BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2538
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Date of Hearing: April 24, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Jim Beall Jr., Chair
AB 2538 (Speaker Perez) - As Introduced: February 24, 2012
SUBJECT : In-home supportive services: criminal exclusions
SUMMARY : Authorizes In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) public
authorities to provide the State Department of Social Services
(DSS) with copies of the criminal offender record information
search response pertaining to individuals applying for a general
exception to the criminal exclusions applicable to IHSS provider
applicants.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes the IHSS program to provide personal services and
home care for approximately 445,000 eligible poor, aged, blind
and disabled individuals by approximately 360,000 providers
throughout the state to enable recipients to remain in their
own homes and avoid institutionalization.
2)Authorizes services to be provided under the IHSS program
through the employment of individual providers, a contract
between the county and an entity for the provision of
services, the creation by the county of a public authority, or
a contract between the county and a nonprofit consortium.
3)Prohibits, under Welfare & Institutions (W&I) Code Section
12305.87, a new provider applicant from providing supportive
services under the IHSS program for 10 years following a
conviction for any of the following:
a) A violent or serious felony as defined in Penal Code
Sections 667.5 and 1192.7;
b) A felony for which registration is required under the
Sex Offender Registration Act, pursuant to Penal Code
Section 290; or,
c) Obtaining public benefits or services by fraud when the
amount of aid exceeds $950, pursuant to W&I Code Section
10980(c)(2), or fraud in the use of food stamp (CalFresh)
benefits in excess of $950, pursuant to W&I Code Section
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10980(g)(2).
4)Authorizes an applicant convicted of an offense described in
paragraph 3), above, to seek from DSS a general exception to
the exclusions and sets out the procedures to be followed and
factors to be considered by DSS in responding to a request for
a general exception.
5)Requires DSS, upon receipt of a request for a general
exception, to request a copy of the applicant's criminal
offender record information search response from the
applicable county welfare department, and authorizes the
county welfare department to provide that information to DSS.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : The 2010 human services budget trailer bill, AB 1612
(Committee on Budget), Chapter 725, Statutes of 2010, provided
for the exclusion, with certain exceptions, of provider
applicants for 10 years following a conviction for a violent or
serious felony, as defined in the Penal Code, and other
specified felony offenses. These exclusions, for what are
referred to as "Tier 2" offenses, apply prospectively, to new
provider applicants, beginning 90 days following the effective
date of AB 1612. Thus, prospective IHSS home care workers are
required to complete an application process which includes a
criminal background check conducted by the Department of Justice
(DOJ). The results of that background check-the criminal
offender record information (CORI)-are confidential unless
statute permits sharing of the results.
In its letter in support of this bill, the California
Association of Public Authorities (CAPA) notes that DOJ "has
very strict rules that prohibit any agency from transmitting a
copy Ýof the CORI] to another agency without specific statutory
authorization for the secondary dissemination of the CORI." SB
930 (Evans), Chapter 649, Statutes of 2011, addressed
confidentiality issues by permitting county welfare departments
to share CORI information with DSS necessary to, for example,
enable DSS to make determinations on eligibility appeals.
An applicant convicted of a Tier 2 offense may request from DSS
a general exception to the exclusions, pursuant to procedures
and based on considerations specified in statute. As CAPA
explains, in order for DSS to process requests for a general
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exception, they need to have a copy of the CORI that was
reviewed by the county or public authority as part of the
provider enrollment process. However, as CAPA notes, after
enactment of SB 930, it was discovered that the IHSS public
authority was omitted from the statutory fix in SB 930 related
to the general exception process. According to CAPA, "DSS has
received approximately 50 requests from individuals for a
General Exception where the Public Authority reviewed the CORI
to determine if those people were eligible to become IHSS
providers. ÝDOJ] has indicated Public Authorities do not have
authority to provide the CORI for these individuals to DSS under
current law; therefore, DSS is unable to process these General
Exception requests."
This bill, the author says, is necessary to enact a technical
and clarifying revision to current law to ensure that the
employee background check process can be completed. It would
permit public authorities, as well as county welfare
departments, to share the CORI search response with DSS when a
provider applicant has requested a general exception.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Association of Public Authorities (CAPA)
County Welfare Directors Association of California
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
AB 2538
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Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Eric Gelber / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089