BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2322
Page A
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2322 (Feuer and Bass)
As Amended May 13, 2010
2/3 vote. Urgency
HUMAN SERVICES 6-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
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|Ayes:|Beall, Tom Berryhill, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Conway, Hill, |
| |Ammiano, Swanson, Logue, | |Bradford, Charles |
| |Portantino | |Calderon, Coto, Davis, |
| | | |Hall, Harkey, Miller, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Skinner, |
| | | |Solorio, Torlakson, |
| | | |Torrico |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Authorizes specified California Work Opportunities and
Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) case managers to participate
on a child abuse multidisciplinary personnel team; and broadens
the scope of information that can be included in county
multidisciplinary personnel team databases to include
information regarding nonrelatives living in a child's home and
information about the convictions of members of a child's
household. Specifically, this bill:
1)Clarifies that child abuse multidisciplinary personnel teams
(MDTs), as defined in Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC)
Section 18951, may share confidential information and records
when engaged in the "management" of cases of child abuse or
neglect.
2)Adds CalWORKs case managers responsible for case planning and
coordination for children and families in need of both child
welfare services and CalWORKs programs, to the personnel
authorized to participate in an MDT.
3)Requires the CalWORKs case manager to get the informed written
consent of the family receiving cross program case planning
and coordination in order to share confidential information
regarding the child and family as a member of an MDT.
4)Provides that confidential information related to families in
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need of child welfare services may be shared among members of
an MDT and included in an MDT computerized database, and
directs counties with an MDT database to develop standards for
determining whether a child or family is "in need of child
welfare services" and protocols for how to apply this
definition consistently.
5)Permits information regarding any person residing in a child's
home, including individuals not considered part of the child's
family, to be shared by MDTs and stored in an MDT database,
relative to child abuse and neglect investigations or child
welfare services.
6)Adds information about convictions related to crimes against
children for family members and others living in the child's
home to the information that may be shared by members of an
MDT.
EXISTING LAW
1)Defines a child abuse MDT multidisciplinary personnel team as
any team of three or more people trained in the prevention,
identification, and treatment of child abuse and neglect cases
and who are qualified to provide a broad range of child
abuse-related services such as mental health professionals,
law enforcement personnel, social workers, and teachers. WIC
Section 18951 (d).
2)Permits members of an MDT, as defined in Section 18951, to
exchange confidential information and writings during team
meetings, provided the information is relevant to the
prevention, identification or treatment of child abuse and is
kept confidential. WIC Section 830.
3)Authorizes counties to establish a computerized data base to
allow provider agencies to share confidential information
related to families at risk for child abuse or neglect through
the formation of MDTs aimed at preventing, identifying,
managing, or treating child abuse or neglect. WIC Section
18961.5.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee costs associated with this legislation would be minor
and absorbable within existing resources.
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COMMENTS :
This bill seeks to clarify and expand on existing MDT laws, to
allow for greater interagency communication and improved
response to families at risk for child abuse or neglect
following several high-profile cases of child deaths stemming
from child abuse or neglect in Los Angeles (LA) County in recent
years. According to the author, this bill attempts to address
several problems with existing law, identified by LA County,
including an underutilized database and lack of clarity among
several statutes.
Child abuse multidisciplinary personnel teams :
Multidisciplinary teams have been authorized in California to
allow for a coordinated interagency response to elder and child
abuse cases for over twenty years. MDTs, 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. Currently, all 58
California counties operate child abuse MDTs, and counties often
operate multiple MDTs at once.
MDTs operate, not just to investigate possible child abuse
and neglect but also to facilitate coordination among the
different agencies and entities participating on the team
so that decisions can be made through team decision-making.
Precedent for the inclusion of CalWORKs case managers
involved in case planning and coordination with child
welfare services may be found with the "Linkages Project."
The purpose of the Linkages coordination model is to draw
on the resources available through both the CWS system as
well as CalWORKs to help individuals become more successful
in meeting the goals of both programs. According to DSS,
the Linkages model is currently being utilized in 33
counties across California. This bill would clarify that
those CalWORKs case managers engaged in case planning and
coordination for families who crossover between CWS and the
CalWORKs program, may participate as members of an MDT with
the family's prior written consent.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile
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Justice and Delinquency Prevention<1>, elements of a successful
MDT include confidentiality policies in line with legislative
mandates, agency policies and professional practices, and the
best interests of the child; conflict resolution practices; and
periodic self-analysis and outside evaluation to ensure the team
continues to achieve its intended purpose.
Under existing state law, counties may form computerized
databases for the purpose of allowing specified provider
agencies to share identifying information regarding families at
risk for child abuse or neglect in order to form MDTs to
prevent, identify, manage and treat child abuse. According to
the Department of Social Services and the County Welfare
Director's Association, LA County has the only known
computerized MDT database provided pursuant to WIC Section
18961.5. LA County's database, the Family Child Index serves as
a "pointer" system, which directs authorized users to a
participating agency that has had prior contacts with a family.
In recent months, according to the author, Los Angles County has
required social workers to consult the FCI.
Confidentiality : 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.
These laws seek to safeguard the constitutional right to
privacy, and to ensure that individuals are comfortable sharing
the personal information necessary to the provision of services.
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.
Federal law provides exceptions to confidentiality protections
for child abuse or neglect reports and records under the Child
Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.),
which requires federal, state, or local government agencies to
share confidential information in order to fulfill their legal
responsibilities to protect children from abuse and neglect.
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<1> Ells, Mark. "Forming a Multidisciplinary Team to
Investigate Child Abuse." Washington, D.C. U.S. Department of
Justice, Office of Justice Programs Office of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention. Second printing March 2000.
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Analysis Prepared by : Michelle Doty Cabrera / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089
FN: 0004520