BILL ANALYSIS
SB 702
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 702 (DeSaulnier)
As Amended September 1, 2009
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :29-4
HUMAN SERVICES 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 14-3
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|Ayes:|Beall, Saldana, Tom |Ayes:|De Leon, Ammiano, Charles |
| |Berryhill, Hall, | |Calderon, Coto, Davis, |
| |Logue, Portantino, | |Fuentes, Hall, Miller, |
| |Swanson | |John A. Perez, Skinner, |
| | | |Solorio, |
| | | |Audra Strickland, |
| | | |Torlakson, Hill |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+----------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Conway, Harkey, Nielsen |
| | | | |
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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.
4)Adds specificity to current law regarding how much the Department
of Social Services (DSS) can charge for processing the TrustLine
applications and maintaining the registry by specifying that DSS':
a) TrustLine fee must include its cost of processing the
applications and maintaining the registry; and,
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b) Maximum fee cannot exceed its actual cost of the processing
and maintenance activities.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
no significant costs associated with this legislation.
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 crimes to determine if they are
disqualifying.
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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. B 507 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.
AB 1558 failed passage in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Analysis Prepared by : Frances Chacon / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089
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