BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 883
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 883 (Cooley)
As Amended January 23, 2014
2/3 vote
HUMAN SERVICES 5-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
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|Ayes:|Stone, Maienschein, Ian |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, Allen, |
| |Calderon, Garcia, Hall | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| | | |Calderon, Campos, Eggman, |
| | | |Gomez, Holden, Linder, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
| | | |Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Establishes the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes a number of legislative findings regarding the
consequences of child abuse and neglect.
2)Establishes the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program as a
pilot program, in no more than three counties, to provide
child sexual abuse prevention and intervention services, as
specified.
3)Appropriates $50,000 from the state General Fund, on an annual
basis, to each county that conducts a pilot program to reduce
and prevent child sexual abuse.
4)Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to select
three counties from a list of counties that have notified
their intent to participate in the pilot program based on the
Department's determination that the counties have significant
incidences of child sexual abuse or sexually exploited minors
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
5)Requires the county board of supervisors of a participating
county to allocate the funding provided through the pilot, as
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specified, to public, private, and nonprofit agencies that
will not duplicate services in the community and that the
program is supported by a local public agency.
6)Encourages participating counties to give priority to programs
that have demonstrated effectiveness in serving at-risk
children, as specified, and requires that the funds
appropriated through this pilot not supplant any existing
funding used to serve at-risk children.
7)Requires each participating county to provide an annual report
to DSS and the Legislature that includes information on the
effectiveness of the pilot program in addressing child sexual
abuse in the county, as well as an accurate accounting of all
funds received and spent through the pilot program.
8)Requires each participating county to propose a multiyear plan
to address child sexual abuse, as specified, and authorizes
each pilot program to establish local prevention plans and
measure changes in the community condition and attitudes
toward child sexual abuse.
9)Establishes a January 1, 2019, sunset date for the pilot
program.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Appropriation: Assuming three counties are selected by DSS to
conduct a pilot program, annual General Fund cost of $150,000
per year until the January 1, 2019, sunset date.
2)Additional costs: Minor administrative costs to DSS to review
applications and select participating counties.
COMMENTS : This bill creates a pilot program that would provide
state funding to counties for the purpose of establishing new
programs or supplementing funding for existing programs that
provide child sexual abuse prevention and early intervention
services. While most programs serve children who are already
victims of child sexual abuse, this bill seeks to target funding
to programs and efforts that can prevent child sexual abuse
before it occurs.
Child sexual abuse : Child sexual abuse involves any sexual
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activity with a child where consent is not given or cannot be
given due to the age of the child. This includes sexual contact
that is accomplished by force or threat of force, regardless of
the age of the children involved or the perpetrators, and it
also includes any sexual contact between an adult and a child,
regardless of whether the child understands the sexual nature of
the activity. In the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services' 2011 Child Maltreatment Report, there were 4,890 cases
of child sexual abuse reported in California.
Long term effects of child abuse : According to information from
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), child
maltreatment, including physical abuse, sexual abuse and
neglect, among other detrimental experiences, causes stress that
can disrupt early brain development. When this stress turns
into chronic stress, the development of a child's nervous and
immune systems can be compromised, which results in a higher
risk for physical and mental health problems when the child
becomes an adult. The CDC notes that these problems include
alcoholism, depression, drug abuse, eating disorders, obesity,
high-risk sexual behaviors, smoking, suicide, and certain
chronic diseases.
Child sexual abuse prevention efforts across the country : While
the rate of reported child sexual abuse varies widely from state
to state, there have been a number of measures signed into law
in other states over the past few years that focus on sexual
abuse prevention and education programs. Many of the laws have
been based on "Erin's Law", which was originally signed in
Illinois in response to the sexual abuse a young woman named
Erin Merryn suffered at the hands of a neighbor and a cousin
when she was a young child. In California, SCR 73 (Yee),
Chapter 87, Statutes of 2012, encouraged school districts to
include age-appropriate instruction related to child sexual
abuse in school curricula, which was also aimed at prevention.
The number of legislative bills that seek to address and prevent
child sexual abuse across the states is indicative of changes in
public perception. The actions various Legislatures have taken,
along with related advocacy at the local level, offer
opportunities for more victims to speak out about their own
sexual abuse and provide information to whole communities about
how they can play a role in child sexual abuse prevention and
intervention.
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Need for the bill : Noting the high prevalence of sexual abuse
experienced by children, the author states, "Although the state
aggressively prosecutes child sexual predators and requires
mandated reporting for suspected abuse, there is a lack of focus
on preventing the abuse before it occurs. Funding and training
are needed to teach adults about warning signs. By building up
community collaboration, this measure strengthens the
prioritization of stopping child sexual abuse."
Support: The California Catholic Conference writes, "Child
sexual abuse is a significant problem in every community, and
sadly is found in every region, race, creed, socio-economic
status or gender; it crosses all boundaries and drastically
impacts too many lives?Prevention begins simply by heightening
awareness and breaking the silence by starting a conversation
with parents, caregivers, educators and lawmakers about the
topic."
Opposition: None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089
FN: 0003022