BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
BILL NO: SB 1051
S
AUTHOR: Liu and Emmerson
B
VERSION: April 17, 2012
HEARING DATE: April 24, 2012
1
FISCAL: Yes
0
5
CONSULTANT: Mareva Brown
1
SUBJECT
Developmental centers and state hospitals: reports of
death, injury and abuse:
mandated reporters
SUMMARY
Requires the Department of Justice to include data
regarding a crime victim's self-report of disability status
in criminal justice statistics; establishes criteria for
employment for the director of the Office of Protective
Services within the Department of Developmental Services
and directs that position be appointed by and serve at the
pleasure of the Secretary of the Health and Human Services
Agency; requires that mandated reporters working in
developmental centers report suspected abuse to the Office
of Protective Services immediately; requires state
hospitals and developmental centers to report specified
incidents to the designated Protection and Advocacy agency.
ABSTRACT
Current law
1) Requires that the California Department of Justice
Continued---
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prepare and distribute to specified law enforcement
agencies cards, forms or electronic means used in
reporting data to the department, and to recommend the
form and content of records which must be kept to
ensure correct reporting of data to the department.
2) Establishes jurisdiction of the Department of
Developmental Services over state developmental
centers, which provide residential care to individuals
with developmental disabilities.
3) Establishes a police force within the state
Department of Developmental Services to enforce
developmental center rules, preserve peace and protect
the property of the state's developmental centers.
This office has been designated the Office of
Protective Services.
4) Requires a developmental center to immediately
report all resident deaths and serious injuries of
unknown origin to the appropriate local law
enforcement agency.
5) Establishes jurisdiction of the state Department of
Mental Health over the state's mental hospitals.
6) Establishes a police force within the state
Department of Mental Health to enforce hospital rules,
preserve peace and protect the property of the state's
mental hospitals.
7) Requires the state to designate a protection and
advocacy organization, as specified, to advocate for
and investigate allegations of abuse against
individuals with disabilities. This statute reflects
federal requirements that states identify and fund
such an advocacy organization.
8) Requires in Health and Safety code that deaths or
serious injuries occurring in developmental centers or
state hospitals that result from the use of restraints
be reported to the state-designated protection and
advocacy organization.
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9) Requires specified people, known as mandated
reporters, to report cases of elder or dependent adult
abuse, as defined, and makes the failure to report a
misdemeanor.
This bill
1) Requires the Department of Justice to include data
regarding a crime victim's self-report of disability
status in the criminal justice statistics, no later
than the next revision of the department's uniform
crime report, as specified.
2) Requires that when the Department of Developmental
Services employs a Director of Protective Services,
that person must have specified qualifications
including:
a. Shall be an experienced law enforcement
officer
b. Possess a Peace Officers Standards and
Training Management Certificate or higher
c. Have extensive management experience
directing uniformed peace officer and
investigation operations
3) Specifies that the Director of Protective Services
shall be appointed by, and shall serve at the pleasure
of, the Secretary of the California Health and Human
Services agency.
4) Requires the Department of Developmental Services
to report to the state-identified protection and
advocacy agency, any of the following incidents
involving a resident of a developmental center no
later than close of the first business day following
the discovery of the reportable incident:
a. Any unexpected or suspicious death
b. Any sexual assault allegation implicating
the involvement of a developmental center or
department employee
c. Any report made to the local law
enforcement agency
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5) Requires the state Department of State Hospitals to
report to the state-identified protection and advocacy
agency, any of the following incidents involving a
resident of a state mental hospital no later than
close of the first business day following the
discovery of the reportable incident:
a. Any unexpected or suspicious death
b. Any sexual assault allegation implicating
the involvement of a state mental hospital
employee or employee of the Department of
Corrections ad Rehabilitation
c. Any report made to the local law
enforcement agency
6) Requires that mandated reporters who work in
Developmental Centers report suspected abuse
immediately to the Office of Protective Services or
their local law enforcement agency.
7) Contains an urgency clause requiring it to take
effect immediately.
FISCAL IMPACT
This bill has not been analyzed by a fiscal committee.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Purpose of the bill
This bill is the result of information presented during a
Human Services Committee hearing on March 13, 2012
regarding the practices of the Office of Protective
Services which serves as the law enforcement agency for the
state developmental centers. The authors state that
questions have been raised consistently since 2000 about
the practices and qualifications of investigators,
including whether they have the proper experience and
training to conduct major crime investigations. While the
administration has recently announced a series of measures
to address these questions, the authors state that
additional oversight and reporting elements are needed to
ensure proper protocols are followed in all cases.
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Developmental Centers
The Developmental Centers are part of a system of care
overseen by the Department of
Developmental Services (DDS). With a proposed budget of
$4.7 billion for 2012-2013,
DDS is responsible for coordinating care and providing
services for about 1,800 individuals living in
Developmental Centers, as well as for approximately 250,000
people with developmental disabilities who receive services
and supports to live in their communities. A developmental
disability is defined as a severe and chronic disability
that is attributable to a mental or physical impairment
that begins before age 18. These disabilities include
mental retardation, cerebral palsy, autism, epilepsy and
other similar conditions.
According to DDS, care in the Developmental Centers in
recent years has become more focused on serving individuals
with severe behaviors, autism, co-occurring mental health
disorders and those with hearing and vision deficits. In
2011, the population living in
Developmental Centers included individuals with the
following diagnosis. Residents may
be reflected in more than one category:
87% were diagnosed with medical conditions requiring
treatment
69% had severe to profound mental retardation
60% had a dual diagnosis of both developmental
disability and mental health
condition (an increase of over 10% since 2008)
54% required support to walk/move about their
environment
46% had severe behavior conditions
45% of the total population had visual deficits
Office of Protective Services (OPS)
The creation of a protective force within the Developmental
Centers is found in early
statutes, which gave peace officer authority to the
hospital administrator and allowed the appointment of
part-time officers from the ranks of hospital employees.
Current statute confers peace officer status upon police
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officers in the Developmental Centers and authorizes them
to enforce hospital rules, preserve peace and protect state
property. OPS officers investigate thefts, trespassing and
suspicious person claims, respond to missing client calls,
enforce restraining orders, patrol the developmental
centers' grounds and investigate suspicious deaths, sexual
assaults and other major crimes.
Evaluations of OPS in developmental centers over the past
12 years have considered whether to retain the internal law
enforcement presence or remove police functions to an
outside entity. These evaluators concluded that the
environment and investigative skills needed to work with
victims and witnesses who have developmental disabilities
is significantly different than what a municipal law
enforcement officer would encounter and that, therefore,
OPS should be preserved.
History of investigative concerns
California Attorney General
In 2002 the California Attorney General's office, acting
upon a request of the Senate Select Committee on
Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health, released a
report prepared by two expert consultants who evaluated
investigative practices within the Developmental Centers.
The 82-page paper, "Policing in the Department of
Developmental Services, A Review of the Organization and
Operations 2000-2001," found a number of concerns,
including:
"? the majority of (law enforcement) personnel lack
the training, experience and proper equipment to
completely preserve and collect crime scene evidence.
While there is a critical need to train personnel,
there should also be prearranged agreements with
outside agencies to take over the evidence processing
upon request." (P. 3)
It recommended that the department establish Memorandums of
Understanding with local law enforcement agencies that
provide authority for those agencies to independently
review investigations completed by OPS, and to create a
process for local agencies to assist or take over
investigations that are in progress.
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AB 430, (Cardenas, Chapter 171, Statutes of 2001), requires
DDS to report specified deaths to their local law
enforcement agency. DDS testified that is has established
MOUs, however it is unclear what investigations have been
taken over or aided by local law enforcement agencies.
Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act
In 2004, the federal Department of Justice opened an
investigation under the Civil Rights
for Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) into practices at
Lanterman Developmental
Center. Under CRIPA statute, federal investigators inspect
state- and locally run facilities to determine whether
there is a pattern or practice of violations of residents'
federal rights. In 2006, the U.S. Attorney General outlined
findings in a 57-page letter to then-Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger. It labeled as "troubling" the high number
of injuries of unknown origin recorded by staff. In a
13-month period, almost half of all incidents recorded were
listed as having unknown origin, or more than 760 cases.
The federal investigators also found that "an inadequate
incident reporting and investigative system" often hampers
resolution of cases of assault by one client upon another.
Disability Rights California
In a 2003 report "Abuse and Neglect of Adults with
Developmental Disabilities: A Public Health Priority for
the State of California," the state-designated protection
and advocacy agency urged California to begin collecting
data on crime victims.
"Data from California's criminal justice and
developmental disabilities systems do not provide a
clear picture of the incidence of abuse, neglect, and
victimization of people with developmental
disabilities."
The report noted that without accurate data, the state
cannot monitor the extent of victimization of individuals
with developmental disabilities, or to direct resources and
evaluate interventions. It recommended adding a field to
all criminal justice data forms identifying whether a crime
victim has a developmental disability, among other
indicators.
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Related legislation
SB 1522 (Leno, 2012) would specify a list of suspected
crimes that developmental center employees are required to
report immediately to local law enforcement.
AB 430 (Cardenas, Chapter 171, Statutes of 2001), the
budget health bill, mandated that each developmental center
immediately report all resident deaths and serious injuries
of unknown origin to the appropriate law enforcement agency
that may, at its discretion, conduct an independent
investigation.
POSITIONS
Support: The Arc of California and United Cerebral
Palsy
Oppose: None received
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