BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1136|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1136
Author: Huff (R) and Mitchell (D), et al.
Amended: 5/27/14
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 4-0, 4/22/14
AYES: Liu, Berryhill, DeSaulnier, Hancock
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/14
AYES: De Le�n, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SUBJECT : Foster care providers: criminal records
SOURCE : County of Los Angeles
DIGEST : This bill provides county child welfare agencies with
additional authority to seek and have access to criminal history
information on approved foster care providers, in order to
assess the appropriateness and safety of placing children in
foster care homes and facilities, as specified.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Enacts the Community Care Facilities Act, administered by the
Department of Social Services (DSS) which provides for the
licensure and oversight of out of home placements of abused
and neglected children.
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2.Requires DSS and county agencies with foster family homes
licensing authority to secure both California and Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) criminal history information to
determine whether the applicant or other specified non-exempt
persons, including other adults residing in the home, have
ever been convicted of any crime other than a minor traffic
violation or arrested for the specified crimes.
3.Requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to maintain state
summary criminal history information and provides for DOJ to
furnish state and federal summary criminal history information
to any authorized agency or organization as specified, when
the information is used for employment, licensing or
certification purposes.
4.Provides that DSS may grant an exemption to a criminal
conviction exclusion (except as specified) if the Director has
substantial and convincing evidence to support a reasonable
belief that the person convicted of the crime is of good
character in order to justify granting the exemption.
5.Requires DSS to check the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI)
prior to granting a license to, or otherwise approving, any
individual to care for or reside with children, and to
investigate any reports received from the CACI.
6.Permits the sharing of information between specified agencies
about applicants, licensees, certificates, or individuals who
have been the subject of any administrative action resulting
in the denial, suspension, probation, or revocation of
license, permit, or certificate, or the exclusion of any
person from the facility who is subject to a background check.
This bill:
1.Permits DSS to share summary information related to a criminal
record clearance or exemption from DSS with a county child
welfare agency with the responsibility to monitor the health
and safety of persons receiving care, treatment, or services
from state-licensed foster homes, as specified.
2.Permits a county welfare agency to review information related
to a criminal record clearance or exemption granted by DSS as
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one factor in addition to all other factors, considered by a
county welfare agency to determine the appropriate placement
for a child in a licensed or certified foster home.
3.Permits DSS and county child welfare agencies to share
information with respect to applicants, licensees,
certificates, or individuals who have been the subject of any
administrative action resulting in the denial, suspension,
probation, or revocation of a license, permit, or certificate,
or in the exclusion of any person from a facility who is
subject to a background check, as otherwise provided by law.
4.Permits a child welfare agency to secure from an appropriate
governmental criminal justice agency the state summary
criminal history information, as defined, to assess the
appropriateness and safety of placing a child who has been
detained or is a dependent of the court in a licensed foster
family home, group home, or state-licensed foster home.
5.Permits a county child welfare agency to submit to DOJ
fingerprint images and related information of an individual
who has received a criminal record exemption from DSS for the
purposes of obtaining information as to the existence and
content of a record of convictions or arrests and also
information as to the existence of a record of arrests for
which DSS establishes that the person is free on bail or on
his/her own recognizance pending trial or appeal.
6.Requires a county child welfare agency that requests criminal
record information, as specified, to request from DSS any
additional information used in making the determination to
grant the exemption.
7.Requires DOJ to forward to the FBI each request for federal
summary criminal history information received. Requires DOJ
to review the information returned from the FBI and compile
and disseminate a response to the county child welfare agency.
8.Requires DOJ to provide a state or federal level response to
the county child welfare agency, as specified.
9.Permits the county child welfare agency to request from DOJ
subsequent notification service, as specified, for persons for
whom the county has requested criminal record information.
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10.Requires DOJ to charge a fee sufficient to cover the
reasonable cost of processing the request.
11.Requires a county child welfare agency to be provided a list
of each person who has received a criminal records exemption
related to a licensed or certified foster home so that the
county may assess the appropriateness and safety of placing a
child who has been detained or is a dependent of the court in
the licensed or certified foster home with which the
individual is associated.
12.Requires DSS to make available to the county child welfare
agency, summary information used in making the determination
to grant the exemption. Requires DSS to consult with the DOJ,
counties, and other interested stakeholders to ensure that
information is shared expeditiously and in accordance with
state and federal law.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Annual costs to the DOJ of less than $100,000 (Fingerprint
Fees Account and Sexual Habitual Offender Fund Account), to
be recovered through fees, to process additional fingerprint
submissions and CACI requests from county agencies.
Minor, absorbable costs to the DSS to provide county child
welfare agencies with a list of individuals who have been
granted criminal records exemptions.
Unknown, potentially significant costs (General Fund) to
the DSS to provide county child welfare agencies with all
additional information used to make the determination to
grant exemptions.
Potentially significant non-reimbursable costs (Local) to
county child welfare agencies to submit fingerprint images
to the DOJ for criminal history information.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/27/14)
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County of Los Angeles (source)
AFSCME
Association of Community Human Service Agencies
California Police Chiefs Association
California Probation, Parole and Correctional Association
California State Foster Parent Association
California Youth Connection
Children Now
County Welfare Directors Association of California
Orange County Board of Supervisors
San Diego County
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/27/14)
American Civil Liberties Union of California
East Bay Community Law Center
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
The Social Justice Law Project
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, county child
welfare agencies do not have access to a list of foster parents
and employees who have received a criminal history exemption
granted by the DSS Community Care Licensing Division. The
author states that counties are responsible for placing children
in foster home placements without the background information
that was utilized by DSS to authorize a criminal history
exemption. The author states that, if enacted, this bill would
authorize the sharing of critical information between the state
and county welfare agencies to improve child safety in foster
placements.
As evidence for the need for this bill, Los Angeles County, the
sponsor, points to recent tragedies in Los Angeles County where
four foster children died after being placed in foster homes
certified by private foster family agencies. In one instance, a
two-year-old child was beaten into a coma and suffered mental
disability and blindness in one eye after he and two other
children were placed into the home of a woman who had been
accused of abusing children and whose partner had a history of
drug abuse. In another, a two-year-old girl was killed after
being placed into the home of a woman with a theft conviction.
All deaths occurred in certified family homes that are certified
by private agencies, and the county social workers responsible
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to monitor the care and safety of the children were unaware that
the individuals had criminal records that, according to the
sponsor, may have warranted increased visitation or scrutiny.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Social Justice Law Project
writes that this bill would require DSS to share outdated and
incomplete criminal history information which "infringes on the
right of privacy guaranteed by Article I, section 1 of the
California Constitution. (This information) is not supported by
a compelling or substantial state interest, undermines the
substantial government interest in ensuring that criminal
history information is complete, and is inconsistent with the
decisions in both Loder v. Municipal Court and Central Valley v
Younger." Additionally, this organization states that DOJ
advises agencies seeking approval to obtain criminal history
information that "the retention and sharing of information
between employers and licensing agencies is strictly prohibited.
The retention and sharing of information infringe upon the
right of privacy as defined in the California Constitution, and
fails to meet the (standard of) compelling state interest."
The East Bay Community Law Center writes that this bill creates
duplicative work for counties and would have DSS send an
avalanche of criminal history information to local child welfare
agencies about whom the department has already licensed. The
organization states that the bill is unnecessary as there is no
evidence, data or reports showing that the DSS exemption process
is overly-inclusive of people with criminal records or that
foster children are at higher risk from individuals with
exemptions than they are with other foster parents.
JL:e 5/27/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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