BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair

                                           774 (Ashburn)
          
          Hearing Date:  05/28/2009           Amended: 04/27/2009
          Consultant:  Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Public Safety  
          7-0
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          ____
          BILL SUMMARY: SB 774 requires counties to obtain a DOJ criminal  
          history report before hiring a social worker assigned to child  
          welfare services, and prohibits counties from hiring in that  
          position a person convicted of specified crimes.
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          ____
                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions         2009-10      2010-11       2011-12     Fund
           
          Ongoing recordkeeping                Unknown, likely minor costs  
                                 General
          _________________________________________________________________ 
          ____

          STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED

          This bill would impose a state mandate on counties by requiring  
          a DOJ criminal background check on applicants for county child  
          protective service social worker positions. Upon receipt of this  
          information from DOJ, the county would be responsible for  
          retaining the information. The counties must also request from  
          DOJ subsequent arrest notification service. 

          Many counties already impose criminal background check  
          requirements on the specified employees, but by enacting a state  
          mandate, the state is responsible for reimbursing the expenses  
          incurred by counties. Counties must add this procedure to their  
          hiring process, and establish systems for managing new  
          information. If even one county required one additional PY to  
          process criminal background and subsequent arrest information,  
          the state would likely have to reimburse more than $50,000. This  
          bill provides for DOJ to charge a fee for its costs, but the  
          counties will also incur processing costs mandated by the state.

          Los Angeles County has nearly 8,000 social workers, and reports  










          a 20% turnover rate. It is likely that Los Angeles County would  
          face a significant increased workload to process more than 1,600  
          criminal background checks annually, and keep track of  
          subsequent arrest information transmitted from DOJ. It is likely  
          to have the most significant expenses, but the remaining 57  
          counties are likely to experience a state- reimbursable  
          increased workload. 

           AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED: Language would clarify that this  
          bill is prospective. Counties would also be allowed to charge a  
          fee to applicants for social worker positions that would cover  
          the county's processing costs.