BILL NUMBER: SB 1599 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 20, 2006
INTRODUCED BY Senator Ducheny
FEBRUARY 24, 2006
An act to add Section 26840.12 to the Government Code, to
add Section 103629 to the Health and Safety Code, and to add Section
18309.6 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to domestic
violence. An act to add Division 26 (commencing with
Section 25500) to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to d
omestic violence.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1599, as amended, Ducheny Domestic violence prevention:
funding.
Existing law requires the governing bodies of specified cities and
counties to direct the local registrar, county recorder, or county
clerk to deposit into special funds fees collected pursuant to
specified provisions of law for filing fees for, and for certified
copies of, fetal death and death records, and marriage and birth
certificates. Existing law requires proceeds from these funds to be
used for governmental oversight and coordination of specified
domestic violence and family violence prevention, intervention, and
prosecution efforts in the affected counties.
This bill would establish similar
provisions, applicable to any county, pursuant to which the county
board of supervisors may provide for the assessment and collection,
subject to applicable constitutional requirements, deposit, and
expenditure of the fees described above, for the prevention,
intervention, and prosecution of domestic violence in the county
enact the California Family Violence Prevention and
Public Safety Act of 2006, which would create a comprehensive set of
strategies that replicate or are based upon best practices, to reduce
violent crime by reducing rates of domestic violence, child abuse,
and sexual assault in California. The bill would authorize counties
to increase the filing fees described above, and to place the fees in
a special fund to be used for the programs described in the bill.
The bill would establish procedures for the county to award grants
for domestic violence, child abuse, and sexual assault services, home
visitations for new parents, school-based and after-school programs,
and a public awareness campaign, as specified .
This bill would provide for the establishment of local family
justice centers, as defined, for local governmental oversight,
coordination, and centralized location of multiple agencies dealing
with domestic violence. The bill would provide for funding of the
family justice centers from the fee increases described above.
This bill would require the creation of a statewide advisory
council with private funding, to take designated actions with respect
to the implementation of the bill. The bill would require each
county board of supervisors to report to the Legislature and the
Director of Health Services by July 1, 2009, regarding the funds
received and expended pursuant to the bill, and the use of these
funds, as specified.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares as
follows:
(a) The purpose of this act is to create a comprehensive set of
strategies that replicate or are based upon best practices, to reduce
violent crime by reducing rates of domestic violence, child abuse,
and sexual assault in California.
(b) In California, a child is abused every minute. Nearly 6,000
youth are hospitalized every year for a violent injury related to
assault, child abuse, rape, or domestic violence, and domestic
violence costs the state over $20 million in medical care, and mental
health services.
(c) There is a relationship between violent crime and family
violence. More than two thirds of male prison inmates were abused as
children. Young adults 16 to 24 years of age, who have been exposed
to violence in the home, are at highest risk for perpetrating or
being a victim of violence.
(d) There is a relationship between domestic violence, sexual
assault, and child abuse. Fifty percent of men who frequently assault
their wives also frequently abuse their children.
(e) Many existing approaches to domestic violence, child abuse,
and sexual assault are responsive, not preventive. There is a need
for a continuum of prevention and intervention services for victims
of family violence, including collaborative criminal justice
programs, increased intervention services, centrally located services
for victims and their children, and services for children exposed to
violence, young parents and youth, that will address the overlap
between these issues and reduce rates of domestic violence, child
abuse, and sexual assault.
(f) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature in enacting this
act to reduce rates of family violence by supporting prevention
strategies that replicate or are based upon best practices, increased
collaborative intervention services, and criminal justice responses
that promote public safety by doing all of the following:
(1) Providing treatment services to children and youth who witness
or are exposed to violence, including services for the nonabusing
parent.
(2) Providing home visitation to new parents, including
information about healthy pregnancy, parenting, and partnering, and
services to increase social networks for families.
(3) Developing or enhancing school-based and after-school programs
to help teens develop respectful, nonviolent relationships.
(4) Developing countywide public awareness campaigns focused on
changing social norms towards violence against victims and children.
(5) Developing and operating family justice centers that provide
safety for victims of domestic violence and their children through
comprehensive services in a single facility.
(6) Increasing funding for domestic violence programs to provide
safety for victims and their children.
(7) Creating a statewide advisory committee that will operate
independent of a state agency, consisting of statewide coalitions on
domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse, and district
attorneys and city attorneys.
SEC. 2. Division 26 (commencing with Section
25500) is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code
, to read:
DIVISION 26. CALIFORNIA FAMILY VIOLENCE PREVENTION AND
PUBLIC SAFETY ACT OF 2006
25500. This act shall be known and may be cited as the California
Family Violence Prevention and Public Safety Act of 2006.
25501. For purposes of this section:
(a) "Family violence" includes domestic violence, child abuse, and
sexual assault.
(b) "Best practices" means strategies and programs that can
demonstrate effects on preventing domestic violence, child abuse, and
sexual assault.
(c) "Promising approaches" means innovative strategies that may
not have demonstrated effects.
25502. (a) The board of supervisors of a county that elects to
provide services in accordance with this division shall award grants
on a competitive basis to eligible entities to mitigate the effects
of domestic violence, child abuse, and sexual assault on children
exposed to that violence, and to reduce the risk of future
victimization or perpetration of violence.
(b) Grants awarded pursuant to this section shall be used for
programs that provide services for children and youth up to 18 years
of age who have been exposed to domestic violence, child abuse, or
sexual assault, which may include direct counseling, advocacy, or
mentoring. The program shall include support for the nonabusing
parent or the child's caretaker.
(c) To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, an
entity shall meet either of the following criteria:
(1) Be a nonprofit organization, including a community-based
organization, health clinic, mental health clinic, or domestic
violence, child abuse and sexual assault program with a documented
history of effectively mitigating the effects of exposure to domestic
violence, child abuse or sexual assault, and which has demonstrated
program effectiveness and outcomes of services for children exposed
to family violence and services for the nonabusing parent.
(2) Be an agency that is partnered with an organization meeting
the criteria specified in paragraph (1).
(d) A grantee receiving funds pursuant to this section shall do
all of the following:
(1) Provide ongoing training and supervision for staff who work
with children exposed to violence and with the nonabusing parent.
(2) Provide community-relevant services that meet the linguistic
and cultural needs of underserved communities.
(3) Provide services that are in accordance with the federal
Americans with Disabilities Act and state law regarding persons with
disabilities.
(4) Utilize and replicate tested models or promising approaches.
(5) Communicate best practices or promising approaches to
statewide sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse
prevention coalitions to enable dissemination to agencies statewide
and training in support of program replication.
(6) Annually report the results of their programs to the board of
supervisors.
25504. (a) The board of supervisors shall award grants on a
competitive basis to eligible entities to support new parents and
families by providing home visitation services that include education
on healthy pregnancy, parenting and partnering, with the goal of
reducing domestic violence, and child abuse. For purposes of this
section, families shall be interpreted broadly, including two-parent
families, and families with the nonoffending parent and child.
(b) Grants awarded pursuant to this section shall be used for
programs that provide home visiting services to at-risk families for
the purpose of reducing domestic violence and child abuse. These
programs shall focus on improving health and life outcomes for
children in participating families by providing education and social
support and shall assist families in using existing community
resources.
(c) To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, an
entity shall be a community-based home visitation program or
community-based clinic that meets all of the following criteria:
(1) It has demonstrated success in reducing child abuse and
neglect rates, incidents of family violence, or related risks for
targeted, culturally diverse populations.
(2) At minimum, it provides parenting-related services to mothers
and fathers at some time during the time period from pregnancy
through the child's third birthday.
(3) It can demonstrate collaboration with other community-based
organizations, including a domestic violence program, to ensure
efficiency and minimize service duplication.
(4) It has one or more demonstrated referral sources for
interested client families, such as a birthing hospital, domestic
violence program or significant numbers of self-referrals.
(5) It is clearly aligned with a continuum of services or care, or
both, including, but not limited to, county and government services,
initiative funded services, schools, community-based organizations,
and family resource centers.
(6) It has demonstrated ability to assess risk to both the child
and the nonabusing parent to ensure that services are provided where
they are most needed.
(7) It has a working relationship with the county department of
health and human services or children and family services to collect
data related to child abuse and neglect rates, as well as incidents
of family violence.
(d) A grantee receiving funds pursuant to this section shall do
all of the following:
(1) Provide community relevant services that meet the linguistic
and cultural needs of underserved communities.
(2) Utilize and replicate tested models or promising approaches.
(3) Communicate best practices or promising approaches to
statewide sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse
prevention coalitions to enable dissemination to agencies statewide
and training in support of program replication.
(4) Annually report the results of their programs to the board of
supervisors.
25506. (a) The board of supervisors shall award grants on a
competitive basis to eligible entities for the purpose of developing
or enhancing programs to engage youth in preventing domestic
violence, child abuse, and sexual assault, by helping them to develop
mutually respectful, nonviolent relationships.
(b) Grants awarded pursuant to this section shall be used to do
either of the following:
(1) Develop, enhance, or implement school-based and after-school
programs that encourage children and youth to pursue nonviolent
relationships.
(2) Train local school and after-school programs on how to develop
and enhance existing programs that teach youth how to develop
mutually respectful nonviolent relationships.
(c) To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, an
entity must be a nonprofit organization, nongovernmental domestic
violence, child abuse or sexual assault service provider or
coalition, or school-based program, and shall meet all of the
following criteria:
(1) Demonstrated experience in working with youth aged 10 to 17
years.
(2) Experience with youth development among middle-school or
high-school aged youth.
(3) It has staff, including teachers, coaches, athletic directors
or mentors, who are educated regarding adolescent development,
implications of relationship violence for adolescent development,
potential consequences of exposure to violence in the home, and how
to refer adolescents who have been exposed to violence to appropriate
services.
(4) It can demonstrate specific outcomes for youth, including
reductions in violent behavior among youth, changes in social norms,
and attitudinal changes.
(5) Integration of parental involvement, where appropriate.
(d) An individual or agency that is partnered with an organization
meeting the requirements of paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, of
subdivision (c) shall also be eligible to receive a grant under this
section.
(e) Each grantee receiving funds pursuant to this section shall do
all of the following:
(1) Provide community relevant services that meet the linguistic
and cultural needs of underserved communities.
(2) Utilize and replicate tested models or promising approaches.
(3) Communicate best practices or promising approaches to
statewide sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse
prevention coalitions to enable dissemination to agencies statewide
and training in support of program replication.
(4) Annually report the results of their programs to the board of
supervisors.
25508. (a) The board of supervisors shall award grants to
eligible entities on a competitive basis for the purpose of
implementing and localizing an existing national or statewide public
awareness campaign, including web, print and media, that targets men
and boys, and changing social norms that perpetuate violence against
women and children. The grants may be used to support or enhance
existing programs appropriately focused on the needs of local
communities.
(b) Grants awarded pursuant to this section shall be used to do
all of the following:
(1) To implement and localize an existing national or statewide
public awareness campaign.
(2) To procure technical assistance from statewide coalitions, as
needed, to localize campaigns.
(3) To provide technical assistance or administrative support to
localize the public awareness campaign.
(c) To be eligible to receive a grant under this section an entity
shall be either of the following:
(1) A nonprofit or nongovernmental organization that has the
capacity to administer and implement effective public education
campaigns addressing the prevention of domestic violence, child
abuse, or sexual assault.
(2) An agency that is partnered with an organization described in
paragraph (1).
25510. (a) The board of supervisors, upon making findings and
declarations of the need for local governmental oversight,
coordination, and centralized location of multiple agencies dealing
with domestic violence, may impose fees in accordance with Section
25512 to fund expenses related to development and operation of family
justice centers pursuant to this section.
(b) A family justice center is a comprehensive public safety
center that provides a single location for coordinated,
multidisciplinary services for victims of family violence and their
children. A family justice center is designed to bring family
violence professionals, such as community and shelter-based
advocates, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, probation officers,
victim assistance program advocates, forensic medical professionals,
civil attorneys, chaplains, and others together in one location to
provide public safety services to victims of family violence and
their children. A family justice center receiving funding from local
boards of supervisors may be characterized by the following elements:
(1) Centralized location of law enforcement officers, prosecutors,
probation officers, military, advocates, civil legal services,
forensic medical services, and diverse community-based organizations.
(2) Each site shall have law enforcement and prosecutorial
agencies that emphasize the importance of arrest, prosecution, and
long-term accountability for domestic violence offenders.
(3) Each site shall have a demonstrated history of addressing
common problems in communities, such as dual arrest and mutual
arrest. No jurisdiction may have policies that require a victim to
pay costs for obtaining a restraining order if the victim is
financially unable to afford those costs.
(4) Each jurisdiction shall have readily identifiable processes
and staffing to assess and provide for victim safety during the
intervention process. All sites must have policies in place to ensure
security for staff and clients at the planned family justice center.
(5) Each site shall have policies and procedures that provide for
victim confidentiality, to the extent required by law. No private,
nonprofit victim advocacy or shelter organization shall be required
to compromise their own victim safety and confidentiality procedures
in order to have staff onsite at a family justice center.
(6) No criminal defendant shall be provided services at a family
justice center. All funded sites shall be oriented towards victims
and their children. Offsite services to offenders should be central
to any community's response to domestic violence, but no domestic
violence offenders shall be offered services onsite. Domestic
violence victims with a previous history of violence or with a
current incident in which the victim is the alleged perpetrator shall
be assessed on a case by case basis for eligibility for services at
a family justice center site. Identifiable procedures shall be
created to ensure availability of offsite services for victims in the
event a current or prior criminal conviction prevents receiving
services at a family justice center site.
(7) Each local community shall have a history of specialization of
services in their community when seeking funding to develop a family
justice center. For purposes of this paragraph, "specialization"
generally refers to specially trained advocates, police officers,
prosecutors, judges, court support personnel, medical professionals,
and other similar domestic violence expertise.
(c) Funds provided for purposes of this section shall be used for
planning, development, capital outlay, and operations of family
justice centers, as described in subdivision (b).
(d) In the event that a family justice center is developed by a
city attorney's office or other branch of a city government, funds
shall be apportioned between the city and county based on population
served by the relevant jurisdiction. The board of supervisors shall
make findings as to the appropriate allocation of funds between any
city-operated family justice center and family justice centers
developed with the cooperation, participation, or leadership of the
local district attorney.
(e) A grantee receiving funds pursuant to this section shall do
both of the following:
(1) Provide community relevant services that meet the linguistic
and cultural needs of underserved communities.
(2) Utilize and replicate tested models or promising practices in
centrally located service delivery.
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature that all family justice
centers developed in accordance with this division shall work
cooperatively to share information and disseminate best practices,
with the San Diego Family Justice Center Foundation serving as a
clearinghouse and statewide family justice resource center.
25512. (a) The board of supervisors of a county, upon making
findings and declarations of the need for services that prevent
domestic violence, child abuse and sexual assault, and the benefits
of implementing family justice centers, may authorize an increase in
all vital records fees and marriage license fees by four dollars
($4), as well as by three additional one dollar ($1) increments, for
up to a total of seven dollars ($7). "Vital records" means marriage
certificates, birth certificates, death records, fetal death records,
and certified copies of these records. "Marriage license" includes
both public and confidential marriage licenses. A fee increase
imposed pursuant to this section shall apply to all vital records and
marriage licenses.
(b) Of the funds generated by the increase in vital records fees
pursuant to this section, two dollars ($2) shall be allocated to the
programs as described in Sections 25502, 25504, 25506, and 25508, and
two dollars ($2) shall be allocated to family justice centers, as
described in Section 25510. Any increase in vital records fees above
four dollars ($4) shall be allocated to programs described in
Sections 25502, 25504, 25506, and 25508.
(c) The board of supervisors shall allocate all revenues obtained
from marriage license fee increases pursuant to subdivision (a) to
local domestic violence shelters, consistent with the current
procedures for apportioning those fees to local domestic violence
programs.
(d) A board of supervisors, upon making findings that a county
opts out of implementing the family justice center model, may
allocate the total revenue from any increase to vital records fees
pursuant to this division to the programs described in Sections
25502, 25504, 25506, and 25508. In the event that the board of
supervisors subsequently makes findings to implement a family justice
center after opting out, that allocation shall be used as described
in subdivision (b).
25514. The county board of supervisors shall direct the local
registrar, county recorder, and county clerk to deposit fees
collected pursuant to Section 25512 into a special fund. The county
may retain up to 4 percent of the funds for administrative costs
associated with the collection and segregation of the additional fees
and the deposit of these fees into the special fund. Proceeds from
the fund shall be allocated to the programs and family justice
centers provided for pursuant to this division.
25516. Each county board of supervisors shall submit to the
Assembly Judiciary Committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee and the
Director of Health Services, no later than July 1, 2009, a report
containing the following information:
(a) The annual amounts of funds received and expended from fee
increases for the purposes specified in this division.
(b) Outcomes achieved, lessons learned, and best practices
identified through the use of these funds.
25518. The Statewide Oversight and Accountability Council is
hereby created. Statewide domestic violence, sexual assault and child
abuse agencies, and the San Diego Family Justice Center Foundation
shall work collaboratively to develop the statewide advisory council
with private funding, to provide technical assistance to counties,
develop protocols and policies on best practices for family justice
centers, provide evaluation in terms of the prevention provisions of
this division, and assist counties with finding other sustainable
sources of funding for programs established under this division.
25520. Nothing in this division is intended to supplant any
existing funding to the Alameda and Solano County Family Justice
Centers pursuant to Sections 103627 and 103628 of the Health and
Safety Code, or to interfere with the collection and distribution of
fees to fund domestic violence shelter-based programs pursuant to any
other provision of law.
SECTION 1. Section 26840.12 is added to the
Government Code, to read:
26840.12. (a) The board of supervisors of any county, upon making
findings and declarations for the need for governmental oversight
and coordination of the multiple agencies dealing with domestic
violence, and subject to the applicable requirements of the
California Constitution, may authorize an increase in the fees for
marriage licenses and confidential marriage licenses, up to a maximum
increase of two dollars ($2).
(b) Effective July 1 of each year, the board of supervisors may
authorize an increase in these fees by an amount equal to the
increase in the Consumer Price Index for the closest metropolitan
area, as determined by the board, for the preceding calendar year,
rounded to the nearest half-dollar ($0.50). The fees shall be
allocated pursuant to Section 18309.6 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code.
(c) In addition to the fee prescribed by Section 26840.1, the
person issuing authorization for the performance of a marriage or
confidential marriage in a county, or the county clerk upon providing
a blank authorization form pursuant to Part 4 (commencing with
Section 500) of Division 3 of the Family Code, shall collect the fees
specified in subdivisions (a) and (b), at the time of providing the
authorization.
(d) The board of supervisors of any county assessing a fee
pursuant to subdivision (a) shall submit to the Assembly Judiciary
Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee, no later than July 1,
2009, a report containing the following information:
(1) The annual amounts of funds received and expended from fee
increases for the purpose of governmental oversight and coordination
of domestic violence prevention, intervention, and prosecution
efforts in the county.
(2) Outcomes achieved as a result of the activities associated
with the implementation of this section.
SEC. 2. Section 103629 is added to the Health
and Safety Code, to read:
103629. (a) A county board of supervisors, upon making findings
and declarations for the need for governmental oversight and
coordination of the multiple agencies dealing with domestic violence,
and subject to the applicable requirements of the California
Constitution, may authorize an increase in the fees for certified
copies of marriage certificates, birth certificates, fetal death
records, and death records, up to a maximum increase of two dollars
($2).
(b) Effective July 1 of each year, the board of supervisors may
authorize an increase in these fees by an amount equal to the
increase in the Consumer Price Index for the closest metropolitan
area, as determined by the board, for the preceding calendar year,
rounded to the nearest one-half dollar ($0.50). The fees shall be
allocated pursuant to Section 18309.6 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code.
(c) In addition to the fees prescribed by subdivisions (a) and
(b), any applicant for a certified copy of a birth certificate, a
fetal death record, or death record in a county shall pay an
additional fee to the local registrar, county recorder, or county
clerk as established by the county board of supervisors.
SEC. 3. Section 18309.6 is added to the Welfare
and Institutions Code, to read:
18309.6. A county board of supervisors shall direct the local
registrar, county recorder, and county clerk to deposit fees
collected pursuant to Section 26840.12 of the Government Code and
Section 103627 of the Health and Safety Code into a special fund. The
county may retain up to 4 percent of the funds for administrative
costs associated with the collection and segregation of the
additional fees and the deposit of these fees into the special fund.
Proceeds from the fund shall be used for governmental oversight and
coordination of domestic violence and family violence prevention,
intervention, and prosecution efforts among the court system, the
district attorney's office, the public defender's office, law
enforcement, the probation department, mental health, substance
abuse, child welfare services, adult protective services, and
community-based organizations and other agencies working in the
county, in order to increase the effectiveness of prevention, early
intervention, and prosecution of domestic and family violence.