BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1625|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1625
Author: Committee on Budget
Amended: 8/15/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE BUDGET & FISCAL REVIEW COMMITTEE: 15-0, 8/11/16
AYES: Leno, Nielsen, Allen, Anderson, Beall, Block, Glazer,
Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach, Nguyen, Pan, Pavley, Roth, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hancock, Stone
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: Not relevant
SUBJECT: Human services
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill makes statutory changes necessary to enact
the health and human services provisions of the Budget Act of
2016.
ANALYSIS: This bill makes various changes to health and human
services provisions of the Budget Act of 2016, including:
Child Fatalities and Near Fatalities Reporting and Disclosure.
The federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA)
requires that states receiving funds under CAPTA must disclose
to the public findings and information about child abuse and
neglect cases that result in fatalities or near fatalities. SB
39 (Migden, Chapter 468, Statutes of 2007) requires that once
the cause of death from abuse or neglect has been substantiated,
the child welfare agency must, within five days of a request,
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Page 2
release specified records (age, gender, date of death of the
child; whether an investigation is being conducted; whether the
child was in foster care or in the home of his/her parent or
guardian), subject to redaction of confidential information.
Currently, California does not have a policy relating to the
disclosure of information in near fatalities. If the state is
unable to comply with new federal reporting requirements,
California could lose up to a total of $4.8 million in CAPTA
funds.
1)Provides that, for statute concerning child fatalities
reporting, this bill:
a) Makes technical, conforming changes to federal law,
including adding a description of specified information
that is not already publicly disclosed.
2)Provides that, for statute concerning child near fatalities
reporting, this bill:
a) Provides that all documents released under SB 39 will
also be released in these situations, with the exception of
health records.
b) Includes a written report and narrative to be provided
by the county, including comments of the social worker
involved in the case. This report will be reviewed by the
Department of Social Services.
c) Adds an additional layer of redaction, excluding any
information not relevant to the near fatality, in addition
to standard redaction of documents, such as any identifying
personal information.
d) Specifies that the standard of relevancy will be
established in the development of regulations and
all-county letters, and that this standard will guide
counties in their redaction of the documents.
e) Specifies that information regarding the agency's
handling of the case that indicates a pattern of events or
has a material bearing on the circumstances that led to the
near fatality is considered relevant and should not be
redacted.
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f) Specifies that any action or any recorded observation of
any individual responding to the case in their professional
capacity is considered relevant and should not be redacted.
g) Allows for counsel for a child to petition the juvenile
court to prevent the release of any documents, or for
documents not specified for release under this statute to
be disclosed upon an order of the juvenile court.
h) Provides that the Department of Social Services will
annually issue a report identifying child near fatalities
and any systematic issues or patterns.
i) Specifies that the Department will consult with
specified stakeholders in the creation of all-county
letters or similar instructions no later than October 1,
2016.
Independent Living Centers
3)Appropriates $705,000 from the General Fund to the Department
of Rehabilitation to be allocated to independent living
centers that currently receive less state-based funding than
other centers.
Gross Premiums Tax Prepayment
4)Provides for health insurers subject to the zero percent gross
premiums tax rate, pursuant to SBX2-2 (Hernandez, Chapter 2,
Statutes of 2016), are not required to make prepayments
between July 1, 2016, and on or before June 30, 2019.
CalWORKs
5)Makes technical changes related to CalWORKs, including:
a) Deletion of an expired reporting requirement for the
Expanded Subsidized Employment program.
b) A conforming change from calendar year to fiscal year in
the Approved Relative Caregiver Funding Option Program.
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FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Yes Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
SUPPORT: (Verified8/15/16)
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/15/16)
None received
Prepared by:Theresa Pena / B. & F.R. / (916) 651-4103
8/15/16 21:00:20
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