BILL NUMBER: AB 198 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 31, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Beall
JANUARY 27, 2011
An act to add Section 8622.5 to the Family Code,
relating to adoption.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 198, as amended, Beall. Adoption: fingerprinting of adoptive
parents.
Existing law requires a criminal records check and fingerprint
clearance of applicants for a license, special permit, or certificate
of approval for a foster family home or certified family home.
Existing law requires the court or county social worker,
when a child is placed in the home or a relative or a prospective
guardian who is not a licensed or certified foster parent, to cause a
criminal records check and fingerprint clearance to be conducted on
that person. Existing law also requires the State
Department of Social Services or licensed adoption agency to require
each person filing an application for adoption to be fingerprinted
and to secure the person's full criminal record, if any.
This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to
enact legislation to eliminate or reduce any unnecessary duplication
of fingerprint clearances for prospective adoptive parents, and would
make related findings. require the State Department
of Social Services, the county social services department, or a
licensed adoption agency or foster family agency to require each
foster-to-adoption applicant, as defined, to submit fingerprint
images and related information to the Department of Justice for
purposes of conducting a criminal records check that shall apply to
both a n approval for adoption and licensure as
a foster family home or certified family home of a licensed foster
family agency, as provided. By imposing these additional requirements
on county social services departments, this bill would impose a
state- mandated local program. The bill would require the Department
of Justice to process certain i nformation and disseminate
a response and determination, as specified, in connection with the
submission of fingerprint images, and would permit the
department to charge a fee to cover the cost of processing a request
for subsequent arrest information.
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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no
yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) It is the expressed intent of the Legislature that the goal
for dependent children is to expedite legal permanency with relative
caregivers or through adoption when reunification with the child's
parents is unsuccessful.
(b) Currently, California laws and regulations require a foster
parent who wishes to adopt a child in his or her care to submit
duplicate fingerprint images, leading to additional costs,
inefficiencies, and delays in achieving the stated goal of permanency
for dependent children.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation to eliminate or reduce any unnecessary
duplication of fingerprint clearances for prospective adoptive
parents, provided that the safety and well-being of adoptive children
is ensured.
SEC. 2. Section 8622.5 is added to the
Family Code , to read:
8622.5. (a) For purposes of this section, a "foster-to-adoption
applicant" means an applicant for foster care licensure or
certification who agrees to concurrently undergo a homestudy or
assessment process for adoption, and to be subject to a criminal
records check as part of the investigation of a prospective adoptive
parent pursuant to Sections 8712, 8811, and 8908.
(b) A foster-to-adoption applicant shall be informed that he or
she shall submit to the criminal records clearance required by
Sections 8712, 8811, and 8908. This criminal records clearance shall
apply to both the adoption approval and licensure as a foster family
home or certified family home of a licensed foster family agency
pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (4) of subdivision (d) of
Section 1522 of the Health and Safety Code.
(c) The State Department of Social Services, the county social
services department, or a licensed adoption agency or foster family
agency shall require each foster-to-adoption applicant to submit
fingerprint images and related information to the Department of
Justice for purposes of obtaining information as to the existence and
content of a record of state or federal criminal convictions and
state or federal arrests, and also information as to the existence
and content of a record of state or federal arrests for which the
Department of Justice establishes that the person is free on bail or
on his or her recognizance pending trial or appeal.
(d) The Department of Justice shall forward to the Federal Bureau
of Investigation any requests for federal summary criminal history
information received pursuant to this section. The Department of
Justice shall review the information returned from the Federal Bureau
of Investigation and do both of the following:
(1) Compile and disseminate a response to the State Department of
Social Services or the county social services department.
(2) Compile and disseminate a fitness determination to the
licensed private adoption agency or foster family agency.
(e) The Department of Justice shall provide a state or federal
level response, for foster-to-adoption applicants, to the State
Department of Social Services, the county social services department,
or a licensed adoption agency or foster family agency in the same
manner as provided in Sections 8712, 8811, and 8908.
(f) The State Department of Social Services, the county social
services department, or a licensed adoption agency or foster family
agency shall request from the Department of Justice subsequent arrest
notification service, as provided pursuant to Section 11105.2 of the
Penal Code, for foster-to-adoption applicants. The Department of
Justice may charge a fee sufficient to cover the cost of processing
this request, pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 11105 of the
Penal Code.
SEC. 3. 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.