BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1688
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 8, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Mark Stone, Chair
AB 1688 (Conway) - As Amended: March 26, 2014
SUBJECT : Developmental centers: crime.
SUMMARY : Requires reimbursement to cities and counties for
costs related to the investigation and prosecution of crimes
committed by developmental center employees against
developmental center residents.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that a city or county shall be reimbursed for
reasonable and necessary costs related to the investigation or
prosecution of a crime committed by a developmental center
employee against a developmental center resident and places a
six-month limitation on a city or county requesting a
reimbursement and on such a reimbursement being paid, as
specified.
2)Describes reimbursable costs incurred by a city or county,
including costs incurred for providing training in the
investigation or prosecution associated with a crime committed
by a developmental center employee against a developmental
center resident, and provides a standard for costs being
deemed "reasonable and necessary" under this section.
3)Requires a city or county to submit a statement of costs to
the state Controller for approval and requires the Controller
to reimburse the city or county within 60 days after receipt
of the statement or provide a written statement as to the
reason for not providing a reimbursement, as specified.
4)Requires the Controller to request the Director of Finance to
include any amounts necessary to satisfy a claim that cannot
be fulfilled due to insufficient funds in a request for a
deficiency appropriation.
5)Requires a local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction
within the city or county in which a developmental center is
located to respond within 24 hours of receiving an allegation
that a crime has occurred at a developmental center.
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EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services
Act (Lanterman Act), under which the Department of
Developmental Services (DDS) is authorized to contract with
private non-profit regional centers to provide case management
services and arrange for, or purchase, services that meet the
needs of individuals with developmental disabilities, as
defined. (WIC 4500 et seq.)
2)Grants all individuals with developmental disabilities, among
all other rights and responsibilities established for any
individual by the United States Constitution and laws and the
California Constitution and laws, the right to treatment and
habilitation services and supports in the least restrictive
environment and the right to be free from harm, including
unnecessary physical restraint or isolation, excessive
medication, abuse, or neglect. (WIC 4502)
3)Establishes an investigative force within each developmental
center for the purpose of enforcing the rules and regulations
of the hospital, preserving peace and order on the premises
thereof, and protecting and preserving the property of the
state. (WIC 4493)
4)Requires a developmental center to immediately, but no later
than within two hours, report specified incidents involving
death, abuse, or harm of a resident to the local law
enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the city or county
in which the developmental center is located. (WIC 4427.5)
5)Requires the physician in charge of a patient receiving mental
health services, or the professional person in charge of the
facility in which the patient resides, to release information
about the patient to governmental law enforcement agencies
when he or she has probable cause to believe the patient has
committed or been the victim of specified crimes, including
sexual assault. (WIC 5328.4)
6)Designates as a mandated reporter of abuse any person with
responsibility for care or custody of an elder or dependent
adult and requires that mandated reporter to report the known
or suspected incident of abuse immediately or as soon as
practicably possible, as specified. (WIC 15630)
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7)Establishes minimum standards for the examination and
treatment of victims of sexual assault, including notification
of law enforcement and a requirement that consent be provided
by the victim prior to a physical examination, as specified.
(PC 13823.11)
8)Defines protection and advocacy agency as the private,
nonprofit corporation designated by the Governor, pursuant to
federal law, for the protection and advocacy of the rights of
persons with disabilities, including people with developmental
disabilities and people with mental illness, as specified.
(WIC 4900(i))
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS : This bill seeks to remove any fiscal disincentive to
prompt responses by local law enforcement upon receiving reports
of alleged crimes committed by developmental center employees
against developmental center residents.
Developmental Services : The Lanterman Act guides the provision
of services and supports for Californians with developmental
disabilities. Each individual under the Act, typically referred
to as a "consumer," is legally entitled to treatment and
habilitation services and supports in the least restrictive
environment. Lanterman Act services are designed to enable all
consumers to live more independent and productive lives in the
community. The term "developmental disability" means a
disability that originates before an individual attains 18 years
of age, is expected to continue indefinitely, and constitutes a
substantial disability for that individual. It includes
intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and autism
spectrum disorders (ASD). Other developmental disabilities are
those disabling conditions similar to an intellectual disability
that require care and management similar to that required by
individuals with intellectual disabilities.
The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) contracts with 21
regional centers, which are private nonprofit entities, to carry
out many of the state's responsibilities under the Lanterman
Act. The regional center caseload is comprised of over 260,000
consumers who receive services such as residential placements,
supported living services, respite care, transportation, day
treatment programs, work support programs, and various social
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and therapeutic activities.
Developmental centers (DCs) : Approximately 1,300 regional
center consumers reside at one of California's four
developmental centers (Lanterman, Porterville, Sonoma, and
Fairview) and one state-operated, specialized community facility
(Canyon Springs). These facilities provide 24-hour habilitation
and medical and social treatment services. While some residents
in these facilities were voluntarily placed there by relatives
and conservators due to acute medical needs and other special
needs that make it unsafe for them to live in the community,
some residents have experienced involuntary placements due to
court orders (e.g., forensic placements at Porterville DC).
Developmental center police services : The Office of Protective
Services (OPS) within developmental centers consists of on-site
police officers and investigators charged with preserving the
peace, enforcing laws and regulations, and maintaining and
protecting facility residents and their rights. The
investigators and officers within OPS are charged with duties
within the facilities similar to those of peace officers in the
community, including responding to allegations of sexual
assault. However, incidents brought to light in 2012 show that
OPS investigators in the state's developmental centers were not
handling reports of sexual assault appropriately for a number of
years. According to numerous reports from the state's
protection and advocacy organization, Disability Rights
California, developmental center residents accused facility
caretakers of rape and molestation 36 times from 2009 to 2012,
but none of those residents were sent out for an independent
examination by a trained medical professional, nor were they
even examined using a sexual assault response team (SART) exam,
also known as a "rape kit," which is standard law enforcement
practice in the community.
Need for this bill : Since these reports of abuse, several
legislative bills have been signed into law, resulting in more
stringent requirements for police officers and other staff
within developmental centers to report certain incidents to
local law enforcement. As a result, developmental centers have
had to tighten their processes with respect to responding to and
reporting allegations of sexual assault, which has led to more
cases being referred out of facilities for appropriate exams,
and more reports being made to Disability Rights California, as
required by law.
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According to the author, recent legislation and policy changes
within the developmental centers have primarily been aimed at
improving the internal response to abuse against residents, but
there are still gaps in the response from outside law
enforcement. By explicitly requiring law enforcement to respond
to allegations of certain crimes against developmental center
residents while also providing a mechanism for reimbursement of
local law enforcement duties surrounding the investigation and
prosecution of such crimes-including the cost of training needed
to effectively carry out such duties-this bill seeks to better
protect developmental center residents.
In support of this bill, Disability Rights California writes,
"By ensuring a prompt response to allegations of abuse at
developmental centers, [this bill] will make sure crime scene
evidence does not degrade, witness memories are fresh, and
residents don't have to endure more abuse at the hands of the
same perpetrator."
RECOMMENDED AMENDMENTS :
Because the author intends to improve the response to, and the
investigation of, alleged crimes committed by developmental
center employees against developmental center residents,
committee staff recommends the following amendment to make the
reports of alleged crimes to which law enforcement is to respond
within 24 hours consistent with the rest of the language in the
bill:
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5 Chapter 2. Response of Local Law Enforcement
6
7 4499.50. A local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction
8 within the city or county in which the developmental center
9 is located shall respond within 24 hours of receiving an
allegation
10 that a crime has occurred at the been committed by a
developmental center employee against a developmental
center resident.
Further, while the author has set a timeframe of 24 hours for
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local law enforcement to respond to an allegation that a
developmental center employee has committed a crime against a
developmental center resident, there is ambiguity around what
constitutes a "response," potentially rendering the language
ineffective in achieving the author's goal of encouraging and
expediting investigations of abuse against developmental center
residents. A response could range anywhere from verbally
acknowledging receipt of the allegation that a crime has been
committed to going to the developmental center to initiate an
investigation.
Staff also notes that if it is the author's intent that the
response from law enforcement is actually the initiation of an
investigation, then perhaps the 24 hour timeline is too long.
While OPS functions within the developmental centers to serve as
an internal police force, the author has purposefully included
local law enforcement in this bill to ensure a thorough process
of investigation and prosecution of crimes committed by
developmental center employees against residents. Should this
bill move forward, committee staff recommends that the author
provide a clear definition for what constitutes a response from
local law enforcement and amends the bill to shorten the
response timeline if the author indeed intends the "response" to
be the timely initiation of an investigation.
PRIOR LEGISLATION :
AB 602 (Yamada) Chapter 673, Statutes of 2013, established a
timeline for reporting specific incidents of abuse in
developmental centers, required development of POST training on
law enforcement interaction with mentally disabled and
developmentally disabled persons living within a state mental
hospital or a state developmental center by July 1, 2015, and
made other changes to reporting and investigation requirements
for mental hospitals and developmental centers.
SB 651 (Pavley) Chapter 724, Statutes of 2013, established
requirements for sexual assault examinations of residents in
state hospitals and developmental centers, and establishes a new
penalty for failure of developmental centers to report specified
incidents.
SB 1051 (Liu, Emmerson) Chapter 660, Statutes of 2012,
established a requirement for DDS and DSH to report certain
crimes involving death or major injury to the state's designated
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protection and advocacy agency, required that mandated reporters
within a developmental center immediately report suspected abuse
to OPS, and defined the job requirements for the director of
OPS.
SB 1522 (Leno) Chapter 666, Statutes of 2012, established the
requirement that DDS report major crimes, as specified, to the
local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the
developmental center regardless of whether OPS had investigated
the facts of the incident.
SB 110 (Liu) chapter 617, Statutes of 2010, requires law
enforcement to retain exclusive responsibility for criminal
investigations against elders, dependent adults and persons with
disabilities when Adult Protective Services and local ombudsman
are conducting concurrent investigations.
AB 430, (Cardenas) Chapter 171, Statutes of 2001, the health
trailer bill, required developmental centers to establish
Memorandums of Understanding with local law enforcement
agencies.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Disability Rights California
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089