BILL NUMBER: AB 2083 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 297
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 12, 2016
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 12, 2016
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 11, 2016
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 18, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 14, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Chu
FEBRUARY 17, 2016
An act to amend Section 11174.32 of the Penal Code, relating to
crime.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2083, Chu. Interagency child death review.
Existing law authorizes a county to establish an interagency child
death review team to assist local agencies in identifying and
reviewing suspicious child deaths and facilitating communication
among persons who perform autopsies and the various persons and
agencies involved in child abuse or neglect cases. Existing law
requires records that are exempt from disclosure to 3rd parties
pursuant to state or federal law to remain exempt from disclosure
when they are in the possession of a child death review team.
This bill would authorize the voluntary disclosure of specified
information, including mental health records, criminal history
information, and child abuse reports, by an individual or agency to
an interagency child death review team. The bill would provide that
written or oral information disclosed to a child death review team
pursuant to these provisions would remain confidential, and would not
be subject to disclosure or discovery by a 3rd party unless
otherwise required by law.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that
limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the
writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings
demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need
for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 11174.32 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
11174.32. (a) Each county may establish an interagency child
death review team to assist local agencies in identifying and
reviewing suspicious child deaths and facilitating communication
among persons who perform autopsies and the various persons and
agencies involved in child abuse or neglect cases. Interagency child
death review teams have been used successfully to ensure that
incidents of child abuse or neglect are recognized and other siblings
and nonoffending family members receive the appropriate services in
cases where a child has expired.
(b) Each county may develop a protocol that may be used as a
guideline by persons performing autopsies on children to assist
coroners and other persons who perform autopsies in the
identification of child abuse or neglect, in the determination of
whether child abuse or neglect contributed to death or whether child
abuse or neglect had occurred prior to but was not the actual cause
of death, and in the proper written reporting procedures for child
abuse or neglect, including the designation of the cause and mode of
death.
(c) In developing an interagency child death review team and an
autopsy protocol, each county, working in consultation with local
members of the California State Coroner's Association and county
child abuse prevention coordinating councils, may solicit suggestions
and final comments from persons, including, but not limited to, the
following:
(1) Experts in the field of forensic pathology.
(2) Pediatricians with expertise in child abuse.
(3) Coroners and medical examiners.
(4) Criminologists.
(5) District attorneys.
(6) Child protective services staff.
(7) Law enforcement personnel.
(8) Representatives of local agencies which are involved with
child abuse or neglect reporting.
(9) County health department staff who deals with children's
health issues.
(10) Local professional associations of persons described in
paragraphs (1) to (9), inclusive.
(d) Records exempt from disclosure to third parties pursuant to
state or federal law shall remain exempt from disclosure when they
are in the possession of a child death review team.
(e) Written and oral information pertaining to the child's death
as requested by a child death review team may be disclosed to a child
death review team established pursuant to this section. The team may
make a request, in writing, for the information sought and any
person with information of the kind described in paragraph (2) may
rely on the request in determining whether information may be
disclosed to the team.
(1) An individual or agency that has information governed by this
subdivision shall not be required to disclose information. The intent
of this subdivision is to allow the voluntary disclosure of
information by the individual or agency that has the information.
(2) The following information may be disclosed pursuant to this
subdivision:
(A) Notwithstanding Section 56.10 of the Civil Code, medical
information, unless disclosure is prohibited by federal law.
(B) Notwithstanding Section 5328 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, mental health information.
(C) Notwithstanding Section 11167.5, information from child abuse
reports and investigations, except the identity of the person making
the report, which shall not be disclosed.
(D) State summary criminal history information, criminal offender
record information, and local summary criminal history information,
as defined in Sections 11105, 11075, and 13300, respectively.
(E) Notwithstanding Section 11163.2, information pertaining to
reports by health practitioners of persons suffering from physical
injuries inflicted by means of a firearm or of persons suffering
physical injury where the injury is a result of assaultive or abusive
conduct.
(F) Notwithstanding Section 10850 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, records of in-home supportive services, unless disclosure is
prohibited by federal law.
(3) Written or oral information disclosed to a child death review
team pursuant to this subdivision shall remain confidential, and
shall not be subject to disclosure or discovery by a third party
unless otherwise required by law.
(f) (1) No less than once each year, each child death review team
shall make available to the public findings, conclusions and
recommendations of the team, including aggregate statistical data on
the incidences and causes of child deaths.
(2) In its report, the child death review team shall withhold the
last name of the child that is subject to a review or the name of the
deceased child's siblings unless the name has been publicly
disclosed or is required to be disclosed by state law, federal law,
or court order.
SEC. 2. The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of this
act, which amends Section 11174.32 of the Penal Code, imposes a
limitation on the public's right of access to the meetings of public
bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the
meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution.
Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the
following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this
limitation and the need for protecting that interest:
In order to facilitate the voluntary disclosure of confidential
information to child death review teams and to retain the
confidentiality of that information, the limitations on the public's
right of access imposed by Section 1 of this act are necessary.