BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1435
Author: Dickinson (D), et al.
Amended: 8/21/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/19/12
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Calderon, Harman, Liu, Price,
Steinberg
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 8/16/12
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Dutton, Lieu, Price,
Steinberg
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/30/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Mandatory child abuse and neglect reporting:
athletics
personnel
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill expressly includes an athletic coach,
athletic administrator, or athletic director employed by
any public or private school that maintains any combination
of instruction from kindergarten to grade 12, inclusive,"
in the mandated child abuse and neglect reporter laws.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/21/12 are purely technical,
nonsubstantive chaptering amendments to reflect language
contained in four additional bills: AB 1713 (Campos), AB
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1817 (Atkins), SB 1264 (Vargas), and AB 1434 (Feuer).
ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes the Child Abuse and
Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA), which generally is intended
to protect children from abuse and neglect. (Penal Code
(PEN) Section 11164)
Existing law requires "mandated reporters" to make reports
of suspected child abuse or neglect, as specified. (PEN
Section 11165.9)
Under existing 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." (PEN Section 11165.6)
Existing 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 child whom the mandated reporter knows or
reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse or
neglect." (PEN Section 11166(a))
Existing law enumerates 40 categories of persons who are
mandated child abuse and neglect reporters. (PEN Section
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 ?" (PEN Section
11165.7(b))
This bill adds an athletic coach, athletic administrator,
or athletic director employed by any public or private
school that maintains any combination of instruction from
kindergarten to grades 12, inclusive, to the mandated
reporter list.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Potential costs, likely less than $150,000 (General Fund)
for increased state prison commitments to the extent
increasing the number of mandated reporters results in
additional felony convictions.
Potential ongoing costs (Local Revenue Fund 2011/General
Fund) to county child welfare services departments for
fielding and investigation of increased mandated reports.
Ongoing costs to the Judicial Branch, likely in the range
of $25,000 to $50,000 (General Fund) for additional
misdemeanor and felony court filings.
Minor, absorbable costs to the Department of Justice to
process additional CANRA reports.
Non-reimbursable local law enforcement costs due to
additional reporting and investigation, as well as
increased enforcement for failure to report, offset to a
degree by fine revenue.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/21/12)
AFSCME, AFL-CIO
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
California Narcotics Officers' Association
California Police Chiefs Association
California Protective Parents Association
Child Abuse Prevention Center
Crime Victims Action Alliance
Crime Victims United of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author states:
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
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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 reporters.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/30/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth
Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman,
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Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill,
Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller,
Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Olsen,
Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner,
Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wagner, Wieckowski,
Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Fletcher, Gorell, Norby, Valadao
RJG:m 8/22/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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