BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 478
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 26, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
SB 478
(Huff) - As Amended August 18, 2015
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Policy |Human Services |Vote:|7 - 0 |
|Committee: | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill authorizes specified county welfare agencies to
develop a five-year pilot program for Internet-based reporting
of child abuse and neglect. The bill requires the Department of
Social Services (DSS) to oversee and administer the pilot, and
SB 478
Page 2
requires participating counties to develop outcome measures and
report to the Legislature on the effectiveness of the pilot
program.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Minor costs, likely less than $75,000 (GF) annually to DSS to
oversee and administer the program.
2)Minor one-time costs (GF) to DSS to consult with the County
Welfare Directors Association of California and any interested
county welfare agencies to determine county involvement in the
pilot program.
3)Because the program is optional for counties, any costs
incurred by participating agencies are not reimbursable by the
State.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. State law requires any individual identified as a
mandated reporter 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.
SB 478
Page 3
According to the author, "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."
2)Background. The Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA)
requires a mandated reporter, as defined, to make a report to
a specified agency 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 the
mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the
victim of child abuse or neglect. Existing law enumerates 44
categories of mandated reporters of child abuse or neglect.
The mandated reporter must make an initial report by telephone
to the agency immediately or as soon as is practicably
possible, and to send, fax, or electronically transmit a
written follow-up report within 36 hours of receiving the
information concerning the incident.
Reports of suspected child abuse or neglect must be made to a
police department or sheriff's department, not including a
school district police or security department, a county
probation department if designated by the county to receive
mandated reports, or a county welfare department. These
agencies are required to accept a report of suspected child
abuse or neglect whether offered by a mandated reporter or
another person, or referred by another agency, even if the
agency lacks jurisdiction to investigate the reported case,
unless the agency can immediately electronically transfer the
call to an agency with proper jurisdiction.
SB 478
Page 4
When an agency takes a report about a case of suspected child
abuse or neglect in which that agency lacks jurisdiction, the
agency is required to immediately refer the case by telephone,
fax, or electronic transmission to an agency with proper
jurisdiction. Agencies that are required to receive reports of
suspected child abuse or neglect may not refuse to accept a
report of suspected child abuse or neglect from a mandated
reporter or another person unless otherwise authorized, and
are required to maintain a record of all reports received.
Online abuse and neglect reporting systems are currently used
in eight other states (Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Kansas,
Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas), which have
reported increased efficiencies in their child abuse response
systems.
3)Related Legislation. SB 332 (Block) 2015 would have
authorized school district police departments to receive
mandated reports of suspected child abuse or neglect. This
bill was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee's
Suspense File.
4)Prior
Legislation.5)AB 776 (Chu) Chapter 713, Statutes of 2005, authorized the
filing of a one-time alternate faxed or electronic mandated
SB 478
Page 5
reporting form on suspected child abuse in lieu of the initial
telephone report, as specified. DSS was required to submit a
report to the Legislature at the end of the three-year
operative period or January 1, 2009, to provide data about the
use of the alternative method of reporting. The use of the
new reporting form was contingent upon the completion of
necessary modifications to the electronic reporting system
which did not occur within the timeframes provided.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081