BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1522
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Date of Hearing: June 26, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Jim Beall Jr., Chair
SB 1522 (Leno) - As Amended: June 18, 2012
SENATE VOTE : 39-0
SUBJECT : Developmental centers: reporting requirements
SUMMARY : Requires a state developmental center (DC) to report
to local law enforcement all deaths, sexual assaults, assaults
with a deadly weapon or force likely to produce great bodily
injury, and other specified incidents. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a DC to report the following incidents to the local
law enforcement agency, regardless of whether the Office of
Protective Services has investigated the facts and
circumstance of the case.
a) A death;
b) A sexual assault, as defined in the Elder Abuse and
Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act, Welfare &
Institutions (W&I) Code Section 15600 et seq.;
c) An assault with a deadly weapon, as described in the
Penal Code, by a nonresident of the DC;
d) An assault with force likely to produce great bodily
injury, as described in the Penal Code;
e) An injury to the genitals when the cause of the injury
is undetermined; and,
f) A broken bone, when the cause of the break is
undetermined.
2)Requires that if the incident is reported to the law
enforcement agency by telephone, a written report of the
incident shall also be submitted to the agency within two
working days.
3)Provides that this bill's reporting requirements are in
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addition to, and do not substitute for, existing reporting and
investigative duties of the DC and the Department of
Developmental Services (DDS) required by law.
4)Provides that the reporting requirements of this bill shall
not be interpreted to prevent the DC from reporting to law
enforcement any other criminal act constituting a danger to
the health or safety of DC residents.
5)Contains an urgency clause requiring it to take effect
immediately.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes jurisdiction of DDS over state DCs, which provide
residential care to individuals with developmental
disabilities.
2)Requires any mandated reporter under the Elder Abuse and
Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act who, within the scope of
his or her employment, observes, has knowledge of physical
abuse, financial abuse or neglect, or is told by an elder or
dependent adult that he or she has experienced abuse, or
reasonably suspects abuse, to immediately report the known or
suspected abuse, as specified. W&I Code Section 15630(b)(1).
3)Requires, if the suspected or alleged abuse occurred in a DC,
the report be made to designated investigators of DDS, or to
the local law enforcement agency. W&I Code Section
15630(b)(1)(B).
4)Requires DCs to immediately report all resident deaths and
serious injuries of unknown origin to the appropriate local
law enforcement agency, which may, at its discretion, conduct
an independent investigation. W&I Code Section 4427.5.
5)Establishes the Office of Protective Services (OPS) within DDS
to act as a law enforcement agency for the state developmental
centers.
6)Requires mandated reporters of elder and dependent abuse, as
defined, to follow up any telephonic report of known or
suspected abuse with a written or Internet report within two
working days. W&I Code Section 15630(b)(1).
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1)Requires DDS to:
a) Annually provide written information to every DC
employee regarding all of the following:
i) The statutory and DDS requirements for mandatory
reporting of suspected or known abuse: and,
ii) The rights and protections afforded to individuals
reporting of suspected or known abuse;
iii) The penalties for failure to report suspected or
known abuse; and,
iv) The telephone numbers for reporting suspected or
known abuse or neglect to designated DDS investigators
and local law enforcement agencies.
b) Develop a poster that encourages staff, residents, and
visitors to report suspected or known abuse and provides
information on how to make these reports. W&I Code Section
4427.5(b).
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
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COMMENTS :
Background : California Watch/The Center for Investigative
Reporting recently issued a report that was very critical of the
investigation of crimes that have occurred in the state's
Developmental Centers. (Available at:
http://californiawatch.org/broken-shield .) The investigation
concluded that incidents were not properly investigated by the
DC's in-house investigative unit, OPS, and its law enforcement
staff were not adequately trained or supervised.
The author relates the following examples from the California
Watch investigation:
The 2005 death of a consumer at the Sonoma
Developmental Center where OPS assigned the case to a
detective more than 24 hours after a caregiver discovered
the consumer lying on the floor and bleeding from his
mouth. By then, any evidence at the scene of the
consumer's death was gone.
The 2007 death of a patient at Fairview Developmental
Center in which a consumer was found lying on the floor of
his room with a caregiver standing over him. OPS officers
failed to collect blood samples, fingerprints and other
physical specimens from his room. The lead detective, a
former nurse, had minimal police training and no
experience investigating suspicious deaths. Homicide
detectives from the Seattle and Chicago police departments
reviewed the investigation and identified half a dozen
mistakes by officers and detectives at Fairview, including
the failure to secure the scene, failure to promptly
interview witnesses, and failure to obtain medical
evidence that the consumer's fatal injury (a broken neck)
was inconsistent with the caregiver's explanation of the
incident.
The 2010 sexual assault of a female consumer at the
Sonoma Developmental Center. OPS investigated the case
but made no arrests.
Other investigations and reports have also raised concerns with
the investigative functions at the DCs:
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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 DCs. 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 (at
p. 3) that:
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.
The report recommended that DDS establish Memorandums of
Understanding (MOUs) 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. DDS reportedly 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, 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-Governor 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
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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,
noting that:
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.
Purpose of this bill : According to the author, in other states,
local or state police are generally responsible for
investigating crimes at state institutions. The author says that
"�t]he status quo situation at DCs in California in which crimes
go uninvestigated and not prosecuted is an unacceptable
violation of the rights of developmentally disabled consumers to
equal protection of the law."
Current California law (Welfare & Institutions Code Section
4427.5) requires a developmental center to immediately report
"all resident deaths and serious injuries of unknown origin to
the appropriate local law enforcement agency, which may, at its
discretion, conduct an independent investigation." (Emphasis
added). According to the author, DDS has an internal
policy-which has not been adopted as a formal regulation as
required by California law-about which type of "serious injuries
of unknown origin" must be reported to local law enforcement.
Following the release of the California Watch report, the Senate
Human Services Committee held an informational hearing titled,
Examining Law Enforcement Practices within State Developmental
Centers (March 13, 2012). Citing testimony from that hearing,
the author says that DDS' internal policy calls for reporting of
virtually all injuries of unknown origin, even relatively minor
ones requiring only five sutures for treatment, to local law
enforcement. The number of reports transmitted to local law
enforcement agencies, the author says, may dilute the
effectiveness of this reporting requirement. Disability Rights
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California (DRC), the sponsor of this bill, similarly says that
"�i]nundating local law enforcement with reports of minor
injuries may temper law enforcements' response to critical
incidents warranting their immediate attention and expertise."
Therefore, the author says, this bill is an effort to prioritize
serious crimes for investigation by local law enforcement so
they get the attention and investigation they deserve. DRC
notes that this bill narrows the reportable injuries to those
critical incidents suggestive of abuse or criminal conduct.
DRC also points out that current reporting does not include
allegations of sexual assault or assaults with a deadly weapon
or force likely to produce great bodily injury. Thus, this bill
requires a DC to immediately report serious crimes-including a
death, a sexual assault, an assault with a deadly weapon by a
nonresident of the DC, or an assault with force likely to
produce great bodily injury-to the local law enforcement agency,
regardless of whether OPS has investigated the facts and
circumstances relating to the incident. It also requires the DC
to submit a written report of the incident within two working
days of any telephone report to that local law enforcement
agency.
Prior and related legislation :
SB 1051 (Liu 2012) - if passed, would establish qualifications
for the chief of OPS and describes reporting requirements for
DCs and state mental hospitals.
AB 430 (Cardenas, Chapter 171, Statutes of 2001) - mandated that
each DC immediately report all resident deaths and serious
injuries of unknown origin to the appropriate law enforcement
agency, which may, at its discretion, conduct an independent
investigation.
DOUBLE REFERRAL . This bill has been double-referred. Should
this bill pass out of this committee, it will be referred to the
Assembly Public Safety Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Disability Rights California (sponsor)
Association of Regional Center Agencies
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California Association of Psychiatric Technicians
California Association of State Hospital Parent Councils for the
Retarded
California Disability Services Association
Developmental Disabilities Area Board 3
Developmental Disabilities Area Board 10
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy in California
1 Individual
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Eric Gelber / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089