BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1051|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1051
Author: Liu (D)
Amended: 5/10/12
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/24/12
AYES: Liu, Emmerson, Berryhill, Hancock, Strickland,
Wright, Yee
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/8/12
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Calderon, Harman, Liu, Price,
Steinberg
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Developmental centers and state hospitals:
reports of death,
injury and abuse: mandated reporters
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill establishes criteria for employment
for the director of the Office of Protective Services (OPS)
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 OPS immediately, and
requires state hospitals and developmental centers to
report specified incidents to the designated Protection and
CONTINUED
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Advocacy agency.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Establishes jurisdiction of the Department of
Developmental Services (DDS) over state developmental
centers, which provide residential care to individuals
with developmental disabilities.
2. Establishes a police force within the state's DDS to
enforce developmental center rules, preserve peace and
protect the property of the state's developmental
centers. DDS has been designated the OPS.
3. Requires a developmental center to immediately report
all resident deaths and serious injuries of unknown
origin to the appropriate local law enforcement agency.
4. Establishes jurisdiction of the Department of Mental
Health over the state's mental hospitals.
5. Establishes a police force within the Department of
Mental Health to enforce hospital rules, preserve peace
and protect the property of the state's mental
hospitals.
6. 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.
7. Requires, in the 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.
8. 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.
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This bill:
1. Requires that when DDS employs a Director of Protective
Services, that person must have specified qualifications
including:
A. Bing an experienced law enforcement officer.
B. Possessing a Peace Officers Standards and
Training Management Certificate or higher.
C. Having extensive management experience directing
uniformed peace officer and investigation
operations.
2. 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.
3. Requires the DDS 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.
4. Requires the 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.
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B. Any sexual assault allegation implicating the
involvement of a state mental hospital employee or
employee of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation.
C. Any report made to the local law enforcement
agency.
5. Requires that mandated reporters who work in
developmental centers report suspected abuse immediately
to the OPS or their local law enforcement agency.
Background
Developmental centers . The developmental centers are part
of a system of care overseen by 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 percent were diagnosed with medical conditions
requiring treatment.
69 percent had severe to profound mental retardation.
60 percent had a dual diagnosis of both developmental
disability and mental health. Condition (an increase of
over 10 percent since 2008).
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54 percent required support to walk/move about their
environment.
46 percent had severe behavior conditions.
45 percent of the total population had visual deficits.
Office of Protective Services . 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
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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/22/12)
The Arc of California and United Cerebral Palsy
CTW:do 5/22/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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