BILL ANALYSIS
AB 776
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 12, 2005
Chief Counsel: Gregory Pagan
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Mark Leno, Chair
AB 776 (Chu) - As Introduced: February 18, 2005
As Proposed to be Amended in Committee
SUMMARY : Allows specified law enforcement agencies and county
welfare departments to accept reports of suspected child abuse
and neglect submitted by telephone, facsimile or electronic
transmission.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires that any mandated reporter who has knowledge of, or
observes, a child in his or her professional capacity or
within the scope of his or her employment whom he or she
knows, or reasonably suspects, has been the victim of child
abuse shall report that incident immediately to a specified
child protection agency by telephone, and requires a written
report be sent within 36 hours. [Penal Code Section
11166(a).]
2)Requires that reports of suspected child abuse or neglect
shall be made by a mandated reporter to any police or
sheriff's department, a county probation department if
designated by the county to receive mandated reports, or the
county welfare department. (Penal Code Section 11165.9.)
3)Defines "mandated reporter" as specific child-care custodians,
health practitioners, law enforcement officers, and other
medical and professional persons. (Penal Code Section
11165.7.)
4)Provides that the reporting duties under Child Abuse and
Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA) are individual, no supervisor or
administrator may impede or inhibit the reporting duties, and
no person making a report shall be subject to any sanctions
for making the report. [Penal Code Section 11166(g)(1).]
5)Provides that any mandated reporter who fails to report an
AB 776
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instance of known or reasonably suspected child abuse or
neglect as required is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by
up to six months in the county jail; by a fine of $1,000; or
by both imprisonment and fine. [Penal Code Section 11166(b).]
6)Requires specified reporting agencies to forward to the
Department of Justice (DOJ) a report of every case of
suspected child abuse or neglect which is determined not to be
unfounded; and if a previously filed report proves to be
unfounded, the DOJ shall be notified in writing and shall not
retain that report. [Penal Code Section 11169(a).]
7)Requires at the time a reporting agency forwards a report of
suspected child abuse or neglect to the DOJ, the agency notify
the known or suspected child abuser that he or she has been
reported to the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI). [Penal Code
Section 11165(b).]
8)Requires the DOJ to maintain an index of all reports of child
abuse and neglect submitted by the specified reporting
agencies. The index shall be continually updated and shall
not contain any reports determined to be unfounded. [Penal
Code Section 11170(a)(1).]
9)States that the DOJ shall act only as a repository of the
suspected child abuse or neglect reports maintained in CACI,
and that the reporting agencies are responsible for the
accuracy, completeness, and retention of reports. [Penal Code
Section 11170(a)(2).]
10)Requires that information from an inconclusive or
unsubstantiated suspected child abuse or neglect report shall
be deleted from CACI after 10 years if no subsequent report
concerning the suspected child abuser is received within the
10-year period. [Penal Code Section 11170(a)(3).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "Under existing
law, any police department, sheriff's department, or county
welfare department is required to accept reports of suspected
child or neglect. This bill allows these agencies to accept
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reports of child abuse and neglect that are submitted by
telephone, facsimile, or electronic transmission.
2)Permissible Means for Accepting Reports : Under existing law,
a mandated reporter who observes or reasonably suspects a
child is a victim of child abuse is required to immediately
report the incident by telephone to a law enforcement or child
welfare agency. Under existing law, a child welfare agency is
required to report incidents of suspected child abuse to the
law enforcement having jurisdiction over the case, and is
allowed to transmit the report by telephone, fax, or
electronic transmission. Similarly, this bill would allow the
agencies required to accept reports of suspected child abuse
by mandated reports to accept telephone, facsimile and
electronic transmission reports of suspected child abuse.
3)Related Legislation : AB 299 (Maze) would allow a mandated
reporter who observes or reasonably suspects a child is a
victim of child abuse to make a report to specified agencies
by fax or electronic transmission in addition to by telephone.
AB 229 is pending referral by the Senate Rules Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744