BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1907
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1907 (Lieu)
As Introduced January 26, 2006
Majority vote
HUMAN SERVICES 6-0
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|Ayes:|Evans, Arambula, Bass, | | |
| |Coto, Nation, Spitzer | | |
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| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Clarifies the definition of multidisciplinary
personnel to include marriage and family therapists (MFTs).
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Office of Child Abuse Prevention, within the
Department of Social Services, to plan, improve, develop, and
carry out programs and activities relating to the prevention,
identification and treatment of child abuse and neglect.
2)Directs the Office of Child Abuse Prevention to manage state
and federal contracts in the funding of local efforts to
prevent, intervene or treat child abuse and neglect, and to
make recommendations concerning the application for federal
funds.
3)Defines "multidisciplinary personnel" to mean any team of
three or more persons who are trained in the prevention,
identification and treatment of child abuse and neglect cases
and who are qualified to provide a broad range of services
related to child abuse. The team may include, but not be
limited to, psychiatrists, psychologists or other trained
counseling personnel.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Multidisciplinary teams are composed of different
professionals who bring a variety of skills to bear on the task
of serving children and families in a coordinated fashion. The
definition of who can serve on multidisciplinary teams includes,
but is not limited to, "Psychiatrists, psychologists, or other
AB 1907
Page 2
trained counseling personnel." This bill would clarify this
definition by listing MFTs along with psychiatrists and
psychologists.
The author states that this would correct a problem by removing
vagueness from the definition. The author notes that MFTs have
specific training in the dynamics of family life, and that their
involvement can be invaluable in preventing abuse.
Analysis Prepared by : John Boisa / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089
FN: 0013896