Bill Text: CA AB1828 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Child welfare: investigations: video and audio recording.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-04-08 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Held without recommendation. [AB1828 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB1828-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1828 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 20, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Donnelly
FEBRUARY 18, 2014
An act to amend Section 16010 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, relating to foster care. add
Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 16300) to Part 4 of Division 9 of
the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to child welfare.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1828, as amended, Donnelly. Foster children: health
and education records. Child welfare: investigations:
video and audio recording.
Existing law requires the state, through the Department of Social
Services and county welfare departments, to establish and support a
public system of statewide child welfare services to be available in
each county of the state. All counties are required to establish and
maintain specialized organizational entities within the county
welfare department that have the sole responsibility for the
operation of the child welfare services program. The Legislature has
declared its intent, in providing for this statewide system of child
welfare services, that all children are entitled to be safe and free
from abuse and neglect.
This bill, to be known as Sammy's Law, would require a county
child protective services social worker, assigned to a role that
involves assuming the custody of children or conducting interviews of
children or their parents in order to investigate allegations of
parental abuse or neglect, to use a video and audio recorder to make
recordings of his or her interactions with the children and their
parents in carrying out that role. In order for the recording
requirement to apply, the child or parent is required to give his or
her consent to being recorded. The bill would require the county
child protective services employing the social worker to catalog and
preserve the video and audio recordings, as provided.
This bill would require the prosecutor, in a criminal proceeding,
to produce a copy of the above described recordings upon the request
of the defendant, and if the recordings are not produced, the
defendant would be entitled to an instruction stating that the
missing information is presumed to be exculpatory. The bill also
would require the county, in a dependency proceeding, to produce a
copy of the above described recordings upon the request of the
parent, and if the recordings are not produced, the county child
protective services social worker would be prohibited from testifying
about the missing information, and the judge would be prohibited
from considering the missing information in making his or her
rulings.
Because this bill would require local entities to provide a higher
level of service through making and producing video and audio
recordings, it 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, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Existing law requires, when a child is placed in foster care, the
case plan to include a summary of the health and education
information or records, including mental health information, of the
child. Existing law requires a child protective agency to, as soon as
possible, but not later than 30 days after initial placement of a
child into foster care, provide the caregiver with the child's
current health and education summary.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those
provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no
yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 4 (commencing with Section
16300) is added to Part 4 of Division 9 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code , to read:
CHAPTER 4. INVESTIGATION OF PARENTAL ABUSE OR NEGLECT
16300. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited as, Sammy's
Law.
16301. (a) A county child protective services social worker,
assigned to a role that involves assuming the custody of children or
conducting interviews of children or their parents in order to
investigate allegations of parental abuse or neglect, shall use a
video and audio recorder to make a video and audio recording of his
or her interactions with the children and their parents in carrying
out that role.
(b) In order for the requirements of subdivision (a) to apply, the
child or parent is required to give his or her consent to the video
and audio recording.
(c) (1) The county child protective services employing the social
worker shall catalog and preserve the video and audio recordings.
(2) County child protective services shall have a written policy
that outlines, at a minimum, the proper use of the equipment, the
times when the video and audio recorder is to be activated,
conditions under which it is permissible not to have the video and
audio recorder activated, the retention period of the recordings, the
method for replacing defective or malfunctioning equipment, and a
logging policy to record failures or periods when the equipment is
being repaired.
16302. (a) In a criminal prosecution, upon the request of the
defendant, the prosecutor shall produce a copy, in a reasonably
usable format, of the recordings that the county child protective
services social worker was required to make pursuant to Section
16301.
(b) If the prosecutor does not produce a copy of the recordings
upon request, the defendant is entitled to an instruction stating
that the missing information is presumed to be exculpatory.
16303. (a) In a dependency proceeding, upon the request of the
parent, the county shall produce a copy, in a reasonably usable
format, of the recordings that the county child protective services
social worker was required to make pursuant to Section 16301.
(b) If the county does not produce a copy of the recordings upon
request, the county child protective services social worker is
prohibited from testifying about the missing information, and the
missing information shall not be considered by the judge in making
his or her rulings.
SEC. 2. If the Commission on State Mandates
determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs
shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
SECTION 1. Section 16010 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code is amended to read:
16010. (a) When a child is placed in foster care, the case plan
for each child recommended pursuant to Section 358.1 shall include a
summary of the health and education information or records, including
mental health information or records, of the child. The summary may
be maintained in the form of a health and education passport, or a
comparable format designed by the child protective agency. The health
and education summary shall include, but not be limited to, the
names and addresses of the child's health, dental, and education
providers; the child's grade level performance; the child's school
record; assurances that the child's placement in foster care takes
into account proximity to the school in which the child is enrolled
at the time of placement; the number of school transfers the child
has already experienced; the child's educational progress, as
demonstrated by factors, including, but not limited to, academic
proficiency scores; credits earned toward graduation; a record of the
child's immunizations and allergies; the child's known medical
problems; the child's current medications, past health problems, and
hospitalizations; a record of the child's relevant mental health
history; the child's known mental health condition and medications;
and any other relevant mental health, dental, health, and education
information concerning the child determined to be appropriate by the
Director of Social Services. The health and education summary may
also include the name and contact information for the educational
liaison, as described in subdivision (b) of Section 48853.5 of the
Education Code, of the child's local educational agency. If any other
law imposes more stringent information requirements, then that
section shall prevail.
(b) Additionally, a court report or assessment required pursuant
to subdivision (g) of Section 361.5, Section 366.1, subdivision (d)
of Section 366.21, or subdivision (c) of Section 366.22 shall include
a copy of the current health and education summary described in
subdivision (a). With respect to a nonminor dependent, as described
in subdivision (v) of Section 11400, a copy of the current health and
education summary shall be included in the court report only if and
when the nonminor dependent consents in writing to its inclusion.
(c) As soon as possible, but not later than 30 days after initial
placement of a child into foster care, the child protective agency
shall provide the caregiver with the child's current health and
education summary as described in subdivision (a). For each
subsequent placement of a child or nonminor dependent, the child
protective agency shall provide the caregiver with a current summary
as described in subdivision (a) within 48 hours of the placement.
With respect to a nonminor dependent, as described in subdivision (v)
of Section 11400, the social worker or probation officer shall
advise the young adult of the social worker's or probation officer's
obligation to provide the health and education summary to the new
caregiver and the court, and shall discuss with the youth the
benefits and liabilities of sharing that information.
(d) (1) Notwithstanding Section 827 or any other law, the child
protective agency may disclose any information described in this
section to a prospective caregiver or caregivers prior to placement
of a child if all of the following requirements are met:
(A) The child protective agency intends to place the child with
the prospective caregiver or caregivers.
(B) The prospective caregiver or caregivers are willing to become
the adoptive parent or parents of the child.
(C) The prospective caregiver or caregivers have an approved
adoption assessment or home study, a foster family home license,
certification by a licensed foster family agency, or approval
pursuant to the requirements in Sections 361.3 and 361.4.
(2) In addition to the information required to be provided under
this section, the child protective agency may disclose to the
prospective caregiver specified in paragraph (1), placement history
or underlying source documents that are provided to adoptive parents
pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 8706 of the Family
Code.
(e) The child's caregiver shall be responsible for obtaining and
maintaining accurate and thorough information from physicians and
educators for the child's summary, as described in subdivision (a),
during the time that the child is in the care of the caregiver. On
each required visit, the child protective agency or its designee
family foster agency shall inquire of the caregiver whether there is
any new information that should be added to the child's summary as
described in subdivision (a). The child protective agency shall
update the summary with the information as appropriate, but not later
than the next court date or within 48 hours of a change in
placement. The child protective agency or its designee family foster
agency shall take all necessary steps to assist the caregiver in
obtaining relevant health and education information for the child's
health and education summary as described in subdivision (a). The
caregiver of a nonminor dependent, as described in subdivision (v) of
Section 11400, is not responsible for obtaining and maintaining the
nonminor dependent's health and educational information, but may
assist the nonminor dependent with any recordkeeping that the
nonminor requests of the caregiver.
(f) At the initial hearing, the court shall direct each parent to
provide to the child protective agency complete medical, dental,
mental health, and educational information, and medical background,
of the child and of the child's mother and the child's biological
father if known. The Judicial Council shall create a form for the
purpose of obtaining health and education information from the child'
s parents or guardians at the initial hearing. The court shall
determine at the hearing held pursuant to Section 358 whether the
medical, dental, mental health, and educational information has been
provided to the child protective agency.
