BILL ANALYSIS
AB 247
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Date of Hearing: March 31, 2009
Chief Counsel: Gregory Pagan
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Jose Solorio, Chair
AB 247 (Emmerson) - As Introduced: February 10, 2009
SUMMARY : Clarifies that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is
required make available relevant information contained in the
Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) to the reporting health care
practitioner only if that person is treating a person reported
as a possible victim of known or suspected child abuse.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the DOJ to maintain a CACI of all reports of child
abuse and neglect submitted by the specified reporting
agencies. CACI shall be continually updated and shall not
contain any reports determined to be unfounded. [Penal Code
Section 11170(a)(1).]
2)Requires specified reporting agencies to forward to DOJ a
report of every case of suspected child abuse or neglect which
is determined not to be unfounded, as defined; 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).]
3)Requires at the time a reporting agency forwards a report of
suspected child abuse or neglect to the DOJ, the agency must
notify the known or suspected child abuser that he or she has
been reported to CACI. [Penal Code Section 11169(b).]
4)States that the DOJ shall act only as a repository of the
suspected child abuse or neglect reports that are maintained
in CACI, and that the reporting agencies are responsible for
the accuracy, completeness, and retention of reports. [Penal
Code Section 11170(a)(2).]
5)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
AB 247
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concerning the suspected child abuser is received within the
10-year period. [Penal Code Section 11170(a)(3).]
6)Defines the following types of suspected child abuse or
neglect reports:
a) An "unfounded report" is a report that is determined by
the investigator to be false, inherently improbable, an
accidental injury, or not to constitute child abuse or
neglect, as defined.
b) A "substantiated report" is a report that is determined
by the investigator based on some credible evidence to
constitute child abuse or neglect, as defined.
c) An "inconclusive report" is a report that is determined
not to be unfounded, but in which the findings are
inconclusive and there is insufficient evidence to
determine if child abuse or neglect, as defined, has
occurred. (Penal Code Section 11165.12.)
7)Requires DOJ to "immediately notify an agency" that submits a
mandated child abuse or neglect report, or a district attorney
who requests notification, of any information in CACI that is
relevant to the known or suspected instance of child abuse or
severe neglect reported by the agency. [Penal Code Section
11170(b).]
8)Provides that any person may determine if he or she is listed
in the CACI by making a request in writing to the DOJ, as
specified. DOJ is required to make available to the
requesting person information identifying the date of the
report and the submitting agency; the requesting person is
responsible for obtaining the investigative report from the
submitting agency, as specified. [Penal Code Section
11170(e).]
9)Provides that if a person is listed in the CACI only as a
victim of child abuse or neglect and that person is 18 years
of age or older, that person may have his or her name removed
from the index by making a written request to DOJ. [Penal
Code Section 11170(g).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
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COMMENTS : According to the author, "Current Penal Code Section
11170 (b) lumps both a health care reporter and a non-health
care reporter into one sentence that entitles the reporter to
information from the DOJ Index 'if he or she is treating or
investigating a case of known or suspected child abuse.' This
sentence implies that health care practitioners who treat, might
also be authorized to investigate child abuse. The California
Association of Marriage and Family Therapists believes that this
sentence should be split into two sentences to make clear that
health care practitioners treat, but do not investigate cases of
know or suspected child abuse."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Association of Marriage
and Family Counselors
Opposition
None received
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744