BILL NUMBER: SB 1761 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 25, 2006
INTRODUCED BY Senator Poochigian
( Coauthor: Senator Migden
)
FEBRUARY 24, 2006
An act to add Section 13974.6 to, and to add and repeal Section
13969.7 of, the Government Code, and to amend Section 1464 of, and to
add Sections 11166.6 and 11166.7 to, the Penal Code, relating to
victim services.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1761, as amended, Poochigian Victim services.
Existing law, the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, requires
specified persons to report suspected child abuse or neglect.
This bill would provide that, until July 1, 2011, a county may
enter into grants for interview services with the Office of Emergency
Services for the recovery of costs associated with the provision of
child victim forensic evidentiary interviews conducted by child
advocacy centers. The bill would authorize counties to establish
child advocacy centers to coordinate the activities of the various
agencies involved in the investigation and prosecution of alleged
child abuse and mitigation of family violence. The bill would require
each county that establishes a child advocacy center to develop an
interagency protocol agreement, as specified. The bill would also
establish the Victim Trauma Recovery Fund for the purpose of
supporting victim recovery programs, and direct the Office of
Emergency Services to use the fund to award grants for those purposes
as specified.
Existing law creates the State Penalty Fund into which moneys
collected by the courts for from the
imposition of fines, forfeitures, or penalties on criminal offenses
are deposited. Once a month, certain percentages of money in that
fund are transferred into other funds, including the Peace Officers'
Training Fund, the Driver Training Penalty Assessment Fund, and the
Victim Witness Assistance Fund.
This bill would change the percentage of money that is deposited
into each of the above-mentioned funds from the State Penalty Fund,
and would create the Child Advocacy Center Fund, into which 4.97% of
state penalty funds in the State Penalty Fund would be deposited
monthly. Money in the fund would be used to support county child
advocacy centers. Additionally, 2% of the state penalty fund would be
transferred monthly to the Victim Trauma Recovery Fund, and 2%
monthly would be transferred to the Office of Emergency Services to
be used to support the California Witness Protection program.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 13969.7 is added to the Government Code, to
read:
13969.7. (a) Notwithstanding Sections 13960 to 13966, inclusive,
a county may enter into grants for interview services with the Office
of Emergency Services for the recovery of costs associated with the
provision of child victim forensic evidentiary interviews conducted
by child advocacy centers as described in Section 11166.6 of the
Penal Code, and in accordance with its adopted interagency protocol
agreement described in Section 11166.7 of the Penal Code.
(b) The grants for interview services shall provide funding for
capacity building expenditures and training related to conducting a
forensic evidentiary interview.
(c) Personnel costs of child advocacy centers that are incurred by
the representatives of the various participating county departments
are not eligible within the scope of the grants.
(d) For purposes of this section, "child victim" means a person
under 18 years of age who has been reported to an agency specified in
Section 11165.9 of the Penal Code to be a known or suspected victim
of child abuse as described in Section 11165.6 of the Penal Code.
(e) The amount of the grants shall be determined by the Office of
Emergency Services, in consultation with an advisory group
established by that office, comprised of representatives from the
following disciplines: prosecutors, law enforcement, victims
services, pediatric medicine, and child protective services.
(f) The Office of Emergency Services shall draw funds from the
Child Advocacy Center Fund for purposes of entering into grants for
interview services.
(g) The Office of Emergency Services shall develop grant
requirements and award those grants beginning on July 1, 2007.
(h) The Office of Emergency Services may retain up to 7 percent of
those funds for purposes of administering those grants.
(i) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2011, and, as
of January 1, 2012, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2011, deletes or
extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.
SEC. 2. Section 13974.6 is added to the Government Code, to read:
13974.6. (a) The Victim Trauma Recovery Fund is hereby created
for the purpose of supporting victim recovery, resource, and
treatment programs to provide comprehensive recovery services to
victims of crime.
(b) The Office of Emergency Services shall select up to five sites
to award grants to pursuant to this section. The sites shall
include, but need not be limited to, all of the following
programmatic components:
(1) Establishment of a victim recovery, resource, and treatment
center.
(2) Implementation of a crime scene mobile outreach team to
provide comprehensive intervention and debriefing for children and
families.
(3) Community-based outreach.
(4) Services to family members and loved ones of homicide victims.
(c) Victim recovery, resource, and treatment programs selected by
the Office of Emergency Services shall serve populations of crime
victims whose needs are not currently being met, shall be distributed
geographically to serve the state's population, and shall include
services to all of the following:
(1) Individuals who are not aware of the breadth and range of
services provided to victims of crime.
(2) Individuals residing in communities with limited services.
(3) Individuals who cannot access services due to disability.
(4) Family members and loved ones of homicide victims.
(d) The Office of Emergency Service shall award those grants
beginning on July 1, 2007.
(e) The Office of Emergency Service may retain up to 7 percent of
those funds for the purposes of administering those grants.
SEC. 3. Section 1464 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
1464. (a) Subject to Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 76000)
of Title 8 of the Government Code, there shall be levied a state
penalty, in an amount equal to ten dollars ($10) for every ten
dollars ($10) or fraction thereof, upon every fine, penalty, or
forfeiture imposed and collected by the courts for criminal offenses,
including all offenses, except parking offenses as defined in
subdivision (i) of Section 1463, involving a violation of a section
of the Vehicle Code or any local ordinance adopted pursuant to the
Vehicle Code. Any bail schedule adopted pursuant to Section 1269b may
include the necessary amount to pay the state penalties established
by this section and Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 76000) of
Title 8 of the Government Code for all matters where a personal
appearance is not mandatory and the bail is posted primarily to
guarantee payment of the fine.
(b) Where multiple offenses are involved, the state penalty shall
be based upon the total fine or bail for each case. When a fine is
suspended, in whole or in part, the state penalty shall be reduced in
proportion to the suspension.
(c) When any deposited bail is made for an offense to which this
section applies, and for which a court appearance is not mandatory,
the person making the deposit shall also deposit a sufficient amount
to include the state penalty prescribed by this section for forfeited
bail. If bail is returned, the state penalty paid thereon pursuant
to this section shall also be returned.
(d) In any case where a person convicted of any offense, to which
this section applies, is in prison until the fine is satisfied, the
judge may waive all or any part of the state penalty, the payment of
which would work a hardship on the person convicted or his or her
immediate family.
(e) After a determination by the court of the amount due, the
clerk of the court shall collect the penalty and transmit it to the
county treasury. The portion thereof attributable to Chapter 12
(commencing with Section 76000) of Title 8 of the Government Code
shall be deposited in the appropriate county fund and 70 percent of
the balance shall then be transmitted to the State Treasury, to be
deposited in the State Penalty Fund, which is hereby created, and 30
percent to remain on deposit in the county general fund. The
transmission to the State Treasury shall be carried out in the same
manner as fines collected for the state by a county.
(f) The moneys so deposited in the State Penalty Fund shall be
distributed as follows:
(1) Once a month there shall be transferred into the Fish and Game
Preservation Fund an amount equal to 0.33 percent of the state
penalty funds deposited in the State Penalty Fund during the
preceding month, except that the total amount shall not be less than
the state penalty levied on fines or forfeitures for violation of
state laws relating to the protection or propagation of fish and
game. These moneys shall be used for the education or training of
department employees which fulfills a need consistent with the
objectives of the Department of Fish and Game.
(2) Once a month there shall be transferred into the Restitution
Fund an amount equal to 32.02 percent of the state penalty funds
deposited in the State Penalty Fund during the preceding month. Those
funds shall be made available in accordance with Section 13967 of
the Government Code.
(3) Once a month there shall be transferred into the Peace
Officers' Training Fund an amount equal to 33.49 percent of the state
penalty funds deposited in the State Penalty Fund during the
preceding month.
(4) Once a month there shall be transferred into the Driver
Training Penalty Assessment Fund an amount equal to 1 percent of the
state penalty funds deposited in the State Penalty Fund during the
preceding month.
(5) Once a month there shall be transferred into the Corrections
Training Fund an amount equal to 7.88 percent of the state penalty
funds deposited in the State Penalty Fund during the preceding month.
Money in the Corrections Training Fund is not continuously
appropriated and shall be appropriated in the Budget Act.
(6) Once a month there shall be transferred into the Local Public
Prosecutors and Public Defenders Training Fund established pursuant
to Section 11503 an amount equal to 1.25 percent of the state penalty
funds deposited in the State Penalty Fund during the preceding
month.
(7) Once a month there shall be transferred into the
Victim-Witness Assistance Fund an amount equal to 14.4 percent of the
state penalty funds deposited in the State Penalty Fund during the
preceding month.
(8) (A) Once a month there
shall be transferred into the Traumatic Brain Injury Fund, created
pursuant to Section 4358 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, an
amount equal to 0.66 percent of the state penalty funds deposited
into the State Penalty Fund during the preceding month. However, the
amount of funds transferred into the Traumatic Brain Injury Fund for
the 1996-97 fiscal year shall not exceed the amount of five hundred
thousand dollars ($500,000). Thereafter, funds shall be transferred
pursuant to the requirements of this section. Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, the funds transferred into the Traumatic
Brain Injury Fund for the 1997 -98, 1998-99, and 1999-2000 fiscal
years, may be expended by the State Department of Mental Health, in
the current fiscal year or a subsequent fiscal year, to provide
additional funding to the existing projects funded by the Traumatic
Brain Injury Fund, to support new projects, or to do both.
(9) Once a month there shall be transferred into the Child
Advocacy Center Fund created pursuant to subdivision (c) of
Section11166.6, an amount equal to 4.97 percent of the state penalty
funds deposited into the State Penalty Fund during the preceding
month.
(10) Once a month there shall be transferred into the Victim
Trauma Recovery Fund created pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section
13974.6, an amount equal to 2 percent of the state penalty funds
deposited into the State Penalty Fund during the preceding month.
(11) Two percent of the State Penalty Fund shall be allocated to
the Office of Emergency Services to be used to support the California
Witness Protection Program created pursuant to Section 14020 of the
Penal Code.
(B)
(g) Any moneys deposited in the State
Penalty Fund attributable to the assessments made pursuant to
subdivision (i) of Section 27315 of the Vehicle Code on or after the
date that Chapter 6.6 (commencing with Section 5564) of Part 1 of
Division 5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is repealed shall be
utilized in accordance with paragraphs (1) to (8)
(11) , inclusive, of this subdivision
subdivision (f) .
SEC. 4. Section 11166.6 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
11166.6. (a) Each county may establish child advocacy centers to
coordinate the activities of the various agencies involved in the
investigation and prosecution of alleged child abuse and mitigation
of family violence, including those that provide medical services and
follow-up treatment to victims of child abuse or family violence, or
both. The purpose of these centers is to protect victims of child
abuse by minimizing traumatizing interviews through the coordination
of efforts of district attorneys, child welfare social workers, law
enforcement, and medical personnel, among others, and to assist
prosecution by reducing the chances of conflicting or inaccurate
information by asking age-appropriate questions to help procure
information that is admissible in court.
(b) (1) Members of the child advocacy center shall, at a minimum,
consist of a representative from the district attorney's office, the
sheriff's department, a police department, child protective services,
and may include medical and mental health professionals.
(2) Members of the local child advocacy center shall be trained to
conduct child forensic interviews. The training shall include
instruction in risk assessment, the dynamics of child abuse,
including the abuse of children with special needs, child sexual
abuse and rape of children, and legally sound and age-appropriate
interview and investigation techniques.
(c) The Child Advocacy Center Fund is hereby created for the
purposes of supporting county child advocacy centers. Money
appropriated from the fund shall be made available through the Office
of Emergency Services to any public or private nonprofit agency for
the establishment or maintenance, or both, of child advocacy centers
that provide comprehensive child advocacy services, as specified in
this section.
SEC. 5. Section 11166.7 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
11166.7. To qualify for state funding pursuant to Section 13969.7
of the Government Code, each county that establishes a
multidisciplinary team or center pursuant to Section 11166.6 shall
adopt a written protocol as follows:
(a) Each county shall develop an interagency protocol agreement
for the investigation of child abuse and neglect that shall be signed
by appropriate persons from the office of the district attorney, the
sheriff's department, the police department, child protective
services or an equivalent agency administering child welfare, and
public health and medical examiners.
(b) The protocol agreement may include, but is not limited to, the
following additional entities:
(1) School districts.
(2) Probation departments.
(3) Courts.
(4) County counsel.
(5) Tribal council representatives.
(6) Clergy.
(7) Regional centers.
(8) Mental health.
(9) Counsel for children.
(10) CASA(Court Appointed Special Advocates).
(11) Ancillary law enforcement agencies, including the federal
government and the military.
(12) Victim witness programs.
(13) Child abuse councils.
(c) Each protocol agreement shall include the following:
(1) A mission goal and mission statement.
(2) Written standards and procedures.
(3) A procedure for periodic review by all agencies involved.
(4) A procedure for dissemination to all parties involved.
(5) A procedure for training about the requirements of the
protocol agreement.
(6) Recognition of the need for ongoing training procedures for
professionals involved in the investigation of child abuse.
(7) Hiring requirements that specify that staff shall have
knowledge of the language and cultural needs of the victims of child
abuse.
(d) The protocol agreement shall address all children, including
children with special needs, suspected of being abused or neglected
in the following situations:
(1) Intrafamily or in the home.
(2) Out-of-home care facilities, including, but not limited to,
day care, group homes, public or private schools, foster care, and
licensed facilities.
(3) Perpetration by a stranger.
(4) Siblings of a child abuse fatality victim.
(5) Homes with domestic violence.
(e) The protocol agreement shall address the following sequence of
responses that takes into account the emotional and physical
well-being of the child victim:
(1) The initial response following a referral shall be coordinated
among first responders to reduce repetitive interviews with or
questions to the child. Specifically, the protocol agreement shall
outline the procedures by which first responders share information
with each other. For the purposes of this section, "first responders"
means officials from a child protective service agency or a law
enforcement agency.
(2) Investigative procedures for forensic evidence gathering.
(3) Child abuse reporting procedures and cross-reporting
procedures.
(4) Minimum standards for levels of professional competency.
(5) Knowledge of legal authority.
(6) Procedures for sharing information with all the parties
involved in the investigation.
(7) Procedures for getting information about the child victim back
to reporters.
(8) Procedures for transporting a child, specifying who may take
the child, where the child may be taken, and under what conditions
the child may be taken. In addition, there shall also be procedures
for transporting family members if the need arises.
(9) Procedures to ensure that a child with special needs receives
prescribed medication or has special equipment, such as a wheelchair.
(f) Procedures shall also include the following considerations for
forensic evidentiary interviews and medical examinations:
(1) The qualification of personnel conducting the interview or
examination.
(2) The location of the interview or examination.
(3) The procedures for documentation.
(4) The guidelines for deciding which agency budget will cover the
cost of examinations and interviews.
(5) The definition or criteria under which a child qualifies for
an examination or interview.
(g) The protocol agreement shall address the following issues:
(1) Procedures for dealing with the denial of entry to any of the
responders to a referral for child abuse or neglect.
(2) Procedures for obtaining the necessary consent for medical
examinations and forensic interviews.
(3) Procedures for sharing information among mandated reporters,
first responders, professionals, and follow-up investigations.
(4) Procedures for sharing information among professional child
abuse investigators that address issues of confidentiality.
(5) Procedures for providing information about protective orders,
prior history criminal background checks, court actions, and
placement orders.
(6) Procedures for emergency situations or professional judgment
that allow for deviation from the protocols.
(7) Procedures to develop a tracking system to receive and
coordinate all information relating to a case of child abuse that is
in the possession of any agency involved in the investigation or
prosecution of child abuse, including law enforcement agencies, child
protective service agencies, county welfare agencies, and licensing
agencies.
(h) The protocol agreement shall explain how the interagency
protocol for child abuse investigation interfaces with or
acknowledges the protocols of individual agencies involved and shall
include procedures for resolving any conflicts among those protocols.