BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2018
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
2018 (Ridley-Thomas)
As Amended May 27, 2016
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Higher |13-0 |Medina, Baker, Bloom, | |
|Education | |Chávez, Irwin, | |
| | |Jones-Sawyer, Levine, | |
| | |Linder, Low, Olsen, | |
| | |Santiago, Weber, | |
| | |Williams | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |19-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonilla, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, Eggman, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Roger Hernández, | |
| | |Holden, Jones, | |
| | |Obernolte, Quirk, | |
AB 2018
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| | |Santiago, Wagner, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Establishes the Mandated Child Abuse Reporting
Employee Training Act of 2016. Specifically, this bill:
1)Specifies that the Act is established in order to provide
training to each employee and administrator of a community
college district (CCD) who is a mandated reporter, as defined,
regarding the detection and reporting of child abuse.
2)Requires the governing board of each CCD to do both of the
following:
a) Provide annual training, using the online training
module developed by the State Department of Education
(CDE), in consultation with the Office of Child Abuse
Prevention in the State Department of Social Services
(CDSS), on the detection and reporting of child abuse, or
as specified, to employees and administrators of the
district who are mandated reporters, as defined and
specified. Mandated reporter training shall be provided to
employees and administrators of the district hired during
the course of the school year. This training shall include
information that failure to report an incident of known or
reasonably suspected child abuse or neglect, as specified,
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; and,
b) Develop a process for all persons required to receive
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training to provide proof of completing the training within
the first six weeks of each academic year or within the
first six weeks of that person's employment. The process
developed may include, but not necessarily be limited to,
the use of a sign-in sheet or the submission of a
certificate of completion to the applicable governing board
of the CCD.
3)Specifies that a person employed by more than one CCD or by
more than one college in a single CCD, shall only be required
to receive the required training one time in each academic
year.
4)Requires CCDs that do not use the online training module to
report to the CDE and to the California Community Colleges
(CCC) Chancellor's Office the training being used in its
place.
5)Amends the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA) to
require that CCDs shall annually train their employees and
administrators, as defined, in the duties of mandated
reporters under the child abuse reporting laws. Specifies
that the training shall include, but not necessarily be
limited to, training in child abuse and neglect identification
and child abuse and neglect reporting.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes CANRA, which generally is intended to protect
children from abuse and neglect (Penal Code (PEN) Section
11164).
2)Provides that employers are strongly encouraged to provide
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their employees who are mandated reporters with training in
the duties of reporting, and that the training shall include
training in child abuse and neglect identification and
training in child abuse and neglect reporting. Specifies that
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 statements informing them that they are
mandated reporters and informing them of their duty to report.
Defines the following types of people as mandated reporters,
among others:
a) An employee or administrator of a public or private
postsecondary educational institution, whose duties bring
the administrator or employee into contact with children on
a regular basis, or who supervises those whose duties bring
the administrator or employee into contact with children on
a regular basis;
b) Any athletic coach, including, but not limited to, an
assistant coach or graduate assistant involved in coaching,
at public or private postsecondary educational
institutions;
c) A person providing services to a minor child;
d) A teacher;
e) A Head Start program teacher;
f) A social worker, probation officer, or parole officer;
g) A person who is an administrator of presenter of, or
counselor in, a child abuse prevention program in a public
or private school;
h) A peace officer; and,
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i) A firefighter, except for volunteer firefighters (PEN
Section 11165.7).
3)Requires any mandated reporter, with the exception of child
visitation monitors, prior to commencing his or her
employment, and as a prerequisite to that employment, shall
sign a statement on a form provided to him or her by his or
her employer to the effect that he or she has knowledge of the
mandated reporting procedures and will comply with those
provisions; and, specifies the statement shall inform the
employee that he or she is a mandated reporter and inform the
employee of his or her reporting obligations and of his or her
confidentiality rights (PEN Section 11166.5).
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, potential significant state reimbursable costs to
implement mandated CANRA training at 72 CCDs and 113 CCCs,
including ensuring compliance with the training requirement.
Assuming administrative costs of $3,000 per campus, one-time
statewide costs would be $340,000. To the extent CCDs choose to
utilize an online training module, ongoing training costs should
be minimal. Costs could be more substantial in districts
choosing to develop their own training module.
Costs could also be incurred to compensate 90,000 CCC staff for
training time. To the extent districts successfully file
mandate claims for staff training time, costs could be in the
low millions of dollars.
COMMENTS: CANRA (Act). This Act was passed in 1980; over the
years, numerous amendments have expanded the definition of child
abuse and the persons required to report. Procedures for
reporting have also been clarified. Child abuse and neglect, as
defined in CANRA, includes: physical abuse, sexual abuse
(including both sexual assault and sexual exploitation), willful
cruelty or unjustified punishment, unlawful corporal punishment
or injury, and neglect (including both acts and omissions).
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Purpose of this measure. According to the author, there have
been recent changes to the list of mandated reporters, to
include faculty and staff that work on postsecondary educational
institutions. The author contends that, "This impacts the
California Community College system because minors are regularly
on campus either as a student who are dual-enrolled in K-12 and
community college classes or a child who is on campus at a
childcare facility while his or her parent attends class."
The author argues that faculty and staff that are mandated
reporters have not received training on identifying child abuse
or neglect or properly reporting suspected abuse or neglect.
The author states, "The lack of training is a serious problem
because a child who is a victim of abuse or neglect may not
receive the care he or she needs if an employee who reported the
abuse did not adhere to the requirements of the Child Abuse and
Neglect Reporting Act. Additionally, an employee who reports an
incident of child abuse or neglect may be punished by a fine,
jail time, or both, for not strictly adhering to the Child Abuse
and Neglect Reporting Act."
This measure requires the CCC Chancellor to work with the Office
of Child Abuse and Prevention to create training modules for
community college faculty and staff; requires the governing
board of each CCD to provide annual online training to mandated
reporters employed by that district that includes a reminder
that failure to report suspected child abuse is punishable as a
misdemeanor, fine, or both; and, provides employees with
information regarding best practices for how to recognize child
abuse or neglect on campus, the required reporting procedures,
and penalties for not following these procedures.
To note, the University of California and the California State
University have systemwide policies and trainings in place for
their mandated reporters.
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California Community Colleges. Training and notification of
reporting requirements to all of the mandated reporters under
CANRA of the 113 community colleges varies. According to the
CCC Chancellor's Office, the colleges provide training, but it
is presently unclear the extent of the training. Committee
staff understands that in many cases, the training may only be a
copy of the statement as required in existing law, that requires
an employee mandated to report, that he or she is mandated to
report and signing that statement indicating that he or she is
aware of his or her duty to report and what his or her role
entails in reporting.
California Mandated Reporter Training. Pursuant to AB 1432
(Gatto), Chapter 797, Statutes of 2014, the CDE in consultation
with the CDSS was required to, among others, develop and
disseminate information to all school districts, county offices
of education, and charter schools on child abuse; develop
guidelines on mandated reporter responsibilities and reporting
requirements; and, develop a means of instructing school
personnel.
The Child Abuse Mandated Reporter Training California website
team worked with CDSS and CDE in order to develop a new online
training for educators. California Mandated Reporter Training
is the product of the collaboration and is currently being
implemented and utilized. This educators online training module
is self-paced and provides an overview of the significant
definitions, requirements, and protections of CANRA. At the
conclusion of the online training, a final exam is given in
which a mandated reporter is tested based on the information
that he or she learned during the training.
To note, if the training is given as part of a large group, each
individual must take and pass the final test separately. Upon
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scoring an 80% or higher an individual will be able to print his
or her certificate and will be emailed a proof of completion of
the training.
Analysis Prepared by:
Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960
FN: 0003265