AB 395

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Existing law, the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, establishes procedures for the reporting and investigation of suspected child abuse or neglect. The act requires certain professionals, including specified health practitioners and social workers, known as "mandated reporters," to report known or suspected child abuse or neglect to a local law enforcement agency or a county welfare or probation department, as specified. Existing law states the Legislature's intent that those receiving agencies in each county develop and implement cooperative arrangements in order to coordinate existing duties in connection with the investigation of suspected child abuse or neglect cases, and requires the local law enforcement agency to report investigations of suspected child abuse or neglect to the county welfare or probation department within 36 hours after starting its investigation. Existing law generally provides for the placement of children in foster care, and provides for the licensure and regulation by the State Department of Social Services of certain community care facilities that provide care for foster children, including short-term residential therapeutic programs and transitional housing placement providers. Existing law requires the agencies receiving mandated reports, within 24 hours of receiving a report of abuse alleged to have occurred in facilities licensed to care for children by the department, to notify the licensing office with jurisdiction over that facility. Existing law makes reports of child abuse or neglect confidential and limits the disclosure of the reports to certain individuals or entities. This bill would require certain agencies to develop and implement protocols for coordinating investigations of alleged child abuse and neglect involving children under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. The bill would require, when an agency receives a report that contains a report of abuse or neglect alleged to have occurred in a resource family home, foster family home, certified foster home, the home of an approved relative or nonrelative extended family member, or a facility licensed to care for children by the department, to notify the licensing office or agency with oversight responsibility over the home or facility within the 24-hour period described above. This bill would require, whenever the department or another agency with oversight responsibility over a home or facility becomes aware of an allegation of abuse or neglect to cooperate with other agencies to coordinate existing duties in connection with the investigation and to complete the investigation no later than 45 days after receiving notice of the allegation. The bill would establish standards and protocols for the conduct of the investigation, including, among other things, requiring a face-to-face interview in private with the victim of child abuse or neglect separate and apart from the suspected offender. The bill would require, upon completion of the investigation, the approving agency or the licensing agency to send a copy of its investigation report to the Office of the State Foster Care Ombudsperson. The bill would require that office to review a representative sample of the investigations annually and include determinations of the extent to which the investigations complied with the investigation protocols. The bill would authorize that office to make recommendations for the improvement of those protocols based on the determinations. The bill would require the department to, at a minimum, annually report to the Legislature and post on its internet website, a statewide summary of these investigations, as specified. The bill would also add the Office of the State Foster Care Ombudsperson, as specified, to the list of individuals and entities to which reports may be disclosed, and would delete obsolete provisions. By imposing new duties on local officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.