BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1623 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 22, 2014 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY Bob Wieckowski, Chair AB 1623 (Atkins) - As Amended: April 21, 2014 PROPOSED CONSENT SUBJECT : FAMILY JUSTICE CENTERS KEY ISSUE : SHOULD STATE LAW DEFINE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTERS AND SPECIFY REQUIREMENTS FOR THEIR OPERATION? SYNOPSIS The Family Justice Center (FJC) model, first developed in California in 2002 in San Diego, establishes a coordinated, single-point-of-access center offering comprehensive services for victims of domestic violence, thereby both reducing the number of locations a victim must visit in order to receive critical services and improving access to those services. In 2011 the Legislature passed SB 557 (Kehoe), Chap. 262, which directed the establishment of four FJCs to assist victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, cyberstalking, cyberbullying, human trafficking, and elder or dependent adult abuse. An evaluation of the FJCs, mandated by that bill, found that the centers "successfully served a significant number of survivors and addressed multiple service needs, supporting the need for co-located multi-agency service models." This bill, sponsored by the National Family Justice Center Alliance, seeks to further improve the operation of FJCs across the state by defining FJCs in state law and defining key aspects of their operations. It is supported by, among others, the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault and numerous law enforcement groups. This bill unanimously passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee last month. It has no known opposition. SUMMARY : Authorizes the creation of Family Justice Centers (FJCs) to assist victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, elder and dependent adult abuse and human trafficking. Specifically, this bill : 1)Authorizes a city, county, city and county, or community-based nonprofit organization to establish a FJC to assist victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, elder and dependent adult AB 1623 Page 2 abuse, and human trafficking to ensure victims of abuse are able to access all needed services in one location. 2)Defines "family justice centers" as multiagency, multidisciplinary service centers where public and private agencies assign staff members to provide services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, elder and dependent adult abuse, or human trafficking from one location in order to reduce the number of times victims must tell their story, reduce the number of places victims must go to for help, and increase access to services and support for victims and their children. 3)Provides that staff members at a FJC may be comprised of, but are not limited to, the following: law enforcement personnel; medical personnel; victim-witness program personnel; domestic violence shelter staff; community-based rape crisis, domestic violence, and human trafficking advocates; social service agency staff members; child welfare agency social workers; county health department staff; city or county welfare and public assistance workers; nonprofit agency counseling professionals; civil legal service providers; supervised volunteers from partner agencies; and other professionals providing services. 4)Provides that nothing in this bill is intended to abrogate existing laws regarding privacy or information sharing. Requires FJC staff to comply with the laws governing their respective professions. 5)Prevents a FJC from denying services to victims based on criminal history. Prohibits criminal history searches to be conducted of a victim at a FJC as a condition of receiving services without the victim's written consent, unless the criminal history search is pursuant to a criminal investigation. Provides that crime victims are not required to participate in the criminal justice system or cooperate with law enforcement in order to receive services at a FJC. 6)Requires each FJC to consult with specified agencies in partnership with survivors of violence and abuse and their advocates in the operations of the FJC and to establish procedures for the ongoing input and evaluation of the center by survivors of violence and abuse and community-based crime victim service providers and advocates. AB 1623 Page 3 7)Requires each FJC to develop policies and procedures, in collaboration with local community-based crime victim service providers and local survivors of violence and abuse, to ensure coordinated services are provided to victims and to enhance the safety of victims and professionals at the center who participate in affiliated survivor-centered support or advocacy groups. Requires each FJC to maintain a formal client feedback, complaint, and input process to address client concerns. 8)Requires each FJC to maintain a client consent policy and to be in compliance with all state and federal laws protecting confidentiality, as provided. Requires each FJC to have a designated privacy officer to develop and oversee privacy policies and procedures, as provided. Provides that at no time shall a victim be required to sign a client consent form to share information in order to access services. 9)Requires each FJC to obtain informed, written, reasonably time limited consent before sharing information obtained from the victim with any FJC staff member or partner, except: a) A FJC is not required to obtain consent from the victim before sharing information obtained from the victim with any staff member or agency partner if the person is a mandated reporter, a peace officer, or a member of the prosecution team and is required to report or disclose specific information or incidents. These people must inform the victim that they may share information obtained from the victim without his or her consent. b) Each FJC is required to inform the victim that information shared with staff members or partner agencies at a FJC may be shared with law enforcement professionals without his or her consent where there is a mandatory duty to report, or the client is a danger to themselves or others. Each FJC must obtain written acknowledgement that the victim has been informed of this policy. 10)Provides that a victim's authorization for sharing information within a FJC shall not be construed as a universal waiver of any existing evidentiary privilege that makes confidential any communications or documents between the victim and any service provider. Prohibits the disclosure to any third party, unless that third-party disclosure is AB 1623 Page 4 authorized by the victim, or required by other law or court order. 11)Provides that an individual staff member, volunteer, or agency that has victim information governed by the provisions of this bill shall not be required to disclose that information unless the victim has authorized the disclosure or it is otherwise required by law or by court order. 12)Provides that disclosure of information authorized by the victim, made for the purposes of clinical assessment, risk assessment, safety planning, or service delivery, is not a waiver of specified privilege or confidentiality provisions, the lawyer-client privilege, the physician-patient privilege, the psychotherapist-patient privilege, the sexual assault counselor-victim privilege, or the domestic violence counselor-victim privilege. 13)Requires each FJC to maintain a formal training program with mandatory training for all staff members, volunteers, and agency professionals of at least eight hours per year on subjects including, but not limited to, privileges and confidentiality, information sharing, risk assessment, safety planning, victim advocacy, and high-risk case response. EXISTING LAW : 1) Declares, under the California Constitution, that the right to privacy is an inalienable right. (California Constitution, Article I, Section 1.) 2) Requires, under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, that medical information be kept confidential unless authorized by the patient. Allows for disclosure to law enforcement personnel for specified purposes. (Pub. Law 104-191; 45 CFR 160, 164.) 3) Allowed, until January 1, 2014, the cities of San Diego and Anaheim, and the counties of Alameda and Sonoma to establish multi-agency, multi-disciplinary FJCs, as defined, to assist victims of domestic violence, officer-involved domestic violence, sexual assault, elder or dependent adult abuse, stalking, cyberstalking, cyberbullying, or human trafficking, as defined and depending on the availability of services, to ensure victims of abuse are able to access all AB 1623 Page 5 needed services in one location in order to enhance victim safety, increase offender accountability and improve services to victims. Requires the National Family Justice Center Alliance, with private funds, to contract with an independent organization to conduct an evaluation and prepare a report on the four pilot FJCs. (Penal Code Section 13750 et seq.) 4) Provides for the establishment of community-based domestic violence victim shelters and services. (Welfare & Institutions Code Section 18290 et seq.) 5) Provides that a victim has a privilege to refuse to disclose, and to prevent another from disclosing, a confidential communication between the victim and a sexual assault counselor, a domestic violence counselor, or a human trafficking caseworker. (Evidence Code Section 1035 et seq.) 6) Provides that child protective services agencies, law enforcement, prosecution, child abuse and domestic violence experts, and community-based organizations serving abused children and victims of domestic violence shall develop, in collaboration with one another, protocols as to how law enforcement and child welfare agencies will cooperate in their response to incidents of domestic violence in homes in which a child resides. (Penal Code Section 13732.) 7) Authorizes a program for interagency domestic violence death review teams. Allows each organization to share with other members of the team information in its possession concerning the victim. States that any information shared by an organization with other members of a team is confidential, but permits the disclosure to members of the team of any information deemed confidential, privileged or prohibited from disclosure by any other statute, as specified. (Penal Code Section 11163.3.) 8) Allows the Attorney General to work with various agencies and groups to develop a protocol for the development and implementation of interagency domestic violence death review teams for use by counties, which shall include relevant procedures for both urban and rural counties. (Penal Code Section 11163.5.) 9) Authorizes the Department of Justice, with the cooperation of specified organizations and agencies, to AB 1623 Page 6 coordinate and integrate state and local efforts to address fatal child abuse and neglect, and to create a body of information to prevent child abuse. (Penal Code Section 11174.34.) FISCAL EFFECT : As currently in print this bill is keyed non-fiscal. COMMENTS : The FJC model was originally developed in San Diego, which opened a center in 2002. The idea behind the FJC model is to create a coordinated, single-point-of-access center offering comprehensive services for victims of domestic violence, thereby reducing the number of locations a victim must visit in order to receive critical services. The United States Department of Justice, through its Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), has identified the FJC model as a best practice in the field of domestic violence. According to the OVW, FJC outcomes include a reduction in the rate of homicide; increased victim safety; improved offender prosecution; reduced fear and anxiety for victims and their children; increased efficiency among service providers through the provision of collaborative services; and increased community support for the provision of services to victims and their children. (Casey Gwinn and Gael Strack, Hope for Hurting Families: Creating Family Justice Centers Across America (Volcano Press 2006).) According to the author, there are currently 17 FJCs in California and another six under development. In 2011, the Legislature enacted a pilot project to establish FJCs in San Diego, Anaheim, and Alameda and Sonoma counties. (SB 557 (Kehoe), Chap. 262, Stats. 2011.) The two-year pilot project was in place through January 1, 2014 and required an evaluation of the four centers to be reported to the Legislature. This bill, sponsored by the National Family Justice Center Alliance, sets forth basic operating rules for FJCs in California. In support of the bill, the author writes: Family justice centers are one-stop resource centers that have quickly become a best practice model in California and are now serving over 14,000 victims each year. This model works by bringing together specialized resources in one location to provide better and more convenient services to victims and their children. Medical help, advocacy, counseling, law enforcement and other services are available in one location at Family Justice Centers. AB 1623 Page 7 This approach reduces the number of places a victim must travel to in order to get help and it also prevents them from having to tell their story over and over again. For a person who is already facing a traumatic experience, this integrated approach can mean the difference between seeking help and just giving up and accepting the abuse. Assembly Bill 1623 will implement the recommendations of the study authorized by SB 557 of 2011, ensure that victim privacy is protected, and that a bright line is maintained between services for the victim and the criminal justice system. Evaluation of the SB 557 Pilots : As required by SB 557, the four pilot projects, which were in place through January 1, 2014, had to be evaluated. The evaluation was to include, among other things, subjective and objective measurements of the impacts of co-located multiagency services on victims and their children, barriers to receiving needed services, and any recommended best practices and model protocols. The evaluation found that the pilots "successfully served a significant number of survivors and addressed multiple service needs, supporting the need for co-located multi-agency service models." (EMT Associates, Inc., Final Evaluation Results: Phase II California Family Justice Initiative: Statewide Evaluation 2 (July 2013) (FJC Report).) The FJC Report revealed that domestic violence victims "benefited from a comprehensive service approach that considered the context of a safe and supportive environment, an all-in-one service approach that included the therapeutic and legal needs of survivors, and individualized services that emphasized emotional support and survivors getting the help that they needed. These benefits combined to form a 'whole system approach' that is greater than the sum of its parts. The importance of a supportive approach that integrates both legal and therapeutic needs of survivors in a multi-level approach that considers context, process, and individualized services has been identified in the research and was central in these findings." (Id. at 3.) The evaluation was required to identify barriers and challenges to obtaining assistance and services from FJCs. The FJC Report found that the biggest barrier to obtaining services from a FJC was the lack of awareness of the FJC itself. In addition, the AB 1623 Page 8 evaluation found that victims had concerns and misinformation about immigration and child welfare issues before coming to the FJC, although not after: "Survivors concerns included fear of deportation, fear of having children removed, and a lack of awareness of legal services to address immigration and citizenship" (Id. at 4.) The FJC Report made a number of recommendations for FJC operations, mostly regarding improved data collection and reporting, to enable more robust evaluations of FJCs and to further improve service delivery at FJCs. Bill Addresses Confidentiality and Privacy Concerns : California law provides that confidential communications between victims and sexual assault counselors, domestic violence counselors, and human trafficking caseworkers are privileged communications that may be disclosed upon consent by the victim, or under circumstances where a court orders disclosure of information as relevant evidence for a related criminal proceeding if the court determines that the probative value outweighs the effect on the victim, the counseling relationship and the counseling services. (Evidence Code Section 1035 et seq.) Under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), medical records and other personal health information are confidential, subject to specified exceptions and procedures. (Pub. Law 104-191; 45 CFR Pts. 160, 164.) Under HIPAA, covered entities may disclose protected health information to law enforcement officials for specified law enforcement purposes, such as court orders, to identify suspects or witnesses, to find missing persons, information about a crime victim, notice of death and related matters. Family Justice Centers, where law enforcement, domestic violence counselors and even medical personnel are co-located together, raise both privacy and confidentiality issues. Victims of domestic violence and other victims of crime serviced by FJCs will often provide personal health information or undergo counseling or medical examinations which would fall under medical privacy laws and privilege laws. To address those concerns, the bill contains a number of provisions designed to both safeguard information and ensure that victims using the FJC understand how their information may be shared between FJC member staff and other FJC professionals. AB 1623 Page 9 Each FJC must maintain a client consent policy that is in compliance with all state and federal laws protecting the victim's confidentiality, including, but not limited to, confidentiality of medical, legal, and victim counselor records. A victim must not be required to sign a client consent form to share information in order to access services from the FJC. Under the bill, each FJC must have a designated privacy officer to develop and oversee privacy policies and procedures consistent with state and federal privacy laws and the Fair Information Practice Principles. The Fair Information Practice Principles are privacy principles established by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for protecting personal information. The bill also specifically requires each FJC to obtain informed, written, reasonably time limited, consent from a victim before sharing information obtained from that victim with any FJC staff member or partner. However, a FJC is not required to obtain consent from the victim before sharing information from the victim with a staff member or partner if the person is a mandated reporter, a peace officer, or a member of the prosecution team and is required to report or disclose specific information or incidents. These individuals, however, must inform the victim that they may share information from the victim without his or her consent. Additionally, each FJC must inform the victim that information shared with staff members or partner agencies at a FJC may be shared with law enforcement professionals without the victim's consent where there is a mandatory duty to report, or the victim is a danger to themselves or others. Each FJC must obtain written acknowledgement that the victim has been informed of this policy. The bill prohibits the disclosure, to any third party, of any oral or written communication or any document authorized by the victim to be shared for the purposes of enhancing safety and providing more effective and efficient services to the victim, unless that third-party disclosure is authorized by the victim, or required by other state or federal law or by court order. Additionally, disclosure of information authorized by the victim in a FJC, made for the purposes of clinical assessment, risk assessment, safety planning, or service delivery, is not a waiver of specified privileges, including lawyer-client privilege, physician-patient privilege, or domestic violence AB 1623 Page 10 counselor-victim privilege. Additionally, this bill prohibits searching a victim's criminal history without the written consent of the victim, unless the search is pursuant to an active criminal investigation. The bill clarifies that crime victims are not required to participate in the criminal justice system or cooperate with law enforcement in order to receive counseling, medical care, or other services from the FJC. Finally, each FJC is required to maintain a formal mandatory training program for all staff members, volunteers, and agency professionals on, among other things, privilege, confidentiality and information sharing. This Bill Seeks to Encourage Collaboration Between Stakeholders : The objective of an FJC is to bring all victim services together under one roof to provide enhanced assistance to victims. In order for those various public and private groups to work together optimally, collaboration and coordination is key. This bill seeks to enhance that collaboration in two ways. First, each FJC must consult with community-based victims' organizations, as well as the victims themselves and their advocates, in the operations process of the FJCs. Second, the FJCs must establish procedures for ongoing input, feedback and evaluation of the FJCs by victims, advocates and service providers, along with a complaint process. These required lines of communication should help improve not only the collaboration among the various stakeholders, but also the services delivered to victims. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support National Family Justice Center Alliance (sponsor) Alameda County District Attorney's Office Alameda County Family Justice Center American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO California Coalition Against Sexual Assault California Law Enforcement Association of Records Supervisors Chief Probation Officers of California California Probation, Parole and Correctional Association County of San Diego AB 1623 Page 11 Los Angeles Probation Officers Union, AFSCME, Local 685 National Association of Social Workers - California Chapter Riverside Sheriffs' Association Sacramento County District Attorney's Office San Diego County District Attorney's Office San Diego Family Justice Center VOICES Committee San Diego Police Department Stanislaus Family Justice Center Foundation Opposition None on file Analysis Prepared by : Leora Gershenzon / JUD. / (916) 319-2334