Amended in Assembly January 23, 2014

Amended in Assembly January 6, 2014

Amended in Assembly March 21, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 883

Introduced by Assembly Member Cooley

February 22, 2013

An act to add and repeal Article 7 (commencing with Section 18974) of Chapter 11 of Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to child sexual abuse, and making an appropriation therefor.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 883, as amended, Cooley. Child sexual abuse: prevention pilot program.

Existing law authorizes the Office of Child Abuse Prevention to fund, through allocations provided to local counties, child abuse and neglect prevention and intervention programs. Existing law creates the State Children’s Trust Fund in the State Treasury and requires money in the fund to be allocated to the State Department of Social Services for the purpose of funding child abuse and neglect prevention and intervention programs.

This bill would establish the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program as a pilot program in no more than 3 counties, as begin delete determined end delete begin insert selected end insert by the State Department of Social Services begin insert from among counties that volunteer to participate and based on specified criteria end insert , to provide child sexual abuse prevention and intervention services through public, private, or nonprofit programs that provide those services. The bill would annually appropriate $50,000 from the General Fund to each county that begin delete conducts end delete begin insert is selected to conduct end insert a pilot program, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would provide that public, private, and nonprofit agencies shall be eligible for this funding if specified evidence is provided and would encourage counties to give priority for funding to existing programs that have demonstrated effectiveness in begin delete youth homelessness, human trafficking, child abuse, or end delete child sexual abuse or prevention. The bill would require each participating county to compile and collect data on the efficacy of the pilot program and to annually report to the State Department of Social Services, the Assembly Committee on Human Services, and the Senate Committee on Human Services specified information, including statistics on the increase or decrease of reports of child sexual abuse within the county. The bill would also make related findings and declarations. These provisions would be repealed on January 1, begin delete 2017 end delete begin insert 2019 end insert .

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) Children are a precious resource in the state and country.

(b) Victims of child abuse, child sexual abuse, and neglect are
at higher risk for alcoholism, drug abuse, depression, eating
disorders, obesity, suicide, and other chronic adult health problems.

(c) Child abuse and neglect begin delete costs end delete begin insert cost end insert the United States at least
$124 billion per year according to the federal Centers for Disease
Control begin insert and Prevention end insert .

(d) Preventative services and training can significantly reduce
the incidences of child abuse, stabilize families, and contribute to
a reduction in crime.

(e) While child sexual abuse programs that address increased
reporting begin delete after-the-fact end delete begin insert after the fact end insert are critical to the child victims,
it should be the goal of all Californians to promote adult and
community responsibility to prevent child sexual abuse.

SEC. 2.  

Article 7 (commencing with Section 18974) is added
to Chapter 11 of Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:

 

Article 7.  Child Sexual Abuse Prevention and Intervention
Programs

 

18974.  

(a) The Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program is
hereby established as a pilot program in no more than three
counties to provide child sexual abuse prevention and intervention
services through public, private, or nonprofit programs that provide
child sexual abuse prevention and intervention begin delete services . end delete begin insert services. end insert

(b) The sum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) is hereby
appropriated annually from the General Fund to each county that
begin delete conducts end delete begin insert voluntarily chooses and is selected to conduct end insert a pilot
program under this article to prevent and reduce child sexual abuse.

(c) The State Department of Social Services shall begin delete determine the end delete
begin insert select end insert counties begin delete that will end delete begin insert to end insert participate in the Child Sexual Abuse
Prevention begin delete Program end delete begin insert Program, from among the counties that notify
the department of their intention to participate, end insert based on the
agency’s determination that the counties have significant incidences
of begin delete any of the following: homeless youth, child abuse, end delete child sexual
abuse begin delete , end delete begin insert or end insert sexually exploited minors begin delete , minors involved in
prostitution, or human trafficking. end delete begin insert and have a public, private, or
nonprofit organization with experience in child sexual abuse issues
that is designated to act as the primary administrator for the pilot
program. end insert

(d) Each participating county is encouraged to efficiently use
these funds by giving priority to programs currently serving the
needs of at-risk children that meet the criteria in Section 18974.1
and that have demonstrated effectiveness in begin delete youth homelessness,
human trafficking, child abuse, or end delete child sexual abuse prevention
or intervention. The funds appropriated under this section shall
not supplant or replace any existing funding for programs currently
serving the needs of at-risk children, but may only supplement the
expansion of existing programs or the collaboration of separate
existing programs within the county, or fund newly created
programs within the county if no current programs exist to serve
the needs of children at risk of sexual abuse.

18974.1.  

(a) The county board of supervisors of a participating
county shall allocate the pilot program funds according to the
provisions of this article. The county board of supervisors may
delegate the administration of the pilot program begin insert funds end insert to the county
social services department begin delete or another similar local agency end delete .

(b) Public, private, and nonprofit agencies shall be eligible for
funding provided that evidence is submitted as part of the
application to the county begin delete for funding to demonstrate broad-based
community support. The evidence shall further demonstrate end delete that
the proposed services are not duplicated in the community, are
based on needs of children at risk, and are supported by a local
public agency, including, but not limited to, one of the following:

(1) The county welfare department.

(2) A public law enforcement agency.

(3) The county probation department.

(4) The county board of supervisors.

(5) The county public health department.

(6) The county mental health department.

(7) Any school district.

(c) The administering local agency shall, with oversight and
review from the county board of supervisors, compile and collect
data on the efficacy of the pilot program.

(d) Each participating county shall annually report to the State
Department of Social Services, the Assembly Committee on
Human Services, and the Senate Committee on Human Services
information including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Changing public attitudes or public opinion polls showing
increased awareness of prevention techniques for child sexual
abuse.

(2) The amount of educational materials distributed to
stakeholder groups that address and promote child sexual abuse
prevention and prevention techniques.

begin delete

(3) The amount of educational materials distributed to
stakeholder groups that address the connection between human
trafficking and child sexual abuse.

end delete begin delete

(4)

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert  Statistics on the increase or decrease of reports of child
sexual abuse within the county.

begin delete

(5) Statistics on the increase or decrease of arrests and
convictions within the county for child sexual abuse.

end delete begin delete

(6)

end delete

begin insert (4) end insert  Identified best practices used by the pilot program which
may be replicated and used by other counties, including, but not
limited to, community outreach, data collection and analysis, and
the creation of educational materials.

begin delete

(7)

end delete

begin insert (5) end insert  A complete and accurate accounting of all funds received
and spent pursuant to this section.

begin delete

(8)

end delete

begin insert (6) end insert  Efforts to strengthen the capacity of schools and
youth-serving organizations pursuant to subdivision (f) and the
outcome of those efforts.

(e) Each participating county shall propose a multiyear plan
that identifies how to advance all of the following objectives:

(1) Fostering community coalitions and networks for preventing
and reducing begin delete youth homelessness, child abuse, end delete child sexual begin delete abuse,
and human trafficking end delete begin insert abuse end insert .

(2) Strengthening individual knowledge and skills in identifying
risks and prevention techniques for begin delete youth homelessness, child
abuse, end delete child sexual abuse begin delete , or human trafficking end delete .

begin delete

(3) Promoting community education.

end delete begin delete

(4) Educating providers of children services.

end delete begin delete

(5) Changing children’s organizations practices to reduce the
possibility of child sexual abuse.

end delete begin delete

(6)

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert  Promoting greater data sharing and collaboration between
law enforcement agencies, probation departments, and child welfare
agencies to identify children in the community who are at risk for
begin delete homelessness, abuse, end delete sexual abuse begin delete , end delete begin insert or end insert sexual begin delete exploitation,
prostitution, or human trafficking. end delete begin insert exploitation. end insert

(f) Each pilot program shall do all of the following to strengthen
the capacity of schools and youth-serving organizations to prevent
sexual abuse:

(1) Utilize an assessment process to identify strengths and gaps.

(2) Implement comprehensive training, screening, responding,
and reporting protocols.

(3) Develop codes of conduct to prevent inappropriate behaviors
before they escalate to reportable offenses.

(4) Modify physical spaces to reduce risk.

(5) Adopt policies matched to the organizational mission.

(g) Each pilot program may create guidelines to assess the
community’s overall understanding of child sexual abuse.

begin delete

(h) Each pilot program may create and track data to objectively
measure changes in the community condition and attitudes towards
child sexual abuse by performing certain tasks, including, but not
limited, to the following:

(1) Reviewing local sexual violence data, police reports, and
reports of child sexual abuse to measure any change in reporting.

(2) Identifying risk factors and protective factors particular to
each community.

(3) Tracking increases in preventative and treatment services
within the community for child sexual abuse.

(i) Each pilot program may develop local prevention plans.

(j)

end delete

begin insert (h) end insert  Each report submitted pursuant to subdivision (d) shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
Code.

18974.2.  

This article shall remain in effect only until January
1, begin delete 2017 end delete begin insert 2019 end insert , and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, begin delete 2017 end delete begin insert 2019 end insert , deletes or
extends that date.