BILL NUMBER: AB 2229 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 15, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 29, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 15, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 7, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Brownley
FEBRUARY 18, 2010
An act to amend Section 18961.5 of, and to add and repeal Section
18961.7 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to child
abuse reporting.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2229, as amended, Brownley. Mandated child abuse reporting.
Existing law authorizes members of a multidisciplinary personnel
team engaged in the prevention, identification, and treatment of
child abuse to disclose and exchange information and writings to and
with one another relating to any incidents of child abuse that may
also be a part of a juvenile court record or otherwise designated as
confidential under state law if the member of the team having that
information or writing reasonably believes it is generally relevant
to the prevention, identification, or treatment of child abuse. Under
existing law, all discussions relative to the disclosure or exchange
of this information during team meetings are confidential and
testimony concerning those discussions is not admissible in any
criminal, civil, or juvenile court proceeding. A multidisciplinary
personnel team is defined for purposes of this provision to mean any
team of 3 or more persons who are trained in the prevention,
identification, and treatment of child abuse, as specified.
This bill would, until January 1, 2014, additionally authorize the
disclosure and exchange of information to occur telephonically and
electronically, for up to 48 hours 30 days
, or longer if documented good cause exists
, following a report of suspected child abuse or
neglect, if there is adequate verification of the identity of the
multidisciplinary personnel who are involved in that disclosure or
exchange of information. The bill would revise the definition of a
multidisciplinary personnel team for purposes of this provision to
mean any team of 2 or more persons created to investigate a report of
suspected child abuse, as specified, who are trained in the
prevention, identification, and treatment of child abuse, as
specified. The bill would require that the sharing of information
permitted in the 48-hour period following a report
of suspected child abuse or neglect be governed by memoranda of
understanding among participating provider agencies, as defined, that
prescribes prescribe the types of
information that may be shared and the process to ensure that
specified confidentiality requirements are met.
Existing law provides that a county may establish a computerized
data base system within that county to allow provider agencies to
share identifying information regarding families at risk for child
abuse or neglect, for the purpose of forming multidisciplinary
personnel teams for the prevention, identification, management, or
treatment of child abuse. A multidisciplinary personnel team is
defined for purposes of this provision to mean any team of 3 or more
persons who are trained in the prevention, identification, and
treatment of child abuse, as specified.
This bill would revise the definition of multidisciplinary
personnel teams for purposes of this provision to additionally
include any team of 2 or more persons who are trained in the
prevention, identification, management, or treatment of child abuse,
as specified.
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 18961.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
18961.5. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any
county may establish a computerized database system within that
county to allow provider agencies, as defined in subdivision (h), to
share identifying information, as specified in subdivision (c),
regarding families at risk for child abuse or neglect, for the
purpose of forming multidisciplinary personnel teams, as defined in
either subdivision (d) of Section 18951 or paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b) of Section 18961.7, for the prevention,
identification, management, or treatment of child abuse.
(b) Each county shall develop its own standards for defining "at
risk" before joining this system. Only information about children or
the families of children at risk for child abuse or neglect may be
entered into a computerized database system established pursuant to
this section.
(c) With regard to a case in which a child or family has been
identified as at risk for child abuse or neglect under this section,
only the following information shall be entered into the system:
(1) The name, address, telephone number, and date and place of
birth of family members.
(2) The number assigned to the case by each provider agency.
(3) The name and telephone number of each employee assigned to the
case from each provider agency.
(4) The date or dates of contact between each provider agency and
a family member or family members.
(d) The information may only be entered into the system by, or
disclosed to, provider agency employees designated by the director of
each participating provider agency. Members of the multidisciplinary
personnel teams shall be drawn from these designated employees, or
other persons, as specified in Section 18961. The heads of provider
agencies shall establish a system by which unauthorized personnel
cannot access the data contained in the system.
(e) The information obtained pursuant to this section shall be
kept confidential and shall be used solely for the prevention,
identification, management, or treatment of child abuse, child
neglect, or both.
(f) This section shall not supplant any duties required by the
Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (Article 2.5 (commencing with
Section 11164) of Chapter 2 of Title 1 of Part 3 of the Penal Code).
(g) No employee of a provider agency which serves children and
their families shall be civilly or criminally liable for furnishing
or sharing information as authorized by this section.
(h) For the purposes of this section, "provider agency" means any
governmental or other agency which has as one of its purposes the
prevention, identification, management, or treatment of child abuse
or neglect. The provider agencies serving children and their families
which may share information under this section shall include, but
not be limited to, the following entities or service agencies:
(1) Social services.
(2) Children's services.
(3) Health services.
(4) Mental health services.
(5) Probation.
(6) Law enforcement.
(7) Schools.
SEC. 2. Section 18961.7 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
18961.7. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county
may establish a child abuse investigation and prevention
multidisciplinary personnel team within that county to
allow provider agencies to share confidential information in order
for provider agencies to investigate reports of suspected
child abuse or neglect made pursuant to Section 11166
11160, 11166, or 11166.05 of the Penal Code, or
for the purposes of making a child welfare services referral
or detention determination. the purpose of child
welfare agencies making a detention determination.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall
have the following meanings:
(1) "Child abuse investigation and prevention
multidisciplinary personnel team" means any team of two or more
persons who are trained in the prevention, identification, or
treatment of child abuse and neglect cases and who are qualified to
provide a broad range of services related to child abuse. The team
may include, but shall not be limited to:
(A) Psychiatrists, psychologists, marriage and family therapists,
or other trained counseling personnel.
(B) Police officers or other law enforcement agents.
(C) Medical personnel with sufficient training to provide health
services.
(D) Social service services workers
with experience or training in child abuse prevention.
(E) Any public or private school teacher, administrative officer,
supervisor of child welfare attendance, or certified pupil personnel
employee.
(2) "Provider agency" means any governmental or other agency that
has as one of its purposes the prevention, identification,
management, or treatment of child abuse or neglect. The provider
agencies serving children and their families that may share
information under this section shall include, but not be limited to,
the following entities or service agencies:
(A) Social services.
(B) Children's services.
(C) Health services.
(D) Mental health services.
(E) Probation.
(F) Law enforcement.
(G) Schools.
(c) (1) Notwithstanding Section 827 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code or any other provision of law, during the
48-hour period a 30-day period, or longer if
documented good cause exists, following a report of suspected
child abuse or neglect, members of a child abuse
investigation and prevention multidisciplinary personnel
team engaged in the prevention, identification, and treatment of
child abuse may disclose to and exchange with one another information
and writings that relate to any incident of child abuse that may
also be designated as confidential under state law if the member of
the team having that information or writing reasonably believes it is
generally relevant to the prevention, identification, or treatment
of child abuse. Any discussion relative to the disclosure or exchange
of the information or writings during a team meeting is confidential
and, notwithstanding any other provision of law, testimony
concerning that discussion is not admissible in any criminal, civil,
or juvenile court proceeding.
(2) Disclosure and exchange of information pursuant to this
section may occur telephonically and electronically if there is
adequate verification of the identity of the child abuse
investigation and prevention multidisciplinary personnel
who are involved in that disclosure or exchange of information.
(3) Disclosure and exchange of information pursuant to this
section shall not be made to anyone other than members of the child
abuse investigation and prevention
multidisciplinary personnel team, and those qualified to receive
information as set forth in subdivision (d).
(d) The child abuse investigation and prevention
multidisciplinary personnel team may designate persons
qualified pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) to be a member
of the team for a particular case. A person designated as a team
member pursuant to this subdivision may receive and disclose relevant
information and records, subject to the confidentiality provisions
of subdivision (f).
(e) The sharing of information permitted under subdivision (c)
shall be governed by memoranda of understanding among the
participating service providers or provider agencies. These memoranda
shall specify the types of information that may be shared, and the
process to be used to ensure that current confidentiality
requirements, as described in subdivision (f), are met.
(f) Every member of the child abuse investigation and
prevention multidisciplinary personnel team who receives
information or records regarding children and families in his or her
capacity as a member of the team shall be under the same privacy and
confidentiality obligations and subject to the same confidentiality
penalties as the person disclosing or providing the information or
records. The information or records obtained shall be maintained in a
manner that ensures the maximum protection of privacy and
confidentiality rights.
(g) This section shall not be construed to restrict guarantees of
confidentiality provided under state or federal law.
(h) Information and records communicated or provided to the team
members by all providers and agencies, as well as information and
records created in the course of a child abuse or neglect
investigation, shall be deemed private and confidential and shall be
protected from discovery and disclosure by all applicable statutory
and common law protections. Existing civil and criminal penalties
shall apply to the inappropriate disclosure of information held by
the team members.
(i) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2014, and as of that date is repealed.