BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2229|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2229
Author: Brownley (D)
Amended: 8/2/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 5-0, 6/22/10
AYES: Liu, Emmerson, Romero, Runner, Yee
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/29/10
AYES: Leno, Cogdill, Cedillo, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg,
Wright
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 6/2/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Mandated child abuse reporting
SOURCE : Los Angeles County District Attorney
DIGEST : This bill establishes time-limited authority for
counties to create two-person multidisciplinary personnel
teams engaged in the investigation of suspected child abuse
or neglect, as specified.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Authorizes members of a multidisciplinary personnel team
CONTINUED
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(MPT) 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 part of a juvenile court record or otherwise
designated as confidential under state law if the member
of the team having that information reasonably believes
it is generally relevant to the prevention,
identification or treatment of child abuse.
2. Defines "multidisciplinary personnel" as any team of
three or more persons who are trained in the prevention,
identification, and 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 not be limited to:
Psychiatrists, psychologists, or other trained
counseling personnel.
Police officers or other law enforcement agents.
Medical personnel with sufficient training to
provide health services.
Social workers with training or experience in
child abuse prevention.
Any public or private school teacher,
administrative officer, supervisor of child welfare
and attendance, or certificated pupil personnel
employee.
3. Provides that any county may establish a computerized
data base system within that county to allow provider
agencies, as defined, to share specified identifying
information regarding families at risk for child abuse
and neglect, for the purposes of forming MPTs.
This bill:
1. Allows a county to establish, notwithstanding any other
provision of law, a child abuse MPT within that county
to allow provider agencies, as defined, to share
confidential information in order for provider agencies
to investigate reports of suspected child abuse or
neglect, or for the purpose of child welfare agencies
making a detention determination.
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2. Defines "child abuse multidisciplinary personnel team,"
related to the provisions below, to mean any team of two
or more persons (current law defines as three 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. Allows this team to
include, but not be limited to, the same persons that
are included in a three-person MPT, pursuant to current
law. (See list above.)
3. Defines "provider agency" to mean any governmental or
other agency that has as one of its purposes the
prevention, identification, management, or treatment of
child abuse or neglect. Specifies provider agencies to
include, but not be limited to, the following entities
or service agencies (identical to current law specifying
three-person MPTs): social services; children's
services; health services; mental health services;
probation; law enforcement; and schools.
4. Allows members of a child abuse investigation and
prevention MPT to disclose and exchange with one another
information and writings, as specified, during a 30-day
period, or longer if documented good cause exists,
following a report of suspected child abuse or neglect,
notwithstanding any other provision of law. Provides
that 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.
5. Allows disclosure and exchange of information pursuant
to the above to occur telephonically and electronically
if there is adequate verification of the identity of the
child abuse multidisciplinary personnel who are involved
in that disclosure or exchange of information.
6. Prohibits the disclosure and exchange of information to
be made to anyone other than members of the child abuse
MPT, and those qualified to receive information, as
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specified.
7. Allows the child abuse MPT to designate persons to be a
member of the team for a particular case, as specified,
and allows a person designated as a team member to
receive and disclose relevant information and records,
subject to the confidentiality provisions specified in
the bill.
8. Requires the sharing of the information above to be
governed by protocols developed in each county
describing how and what information may be shared to
ensure that confidential information is not disclosed in
violation of state or federal law.
9. Requires every member of the child abuse MPT who
receives information or records regarding children and
families in his or her capacity as a member of the team
to 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. Requires the information or
records obtained to be maintained in a manner that
ensures the maximum protection of privacy and
confidentiality rights. Provides that this section
shall not be construed to restrict guarantees of
confidentiality provided under state or federal law.
10.Provides that the 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.
Provides that existing civil and criminal penalties
shall apply to the inappropriate disclosure of
information held by the team members.
11.Specifies that the sharing of a computerized data base
system that a county is authorized to establish related
to child abuse and neglect be available for the purpose
of the child abuse MPT established pursuant to these
provisions, in addition to the MPT authorized in current
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law.
12.Repeals the provisions above on January 1, 2014.
Background
MPTs have been authorized in California to allow for a
coordinated interagency response to elder and child abuse
cases for more than twenty years. MPTs, formed and
operated at the county level are afforded the ability to
share confidential information among team members for the
purposes of preventing, identifying, or treating child
abuse. According to the U.S. Department of Justice Office
of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's guide,
"Forming a Multidisciplinary Team to Investigate Child
Abuse," MPTs are an effective tool for conducting a timely
and objective investigation while causing as little added
trauma to children and families. Additionally, MPTs
operate, not just to investigate possible child abuse and
neglect, but to facilitate coordination among the different
agencies and entities participating on the team so that
decisions can be made through team decision-making.
Existing state and federal laws prohibit most county health
and human services programs and educational entities from
sharing confidential patient, recipient, and student
information without the express consent of the individual,
or in the case of minors, the parent or guardian.
Confidential information may be shared in rare cases among
government agencies although written permission is often
required, and civil and criminal penalties may apply if the
information is unlawfully disclosed.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/29/10) (prior version of bill)
Los Angeles County District Attorney (source)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the bill's sponsor,
the Los Angeles County District Attorney (on behalf of the
Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect), this bill
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seeks to remedy the problem faced by members of an MPT
investigating a potential case of child abuse who are
time-limited in making detention determinations, and face
barriers accessing necessary information from other members
of the MPT because current law requires discussions among
three or more MPT members, and is unclear regarding
telephonic and electronic communications.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,
Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,
Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines,
Yamada, John A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Tom Berryhill, Lieu, Audra Strickland,
Vacancy
CTW:mw 8/3/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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