.
TrustLine
TrustLine is California's registry of in-home child care
providers, tutors and in-home counselors who have passed a
background screening. It was created by the California
Legislature in 1987 and is a powerful resource for parents
hiring a nanny or baby-sitter. All caregivers listed with
TrustLine have been cleared through a fingerprint check of
records at the California Department of Justice. This means
they have no disqualifying criminal convictions or substantiated
child abuse reports in California. TrustLine is administered by
DSS and the non-profit Child Care Resource and Referral Network.
TrustLine is the only background check authorized by state law
to use three databases that the general public, including
private investigators and private background check companies,
cannot access. These databases include fingerprint records from
the California Department of Justice Criminal History System;
the Child Abuse Central Index of California; and fingerprint
records of the FBI Criminal History System. Moreover, TrustLine
has a "Rap Back" mechanism in that those in the database are
continuously being re-checked for subsequent crimes that may
have occurred since their application.
Applicants to TrustLine complete a one-page form and are
required to submit fingerprints along with a one-time fee of
approximately $130 to the DSS. An applicant who has a clean
background is usually granted TrustLine approval within one to
two days. For applicants who have criminal history the
background check can take longer, as much as two to three months
or longer, because the applicant must provide written details of
the circumstances of the crime or issue, and DSS must review the
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crimes to determine if they are disqualifying.
Temporary day care
Child care at "ancillary day care centers" is short term child
care that differs greatly from child care in a licensed daycare
situation. The child care while a person works out or shops
tends to be limited to approximately two hours. Staff usually
calls the parent if the child cries, needs to eat, needs a
diaper change, or needs to go to the bathroom. Similar types of
short term limited activity child care are being offered at
grocery stores, retail stores, as well as car dealerships.
Discussion
Temporary day care offered in gyms and stores are a relatively
new service, and unfortunately, state law has not caught up with
ensuring that government oversight is ensuring child safety. It
seems appropriate that state policy be consistent across
different types of day care. It follows that if the state deems
it appropriate to regulate day care centers and in-home care,
that the children being supervised in the temporary settings are
no less worthy of state oversight. Whether or not a child is
left in full-time, part-time, or temporary day care should not
determine the level of thoroughness of a background check for
persons supervising these children. It is somewhat reasonable
to assume that parents who drop their children at temporary day
care centers are assuming that the state or some government
entity is ensuring that the day care workers are appropriate to
care for their children.
Past attempts at expanding who is TrustLined
AB 507 (Daucher) of 2005 would have required that a person 18
years of age or older who applies to volunteer at a heath studio
and whose regular duties would be to provide care for or direct
supervision of a child, a heath studio shall obtain state and
federal summary criminal history information from the Department
of Justice and shall request subsequent arrest notification.
Failed passage in the Senate Public Safety Committee.
AB 1558 (Daucher) of 2003 would have prevented any person from
providing child care or supervising a child in a health fitness
club, as specified, unless that person has cleared a criminal
background check and is a registered TrustLine child care
provider. Failed passage in the Senate Appropriations
Committee.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Amador Child Abuse Prevention Council
Child Abuse Prevention Center
Child Abuse Prevention Council of Contra Costa County
Child Abuse Prevention Council of San Joaquin County
Individual letters
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Frances Chacon / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089