Amended in Senate June 14, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2083

Introduced by Assembly Member Chu

February 17, 2016

An act to amend Section 11174.32 of the Penal Code, relating to crime.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2083, as amended, Chu. Interagency child death review.

Existing law authorizes a county to establish an interagency child death review team to assist local agencies in identifying and reviewing suspicious child deaths and facilitating communication among persons who perform autopsies and the various persons and agencies involved in child abuse or neglect cases. Existing law requires records that are exempt from disclosure to 3rd parties pursuant to state or federal law to remain exempt from disclosure when they are in the possession of a child death review team.

This bill would authorize the voluntary disclosure of specified information, including mental health records, criminal history information, and child abuse reports, by an individual or agency to an interagency child death review team. begin insert The bill would provide that written or oral information disclosed to a child death review team pursuant to these provisions would remain confidential, and would not be subject to disclosure or discovery by a 3rd party unless otherwise required by law. end insert

begin insert

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

end insert begin insert

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 11174.32 of the Penal Code is amended
to read:

11174.32.  

(a) Each county may establish an interagency child
death review team to assist local agencies in identifying and
reviewing suspicious child deaths and facilitating communication
among persons who perform autopsies and the various persons
and agencies involved in child abuse or neglect cases. Interagency
child death review teams have been used successfully to ensure
that incidents of child abuse or neglect are recognized and other
siblings and nonoffending family members receive the appropriate
services in cases where a child has expired.

(b) Each county may develop a protocol that may be used as a
guideline by persons performing autopsies on children to assist
coroners and other persons who perform autopsies in the
identification of child abuse or neglect, in the determination of
whether child abuse or neglect contributed to death or whether
child abuse or neglect had occurred prior to but was not the actual
cause of death, and in the proper written reporting procedures for
child abuse or neglect, including the designation of the cause and
mode of death.

(c) In developing an interagency child death review team and
an autopsy protocol, each county, working in consultation with
local members of the California State Coroner’s Association and
county child abuse prevention coordinating councils, may solicit
suggestions and final comments from persons, including, but not
limited to, the following:

(1) Experts in the field of forensic pathology.

(2) Pediatricians with expertise in child abuse.

(3) Coroners and medical examiners.

(4) Criminologists.

(5) District attorneys.

(6) Child protective services staff.

(7) Law enforcement personnel.

(8) Representatives of local agencies which are involved with
child abuse or neglect reporting.

(9) County health department staff who deals with children’s
health issues.

(10) Local professional associations of persons described in
paragraphs (1) to (9), inclusive.

(d) Records exempt from disclosure to third parties pursuant to
state or federal law shall remain exempt from disclosure when
they are in the possession of a child death review team.

(e) Written and oral information begin insert pertaining to the child's death
as requested by a child death review team end insert may be disclosed to a
child death review team established pursuant to this section. The
team may make a request, in writing, for the information sought
and any person with information of the kind described in paragraph
(2) may rely on the request in determining whether information
may be disclosed to the team.

(1) An individual or agency that has information governed by
this subdivision shall not be required to disclose information. The
intent of this subdivision is to allow the voluntary disclosure of
information by the individual or agency that has the information.

(2) The following information may be disclosed pursuant to this
subdivision:

(A) Notwithstanding Section 56.10 of the Civil Code, medical
information, unless disclosure is prohibited by federal law.

(B) Notwithstanding Section 5328 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, mental health information.

(C) Notwithstanding Section 11167.5, information from child
abuse reports and investigations, except the identity of the person
making the report, which shall not be disclosed.

(D) State summary criminal history information, criminal
offender record information, and local summary criminal history
information, as defined in Sections 11105, 11075, and 13300,
respectively.

(E) Notwithstanding Section 11163.2, information pertaining
to reports by health practitioners of persons suffering from physical
injuries inflicted by means of a firearm or of persons suffering
physical injury where the injury is a result of assaultive or abusive
conduct.

(F) Notwithstanding Section 10850 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, records of in-home supportive services, unless
disclosure is prohibited by federal law.

begin insert

(3) Written or oral information disclosed to a child death review
team pursuant to this subdivision shall remain confidential, and
shall not be subject to disclosure or discovery by a third party
unless otherwise required by law.

end insert

(f) (1) No less than once each year, each child death review
team shall make available to the public findings, conclusions and
recommendations of the team, including aggregate statistical data
on the incidences and causes of child deaths.

(2) In its report, the child death review team shall withhold the
last name of the child that is subject to a review or the name of the
deceased child’s siblings unless the name has been publicly
disclosed or is required to be disclosed by state law, federal law,
or court order.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of
this act, which amends Section 11174.32 of the Penal Code,
imposes a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings
of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies
within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California
Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the
Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest
protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that
interest: end insert

begin insert

In order to facilitate the voluntary disclosure of confidential
information to child death review teams and to retain the
confidentiality of that information, the limitations on the public’s
right of access imposed by Section 1 of this act are necessary.

end insert