BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1207
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
1207 (Lopez)
As Amended September 4, 2015
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | 77-0 |(May 7, 2015) |SENATE: |40-0 |(September 10, |
| | | | | |2015) |
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Original Committee Reference: PUB. S.
SUMMARY: Requires a child day care licensee applicant to take
training in the duties of mandated reporters under the Child
Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA) as a condition of
licensure, and requires child day care administrators and
employees to take mandated reporter training on or before March
30, 2018, providers, and requires renewal mandated reporter
training every three years.
The Senate amendments:
1)Recast the CANRA training requirements passed by the Assembly.
2)Delay the implementation of the CANRA training requirements
until January 1, 2018.
AB 1207
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EXISTING LAW:
1)Defines "mandated reporter" under CANRA as any of the
following: a teacher; an instructional aide; a teacher's aide
or teacher's assistant employed by any public or private
school; a classified employee of any public school; an
administrative officer or supervisor of child welfare and
attendance, or a certificated pupil personnel employee of any
public or private school; an administrator of a public or
private day camp; an administrator or employee of a public or
private youth center, youth recreation program, or youth
organization; an administrator or employee of a public or
private organization whose duties require direct contact and
supervision of children; any employee of a county office of
education or the State Department of Education, whose duties
bring the employee into contact with children on a regular
basis; a licensee, an administrator, or an employee of a
licensed community care or child day care facility; a Head
Start program teacher; a licensing worker or licensing
evaluator employed by a licensing agency as defined; a public
assistance worker; an employee of a child care institution,
including, but not limited to, foster parents, group home
personnel, and personnel of residential care facilities; a
social worker, probation officer, or parole officer; an
employee of a school district police or security department;
any person who is an administrator or presenter of, or a
counselor in, a child abuse prevention program in any public
or private school; a district attorney investigator,
inspector, or local child support agency caseworker unless the
investigator, inspector, or caseworker is working with an
attorney appointed to represent a minor; a peace officer, as
defined, who is not otherwise described in this section; a
firefighter, except for volunteer firefighters; a physician
and surgeon, psychiatrist, psychologist, dentist, resident,
intern, podiatrist, chiropractor, licensed nurse, dental
hygienist, optometrist, marriage and family therapist,
clinical social worker, professional clinical counselor, or
any other person who is currently licensed as a health care
professional as specified; any emergency medical technician I
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or II, paramedic, or other person certified to provide
emergency medical services; a registered psychological
assistant; a marriage and family therapist trainee, as
defined; a registered unlicensed marriage and family therapist
intern; a state or county public health employee who treats a
minor for venereal disease or any other condition; a coroner;
a medical examiner, or any other person who performs
autopsies; a commercial film and photographic print processor,
as defined; a child visitation monitor, as defined; an animal
control officer or humane society officer, as defined; a
clergy member, as defined; any custodian of records of a
clergy member, as specified; any employee of any police
department, county sheriff's department, county probation
department, or county welfare department; an employee or
volunteer of a Court Appointed Special Advocate program, as
defined; any custodial officer, as defined; any person
providing services to a minor child, as specified; an alcohol
and drug counselor, as defined; a clinical counselor trainee,
as defined; and a registered clinical counselor intern.
2)Provides that when two or more persons, who are required to
report, jointly have knowledge of a known or suspected
instance of child abuse or neglect, and when there is
agreement among them, the telephone report may be made by a
member of the team selected by mutual agreement and a single
report may be made and signed by the selected member of the
reporting team. Any member who has knowledge that the member
designated to report has failed to do so shall thereafter make
the report.
3)Provides that volunteers of public or private organizations,
except a volunteer of a Court Appointed Special Advocate
program, whose duties require direct contact with and
supervision of children are not mandated reporters but are
encouraged to obtain training in the identification and
reporting of child abuse and neglect and are further
encouraged to report known or suspected instances of child
abuse or neglect to a specified agency.
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4)Strongly encourages employers to provide their employees who
are mandated reporters with training in the duties imposed by
CANRA. This training shall include training in child abuse
and neglect identification and training in child abuse and
neglect reporting. Whether or not employers provide their
employees with training in child abuse and neglect
identification and reporting, the employers shall provide
their employees who are mandated reporters with a statement
that informs the employee that he or she is a mandated
reporter and informs the employee of his or her reporting
obligations and of his or her confidentiality rights.
5)Encourages public and private organizations to provide their
volunteers whose duties require direct contact with and
supervision of children with training in the identification
and reporting of child abuse and neglect.
6)Requires a mandated reporter to make a report to a specified
agency whenever the mandated reporter, in his or her
professional capacity or within the scope of his or her
employment, has knowledge of or observes a child whom the
mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the
victim of child abuse or neglect. The mandated reporter shall
make an initial report to the agency immediately or as soon as
is practicably possible by telephone and the mandated reporter
shall prepare and send, fax, or electronically transmit a
written follow-up report thereof within 36 hours of receiving
the information concerning the incident. The mandated
reporter may include with the report any nonprivileged
documentary evidence the mandated reporter possesses relating
to the incident.
7)Any mandated reporter who fails to report an incident of known
or reasonably suspected child abuse or neglect as required by
this section is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by up to
six months confinement in a county jail or by a fine of $1,000
or by both that imprisonment and fine. If a mandated reporter
intentionally conceals his or her failure to report an
incident known by the mandated reporter to be abuse or severe
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neglect under this section, the failure to report is a
continuing offense until a specified agency discovers the
offense.
8)Defines "child" under CANRA to mean person under the age of 18
years.
9)Defines "child abuse or neglect" under CANRA to include
physical injury or death inflicted by other than accidental
means upon a child by another person, sexual abuse as defined,
neglect as defined, the willful harming or injuring of a child
or the endangering of the person or health of a child as
defined, and unlawful corporal punishment or injury as
defined. "Child abuse or neglect" does not include a mutual
affray between minors. "Child abuse or neglect" does not
include an injury caused by reasonable and necessary force
used by a peace officer acting within the course and scope of
his or her employment as a peace officer.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill:
1)Required the Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP) within
the Department of Social Services (DSS) in consultation with
Community Care Licensing Division within DSS to do all of the
following:
a) Develop and disseminate information to all licensees,
administrators, and employees of licensed child day care
facilities regarding detecting and reporting child abuse.
b) Provide statewide guidance on the responsibilities of a
mandated reporter who is a licensee, administrator, or
employee of a licensed child day care facility in
accordance with CANRA. These guidelines shall include, but
is not necessarily limited to, both of the following:
i) Information on the identification of child abuse and
neglect; and,
ii) Reporting requirements for child abuse and neglect.
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c) Develop appropriate means of instruction child care
licensees, administrators, and employees of licensed child
day care facilities in detecting child abuse and neglect
and the proper action that a child care licensee,
administrator, or employees of a licensed child day care
facility is required to take, including, but not limited
to, using the free online Mandated Reporter "General
Training Module" and "Child Care Professionals Training
Module" provided by the OCAP.
2)Provided that a child care licensee shall do both of the
following:
a) Complete training, as specified, using the online
training model provided by the OCAP and provide the
training to their administrators, employees, and persons
working on their behalf, who are mandated reporters of
suspected child abuse and neglect, of the mandated
reporting requirements. Completing mandated reporter
training is a condition of licensure, and child care
administrators and employees of licensed child day care
facilities shall mandated reporter training during the
first six weeks of employment. This training shall include
information that failure to failure to report an incident
of known or reasonably suspected child abuse or neglect, is
a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months confinement in
a county jail, or by a fine of $1,000, or by both that
imprisonment and fine.
b) States that a child care licensee, administrator, or
employee of licensed child day care facility shall take
required the training as frequently as prescribed by
regulations adopted by DSS.
3)Required the OCAP to develop a process for all persons
required to receive CANRA training to obtain proof of
completing the training as a condition of licensure, or within
the first six weeks of that person's employment. The process
may include, but is not necessarily limited to, a child care
licensee applicant obtaining a certificate of completion and
submitting the certificate to the DSS prior to acquiring a
child care license. A child care administrator, or employee
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of a licensed child day care facility shall submit a current
certificate of completion to the child care director or the
licensee within six weeks of employment. A current
certificate of completion for each child day care licensee,
administrator, or employee of a licensed child day care
facility, shall be submitted to the DSS upon inspection of the
facility, when proof of other required training is submitted
to DSS, or upon request of the DSS.
4)Required the DSS to issue a notice of deficiency at the time
of a site visit to a licensee who is not in compliance with
proof of training requirements. The licensee shall, at the
time the notice is issued develop a plan of correction to
correct the deficiency within 90 days of receiving the notice.
The DSS may revoke the facility's license if the facility
fails to correct the deficiency within the 90-day period.
5)Stated that a child care licensee, administrator, or employee
of a licensed child day care facility who does not use the
online training module provided by the DSS shall report to,
and obtain approval from the DSS regarding the training that
person shall use in lieu of the online training module.
6)Required the DSS to adopt regulations to implement the
required CANRA training, and proof of completion of training
requirements, including, but not limited to, defining "current
certificate of completion" and prescribing how frequently a
licensee is required to take the training.
7)Made conforming cross references.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)One-time minor costs (General Fund), for the Department of
Social Services (DSS) to develop and adopt regulations.
2)Minor ongoing workload for the DSS to disseminate information
and offer the training course online.
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COMMENTS: According to the author, "Although licensees,
administrators, and employees of licensed child day care
facilities and employees of child care institutions are mandated
reporters under California's Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting
Act, the law does not require them to complete any training on
recognizing the signs of child abuse or neglect or how to comply
with mandated reporter requirements.
"California Community Care Licensing Division requires child
care licensee applicants to sign a statement entitled 'Statement
Acknowledging Requirement to Report Child Abuse.' However,
without instruction or guidance on how to recognize the signs of
child abuse and neglect, how to support a child and work with a
family during or after a report, and how to make a report, many
child care providers are unaware of what being a mandated
reporter entails. This bill adds Health and Safety Code Section
1596.8662, amends Health and Safety Code Section 1596.866 to
delete that training in identification and reporting of signs
and symptoms of child abuse is optional, and amends Penal Code
Section 11165.7 to require child care licensees, administrators,
and employees of licensed child day care facilities to complete
training in how to meet their responsibilities as mandated
reporters.
Analysis Prepared by:
Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN:
0002251
AB 1207
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