BILL NUMBER: SB 774 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 6, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 28, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 27, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 14, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 2, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senator Ashburn
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to amend Section 16501 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, relating to children's services.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 774, as amended, Ashburn. Social workers: criminal history.
Existing law requires the counties, with the assistance of the
State Department of Social Services, to provide child welfare
services, including emergency response, foster care placement,
adoption services, and family maintenance and reunification. Under
existing law, counties may secure from the Department of Justice a
criminal record for all county welfare department employees who have
frequent and routine contact with children, if the employees provide
services to children who are alleged victims of abuse, neglect, or
exploitation. If the employee has been convicted of a crime, other
than a minor traffic violation, the county welfare director must
determine whether there is substantial and convincing evidence to
support a reasonable belief that the employee is of good character.
Existing law provides specified crimes for which the employee must be
suspended from duties involving frequent and routine contact with
children.
This bill would require a county, before hiring
making an offer of employment to an applicant for, or
transferring a current employee to, a position with frequent and
routine contact with children, if the employee will provide services
to children who are alleged victims of abuse, neglect, or
exploitation, to secure from the Department of Justice a criminal
record to determine if the person has ever been convicted of
specified crimes. The bill would prohibit the county from employing
the person under prescribed circumstances. The bill would allow the
county to require the person to pay any fees charged by the
Department of Justice for the processing of the criminal history and
an additional fee in an amount not more than the amount sufficient to
cover the costs to the county of administering the criminal record
checks.
This bill would exclude a person who has obtained a certificate of
rehabilitation , or with respect to whom the accusation or
information has been dismissed, from being considered convicted
for purposes of the bill.
This bill would also permit a county to obtain fingerprints from
specified current employees for the purpose of obtaining a criminal
record from the Department of Justice. The bill would require the
county to terminate or suspend from any duties involving frequent and
routine contact with children an employee whose criminal record
includes conviction for specified crimes.
Because this bill would require the counties to take additional
steps to hire certain employees, it would impose a state-mandated
local program.
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 no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 16501 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
16501. (a) As used in this chapter, "child welfare services"
means public social services that are directed toward the
accomplishment of any or all the following purposes: protecting and
promoting the welfare of all children, including handicapped,
homeless, dependent, or neglected children; preventing or remedying,
or assisting in the solution of problems that may result in, the
neglect, abuse, exploitation, or delinquency of children; preventing
the unnecessary separation of children from their families by
identifying family problems, assisting families in resolving their
problems and preventing breakup of the family where the prevention of
child removal is desirable and possible; restoring to their families
children who have been removed, by the provision of services to the
child and the families; identifying children to be placed in suitable
adoptive homes, in cases where restoration to the biological family
is not possible or appropriate; and assuring adequate care of
children away from their homes, in cases where the child cannot be
returned home or cannot be placed for adoption.
"Child welfare services" also means services provided on behalf of
children alleged to be the victims of child abuse, neglect, or
exploitation. The child welfare services provided on behalf of each
child represent a continuum of services, including emergency response
services, family preservation services, family maintenance services,
family reunification services, and permanent placement services. The
individual child's case plan is the guiding principle in the
provision of these services. The case plan shall be developed within
30 days of the initial removal of the child or of the in-person
response required under subdivision (f) of Section 16501 if the child
has not been removed from his or her home, or by the date of the
jurisdictional hearing pursuant to Section 356, whichever comes
first.
(1) Child welfare services may include, but are not limited to, a
range of service-funded activities, including case management,
counseling, emergency shelter care, emergency in-home caretakers,
temporary in-home caretakers, respite care, therapeutic day services,
teaching and demonstrating homemakers, parenting training, substance
abuse testing, and transportation. These service-funded activities
shall be available to children and their families in all phases of
the child welfare program in accordance with the child's case plan
and departmental regulations. Funding for services is limited to the
amount appropriated in the annual Budget Act and other available
county funds.
(2) Service-funded activities to be provided may be determined by
each county, based upon individual child and family needs as
reflected in the service plan.
(3) As used in this chapter, "emergency shelter care" means
emergency shelter provided to children who have been removed pursuant
to Section 300 from their parent or parents or their guardian or
guardians. The department may establish, by regulation, the time
periods for which emergency shelter care shall be funded. For the
purposes of this paragraph, "emergency shelter care" may include
transitional shelter care facilities as defined in paragraph (11) of
subdivision (a) of Section 1502 of the Health and Safety Code.
(b) As used in this chapter, "respite care" means temporary care
for periods not to exceed 72 hours. This care may be provided to the
child's parents or guardians. This care shall not be limited by
regulation to care over 24 hours. These services shall not be
provided for the purpose of routine, ongoing child care.
(c) The county shall provide child welfare services, as needed,
pursuant to an approved service plan, and in accordance with
regulations promulgated, in consultation with the counties, by the
department. Counties may contract for service-funded activities as
defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a). Each county shall use
available private child welfare resources prior to developing new
county-operated resources when the private child welfare resources
are of at least equal quality and lesser or equal cost as compared
with county-operated resources. Counties shall not contract for needs
assessment, client eligibility determination, or any other activity
as specified by regulations of the State Department of Social
Services, except as specifically authorized in Section 16100.
(d) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to affect duties
that are delegated to probation officers pursuant to Sections 601 and
654.
(e) A county may utilize volunteer individuals to supplement
professional child welfare services by providing ancillary support
services in accordance with regulations adopted by the State
Department of Social Services.
(f) As used in this chapter, emergency response services consist
of a response system providing in-person response, 24 hours a day,
seven days a week, to reports of abuse, neglect, or exploitation, as
required by Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 11164) of Chapter 2
of Title 1 of Part 4 of the Penal Code, for the purpose of
investigation pursuant to Section 11166 of the Penal Code and to
determine the necessity for providing initial intake services and
crisis intervention to maintain the child safely in his or her own
home or to protect the safety of the child. County welfare
departments shall respond to a report of imminent danger to a child
immediately and to all other reports within 10 calendar days. An
in-person response is not required when the county welfare
department, based upon an evaluation of risk, determines that an
in-person response is not appropriate. This evaluation includes
collateral, contacts, a review of previous referrals, and other
relevant information, as indicated.
(g) As used in this chapter, "family maintenance services" means
activities designed to provide in-home protective services to prevent
or remedy neglect, abuse, or exploitation, for the purposes of
preventing separation of children from their families.
(h) As used in this chapter, "family reunification services" means
activities designed to provide time-limited foster care services to
prevent or remedy neglect, abuse, or exploitation, when the child
cannot safely remain at home, and needs temporary foster care, while
services are provided to reunite the family.
(i) As used in this chapter, "permanent placement services" means
activities designed to provide an alternate permanent family
structure for children who, because of abuse, neglect, or
exploitation, cannot safely remain at home and who are unlikely to
ever return home. These services shall be provided on behalf of
children for whom there has been a judicial determination of a
permanent plan for adoption, legal guardianship, or long-term foster
care.
(j) As used in this chapter, "family preservation services"
include those services specified in Section 16500.5 to avoid or limit
out-of-home placement of children, and may include those services
specified in that section to place children in the least restrictive
environment possible.
(k) (1) (A) An applicant applying for, or an employee transferring
to, a position with the county welfare department who will have
frequent and routine contact with children, if the prospective
employee will provide services to children who are alleged victims of
abuse, neglect, or exploitation, he or she shall sign a declaration
under penalty of perjury regarding prior criminal conviction and
shall provide a set of fingerprints to the county welfare director.
(B) The If the county determines that a
prospective employee specified in subparagraph (A) is otherwise
qualified for the position applied for and the county is likely to
make an offer of employment, prior to making the offer, the
county welfare director shall secure from the Department of Justice a
criminal record to determine whether the prospective employee
specified in subparagraph (A) has ever been
convicted of a crime, whether state or federal, other than a minor
traffic violation. The Department of Justice shall provide a state
and federal level response to the county pursuant to subdivision (p)
of Section 11105 of the Penal Code. The Department of Justice
shall furnish the information to the county and shall also send a
copy of the information to the applicant. The county shall
request from the Department of Justice subsequent arrest notification
service, as provided pursuant to Section 11105.2 of the Penal Code,
for persons described in subparagraph (A) that are hired by the
county for a position that includes frequent and routine contact with
children.
(C) If it is found that a person to whom subparagraph (A)
(B) applies has been convicted of a crime, other
than a minor traffic violation, the county welfare director shall
determine whether the crime is substantially related to the
qualifications, functions, or duties of the position and if so,
whether there is substantial and convincing evidence to support
a reasonable belief that the person is of good character so as to
justify frequent and routine contact with children. If this
finding is not made In making this
determination, the county welfare director may consider factors,
including (i) the nature and seriousness of the conduct or crime
under consideration and its relationship to the person's employment
duties and responsibilities; (ii) activities since conviction,
including employment or participation in therapy or education, that
would indicate changed behavior; (iii) the time that has elapsed
since the commission of the conduct or offense and the number of
offenses; (iv) the extent to which the person has complied with any
terms of parole, probation, restitution, or any other sanction
lawfully imposed against the person; (v) any rehabilitation evidence,
including character references, submitted by the person; (vi)
employment history and current employer recommendations; and (vii)
circumstances surrounding the commission of the offense that would
demonstrate the unlikelihood of repetition. The applicant shall
provide evidence to the welfare director for
consideration. If it is not found that the person is of
good character so as to justify frequent and routine contact with
children , the county is prohibited from hiring that person.
(D) The county is prohibited from hiring a person to whom
subparagraph (A) applies if the person has been convicted of an
offense specified in Section 245, 273.5, or 290 of the Penal Code, a
conviction for child abuse pursuant to Section 273a, 273ab, or 273d
of the Penal Code, or any sex offense specified as being perpetrated
against a minor.
(D) The county is prohibited from hiring a person to whom
subparagraph (B) applies if the person has been convicted of a sex
offense against a minor, or has been convicted of a felony offense
specified in Section 220, 243.5, 245, 264.1, 273d, 273.5, 288, 289,
or 290 of the Penal Code, or in subdivision (a) of Section 273a of,
or subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 368 of, the Penal Code, or has
been convicted of an offense specified in subdivision (c) of Section
667.5 of the Penal Code, or a conviction for child abuse pursuant to
Section 273a, 273ab, or 273d of the Penal Code.
(E) Notwithstanding subparagraph (D), the county welfare director
may grant an exemption if the prospective employee, who was convicted
of a crime specified in subparagraph (D) has received a certificate
of rehabilitation pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
4852.01) of Title 6 of Part 3 of the Penal Code , or if the
accusation or information against the person has been dismissed and
he or she has been released fro m all disabilities and
penalties resulting from the offense pursuant to Section 1203.4 of
the Penal Code . In that case, the county welfare director may
give the prospective employee an opportunity to explain the
conviction and shall consider that explanation in the evaluation of
the criminal conviction record required pursuant to subparagraph (C).
(F) If no criminal record information has been recorded, the
county welfare director shall cause a statement of that fact to be
included in that person's personnel file.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, a conviction means a plea or
verdict of guilty or a conviction following a plea of nolo
contendere. An action that the county welfare director is permitted
to take following the establishment of a conviction may be taken when
the time for appeal has elapsed, the judgment of conviction has been
affirmed on appeal, or when an order granting probation is made
suspending the imposition of sentence, notwithstanding a subsequent
order pursuant to Sections 1203.4 and 1203.4a of the Penal Code
permitting the person to withdraw his or her plea of guilty and to
enter a plea of not guilty, or setting aside the verdict of guilty,
or dismissing the accusation, information, or indictment. For
purposes of this subdivision, the record of a conviction, or a copy
thereof certified by the clerk of the court or by a judge of the
court in which the conviction occurred, shall be conclusive evidence
of the conviction.
(3) The county may require a person to whom subparagraph
(A) (B) of paragraph (1) applies to pay any fees
charged by the Department of Justice and an additional fee in an
amount that shall not exceed the costs to the county of administering
this subdivision.
(4) A person to whom subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) applies who
is denied a position pursuant to paragraph (1) shall receive a copy
of the criminal record upon written request.
(5)
(4) A county may require a current employee who has
frequent and routine contact with children, if the employee provides
services to children who are alleged victims of abuse, neglect, or
exploitation, to provide fingerprints for the purpose of obtaining a
criminal record from the Department of Justice. If the criminal
record returns a conviction for a crime, other than a minor traffic
violation, the county welfare director shall make the determination
required in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) to determine the
employee's employment and job assignment status. If the criminal
record returns a conviction for any of the offenses listed in
subparagraph (D) of paragraph (1), the employee shall, subject to
subparagraph (E) of paragraph (1), either be terminated or suspended
from any duties involving frequent and routine contact with children.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a
local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
17556 of the Government Code.