BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1883
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Date of Hearing: April 12, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Susan Bonilla, Chair
AB 1883
(Cooley) - As Amended April 5, 2016
SUBJECT: Child sexual abuse: prevention pilot program
SUMMARY: Creates the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program as a
pilot program in up to three counties.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Establishes the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program as a
pilot program in up to three counties to provide child sexual
abuse prevention and intervention services and further
appropriates $50,000 per year to each participating county, as
specified.
2)Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to select
counties to participate in the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention
Program based on the following criteria:
a) The county has significant incidences of child sexual
abuse or commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC);
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b) The county has identified a public or private nonprofit
organization with experience in child sexual abuse or CSEC
issues that will act as the primary administrator for the
pilot program; and
c) A county shall be given priority for demonstrating that
school districts within its jurisdiction are using funds
from the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants
created by the Every Student Succeeds Act, as specified.
3)Encourages each participating county to efficiently use pilot
program funds by giving priority to programs currently serving
the needs of at-risk children that meet specified criteria and
have demonstrated effectiveness in child sexual abuse
prevention or intervention or commercial sexual exploitation
prevention or intervention.
4)Prohibits funds appropriated for the pilot programs from
supplanting or replacing any existing funding for programs
currently serving the needs of at-risk children, as specified.
5)Requires the county board of supervisors of a participating
county to allocate pilot program funds as required by the
provisions of this bill and further authorizes the county
board of supervisors to delegate the administration of these
funds to the county social services department.
6)Requires public or private nonprofit agencies to be eligible
for funding provided evidence is submitted as part of the
application indicating that the proposed services are not
duplicative of others in the county, are based on the needs of
at-risk children, and are supported by a specified local
public agency.
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7)Requires the local administering agency to, with oversight and
review from the county board of supervisors, include and
integrate the pilot program in specified county plans and
assessments. Further requires the county, to the extent
applicable, to provide similar assurances, data, and outcome
assessments to the Office of Child Abuse Prevention, as
specified.
8)Requires each participating county to annually report to DSS,
the Assembly Committee on Human Services, and the Senate
Committee on Human Services information including, but not
limited to, all of the following:
a) Changing public attitudes or public opinion polls
indicating increased awareness of prevention techniques for
child sexual abuse;
b) The amount of educational materials distributed to
stakeholders groups that address and promote child sexual
abuse prevention and prevention techniques;
c) Statistics on the increase or decrease of reports of
child sexual abuse within the county; and
d) Best practices identified by the pilot program, as
specified.
9)Repeals the provisions of this bill on January 1, 2020, as
specified.
EXISTING LAW:
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1)Establishes the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment
Act, under which state child protective services systems and
child abuse prevention activities are supported. (42 U.S.C.
§5101 et seq.)
2)Establishes the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA),
which establishes definitions for abuse and neglect,
enumerates numerous categories of child abuse mandated
reporters, and establishes conditions for reporting. (PC
11164 et seq.)
3)Establishes the Maxine Waters Child Abuse Prevention Training
Act of 1984, under which the Office of Child Abuse Prevention
is established within DSS, and defines primary prevention
programs under the Act as training and educational programs
for children that are directed toward preventing the
occurrence of child abuse, including physical abuse, sexual
abuse, child neglect and child abductions, and toward reducing
the general vulnerability of children, including training for
parents and school staff. (WIC 18975 et seq.)
4)Establishes the Every Student Succeeds Act to reauthorize the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act and that, among other
things, authorizes a new Student Support and Academic
Enrichment Grant program to help states and school districts
target federal resources to local priorities. (P.L. 114-95)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS:
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Child sexual abuse: Child sexual abuse involves any sexual
activity with a child where consent is not given or cannot be
given due to the age of the child. This includes sexual contact
that is accomplished by force or threat of force, regardless of
the age of the children involved or the perpetrators, and it
also includes any sexual contact between an adult and a child,
regardless of whether the child understands the sexual nature of
the activity. According to the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services' 2013 Child Maltreatment Report, there were 3,956
victims of indicated or substantiated child sexual abuse in
California that year.
According to information from the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC), child maltreatment, including physical
abuse, sexual abuse and neglect, among other detrimental
experiences, causes stress that can disrupt early brain
development. When this stress turns into chronic stress, the
development of a child's nervous and immune systems can be
compromised, which results in a higher risk for physical and
mental health problems when the child becomes an adult. The CDC
notes that these problems include alcoholism, depression, drug
abuse, eating disorders, obesity, high-risk sexual behaviors,
smoking, suicide, and certain chronic diseases.
Child sexual abuse prevention efforts across the country: While
the rate of reported child sexual abuse varies widely from state
to state, there have been a number of measures signed into law
in other states over the past few years that focus on sexual
abuse prevention and education programs. Many of the laws have
been based on "Erin's Law", which was originally signed in
Illinois in response to the sexual abuse of a young woman named
Erin Merryn suffered at the hands of a neighbor and a cousin
when she was a young child. In California, SCR 73 (Yee) Chapter
87, 2012, encouraged school districts to include age-appropriate
instruction related to child sexual abuse in school curricula,
which was also aimed at prevention. The number of legislative
bills that seek to address and prevent child sexual abuse across
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the states is indicative of changes in public perception. The
actions various Legislatures have taken, along with related
advocacy at the local level, offer opportunities for more
victims to speak out about their own sexual abuse and provide
information to whole communities about how they can play a role
in child sexual abuse prevention and intervention.
Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants: The Every
Student Succeeds Act (P.L. 114-95) was signed by President Obama
in 2015, reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act. The Every Student Succeed Act created the new Student
Support and Academic Enrichment grant program, the purpose of
which is to, according to the Act itself, "improve students'
academic achievement by increasing the capacity of States, local
educational agencies, schools, and local communities to (1)
provide all students with access to a well-rounded education;
(2) improve school conditions for student learning; and (3)
improve the use of technology in order to improve the academic
achievement and digital literacy of all students." As such,
among other things, the grants funded under this program are to
support activities in the following three categories:
well-rounded educational opportunities, safe and healthy
students, and effective use of technology.
Regarding activities to support safe and healthy students,
according to the Every Student Succeeds Act, each local
educational agency, or consortium of agencies, that receives a
grant shall use a portion of the funds to develop, implement,
and evaluate programs and activities that, among other things,
are coordinated with other schools and community-based services
and programs; grant-funded programs and activities may be
conducted in partnership with a number of specified entities,
including an institution of higher education, business,
nonprofit organization, community-based organization, or other
public or private entity that has demonstrated success
implementing related activities. Activities to support safe and
healthy students can encompass a number of different areas; one
specific focus, according to the Act, can be child sexual abuse
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awareness and prevention programs or activities.
Need for this bill: According to the author, "According to the
Centers for Disease Control, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men were
sexually abused before the age of 18. Statistically this
translates to over 42 million adult survivors of child sexual
abuse. Nearly 70% of reported sexual assaults (including
adults) occur to children age 17 and younger. The U.S.
Department of Justice estimates that youth are 2.3 times more
likely to be sexually assaulted than adults.
Recently other states have enacted legislation focused on
prevention techniques and training, including New York, Maine,
Illinois, and Missouri. The 'Enough Abuse' campaign in
Massachusetts showed a marked drop in child sexual abuse
occurrences and a greater increase in prevention training and
community education.
[This bill] creates and funds an optional pilot program in no
more than three counties, designated by DSS based on the
agency's determination that the county has significant
incidences of any of the following: homeless youth, child
abuse, child sexual abuse, sexually exploited minors, minors
involved in prostitution, or human trafficking. Qualified pilot
programs, working where possible with existing private and
public programs and providers, must prepare a multi-year plan to
address child sexual abuse in the community. These multi-year
plans will emphasize community collaboration and education,
training on identifiable risks and warning signs, local
prevention plans, and data collection and measurement."
Staff comments: The goal of this bill - preventing child sexual
abuse - is without question a very important one. However, as
proposed, this bill still contains a number of the same
components as a previous and very similar bill (AB 883, Cooley,
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2014) that was vetoed by the Governor; among other things, the
Governor's veto message stated that AB 883 didn't provide the
criteria or funding necessary for counties to participate or for
DSS to conduct the pilot program. Should this bill move
forward, the author may wish to address these concerns by
establishing further criteria for counties and direction for
DSS, and by more strongly encouraging, or even requiring, that
grantees leverage available federal funds.
PRIOR LEGISLATION:
AB 883 (Cooley), 2014, was substantially similar to this bill.
It was vetoed by the Governor.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
American Academy of Pediatrics
California Police Chief's Association
Child Abuse Prevention Center (CAPC) - sponsor
Children Now
National Association of Social Workers, CA Chapter (NASW-CA)
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San Diego County Board of Supervisors
The Child Abuse Prevention Council of Contra Costa County
2 individuals
Opposition
California Right to Life Committee, Inc.
Analysis Prepared by:Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089