BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
BILL NO: SB 1522
S
AUTHOR: Leno
B
VERSION: April 17, 2012
HEARING DATE: April 24, 2012
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FISCAL: Yes
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CONSULTANT: Mareva Brown
SUBJECT
Developmental centers: reporting requirements
SUMMARY
Requires a state developmental center to report to local
law enforcement all deaths, sexual assaults, assaults with
a deadly weapon or force likely to produce great bodily
injury, and other specified crimes. Requires that if the
initial report is made by telephone, that a written report
be sent as follow up within two days.
ABSTRACT
Current law
1) Establishes jurisdiction of the Department of
Developmental Services over state developmental
centers, which provide residential care to individuals
with developmental disabilities.
2) Requires developmental centers to immediately
report all resident deaths and serious injuries of
unknown origin to the appropriate local law
Continued---
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enforcement agency, which may, at its discretion,
conduct an independent investigation.
3) Establishes a police force within the state
Department of Developmental Services to act as a law
enforcement agency for the state developmental
centers. This police force has been named the Office
of Protective Services.
4) Requires mandated reporters of elder and dependent
abuse, as defined, to follow up any telephonic report
of known or suspected abuse with a written or internet
report within two working days.
This bill
1) Requires a developmental center to report the
following incidents to the local law enforcement
agency, regardless of whether the Office of Protective
Services has investigated the facts and circumstance
of the case.
a. A death
b. A sexual assault, as defined
c. An assault with a deadly weapon or force
likely to produce great bodily injury, as defined
d. An injury to the genitals when the cause
of the injury is undetermined
e. A broken bone when the cause of the break
is undetermined
2) Requires that if the incident is reported to the
law enforcement agency by telephone, a written report
of the incident shall also be submitted to the agency
within two working days.
3) Contains an urgency clause requiring it to take
effect immediately.
FISCAL IMPACT
This bill has not been analyzed by a fiscal committee.
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BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Purpose of the bill
This bill results from concerns that current reporting
requirements for state developmental centers are too vague.
Currently, the developmental centers are required to report
"all resident deaths and serious injuries of unknown origin
to the appropriate local law enforcement agency, which may,
at its discretion conduct an independent investigation."
(WIC 4427.5) In testimony during an informational hearing
held by the Senate Human Services Committee on March 13,
2012 and in a series of articles published in February,
concerns were raised that the Department of Developmental
Services may over-report such crimes to local law
enforcement and that local law enforcement agencies have
been reticent to engage in criminal investigations in the
developmental centers.
According to the author, testimony at the hearing indicated
that the number of reports transmitted to local law
enforcement agencies may dilute the effectiveness of this
reporting requirement. The author states that if local law
enforcement received fewer reports, it may be more likely
to respond and investigate incidents. This bill is an
effort to prioritize serious crimes.
Developmental Centers
The developmental centers are part of a system of care
overseen by the Department of
Developmental Services (DDS). Currently, about 1,800
individuals live in these state institutions and about
250,000 live with services and supports in their
communities. A
developmental disability is defined as a severe and chronic
disability that is attributable
to a mental or physical impairment that begins before age
18, including mental retardation, cerebral palsy, autism,
epilepsy and other similar conditions. Consumers living in
California's developmental centers typically have the most
significant physical and behavioral needs, and need
extensive services and supports.
Office of Protective Services (OPS)
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California statute confers peace officer status upon
officers in the Office of Protective Services, the law
enforcement agency for state's developmental centers. OPS
officers are authorized to enforce hospital rules,
preserve peace and to protect state property. These
officers investigate thefts, trespassing and suspicious
person claims, respond to missing client calls, enforce
restraining orders, patrol the developmental centers'
grounds and investigate suspicious deaths, sexual assaults
and other major crimes.
Evaluations of OPS in developmental centers over the past
12 years have considered whether to retain the internal law
enforcement presence or remove police functions to an
outside entity. These evaluators concluded that the
environment and investigative skills needed to work with
victims and witnesses who have developmental disabilities
is significantly different than what a municipal law
enforcement officer would encounter and that, therefore,
OPS should be preserved.
History of investigative concerns
California Attorney General
In 2002 the California Attorney General's office released
an 82-page paper, "Policing in the Department of
Developmental Services, A Review of the Organization and
Operations 2000-2001." The authors found:
"? the majority of (law enforcement) personnel lack
the training, experience and proper equipment to
completely preserve and collect crime scene evidence.
While there is a critical need to train personnel,
there should also be prearranged agreements with
outside agencies to take over the evidence processing
upon request." (P. 3)
It recommended that the department establish Memorandums of
Understanding with local law enforcement agencies that
provide authority for those agencies to independently
review investigations completed by OPS, and to create a
process for local agencies to assist or take over
investigations that are in progress. AB 430, (Cardenas,
Chapter 171, Statutes of 2001), requires DDS to report
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specified deaths to their local law enforcement agency, and
DDS testified that is has established MOUs with those
agencies. However it is unclear what investigations have
been taken over or aided by local law enforcement agencies.
Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act
In 2004, the federal Department of Justice opened an
investigation under the Civil Rights
for Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) into practices at
Lanterman Developmental Center. Under CRIPA statute,
federal investigators inspect state- and locally run
facilities to determine whether there is a pattern or
practice of violations of residents' federal rights. In
2006, the U.S. Attorney General outlined findings in a
57-page letter to then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. It
labeled as "troubling" the high number of injuries of
unknown origin recorded by staff. In a 13-month period,
almost half of all incidents recorded were listed as having
unknown origin, or more than 760 cases. The federal
investigators also found that "an inadequate incident
reporting and investigative system" often hampers
resolution of cases of assault by one client upon another.
Disability Rights California
In 2005, what was then Protection and Advocacy Inc.
published a 54-page report outlining incidences of genital
lacerations within the Sonoma Developmental Center. That
report, "A Series of Suspicious Genital Lacerations at one
Developmental Center: Did DDS Respond Properly?" raised
concerns about investigators lack of recognition of the
pattern of injuries, and lack of action in investigating
them as a potential series of crimes.
Related legislation
SB 1051 (Liu, Emmerson) would require DDS to report to the
state-designated protection and advocacy agency any
unexpected or suspicious death, sexual assault allegation
implicating an employee of a developmental center or state
mental hospital and any report made to a local law
enforcement agency involving developmental center
residents, and makes other changes.
AB 430, (Cardenas, Chapter 171, Statutes of 2001), the
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budget health bill, mandated that each developmental center
immediately report all resident deaths and serious injuries
of unknown origin to the appropriate law enforcement agency
that may, at its discretion, conduct an independent
investigation.
Comments
Advocates suggest that the language in (e) A broken bone
when the cause of the break is undetermined, also may be
overly broad and could capture a significant number of
cases in which no crime occurred. In testimony during the
informational hearing, Disability Rights California
described that in a recent review of cases, the department
conducted investigations into broken bones of unknown
origin when patients had severe osteoporosis, and the break
was likely accidental. Broken bones as that result from
abuse could be captured in category (c) above.
Staff recommends striking the following language from the
bill:
(e)A broken bone when the cause of the break is
undetermined
POSITIONS
Support: Disability Rights California
The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy in
California
Oppose: >
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