BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1001 Page 1 Date of Hearing: January 21, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 1001 (Maienschein) - As Amended January 14, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Human Services |Vote:|7 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill clarifies and enhances the requirements of the Department of Social Services (DSS) regarding mandatory reporters in community care facilities. Specifically, this bill: 1)Clarifies the actions that DSS can take regarding an AB 1001 Page 2 administrator or supervisor for violating the prohibition on impeding or inhibiting a mandated report of child abuse or neglect in any facility governed by the Community Care Facilities Act. 2)Requires an orientation provided to a chief executive officer or other authorized member of the board of directors and the administrator of a foster family agency (FFA) as a condition of DSS licensure, to include a description of the policies, procedures, or practices that violate the prohibition on impeding or inhibiting a mandated report. 3)Requires a FFA to include a written plan establishing policies, procedures, or practices to ensure the FFA does not violate the prohibition on impeding or inhibiting mandated reports, if a written plan of operation is required as a part of an application for licensure, 4)Allows a FFA social worker, as of January 1, 2018, to access the process for voluntary disclosures to DSS (hotline currently available to county social workers) if the social worker has reasonable cause to believe that a policy, procedure, or practice, violates the prohibition on impeding or inhibiting a mandated report. 5)Specifies information from voluntary disclosures that the department must report to the Legislature and post on its Internet Web site by July 1, 2019. FISCAL EFFECT: Minor costs to DSS to provide access to the voluntary disclosure process and to compile the required report to the Legislature. AB 1001 Page 3 COMMENTS: 1)Need for this bill: Supporters, citing anonymous complaints from FFA social workers, assert that safeguards in current law, including the criminal penalties within the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, as well as employee whistleblower protections, have not proven strong enough to deter an administrator or supervisor from impeding or inhibiting a mandated report. This bill seeks to give social workers in FFAs access to a hotline established for county social workers to voluntarily report process violations. The bill also seeks to minimize violations by including a description of policies, procedures, or practices that are violations of prohibited practices in CEO and administrator licensure orientations. Finally, the bill seeks to ensure that DSS takes action in response to violations. 2)Mandated Reporters. Existing law enumerates 44 categories of mandated reporters of child abuse, including teachers, clergy members, peace officers, licensees, administrators, or employees of a licensed community care facility, social workers, therapists, and others. Mandated reporters are required to report suspected child abuse or neglect to any police department or sheriff's department, county probation department, or the county welfare department. Current law specifies procedures for the agencies receiving a report to ensure it is transmitted to the proper jurisdiction. A mandated reporter is required to make an initial report by telephone immediately or as soon as is practicably possible, and is required to prepare and send a written follow-up report via fax or electronic transmission, within 36 hours of AB 1001 Page 4 receiving the information concerning the incident. Mandated reporting duties are individual, and a supervisor or administrator is prohibited from impeding or inhibiting an individual's reporting duties and from sanctioning an individual for making a mandated report. Any supervisor or administrator who impedes or inhibits a report of abuse or neglect by a mandated reporter faces potential imprisonment and monetary fines. 3)Foster Family Agencies (FFAs): Among the numerous facilities and certified family homes that fall within the Community Care Facilities Act are FFAs, which are licensed, private entities that are used by county placement agencies to place children within the child welfare services system who have intensive care needs. FFAs are charged with recruiting, training, and certifying families to provide homes for children, and they are responsible for providing regular monitoring and oversight of the families they certify to ensure they are able to meet the needs of children who live with them. As of June 2015, there were 242 FFAs throughout the state responsible for 11,034 FFA-certified homes. 4)Prior Legislation. a) AB 403 (Stone), Chapter 773, Statutes of 2015, implements Continuum of Care Reform recommendations to better serve children and youth in California's child welfare services system, including accreditation and other requirements for FFAs and other out-of-home placement options for children in the child welfare services system. b) AB 1978 (Jones-Sawyer), Chapter 768, Statutes of 2014, AB 1001 Page 5 among other provisions, requires DSS in consultation with counties and labor organizations, to establish a process to receive voluntary disclosures from county social workers who have reasonable cause to believe that a policy, procedure, or practice related to the provision of child welfare services by a county child welfare agency endangers the health or well-being of a child. The bill also sets forth certain reporting requirements for the department related to voluntary disclosures that are consistent with this bill, A hotline for county social workers was established on January 4, 2016 to meet the voluntary disclosure process requirements. Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081