BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2417|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2417
Author: Cooley (D)
Amended: 3/15/16 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/21/16
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning, Stone
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/1/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 4/28/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Child abuse reporting
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill prohibits the Department of Justice (DOJ)
from charging fees to Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)
Programs for background checks.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Directs DOJ to maintain an index, referred to as the Child
Abuse Central Index (CACI), of all substantiated reports of
child abuse and neglect submitted as specified. (Penal Code §
11170 (a)(1) & (a)(3).)
2)Allows DOJ to disclose information contained in CACI to
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multiple identified parties for purposes of child abuse
investigation, licensing, and employment applications for
positions that have interaction with children. (Penal Code §
11170 (b).)
3)Requires DOJ to remove a person's name from CACI when it is
notified that the due process hearing resulted in a finding
that the listing was based on an unsubstantiated report.
(Penal Code § 11169 (g).)
4)Requires the Judicial Council to establish guidelines for CASA
programs, as specified. (Welfare & Institutions Code § 100 et
seq.; Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.655.)
5)Authorizes CASA programs to request fingerprint background
checks. (Penal Code § 11170 (b)(5).)
6)Authorizes DOJ to charge fees sufficient to cover the cost of
conducting fingerprint background checks. (Penal Code § 11005
(e).)
7)Prohibits DOJ from charging a fee for fingerprint background
checks for volunteers at child care facilities who are
required to be fingerprinted if funding is provided in the
Budget. (Health & Safety Code §§ 1596.871 & 1596.8713.)
8)Requires background checks for child mentors in the foster
care system and prohibits DOJ from charging fees for the
background checks. (Health & Safety Code §1522.06.)
This bill prohibits DOJ from charging a fee to CASA programs who
submit to DOJ fingerprint images and related information of
employment and volunteer candidates for the purpose of obtaining
information regarding any record of child abuse investigations
contained in CACI or state and federal criminal record data
bases.
Background
CASA volunteers are deemed as officers of the court for the
purpose of representing juveniles and wards of the court without
other representation. This allows CASA advocates to represent
children in proceedings that affect them. CASA programs recruit
volunteers to serve as advocates for these children, and trains
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them in accordance with minimum guidelines set by the Judicial
Council. These guidelines require that CASA advocates and
employees be fingerprinted and run through a CACI background
check to ensure the advocates and employees does not have a
history of child abuse or neglect.
CASA programs are non-profits relying heavily on volunteers.
Currently, CASA programs must pay a fee to DOJ to process the
mandatory background check. In contrast, under existing law,
there is no fee for background checks of child care mentors
serving youths in the foster care system and child care facility
volunteers. This bill extends the fee prohibition for background
checks to CASA program volunteers and employees.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, annual loss of
revenue to the DOJ of about $100,000 (Special Fund*). Based on
data indicating 3,244 submissions by CASAs for background checks
in 2015, the estimated fee revenue loss would be $104,000 due to
the prohibition from charging the $32 fee.
*Fingerprint Fees Account - Senate Appropriations staff notes
the Fingerprint Fees Account has experienced an increasing
reserve balance of several million dollars each year over the
past three years, with a projected ending reserve balance of
$46.4 million in FY 2016-17.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/2/16)
California CASA Association
Child Advocates of El Dorado County
Children Now
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/2/16)
None received
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ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 4/28/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
Dababneh, Dahle, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines,
Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey,
Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mayes, McCarty,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell,
Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chávez, Daly, Mathis, Olsen
Prepared by:Mary Kennedy / PUB. S. /
8/3/16 19:33:38
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