BILL NUMBER: SB 1349	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Yee

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2012

   An act to amend Section 11167 of the Penal Code, relating to child
abuse reporting.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1349, as introduced, Yee. Child abuse reporting: mandated
reporters.
   Existing law, the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, requires
a mandated reporter, as defined, to report whenever he or she, 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. Failure to report an incident is a crime punishable
by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of 6 months, a fine of
up to $1,000, or by both that imprisonment and fine. The report of
suspected child abuse or neglect is required to include specified
information, including the capacity that makes the person a mandated
reporter, the information that gave rise to the suspicion of child
abuse or neglect, and the source of that information.
   This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those
provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 11167 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   11167.  (a) Reports of suspected child abuse or neglect pursuant
to Section 11166 or Section 11166.05 shall include the name, business
address, and telephone number of the mandated reporter; the capacity
that makes the person a mandated reporter; and the information that
gave rise to the reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect 
,  and the source or sources of that information.  If
  When  a report is made, the following
information, if known, shall also be included in the report: the
child's name, the child's address, present location, and, if
applicable, school, grade, and class; the names, addresses, and
telephone numbers of the child's parents or guardians; and the name,
address, telephone number, and other relevant personal information
about the person or persons who might have abused or neglected the
child. The mandated reporter shall make a report even if some of this
information is not known or is uncertain to him or her.
   (b) Information relevant to the incident of child abuse or neglect
and information relevant to a report made pursuant to Section
11166.05 may be given to an investigator from an agency that is
investigating the known or suspected case of child abuse or neglect.
   (c) Information relevant to the incident of child abuse or
neglect, including the investigation report and other pertinent
materials, and information relevant to a report made pursuant to
Section 11166.05 may be given to the licensing agency when it is
investigating a known or suspected case of child abuse or neglect.
   (d) (1) The identity of all persons who report under this article
shall be confidential and disclosed only among agencies receiving or
investigating mandated reports, to the prosecutor in a criminal
prosecution or in an action initiated under Section 602 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code arising from alleged child abuse, or to
counsel appointed pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 317 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code, or to the county counsel or prosecutor
in a proceeding under Part 4 (commencing with Section 7800) of
Division 12 of the Family Code or Section 300 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, or to a licensing agency when abuse or neglect in
out-of-home care is reasonably suspected, or when those persons waive
confidentiality, or by court order.
   (2) No agency or person listed in this subdivision shall disclose
the identity of any person who reports under this article to that
person's employer, except with the employee's consent or by court
order.
   (e) Notwithstanding the confidentiality requirements of this
section, a representative of a child protective services agency
performing an investigation that results from a report of suspected
child abuse or neglect made pursuant to Section 11166 or Section
11166.05, at the time of the initial contact with the individual who
is subject to the investigation, shall advise the individual of the
complaints or allegations against him or her, in a manner that is
consistent with laws protecting the identity of the reporter under
this article.
   (f) Persons who may report pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section
11166 are not required to include their names.