BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 247|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 247
Author: Emmerson (R)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/9/09
AYES: Leno, Benoit, Cedillo, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg,
Wright
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 5/4/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Child abuse: Child Abuse Central Index
SOURCE : California Association of Marriage and Family
Therapists
DIGEST : This bill clarifies that an agency that has
reported an instance of known or suspected child abuse or
neglect to the Department of Justice must make information
received from the Department of Justice relevant to the
known or suspect instance of abuse or neglect available to
the reporting health care practitioner who is treating a
person reported as an abuse or neglect victim, and makes an
additional related technical revision to the law in this
area.
ANALYSIS : Current law requires the Department of Justice
(DOJ) to maintain an index of all reports of child abuse
CONTINUED
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and severe neglect (CACI) submitted by specified reporting
agencies. CACI shall be continually updated and shall not
contain any reports determined to be unfounded. (Penal
Code Section 11170(a)(1).)
Current law 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, DOJ shall be notified in writing and shall not
retain that report. (Penal Code Section 11169(a).)
Current law requires at the time a reporting agency
forwards a report of suspected child abuse or neglect to
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).)
Current law states that 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).)
Current law 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 concerning the suspected child abuser is received
within the 10-year period. (Penal Code Section
11170(a)(3).)
Current law defines the following types of suspected child
abuse or neglect reports:
1.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.
2.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.
3.An "inconclusive report" is a report that is determined
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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.)
Current law provides that any person may determine if he or
she is listed in the CACI by making a request in writing to
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).)
Current law 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 the written
request to DOJ. (Penal Code Section 11170(g).)
Current law 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. Current law further requires that
agency to make that information available to the reporting
medical practitioner, child custodian, guardian ad litem,
counsel, or appropriate licensing agency if he or she is
treating the victim or investigating the case, as
specified. (Penal Code Section 11170(b).)
This bill revises this provision to clarify that the
reporting agency is required to make information received
from DOJ relevant to the known or suspect instance of abuse
or neglect available to the reporting health care
practitioner who is treating a person reported as an abuse
or neglect victim.
This bill makes an additional, technical amendment to this
section.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
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SUPPORT : (Verified 6/19/09)
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
(source)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author's office states,
"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 Health 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 known or suspected child abuse."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,
Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani,
Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Jeffries, Jones, Knight,
Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A.
Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas,
Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra
Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,
Villines, Yamada, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Huffman
RJG:cm 6/22/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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