BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY Senator Loni Hancock, Chair A 2011-2012 Regular Session B 1 4 3 AB 1435 (Dickinson) 5 As Amended May 25, 2012 Hearing date: June 19, 2012 Penal Code AA:mc MANDATORY CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT REPORTING: ATHLETICS PERSONNEL HISTORY Source: Author Prior Legislation: None Support: Crime Victims United of California; The Child Abuse Prevention Center; AFSCME, AFL-CIO; California Protective Parents Association; California Narcotics Officers' Association; California Police Chiefs Association; Crime Victims Action Alliance; California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists Opposition:None known Assembly Floor Vote: Ayes 76 - Noes 0 KEY ISSUE SHOULD AN "ATHLETIC COACH, ATHLETIC ADMINISTRATOR, OR ATHLETIC (More) AB 1435 (Dickinson) PageB DIRECTOR EMPLOYED BY A PUBLIC OR PRIVATE ORGANIZATION, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, SCHOOLS THAT PROVIDE KINDERGARTEN OR ANY OF GRADES 1 TO 12, INCLUSIVE," BE EXPRESSLY INCLUDED IN THE MANDATED CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT REPORTER LAWS? PURPOSE The purpose of this bill is to expressly include an "athletic coach, athletic administrator, or athletic director employed by a public or private organization, including, but not limited to, schools that provide kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive," in the mandated child abuse and neglect reporter laws. Current law establishes the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act ("CANRA"), which generally is intended to protect children from abuse and neglect. (Penal Code § 11164.) Current law requires "mandated reporters" to make reports of suspected child abuse or neglect, as specified. (Penal Code § 11165.9.) Under current law the term "child abuse or neglect" for purposes of CANRA "includes physical injury inflicted by other than accidental means upon a child by another person, sexual abuse as defined . . . , neglect as defined . . . , the willful harming or injuring of a child or the endangering of the person or health of a child, as defined . . . , and unlawful corporal punishment or injury as defined . . . . 'Child abuse or neglect' does not include a mutual affray between minors. 'Child abuse or neglect' does not include an injury caused by reasonable and necessary force used by a peace officer acting within the course and scope of his or her employment as a peace officer." (Penal Code § 11165.6.) Current law provides that, except as specified, "a mandated reporter shall make a report . . . whenever the mandated reporter, in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment, has knowledge of or observes a (More) AB 1435 (Dickinson) PageC child whom the mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse or neglect." (Penal Code § 11166(a).) Current law enumerates 40 categories of persons who are mandated child abuse and neglect reporters. <1> (Penal Code § 11165.7 (a).) Except as specified, current law provides that "volunteers of public or private organizations whose duties require direct contact with and supervision of children are not mandated reporters . . . ." (Penal Code § 11165.7(b).) This bill would add an "athletic coach, athletic administrator, or athletic director employed by a public or private organization, including, but not limited to, schools that provide kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive," to --------------------------- <1> Mandatory child abuse and neglect reporters under Penal Code Section 11165.7: (1) A teacher. (2) An instructional aide. (3) A teacher's aide or teacher's assistant employed by any public or private school. (4) A classified employee of any public school. (5) An administrative officer or supervisor of child welfare and attendance, or a certificated pupil personnel employee of any public or private school. (6) An administrator of a public or private day camp. (7) An administrator or employee of a public or private youth center, youth recreation program, or youth organization. (8) An administrator or employee of a public or private organization whose duties require direct contact and supervision of children. (9) Any employee of a county office of education or the California Department of Education, whose duties bring the employee into contact with children on a regular basis. (10) A licensee, an administrator, or an employee of a licensed community care or child day care facility. (11) A Head Start program teacher. (12) A licensing worker or licensing evaluator employed by a licensing agency as specified. (13) A public assistance worker. (14) An employee of a child care institution, including, but not limited to, foster parents, group home personnel, and personnel of residential care facilities. (15) A social worker, probation officer, or parole officer. (16) An employee of a school district police or security department. (17) Any person who is an administrator or presenter of, or a counselor in, a child abuse prevention program in any public or private school. (18) A district attorney investigator, inspector, or local child support agency caseworker unless the investigator, inspector, or caseworker is working with an attorney appointed pursuant to Section 317 of the Welfare and Institutions Code to represent a minor. (19) A peace officer, as specified. (20) A firefighter, except for volunteer firefighters. (21) A physician, surgeon, psychiatrist, psychologist, dentist, resident, intern, podiatrist, chiropractor, licensed nurse, dental hygienist, optometrist, marriage, family and child counselor, clinical social worker, or any other person who is currently licensed under Division 2of the Business and Professions Code. (22) Any emergency medical technician I or II, paramedic, or other person certified pursuant to Division 2.5 of the Health and Safety Code. (23) A psychological assistant, as specified. (24) A marriage, family, and child therapist trainee, as specified. (25) An unlicensed marriage, family, and child therapist intern, as specified. (26) A state or county public health employee who treats a minor for venereal disease or any other condition. (27) A coroner. (28) A medical examiner, or any other person who performs autopsies. (29) A commercial film and photographic print processor, as specified. As used in this article, "commercial film and photographic print processor" means any person who develops exposed photographic film into negatives, slides, or prints, or who makes prints from negatives or slides, for compensation. The term includes any employee of such a person; it does not include a person who develops film or makes prints for a public agency. (30) A child visitation monitor, as specified. (31) An animal control officer or humane society officer, as specified. (32) A clergy member, as specified. (33) Any custodian of records of a clergy member, as specified. (34) Any employee of any police department, county sheriff's department, county probation department, or county welfare department. (35) An employee or volunteer of a Court Appointed Special Advocate program, as specified. (36) A custodial officer, as specified. (37) Any person providing services to a minor child under Section 12300 or 12300.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. (38) An alcohol and drug counselor, as specified. (39) A clinical counselor trainee, as specified. (40) A clinical counselor intern, as specified. (More) AB 1435 (Dickinson) PageE the mandated child abuse and neglect reporter statute. RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION ("ROCA") In response to the unresolved prison capacity crisis, since early 2007 it has been the policy of the chair of the Senate Committee on Public Safety and the Senate President pro Tem to hold legislative proposals which could further aggravate prison overcrowding through new or expanded felony prosecutions. Under the resulting policy known as "ROCA" (which stands for "Receivership/Overcrowding Crisis Aggravation"), the Committee has held measures which create a new felony, expand the scope or penalty of an existing felony, or otherwise increase the application of a felony in a manner which could exacerbate the prison overcrowding crisis by expanding the availability or length of prison terms (such as extending the statute of limitations for felonies or constricting statutory parole standards). In addition, proposed expansions to the classification of felonies enacted last year by AB 109 (the 2011 Public Safety Realignment) which may be punishable in jail and not prison (Penal Code section 1170(h)) would be subject to ROCA because an offender's criminal record could make the offender ineligible for jail and therefore subject to state prison. Under these principles, ROCA has been applied as a content-neutral, provisional measure necessary to ensure that the Legislature does not erode progress towards reducing prison overcrowding by passing legislation which could increase the prison population. ROCA will continue until prison overcrowding is resolved. For the last several years, severe overcrowding in California's prisons has been the focus of evolving and expensive litigation. On June 30, 2005, in a class action lawsuit filed four years earlier, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California established a Receivership to take control of the delivery of medical services to all California state prisoners confined by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation ("CDCR"). In December of 2006, plaintiffs in two federal lawsuits against CDCR sought a (More) AB 1435 (Dickinson) PageF court-ordered limit on the prison population pursuant to the federal Prison Litigation Reform Act. On January 12, 2010, a three-judge federal panel issued an order requiring California to reduce its inmate population to 137.5 percent of design capacity -- a reduction at that time of roughly 40,000 inmates -- within two years. The court stayed implementation of its ruling pending the state's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. On May 23, 2011, the United States Supreme Court upheld the decision of the three-judge panel in its entirety, giving California two years from the date of its ruling to reduce its prison population to 137.5 percent of design capacity, subject to the right of the state to seek modifications in appropriate circumstances. Design capacity is the number of inmates a prison can house based on one inmate per cell, single-level bunks in dormitories, and no beds in places not designed for housing. Current design capacity in CDCR's 33 institutions is 79,650. On January 6, 2012, CDCR announced that California had cut prison overcrowding by more than 11,000 inmates over the last six months, a reduction largely accomplished by the passage of Assembly Bill 109. Under the prisoner-reduction order, the inmate population in California's 33 prisons must be no more than the following: 167 percent of design capacity by December 27, 2011 (133,016 inmates); 155 percent by June 27, 2012; 147 percent by December 27, 2012; and 137.5 percent by June 27, 2013. This bill does not aggravate the prison overcrowding crisis described above under ROCA. COMMENTS 1. Stated Need for This Bill The author states: (More) AB 1435 (Dickinson) PageG Currently, people working in a variety of professions are required to report instances of child sexual abuse and neglect. (Sec.11165.7 PC). However, there is a gap in current law. Athletic coaches, administrators and directors are not specifically cited in the current statute. Athletic coaches hold a particularly high position of trust with the youth they work with, and there should be no mistake or confusion that coaches, administrators and athletic directors should be included as Mandated Reporters. A number of recent events involving instances of sexual abuse between athletic coaches and youth whom coaches instruct, has focused attention as to whether coaches have the proper training about what constitutes sexual abuse of minors, and what to do if they, as coaches, become aware of a youth who is or has been the subject of abuse. Perhaps the highest profile event concerned the late Penn State football coach, Joe Paterno, who claimed in an interview, that upon receiving a report of another coach who was abusing youth "I didn't know exactly how to handle it?" Recently, an article in the Sacramento Bee identified at least a half dozen cases of improper contact and sexual abuse between coaches and youth who were in their charge, in the Sacramento region alone, within a six month period. These and other reports have underscored shortcomings in both the state's mandated reporter law?coaches are not explicitly covered, and a lack of training and education of athletic coaches, administrators and directors, in terms of what is inappropriate and illegal behavior, and what to do if they become aware of such behavior. Amending athletic coaches, administrators and directors into Section 11165.7 PC will not only make them mandated reporters, but will hopefully expose them to some training, as the statute encourages employers to train their employees who are mandated (More) AB 1435 (Dickinson) PageH reporters. 2. What This Bill Would Do; Current Mandated Reporter Law This bill would add an "athletic coach, athletic administrator, or athletic director employed by a public or private organization, including, but not limited to, schools that provide kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive," to the mandated child abuse and neglect reporter statute. Under current law, there are 40 enumerated categories of mandated reporters, including teachers, instructional aides and others who already may include the athletic coaching staff covered by this bill. For example, current law makes an administrator or employee of a public or private youth center, youth recreation program, or youth organization a mandated child abuse or neglect reporter. As noted below, as currently drafted this bill appears to have some cross-over with other bills heard by or now before this Committee. 3. Related Measures Earlier this year this Committee passed SB 1264 (Vargas), which like this bill specifically addresses athletic personnel: AB 1435 (Dickinson): "An athletic coach, athletic administrator, or athletic director employed by a public or private organization, including, but not limited to, schools that provide kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive." SB 1264 (Vargas): "Any athletic coach, including, but not limited to, an assistant coach or a graduate assistant involved in coaching, at public or private postsecondary institutions." The differences between these bills appear to be: (More) AB 1435 (Dickinson) PageI ------------------------------------------------------- | Bill | Persons Made | Entities |Volunteers/Non| | | Mandatory | Under Which | -paid | | | Reporters | The | Persons? | | | | Reporters | | | | | Function | | |---------+----------------+-------------+--------------| |AB 1435 |an athletic |a public or |No; employees | |(Dickinso|coach, athletic |private |only | |n) |administrator |organization,| | | |or athletic | including | | | |director |but not | | | | |limited to | | | | |K-12 schools | | |---------+----------------+-------------+--------------| |SB 1264 |any athletic |public or |Yes; does not | |(Vargas) |coach, |private |specify | | |including but |postsecondary|employees | | |not limited to | |only | | |an assistant |institutions | | | |coach or | | | | |graduate | | | | |assistant | | | | |involved in | | | | |coaching | | | ------------------------------------------------------- To the extent a "public or private organization," as set forth in AB 1435, includes postsecondary institutions, these bills could be confusing if both were to be enacted. Some postsecondary institutions may interpret the Vargas bill to be the provision applying solely to their athletic personnel, while others may interpret this bill, because of its inclusion of a "public or private organization," to include them as well. The author may wish to consider amending this bill to narrow its application to public or private organizations serving minors under the age of 18 to avoid any confusion about its scope or application. However, it should be noted that current law makes an administrator or employee of a public or private youth (More) AB 1435 (Dickinson) PageJ center, youth recreation program, or youth organization a mandated child abuse or neglect reporter (Penal Code § 11165.7(a)(7).). To avoid confusion and redundancy in the statute, members of the Committee and the author instead may wish to amend this bill to expressly revise paragraph (7) to state, "including but not limited to an athletic coach, athletic administrator or athletic director." SHOULD THIS AMENDMENT BE MADE? Several bills have been introduced this session which propose to expand the obligation to report suspected child abuse or neglect: ----------------------------------------------------------------- | Bill | What the Bill Does | Status | |---------------------+---------------------+---------------------| |AB 1435 (Dickinson) |Makes an "athletic |Before this | | |coach, athletic |Committee (this | | |administrator, or |bill) | | |athletic director | | | |employed by a public | | | |or private | | | |organization, | | | |including, but not | | | |limited to, schools | | | |that provide | | | |kindergarten or any | | | |of grades 1 to 12, | | | |inclusive," a | | | |mandated reporter. | | |---------------------+---------------------+---------------------| |AB 1434 (Feuer) | Makes an "employee |Before this | | |of a public or |Committee | | |private institution | | | |of higher education, | | (More) AB 1435 (Dickinson) PageK | |as to child abuse or | | | |neglect occurring on | | | |that institution's | | | |premises or at an | | | |official activity | | | |of, or program | | | |conducted by, the | | | |institution," a | | | |mandated reporter. | | |---------------------+---------------------+---------------------| |AB 1438 (Bradford) |Expands the existing |Before this | | |crime for failing to |Committee | | |notify a peace | | | |officer of a | | | |specified violent | | | |crime against a | | | |child under 14 to | | | |include non-forcible | | | |child molestation | | | |(PC 152.3) | | |---------------------+---------------------+---------------------| |AB 1713 (Campos) |Expands existing |Before this | | |definition of |Committee | | |commercial film and | | | |photographic print | | | |processers who are | | | |mandated reporters | | | |to include several | | | |enumerated types of | | | |computer-related | | | |data and imagery. | | |---------------------+---------------------+---------------------| |AB 1817 (Atkins) |Makes "commercial |Before this | | |computer |Committee | | |technicians," as | | | |specified, mandated | | | |reporters. | | |---------------------+---------------------+---------------------| |SB 1264 (Vargas) |Makes any "athletic |Passed this | | |coach, including, |Committee 4/17/12 | (More) AB 1435 (Dickinson) PageL | |but not limited to, |(7-0); pending in | | |an assistant coach |the Assembly | | |or a graduate | | | |assistant involved | | | |in coaching, at | | | |public or private | | | |postsecondary | | | |institutions," a | | | |mandated reporter. | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- (More) ----------------------------------------------------------------- | Bill | What the Bill Does | Status | |---------------------+---------------------+---------------------| |SB 1551 (Vargas) |Requires a |Pulled by author | | |"competent adult who |after hearing in | | |becomes aware of |this Committee | | |information or |4/17/12 (ROCA bill) | | |evidence that would | | | |cause a reasonable | | | |suspicion of child | | | |sexual | | | |abuse is required to | | | |report that | | | |information to state | | | |or local law | | | |enforcement or to | | | |county child | | | |protective services | | | |within 72 hours," | | | |with specified | | | |criminal penalties. | | |---------------------+---------------------+---------------------| |AB 1564 (Lara) |Makes "volunteers of |Assembly Public | | |public or private |Safety | | |organizations, | | | |including nonprofit | | | |organizations, whose | | | |duties require | | | |direct contact with | | | |and supervision of | | | |children," mandated | | | |reporters. | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- *************** AB 1435 (Dickinson) PageN (More)