BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2322
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2322 (Feuer and Bass)
As Amended August 19, 2010
2/3 vote. Urgency
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|ASSEMBLY: |77-0 |(June 1, 2010) |SENATE: |30-0 |(August 23, |
| | | | | |2010) |
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Original Committee Reference: HUM. S.
SUMMARY : Modifies statutes related to multidisciplinary personnel
teams and broadens the scope of information that may be included
in a county multidisciplinary personnel team (MDT) computerized
database to include information regarding nonrelatives living in
the home of a child.
The Senate amendments :
1)Authorize Los Angeles County to include information regarding
the convictions of members of a child's household involving a
child as a victim in an MDT database, as specified.
2)Require that the conviction information added to the Los Angeles
database be restricted to provider agencies currently entitled
to receive criminal history records, and to remove the
conviction information from the database 50 years after the
conviction date.
3)Require that any person who knowingly and intentionally violates
the confidentiality of the information contained in the MDT
database shall be subject to administrative and civil penalties.
4)Recast confidentiality provisions to expressly prohibit the use
of information obtained by members of an MDT from being used in
a criminal or delinquency proceeding unless the information was
obtained by other means as permitted by law.
5)Include chaptering amendments to avoid a potential conflict with
AB 2229 (Brownley).
EXISTING LAW :
1)Defines a child abuse MDT as any team of three or more people
AB 2322
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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. Welfare & Institutions Code (WIC) Section 18951
(d).
2)Permits members of an MDT, as defined in WIC 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.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill authorized specified
California Work Opportunities and Responsibilities to Kids
(CalWORKs) case managers to participate on a child abuse MDT; and
broadened the scope of information that could be included in
county MDT databases to include information regarding nonrelatives
living in a child's home and information about the convictions of
members of a child's household.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee,
likely minor, non-reimbursable local costs associated with
allowable expanded MDT activities, and potentially significant,
non-reimbursable local costs associated with requirements for
optional data bases and new authority for Los Angeles (LA) County,
to the extent counties choose to adopt/participate in these
activities.
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 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
computer database and lack of clarity among several statutes.
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Analysis Prepared by : Michelle Doty Cabrera / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089
FN: 0006577