BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 478
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 14, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Kansen Chu, Chair
SB
478 (Huff) - As Amended July 9, 2015
SENATE VOTE: 40-0
SUBJECT: Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act: mandated
reporters: pilot program.
SUMMARY: Establishes a five-year pilot program to allow for
internet reporting of child abuse and neglect by specified
mandated reporters.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes specified county welfare agencies to develop a
pilot program for Internet-based reporting of child abuse and
neglect. Additionally, allows the pilot program to receive
reports of suspected child abuse and neglect and requires the
program to meet the following conditions:
a) The suspected child abuse or neglect reported through
the Internet-based system does not indicate that the child
is subject to immediate risk, as specified, or imminent
SB 478
Page 2
danger of severe harm or death;
b) The Internet form contains standard safety assessment
qualifying questions that allow the agency to obtain
necessary information required to assess the need for child
welfare services and a response, and to determine whether
the mandated reporter should be redirected to make a report
by telephone, as specified;
c) The form requires a mandated reporter to complete all
required fields, including his or her identity and contact
information, in order to submit the report;
d) The agency provides an Internet-based reporting system
that has appropriate security protocols to preserve the
confidentiality of the reports and any documents or
photographs submitted through the system; and
e) Use of the system is limited to the following mandated
reporters: a peace officer, as specified; a probation
officer or social worker, as specified; a school teacher,
counselor, or administrator; a physician and surgeon,
psychologist, licensed nurse, or clinical social worker, as
specified; or a coroner.
2)Authorizes one of the aforementioned mandated reporters, in a
county where the pilot program is active, to use the
Internet-based reporting tool in lieu of the initial telephone
report required under current law. Requires a mandated
reporter using the Internet-based system to, as soon as
practically possible, cooperate with the agency on any
requests for additional information if needed to investigate
the report, subject to applicable confidentiality
SB 478
Page 3
requirements.
3)Eliminates the requirement to submit a written follow-up
report, as specified, for an authorized mandated reporter who
uses the Internet-based reporting system in lieu of a
telephone report for an initial report of child abuse or
neglect.
4)Authorizes the pilot program to operate in up to 10 counties
and requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to
consult the County Welfare Directors Association of California
and any interested county welfare agencies to determine which
counties may be involved in the pilot program.
5)Requires DSS to oversee and administer the pilot program
through the issuance of written directives, as specified, and
requires a county that chooses to participate in the pilot
program to hire an evaluator to monitor the implementation of
the program in accordance with the DSS directives.
6)Authorizes DSS to conclude the pilot program on a
county-by-county basis prior to the end of the pilot if the
evaluation and monitoring indicate the pilot program is
compromising the safety of children.
7)Establishes a January 1, 2021 sunset date for the pilot
program and other provisions of this bill.
8)Provides that nothing included in the pilot program shall be
SB 478
Page 4
construed as changing current statutory or regulatory
requirements regarding timely review, assessments, and
response to reports of possible abuse or neglect.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA),
for the general purpose of protecting children from abuse and
neglect. (PC 11164 et seq.)
2)Enumerates 44 categories of mandated reporters of child abuse,
including teachers, clergy members, peace officers, animal
control officers, therapists, and other individuals whose
professions may or may not include routine interactions with
children. (PC 11165.7)
3)Requires mandated reporters to report suspected child abuse or
neglect to any police department or sheriff's department,
county probation department, as specified, or the county
welfare department and specifies procedures for the agencies
receiving the reports to ensure it is transmitted to the
proper jurisdiction, when the agency lacks jurisdiction.
Prohibits agencies that are required to receive reports of
suspected child abuse or neglect from refusing to accept a
report from a mandated reporter or other person, as specified,
and requires the receiving agency to maintain a record of all
reports received. (PC 11165.9)
4)Requires a mandated reporter, as defined, to make a report to
one of the aforementioned agencies whenever the mandated
reporter, in his or her professional capacity or within the
scope of his or her employment, has knowledge of or observes a
child whom he or she knows or reasonably suspects has been the
SB 478
Page 5
victim of child abuse or neglect. Requires a mandated
reporter to make an initial report by telephone immediately or
as soon as is practicably possible, and requires the mandated
reporter to prepare and send a written follow-up report via
fax or electronic transmission, within 36 hours of receiving
the information concerning the incident. (PC 11166 (a))
5)Requires a mandated reporter to immediately, or as soon as is
practicably possible, submit a one-time automated written
report on a form provided by the Department of Justice (DOJ)
if, after reasonable efforts, the mandated reporter is unable
to submit an initial report by telephone. Requires the
automated one-time report to contain a section that allows the
mandated reporter to state the reason the initial telephone
call was not able to be completed and requires that
information to be captured in the Child Welfare Services/Case
Management System (CWS/CMS), as specified. (PC 11166(b))
6)Provides that no mandated reporter who reports a suspected
incident of child abuse or neglect shall be held civilly or
criminally liable for any report required or authorized by
CANRA. (PC 11172(a))
7)Provides for statewide coordinated training for county child
protective services social workers and other members of the
child welfare delivery system, as specified. (WIC 16206)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS:
Child abuse reporting: Child Protective Services (CPS), which
is a component within county welfare agencies and part of the
SB 478
Page 6
state's much broader Child Welfare Services system, is the
primary system charged with intervening and investigating
reported instances of child abuse and neglect, and taking the
appropriate steps to ensure a child's continued safety. When it
is suspected that a child is a victim of physical, sexual, or
emotional abuse, or neglect or exploitation that results in harm
to the health and safety of the child, any person may report
that abuse or neglect to CPS. Additionally, certain
individuals, such as physicians and teachers, are considered
mandated reporters and are required by law to immediately report
any suspicion or identification of child abuse or neglect to
local law enforcement or CPS. After the referral is made - that
is, the alleged abuse or neglect is reported - a CPS social
worker is required to immediately investigate the referral to
determine its validity. This process begins with gathering
information from the person making the referral to determine
what is being alleged and whether an in-person response is
needed. If an in-person intervention reveals that abuse or
neglect likely occurred, the social worker may remove the child
in question from the family and place him or her into temporary
custody. The ultimate goal is to keep the child in his or her
own home when it is safe, or to develop and alternate plan as
quickly as possible if the child is at risk.
Need for this bill: Under state law, any individual identified
as a mandated reporter is required to make an initial report of
child abuse or neglect immediately by telephone, which must be
followed by a written report within 36 hours. While the
requirement to report by telephone ideally means that the agency
receiving the referral will be able to ask necessary questions
and assess whether the allegations necessitate an immediate
response, some calls are placed on hold for long periods of
time, often resulting in dropped calls. Additionally, there is
no process through which to triage calls based on urgency, as
all referrals come in through the same county hotline.
Online abuse and neglect reporting systems are currently used in
SB 478
Page 7
eight other states (Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Kansas,
Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas), which have reported
increased efficiencies in their child abuse response systems.
By allowing even limited access to an alternate reporting system
for non-emergency cases, this bill allows the mandated reporters
identified to continue to comply with their statutorily-mandated
reporting duties while freeing up county social worker time to
respond to more pressing referrals.
According to the author:
"The Child Protective Hotline and emergency response system
that sends social workers to investigate allegations of abuse
and neglect is the first touch point between the public and
the county agency responsible for ensuring the safety of
thousands of vulnerable children. Los Angeles County is the
largest in the state, with 2.4 million children and youth
between the ages of 0-20 years. Currently the Department of
Child and Family Services (DCFS) employs 7,500 workers, 3,200
of which are children's social workers. According to the DCFS
current budget report, over 214,000 calls were made to the
Child Protection Hotline last year.
While DCFS has made great improvements to call/wait times on
the telephonic system, historically some years have seen
tremendous spikes in the amount of calls placed, with mandated
reporters waiting for long periods of time and sometimes
several hours to get through. Every possible resource is
being used to ensure that any hotline calls are investigated
and the information is shared appropriately with law
enforcement and child advocates. Yet, it is clear that child
abuse and neglect cases go up with the poverty and
unemployment rates. Due to its sheer size, the workload for
SB 478
Page 8
Los Angeles County social workers can be incredibly daunting
at critical times when resources become strained. The goal
with the online reporting system will be to help to ensure
that long wait times remain in the past.
This pilot program is absolutely essential for the well-being
of so many at-risk kids. By virtually eliminating wait times,
an online reporting system will increase efficiencies at every
level of the non-emergency and emergency response services.
[This bill] will be an excellent resource to help county
social workers assess and respond to child abuse and neglect
cases in a timely manner."
RECOMMENDED AMENDMENTS:
Should this bill be signed into law, the pilot program it
establishes for the optional use of an Internet-based reporting
system in lieu of reports of child abuse by telephone will be
implemented in January 2016 and sunset, unless further action is
taken, in January 2021. While the Legislature could decide to
temporarily or permanently extend the authority granted in the
pilot, this bill does not require the outcomes of the pilot to
be captured or reported prior to the pilot program's potential
extension or termination. In order to allow the Legislature to
make an informed decision about whether to ultimately allow the
pilot to end or to extend the authority for an Internet-based
child abuse reporting system, committee staff recommends this
bill be amended to do the following:
1)Require participating counties and the County Welfare
Directors Association of California to develop outcome
measures to determine the effectiveness of the pilot program
for each county, which may include:
a) The total number of referrals provided by telephone and
SB 478
Page 9
any increase or decrease in usage over time;
b) The number of referrals provided through the
Internet-based reporting system and any increase or
decrease in usage of the system over time;
c) Any increases or decreases in the number of emergency or
non-emergency referrals provided by telephone; and
d) Any increases or decreases in the overall number of
emergency or non-emergency referrals.
2)Require participating counties to, on or before January 1,
2020, provide information to the Legislature pertaining to the
outcome measures developed.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA),
co-sponsor
SB 478
Page 10
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, co-sponsor
Children's Law Center of CA
California State Association of Counties (CSAC)
Junior Leagues of California State Public Affairs Committee
(CalSPAC)
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Urban Counties Caucus (UCC)
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916)
SB 478
Page 11
319-2089