BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
1763 (Lieu)
Hearing Date: 08/12/2010 Amended: 07/15/2010
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Hum. Svcs.
4-0; Pub. Saf. 5-1
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 1763 would require counties, nonprofit
consortia, and public authorities to accept the criminal
background clearance of an in-home supportive services (IHSS)
provider that was deemed an eligible provider by another county,
nonprofit consortium, or public authority. This bill would also
require the Department of Justice (DOJ) to process requests for
notifications of subsequent arrests, as specified.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
New policy/regulations $28 $28
$0 General
$28 $28
Federal
DOJ arrest notifications $828 $740
$740 Special*
Mandate: counties Potentially significant
reimbursable costs General**
*Fingerprint Fee Account
**Fees charged to counties would offset DOJ costs to process
subsequent arrest report requests.
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE.
The IHSS program is administered at the statewide level by the
Department of Social Services (DSS). This bill would require
DSS, in consultation and coordination with county welfare
departments, to establish guidelines to provide counties with
instructions to consistently and accurately comply with the
requirements of the IHSS program as they relate to new rules for
provider background checks, which will present a significant
increase in limited-term workload to develop the departmental
policy, instructions for counties, and regulations. The above
estimate reflect the need for 1/2 PY, limited-term.
AB X4 19 (Evans; Chapter 17, Statutes of 2009) required that
criminal background checks be performed for prospective IHSS
providers as a condition of IHSS enrollment and that they be
performed at the provider's expense. That bill also required a
criminal background check to be performed no later than July 1,
2010, for a person already on a county's provider registry or
already providing services, but not on the registry. Thus, since
it is past the deadline, every current IHSS provider should have
(paid for and) completed a DOJ criminal background check. Future
providers will also be responsible for completing DOJ background
checks, at their own expense, as well.
This bill would require a county, nonprofit consortium, or
public authority authorized to secure a criminal background
check clearance to accept a clearance for an individual,
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AB 1763 (Lieu)
as prescribed, from another county, nonprofit consortium, or
public authority with criminal background check authority, for
an IHSS provider who works in more then one county and has
completed a DOJ criminal background check in another county of
employment. This requirement constitutes a state mandate on
counties, which the Commission on State Mandates could be deem
reimbursable if it creates a unique cost to the county. Until
DSS creates and implements the new process, it is unclear what
effect new requirements would have on counties; it may result in
workload savings.
This bill would also require a county, nonprofit consortium, or
public authority to obtain subsequent arrest notifications
issued by DOJ for a provider whose criminal record clearance was
originally processed by another county, nonprofit consortium, or
public authority with criminal background check authority. DOJ
would, as a result of these provisions, be required to send
subsequent arrest notifications to multiple counties.
DOJ has existing fee authority to charge for background checks
and subsequent arrest notifications. DOJ's Automated Criminal
History System (ACHS) however, is only able to send a subsequent
arrest notification to the county (or employer) that requested
the initial background check. The system stores applicant
information (and criminal history. When an individual is
originally fingerprinted for employment and the applicant agency
is authorized to receive subsequent arrest notification, a cycle
is created on ACHS. If this individual is later arrested, the
aforementioned agency will receive a subsequent arrest
notification for this individual. DOJ will not necessarily know
which counties are sharing criminal background information about
IHSS providers, or how the information is being shared. The
department would have to be notified by any additional counties
that they, too, employ the same IHSS provider and will need to
receive subsequent arrest notifications. Those additional
arrest notifications required by this bill would have to be
manually tracked by DOJ Program Technicians, and manually
submitted to the new counties.
DOJ estimates that it would require 12 additional PYs, primarily
Program Technicians, starting FY 10/11 and ongoing. These
positions would be funded from the Fingerprint Fee Account
(FFA), and expects to be able to charge requesting counties fees
that will begin to reimburse the FFA over time. The fees the
applicant paid at the initial background check are intended to
cover the check and subsequent arrest notifications to the
requesting county (or employer). The additional process
necessitated by this bill would not be covered by the
applicant's fee, and would have to be paid by counties.
Requiring counties to pay a fee (that is currently paid by IHSS
providers) to DOJ for process created by this bill, would create
a new state mandate, and likely be considered reimbursable, by
the Commission on State Mandates.