BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1022
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Date of Hearing: July 18, 2007
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mark Leno, Chair
SB 1022 (Steinberg) - As Amended: May 22, 2007
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote:4-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill allows a person who was under the age of 18 at the
time of a reported incident that did not result in a delinquency
adjudication or a criminal conviction, to request in writing
that his or her name be removed from the Department of Justice's
(DOJ) Child Abuse Central Index (CACI). Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires DOJ, upon receipt of a written request for a CACI
name purge, to inquire of the agency that reported the
incident whether the incident resulted in a delinquency
adjudication or criminal conviction and, unless the submitting
agency responds affirmatively to the DOJ within 30 days, to
remove the petitioner's name from CACI as an incident suspect.
2)Requires DOJ, if a known or suspected child abuser is a minor,
to notify the minor's current caregiver, the minor's parents
or legal guardian, the minor's attorney, and any guardian ad
litem, that the minor has been reported to CACI.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Ongoing GF costs, likely in excess of $150,000, for DOJ
personnel to review requests for CACI name purges.
DOJ reports 820,000 reports currently stored in CACI. DOJ
estimates that about 62,400 of the originating incidents of
child abuse were allegedly committed by persons who, at the
time of the incident, were under the age of 18. If DOJ
receives purge requests for five percent of 62,000 reports
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(3,100), and each review averages 1.5 hours of staff time, the
first year cost would be about $200,000.
2)Minor absorbable costs to DOJ to provide notice to minors'
caregivers, parents, guardians, and attorneys that a minor has
been reported to the CACI.
3)Minor nonreimbursable local law enforcement costs to provide
adjudication information, upon request to DOJ.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . According to the author and the sponsor, the County
Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA), this bill
creates a process by which young adults, whose names were
placed on the CACI for alleged and nonadjudicated incidents
that occurred while they were minors, can have their names
purged from a list that could hinder their employment options
for at least a decade.
According to CWDA, "Children placed in foster care due to
abuse or neglect may act out due to their own past abuse. When
this behavior results in a report of alleged abuse or neglect,
their own caseworkers often are required to send information
to the index, which DOJ maintains for use by local law
enforcement and child welfare agencies and certain potential
employers.
"Current law requires these children to be listed on CACI even
in cases where no criminal or delinquency charges are ever
filed. In most instances these youth have no notice that they
are included on the CACI and learn of this fact only as
adults, when they are adversely impacted as they pursue job
opportunities or other activities for which a CACI check is
required. Children were themselves victims of abuse or neglect
can, as adults, be prevented from adopting their siblings,
providing foster care, or obtaining employment as a teacher or
child care worker due to relatively minor transgressions in
their past."
2)Current law requires specified mandated child abuse reporters
- child-care custodians, health practitioners, law enforcement
officers, and other medical and professional persons - to
report suspected incidents of child abuse to a law enforcement
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or child protection agency. The reports are confidential.
Following an investigation, the responding agency classifies
the case as "substantiated," meaning there is evidence of
abuse, "inconclusive," meaning they cannot say whether abuse
has occurred, or "unfounded," meaning there likely was no
abuse. The investigating agency must forward a summary of the
report to DOJ when the case is determined to be substantiated
or inconclusive.
DOJ maintains inconclusive reports for 10 years unless, within
that period, another report involves the same suspect. If a
subsequent report is submitted, DOJ extends the time it keeps
the reports for another 10 years. Substantiated reports are
kept indefinitely. DOJ maintains the report summaries in the
CACI, which may be accessed by law enforcement for case
investigation or by child welfare agencies when placing
children in homes. Reports may also be accessed as part of a
background check for employment in childcare and related
positions.
3)Opposition . The California District Attorneys Association
states, "There are many reasons why a juvenile's suspected
abuse or neglect of a child may not result in a true finding
or conviction. It might be the case that the victim wasn't
cooperative or was too young to cooperate. Perhaps there was
a criminal trial that resulted in a hung jury. It would still
be important to maintain these suspects in the index if, for
example, the suspect later seeks employment in a daycare
center or residential facility. Additionally, if the
individual were to be accused of a similar crime, the
information would be valuable as potential propensity evidence
in the current case. If an investigation reveals that a
report is inconclusive or unsubstantiated, the suspect's name
will automatically be deleted after ten years pursuant to
existing law. If a report is unfounded, it would not be in
the index in the first place.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081