BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 855
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB
855 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review)
As Amended August 15, 2016
Majority vote. Budget Bill Appropriation Takes Effect
Immediately
SENATE VOTE: 25-11
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
|Budget |18-2 |Ting, Bloom, Bonta, |Harper, Wilk |
| | |Campos, Chiu, Cooper, | |
| | |Gordon, Holden, Irwin, | |
| | |Kim, McCarty, | |
| | |Melendez, Mullin, | |
| | |Nazarian, O'Donnell, | |
| | |Rodriguez, Thurmond, | |
| | |Williams | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
|Budget |18-2 |Ting, Bloom, Bonta, |Harper, Wilk |
| | |Campos, Chiu, Cooper, | |
| | |Gordon, Holden, Irwin, | |
| | |Kim, McCarty, | |
| | |Melendez, Mullin, | |
| | |Nazarian, O'Donnell, | |
SB 855
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| | |Rodriguez, Thurmond, | |
| | |Williams | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Makes substantive and technical statutory changes
impacting and corresponding to the Health and Human Services
portions of the Budget Act of 2016 (SB 826 (Leno), Chapter 23,
Statutes of 2016). Specifically, this bill makes the following
changes:
Managed Care Organizations Tax
1)Makes technical, clarifying corrections to the statute
implementing the Managed Care Organization (MCO) tax, adopted
through SB 2 X2 (Hernández), Chapter 2, Statutes of 2015-16
Second Extraordinary Session, to clarify that insurers whose
gross premiums tax rate has been reduced to $0 during the
operation of the MCO tax shall not be required to make
pre-payments to the state since their tax liability will be
$0.
2)Provides that for health insurers subject to the 0% gross
premiums tax rate prepayments are not required between July 1,
2016, and on or before June 30, 2019, and would additionally
provide that for prepayments due on or after June 30, 2019,
the amount due is 25% of the amount of what the annual
insurance tax liability reported on the return of the health
insurer for the preceding calendar year would have been if the
provision reducing the gross premiums tax rate to 0% described
above had never been operative.
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) Compliance:
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Child Fatalities
1)Adds the following to the documents to be released by the
custodian of records upon request, subject to redactions set
forth in existing law: a description of child protective or
other services provided and actions taken by the county child
welfare services agency regarding any services and actions not
otherwise disclosed within other documents required to be
released. Provides an additional 10 business days for this
information to be released.
2)Requires that no information that reveals the identity of a
person or persons who provided information related to
suspected abuse, neglect, or maltreatment of a child be
disclosed.
3)Provides that juvenile case file records that are not subject
to disclosure pursuant to this section shall only be disclosed
upon an order by the juvenile court pursuant to Welfare and
Institutions Code Section 827.
4)Authorizes the Department of Social Services (DSS) to
implement these changes through all-county letters or similar
instructions following consultation with stakeholders, which
will commence no later than October 1, 2016, and shall
include, but not be limited to, child welfare advocates, labor
organizations, representatives of counties, and legislative
staff.
5)Requires rulemaking to implement these changes pursuant to the
Administrative Procedure Act to commence no later than January
1, 2018.
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CAPTA Compliance: Near Child Fatalities
1) Defines "near fatality" as the identical meaning in federal
law.
2) Establishes that abuse or neglect is determined to have
resulted in a child's near fatality if one of the following
conditions is met:
a) A law enforcement investigation concludes that child
abuse or neglect occurred.
b) A county child welfare services agency determines that
the child abuse or neglect was substantiated.
3) Establishes that abuse or neglect does not include near
fatalities caused by an alleged perpetrator who was unknown
to the child or family prior to the abuse that caused the
near fatality, or a minor, unless acting in the role of
caretaker, who is alleged to have caused the near fatality.
4) Requires that within 10 business days of learning that a
child near fatality that has been determined to have been
caused by abuse or neglect has occurred in the county, the
custodian of records for the county child welfare agency,
upon request, shall release all of the following information:
a) The age and gender of the child.
b) The date of the near fatality.
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c) Whether the child resided in foster care or in the
home of his or her parent or guardian at the time of the
near fatality.
d) Whether an investigation is being conducted by a law
enforcement agency or the county child welfare agency.
5) Specifies that the documents in the juvenile case file,
subject to the redaction specified in the bill, shall be
released, upon request, upon completion of the child abuse or
neglect investigation into the child's near fatality.
6) Requires that findings or information disclosed regarding
the child near fatality, upon request, must consist of a
written report that includes all of the following
information:
a) A child's age and gender;
b) The date the abuse or neglect occurred that resulted
in the near fatality, and the date that a licensed
physician determined the child victim to be in serious or
critical medical condition, if known;
c) Whether the child resided in foster care or in the
home of his or her parent or guardian at the time of the
near fatality.
d) The cause and circumstances of the near fatality.
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e) A description of reports received, child protective or
other services provided, and actions taken by the county
child welfare services agency regarding i) suspected or
substantiated abuse or neglect of the child near fatality
victim and ii) suspected or substantiated abuse or neglect
of other children pertinent to the abuse or neglect of the
near fatality victim.
f) A written narrative that includes the dates of
reports, investigations, services rendered, actions taken,
investigative disposition for each report, and any
comments provided by the involved social worker or workers
regarding the investigations, services provided, and
actions taken.
7) Requires that when the written narrative as described above
is requested, the county shall submit a copy of the
description and written narrative to DSS within 20 calendar
days of the request or the disposition of the investigation,
whichever is later, and within 10 days of receipt, the DSS
shall review the documents submitted by the county against
the case file and notify the county of any discrepancies or
other concerns prior to the county's release of the
information.
8) For cases in which the child's near fatality occurred while
living with a parent or guardian, requires a county welfare
department or agency to disclose the following to the public,
upon request:
a) All previous referrals of abuse or neglect of the
child suffering the near fatality while living with that
parent or guardian.
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b) The emergency response referral information form and
emergency response notice of referral disposition form
completed by the county child welfare agency relating to
the abuse or neglect that caused the near fatality of the
child.
c) Any cross reports completed by the county child
welfare services agency to law enforcement relating to the
child suffering the near fatality.
d) All risk and safety assessments completed by the
county child welfare services agency relating to the child
suffering the near fatality.
e) Copies of police reports about the person against whom
the child abuse or neglect was substantiated.
9) For cases in which the child's near fatality occurred while
the child was in foster care, requires a county welfare
department or agency to disclose the following documents, in
addition to those specified above, generated while the child
was living in the foster care placement that was the
placement at the time of the child's near fatality:
a) Records pertaining to the foster parents' initial
licensing and renewals and type of license or licenses
held if in the case file.
b) All reported licensing violations, including notices
of action, if in the case file.
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c) Records of the training completed by the foster
parents if in the case file.
10)Requires a county welfare department or agency to release
all required findings and information to the public, if
disclosure is requested, within 30 calendar days of either
the request or the disposition of the investigation,
whichever is later.
11)Prohibits the following information and records from being
disclosed:
a) Names, addresses, telephone numbers, ethnicity,
religion, or any other identifying information of any
person or institution, other than the county or DSS.
b) Any information that would jeopardize a criminal
investigation or proceeding.
c) Any information that is privileged, confidential, or
not subject to disclosure pursuant to any other state or
federal law.
d) All health records related to the child or the child's
family.
e) Any information not relevant to the near fatality,
consistent with the regulations, all-county letters, or
similar instructions issued, and that these documents
shall provide further guidance regarding persons or
conduct that is not relevant. This includes, but is not
limited to, any information in any document regarding any
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adult whose activities are not part of an event or events
or do not have a material bearing on the circumstances
that led to the near fatality.
12)Requires the county welfare department or agency to notify
and provide a copy of the request to counsel for any child
who is connected to the juvenile case file, and that if
counsel for a child objects to the release of any part of the
information, they may petition the court to prevent the
release of any document or part of a document requested.
13)Provides that juvenile case file records that are not
subject to disclosure pursuant to this section shall only be
disclosed upon an order by the juvenile court pursuant to
Welfare and Institutions Code Section 827.
14)Authorizes DSS or a county welfare department to comment on
the case once documents have been released. If a county
welfare department or agency comments on the case, the social
worker on the case may also comment publicly about the case
within the scope of the release.
15)Requires each child welfare services agency to notify DSS of
every child near fatality that occurred within its
jurisdiction that was the result of child abuse or neglect.
Based on these notices and any other relevant information in
the possession of DSS, the department shall annually issue a
report identifying the child near fatalities and any systemic
issues or patterns revealed by the notices and other relevant
information.
16)Establishes that this law shall only apply to near
fatalities that occur on, or after, January 1, 2017.
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17)Clarifies that nothing in this section of law requires a
county welfare department or agency to obtain documents not
in the case file.
18)Requires that no information that reveals the identity of a
person or persons who provided information related to
suspected abuse, neglect, or maltreatment of a child be
disclosed.
19)Authorizes DSS to implement these changes through all-county
letters or similar instructions following consultation with
stakeholders, which will commence no later than October 1,
2016, and shall include, but not be limited to, child welfare
advocates, representatives of organizations that have filed
requests pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code Section
10850.4, advocates for foster youth, labor organizations,
representatives of counties, and legislative staff.
20)Requires rulemaking to implement these changes pursuant to
the Administrative Procedure Act to commence no later than
January 1, 2018, and shall be concluded as soon as
practicable.
Approved Relative Caregiver
Makes a technical change to change "calendar" year to "fiscal"
year to indicate the basis for which counties participating in
the Approved Relative Caregiver Funding Option Program (ARC),
administered by DSS, may request reimbursement for funding
appropriated by the state for ARC if the entire amount of
funding has not been fully allocated to or utilized by
participating counties.
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CalWORKs Expanded Subsidized Employment
Deletes an obsolete reporting provision for the CalWORKs
Expanded Subsidized Employment program that was due on April 1,
2015 and that was fulfilled by DSS.
Independent Living Centers Appropriation
Appropriates $705,000 from the General Fund to the Department of
Rehabilitation (DOR) for the three independent living centers
that have been both established and maintained using federal
funding, to the exclusion of subsequent state funds, as their
primary base grant.
Additional Provisions
1)Subjects any overall effect of increasing the costs already
borne by a local agency for programs or levels of service
mandated by the 2011 Realignment Legislation to the California
Constitution Article XIII Section 36 and to determinations by
the Commission on State Mandates.
2)States that this action is a bill providing for an
appropriation related to the Budget Bill and has been
identified as related to the budget in the Budget Bill, and
shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL EFFECT: Proposed amendments to SB 853 (Budget and Fiscal
Review Committee) and AB 1623 (Budget Committee), both of the
current legislative session, the vehicles that include changes
to the Budget Act of 2016, provide resources that correspond to
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the changes in responsibilities included in this measure. These
add $120,000 General Fund and $120,000 in federal funds for DSS
to support four new positions to provide technical assistance to
counties and review the circumstances surrounding a near child
fatality, among other responsibilities. The DOR appropriation
in this measure qualifies it as a budget trailer bill.
COMMENTS: The federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act
(CAPTA) and its implementing regulations establish requirements
regarding the disclosure of findings and information in child
near fatality incidents resulting from abuse and neglect. The
Administration has stated that achieving compliance with CAPTA
is necessary in order for California to continue receiving $4.8
million annually in federal child abuse prevention funding. In
the 2016 May Revision, the Administration released proposed
trailer bill language that was subsequently held open to allow
for more time to consider a potential compromise.
At the end of 2015, the federal Administration for Children,
Youth, and Families (ACYF) required California to prepare a
Program Improvement Plan describing how the State will comply
with CAPTA Section 106(b)(4), as a condition of retaining its $3
million CAPTA grant and its $1.8 million Children's Justice Act
grant administered by the California Office of Emergency
Services. DSS asserts that achieving compliance is necessary to
continue receipt of the federal grants identified.
California has been out of compliance with the CAPTA
requirements of CAPTA concerning the disclosure of findings and
information in child near fatality cases since 2012, when
federal guidance was issued, because California has no existing
laws governing the disclosure of information following
near-fatal incidents for children. The ACYF has indicated that
statutory compliance prior to October 1, 2016 is necessary to
not jeopardize this funding.
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Over $500,000 in combined state and federal funding for purposes
of compliance was proposed and approved in the 2016 Budget Act,
displayed as the "Reports of Child Near Fatalities" premise in
the California DSS Local Assistance Budget. The budgeted
amounts reflect generally the costs associated with compiling
and publishing reports, and disclosing information on all near
fatalities caused by suspected child abuse or neglect.
Analysis Prepared by:
Nicole Vazquez / BUDGET / (916) 319-2099 FN:
0004137