BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
SB 1136 (Huff) - Foster care providers: criminal records.
Amended: April 29, 2014 Policy Vote: Human Services 4-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: May 23, 2014 Consultant: Jolie Onodera
SUSPENSE FILE. AS AMENDED.
Bill Summary: SB 1136 would provide county child welfare
agencies with additional authority to seek and have access to
criminal history information on approved foster care providers,
in order to assess the appropriateness and safety of placing
children in foster care homes and facilities, as specified.
Fiscal Impact (as approved on May 23, 2014):
Annual costs to the DOJ of less than $100,000 (Special
Funds*), to be recovered through fees, to process additional
fingerprint submissions and Child Abuse Central Index (CACI)
requests from county agencies.
Minor, absorbable costs to the DSS to provide county child
welfare agencies with a list of individuals who have been
granted criminal records exemptions.
Unknown, potentially significant costs (General Fund) to
the DSS to provide county child welfare agencies with all
additional information used to make the determination to
grant exemptions.
Potentially significant non-reimbursable costs (Local) to
county child welfare agencies to submit fingerprint images
to the DOJ for criminal history information.
*Fingerprint Fees Account and Sexual Habitual Offender Fund
Account
Background: With regard to applicants for licensure to provide
care for or reside with children, existing law provides that DSS
may grant an exemption to a criminal conviction exclusion,
subject to specified exceptions such as crimes requiring
registration pursuant to the Sex Offender Registry Act, if the
Director has substantial and convincing evidence to support a
reasonable belief that the person convicted of the crime is of
good character in order to justify granting the exemption.
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Under current law, county child welfare agencies do not have
access to the names and information of the foster parents and
employees who have been granted a criminal history exemption by
the DSS. The Los Angeles Times reported at least 5,300
individuals who have received criminal record exemptions for
convictions that otherwise would prevent them from licensure or
certification as foster parents.
This bill seeks to provide county child welfare agencies with
additional criminal history information from the DSS and the DOJ
when determining appropriate foster care placements.
Proposed Law: This bill would provide county child welfare
agencies with additional authority to seek and have access to
criminal history information on approved foster care providers,
in order to assess the appropriateness and safety of placing
specific children in foster care homes and facilities.
Specifically, this bill:
Authorizes a county child welfare agency to submit
fingerprint images to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for
criminal history information on an individual who has
received a criminal record exemption from the Department of
Social Services (DSS) pertaining to a licensed or certified
foster home.
Requires the DSS to provide a county child welfare agency
with a list of each person who has received a criminal
records exemption, as specified, related to a licensed or
certified foster home.
Requires the DSS to make available to a county child
welfare agency any investigative information used in making
the determination to grant the exemption, except as
otherwise limited by state or federal law.
Provides that to the extent a county child welfare agency
utilizes the criminal history information received as the
basis for determining against the placement of a child, the
agency must provide a copy of the information to the
individual and provide the individual with an opportunity to
appeal the decision.
Authorizes the DOJ to make available to any county child
welfare agency information, as specified, regarding a known
or suspected child abuser maintained on the Child Abuse
Central Index (CACI).
Staff Comments: The DOJ has indicated annual costs of less than
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$100,000 (Special Funds) to process additional fingerprint
submissions and CACI requests from county child welfare agencies
that may result from the provisions of this bill. Costs are
estimated to be recoverable through the assessment of fees.
The DSS has indicated the cost to provide county child welfare
agencies with a list of exempted individuals will be minor and
absorbable. However, this bill also requires the DSS to
provide county child welfare agencies with all investigative
information used in making the determination to grant a
criminal history exemption, and requires the DSS to consult
with the DOJ, counties, and other interested stakeholders to
ensure that information is shared expeditiously and in
accordance with state and federal law. These activities could
result in potentially significant costs (General Fund) to the
DSS.
This bill provides that whenever state or federal summary
information is provided by the DOJ and is used by a county child
welfare agency as the basis for determining that a licensed or
certified foster care placement is not an appropriate placement
for a child, the county shall expeditiously furnish a copy of
the information to the person to whom the information relates
and shall provide the person with an opportunity to contest or
appeal the decision within the agency. Additionally, county
child welfare agencies could incur significant one-time and
ongoing costs associated with the provision of this measure, as
Los Angeles County has indicated there is currently no process
for appeal in place for foster care placement decisions.
Author amendments do the following:
Deletes the provision specifying that to the extent a
county child welfare agency utilizes the criminal history
information received as the basis for determining against
the placement of a child, the agency must provide a copy of
the information to the individual and provide the individual
with an opportunity to appeal the decision.
Provides that DSS may share summary information related to
criminal record clearance or exemption from the DSS with a
county child welfare agency with the responsibility to
monitor the health and safety of persons receiving care ,
treatment, or services from state-licensed foster homes,
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certified homes or licensed foster family agencies, licensed
group homes, and foster family agencies and their employees.
Provides that a county welfare agency may review
information related to a criminal record clearance or
exemption granted by the DSS as one factor in addition to
all other factors, considered by a county welfare agency to
determine the appropriate placement for a child, as
specified.
Provides that a county child welfare agency may, instead of
shall, request from the DOJ subsequent notification service,
as specified, for persons for whom the county has requested
criminal record information.
Makes other technical changes.