BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 570
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Date of Hearing: August 21, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 570 (DeSaulnier) - As Amended: August 15, 2013
Policy Committee: HealthVote:18-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires, effective January 1, 2015, any individual
registered or certified as an alcohol and other drugs (AOD)
counselor to pass a criminal background check. Specifically,
this bill:
1)Requires the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to:
a) Require approved certifying organizations to require AOD
counselors to submit to a criminal background check via
LiveScan, identifying DHCS as the recipient.
b) Establish the Director's Advisory Panel (panel),
comprised of AOD counselors, to assist with implementation.
c) Report complaints against an AOD counselor to the
approved certifying organization.
d) With input from the panel, create criteria that
establish eligibility to become or to continue to be
registered or certified as an AOD counselor.
e) Review background checks and notify certifying entities
when an application should be disapproved.
1)Authorizes DHCS to charge a reasonable fee to a certifying
organization or AOD counselor.
2)Requires an approved certifying organization to report
complaints and any knowledge of criminal convictions to DHCS,
and to comply with the department's decisions regarding
disciplinary actions.
FISCAL EFFECT
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1)One-time GF costs of $150,000 to DHCS to establish the panel,
issue regulations, and create the administrative processes for
fee collection, complaint reporting, and review of background
checks. This cost could potentially be offset by some level
of fee revenue, if a GF loan was made and paid back using fee
revenue.
2)Ongoing costs of $100,000 annually (GF, potentially offset by
some level of fee revenue) to DHCS for review of background
checks.
3)Ongoing costs to DOJ of $475,000 assuming 20,000 counselors
receive background screens annually, reimbursed by DHCS (GF,
potentially offset by some level of fee revenue).
4)Potential fee revenue of approximately $475,000 annually to
support program activities, if fees were charged sufficient to
support the program activities.
5)This bill authorizes, but does not require, fees to be charged
to the certifying entity or AOD counselor. Additionally,
there is no requirement that fee revenue be adequate to fund
program activities. Furthermore, there is no special fund
specific to this activity. Any potential fee revenue would be
deposited in the GF, absent statutory direction to deposit it
elsewhere. This bill puts pressure on the GF to fund one-time
program development costs and the first-year costs of ongoing
program activities. This bill may also result in GF pressure
for ongoing workload to the extent fees do not fully cover
program costs.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . This bill was introduced to implement
recommendations of a recent California Senate Office of
Oversight and Outcomes (SOOO) report titled "Suspect
Treatment: State's lack of scrutiny allows unscreened sex
offenders and unethical counselors to treat addicts." The
report indicates that a lack of criminal background checks is
resulting in the certification of AOD counselors who are a
danger to their patients and report recommends, at a minimum,
that criminal background checks be completed for all
individuals seeking certification as an AOD counselor. This
bill is sponsored by the California Association of Alcoholism
and Drug Abuse Counselors.
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2)Background . AOD certification is currently delegated by DHCS
to several approved and accredited certifying organizations.
The counselor certification program was operated in the same
way by the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, until DHCS
took over this function in 2012 as a result of departmental
consolidation. In order for a certifying entity to issue
counselor certification, its requirements must meet minimum
state standards. There is no centralized database of
certified counselors nor requirement for data-sharing among
these organizations. Counselors can register and work for five
years as an AOD counselor while working to fulfill
certification requirements. About 36,000 registered or
certified counselors work in over 2,500 private and publicly
funded AOD programs.
The SOOO report found that persons with troubling criminal
pasts are registered to provide AOD services. For example,
the report cites one individual who was convicted of 110
counts of lewd acts upon a child as a registrant with one of
the state's certification organizations upon release from
prison in 2005.
3)Related and Prior Legislation . There have been numerous
legislative attempts over the years to centralize licensure or
certification of AOD counselors. The most recent attempt was
AB 2007 (Williams) of 2012, which died in the Assembly Health
Committee.
SB 1014 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 36, Statutes of 2012
eliminated DADP and transferred its functions to other
departments.
SB 509 (DeSaulnier), Chapter 10, Statutes of 2013 required
background checks for individuals working for or with the
California Health Benefit Exchange. In addition, there are
several bills requiring or authorizing background checks for
individuals acting in various professional or volunteer
capacities pending in the Legislature, including AB 389
(Williams), AB 465 (Bonilla and Maienschein), and AB 1027
(Bonilla).
Analysis Prepared by : Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
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