BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2036
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Date of Hearing: April 19, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PRIVACY AND CONSUMER PROTECTION
Ed Chau, Chair
AB 2036
(Lopez) - As Amended April 6, 2016
SUBJECT: Online child care job posting services: background
check service providers: consumer education
SUMMARY: Requires an online child care job posting service to
post information on its website about the state's "Trustline"
background check registry and to describe what is included in
any background check service offered via the website; requires a
background check service provider to provide certain information
to online child care job posting services; and makes the
Attorney General (AG) responsible for enforcement.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires an online child care job posting service (online
service) to include specific disclosures on its website in
California, including:
a) A description of the Department of Social Services'
(DSS) Trustline registry (TrustLine), as specified, along
with the TrustLine toll-free phone number and website link;
b) A disclosure that nonexempt family child care homes and
care centers are required to be licensed by the state and
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that, pursuant to "Oliver's Law," parents can get
information about any substantiated or inconclusive
complaint about any provider by visiting the DSS website
(along with the DSS website address); and
c) If the service provides access to a background check for
the child care providers on its website, then it must
provide a "one-click" link on each California child care
provider's profile to a written description of the
background check provided.
2)Requires a background check service provider that offers
background checks through a service to provide the service a
written description of the background checks offered, which
includes:
a) A detailed description of what is included in the
background check; and
b) A chart that lists each county in California and the
databases that are checked for each county, including the
following information for each database, as applicable:
i)The source of the data, the name of the database used,
and a brief description of the data included in the
database;
ii)The date range of the oldest data and the most recent
data included;
iii)How often the information is updated;
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iv)How the databases are checked (by name, social security
number, fingerprints, etc.); and,
v)A list of the counties for which no data is available.
3)Requires that when the AG receives a complaint, the AG must
review the service or background check provider and if the AG
determines that the service or provider is in violation of
these provisions or any regulations adopted thereunder, then
the AG must serve a written notice of violation that includes
the details of the violation, the opportunity for a fair
hearing on the matter, and the potential fine;
4)Requires the AG to adopt regulations that provide for a fair
hearing process of alleged violations, including:
a) A 30-day period following a notice of violation in which
to correct the violation or request a hearing.
b) Allowing a service or background check provider to
submit evidence of compliance directly to the AG.
c) Allowing evidence of compliance to include printouts,
website links, screen shots, or other means acceptable to
the AG.
d) A notice, hearing, and evidentiary process consistent
with due process.
5)Imposes a fine of $1,000 per violation upon the second or
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subsequent violation of the above provisions following an
opportunity for a fair hearing on the matter.
6)Requires any fines collected to be deposited in the state's
Child Health and Safety Fund.
7)Allows an individual damaged by a willful violation of these
provisions to bring a civil cause of action for damages,
including but not limited to general damages, special damages,
and punitive damages, and permits a court to award equitable
relief including injunction costs and any other relief the
court deems proper.
8)Defines "online child care job posting service" as any person
or business that provides or offers to provide child care
providers.
9)Defines "background check providers" as any person or business
that provides or offers to provide background check services.
10)Provides that the rights and remedies under the bill are
cumulative to other rights and remedies provided by law.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires child day care facilities to be licensed with the
state. (Health and Safety Code (HSC) Section 1596.70)
2)Requires DSS to establish a registry of child care providers
who have undergone criminal background checks. (HSC 1596.60)
3)Pursuant to Oliver's Law, requires a licensed child day care
facility to make available to the public licensing reports and
other licensing documents that pertain to a facility visit or
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a substantiated complaint investigation, among other licensing
issues. (HSC 1596.859)
4)Establishes in the State Treasury the Child Health and Safety
Fund. (HSC 18285)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose of this bill . This bill is intended to help protect
children from child abuse by educating parents through
disclosures on online services about the TrustLine statewide
registry of babysitters and nannies who have gone through a
comprehensive background check in order to be listed in the
registry. This measure is sponsored by the California Child
Care Resource & Referral Network.
2)Author's statement . According to the author's office, "Online
child care job posting services provide or offer background
checks for the babysitters and nannies listing their services
on their websites. However, it is difficult for child care
consumers using the job posting sites to determine what the
background check includes and does not include which can leave
parents with a false sense of security. This bill is another
good step to protecting our children and ensuring that child
care consumers are making the most informed and safest
decisions about the individuals they hire to care for their
children."
3)What is TrustLine ? The Legislature created TrustLine in 1987
as a statewide registry of in-home child care providers who
have passed a background screening. All caregivers listed
with TrustLine have been cleared through a fingerprint check
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of records at the California Department of Justice (DOJ) and
have no disqualifying criminal convictions or substantiated
child abuse reports in California. According to TrustLine's
website (www.trustline.org), it is the only child care
registry in California with access to the most up-to-date and
detailed databases at DOJ and the FBI. DSS and DOJ assist in
managing and distributing the information.
TrustLine screens out individuals who have been convicted of
murder, manslaughter, child molestation, assault with a deadly
weapon, willful child cruelty and several other crimes. All
child care employment agencies are required by law to register
their caregivers with TrustLine when the caregiver is placed
in a home. Parents can contact TrustLine by toll-free number
to make sure the employment agency has registered their
caregiver with TrustLine. Child care providers who want to be
listed on TrustLine must send an application and a set of
fingerprints to the DSS. If there are no disqualifying
California or FBI criminal convictions of substantiated child
abuse reports, the provider's name is added to the registry.
4)What problem does this bill seek to fix? In recent years, how
parents find child care providers has changed. When parents
begin their child care search, many begin online and use the
search terms "babysitters" or "nannies," and onlineservices
make up the majority of websites that are prioritized by
search engines.
The author contends that while many of these companies
advertise that their providers have passed background checks,
the background checks offered may be inferior to the
comprehensive background check conducted on nannies and
babysitters who are included on California's TrustLine. In
addition, the author contends that it is difficult for child
care consumers using the job posting sites to determine what
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is included and not included in the background checks that are
conducted through the private websites.
As an example of the importance of thorough background checks,
in February 2016, a 20-year old caretaker was arrested after a
hidden nanny camera caught the woman suffocating a
13-month-old boy when he wouldn't stop crying. The baby's
mother hired the woman through Care.com, a popular babysitting
website that would be regulated under this bill. In a
separate incident, a Fontana nanny was arrested for being
caught on a hidden camera abusing two one-year-old twins. The
mother of the twins stated that the nanny had a clean
background according to the Care.com website. While it is
unclear whether a TrustLine background check would have turned
up a criminal record in this case, the author contends the
TrustLine background check is more comprehensive than the
checks conducted through Care.com and other private sector
background check services.
This bill would require online companies that advertise child
care services provided by license-exempt child care providers
(such as babysitters and nannies) to post a statement about
California's TrustLine and, if the service provides access to
a background check, a written description of the background
check provided to it by the background check service provider.
The bill would make a background check service provider
responsible for providing the online service with detailed
information about what is included and not included in their
background checks. Finally, the bill would make the AG
responsible for enforcement and would also allow, as an
enforcement mechanism, an individual to bring civil action if
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a service or background check provider willfully violates the
bill.
The author contends this bill is needed to ensure that child
care consumers are able to make the most informed and safest
decisions possible about the individuals they hire to care for
their children.
5)Compromise reached on 2015 legislation . Last year the
Legislature considered but did not pass AB 589 Lopez, a bill
similar to this one. According to the author, stakeholder
meetings were held during the interim and a compromise was
reached that involved recasting the disclosures required in
the bill and shifting enforcement responsibility for the bill
from DSS to the AG. As a result this bill has no opposition.
6)Arguments in support . According to the Northern Director's
Group, a coalition of Northern California Alternative Payment
and child care resource & referral programs, "Over the past
years, as technology has advanced and the use of the internet
has increased, new and varied services have been developed to
address the needs of families in their child care search.
Despite the information and technology age, most parents who
utilize these on-line services fail to realize that there are
background checks available that can help ensure that their
caregiver doesn't have a criminal history that might impact
their selection of provider. AB2036 (Lopez) will require that
on-line entities post a notification regarding the TrustLine
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process and provide another valuable piece of information for
families seeking child care."
7)Prior Legislation . AB 589 (Lopez) of 2015 would have required
online services to post information on its website about the
state's TrustLine child care provider background check program
and would have required services that offer background checks
for child care providers to provide information about what is
included and what is not included in the background check. AB
589 died in the Assembly Human Services committee.
8)Technical amendment . The following technical amendment is
needed to correct a Legislative Counsel drafting error:
On page 5, line 10, strike "owner" and insert:
"online child care job posting service or background check
service provider"
9)Double-referral . This bill was double-referred to the
Assembly Human Services Committee where it was heard on April
12, 2016 and passed 6-1.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Child Care Resource & Referral Network (sponsor)
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Child Care Alliance Los Angeles
Child Care Resource Center
Choices for Children
Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County
Community Child Care Council of Sonoma County (4Cs)
Contra Costa Child Care Council
First 5 Association of California
Northern Director's Group
Options for Learning
Solano Family & Children's Services
Opposition
None on file.
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Analysis Prepared by:Jennie Bretschneider / P. & C.P. / (916)
319-2200