Bill Text: CA AB506 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Youth service organizations: child abuse and neglect prevention.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-09-16 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 169, Statutes of 2021. [AB506 Detail]
Download: California-2021-AB506-Amended.html
Bill Title: Youth service organizations: child abuse and neglect prevention.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-09-16 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 169, Statutes of 2021. [AB506 Detail]
Download: California-2021-AB506-Amended.html
Amended
IN
Senate
June 15, 2021 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
April 29, 2021 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
April 07, 2021 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 506
Introduced by Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez |
February 09, 2021 |
An act to add Chapter 2.9 (commencing with Section 18975) to Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code, and to amend Section 11165.7 of the Penal Code, relating to youth service organizations.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 506, as amended, Lorena Gonzalez.
Youth service organizations: mandated reporters.
Existing law requires a mandated reporter to report whenever they, in their professional capacity or within the scope of their employment, have knowledge of or observed a child whom who the mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse or neglect. Failure by a mandated reporter to report an incident of known or reasonably suspected child abuse or neglect is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months of confinement in a county jail, by a fine of $1,000, or by both that imprisonment and fine. Existing law includes an administrator or employee a of
a public or private youth center, youth recreation program, or youth organization as a mandated reporter.
This bill would add to the list of individuals who are mandated reporters a volunteer of a public or private youth center, youth recreation program, or youth organization that who is over 18 years of age or older and whose duties include direct contact with or supervision of children and who volunteers more than 16 hours per month or 32 hours per year with the organization.
who has direct contact with, or supervision of, children for more than 16 hours per month or 32 hours per year. By imposing the reporting requirements on a new class of persons, for whom failure to report specified conduct is a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law generally provides requirements for the licensing of business establishments. Existing law requires a business that provides services to minors, as defined, to provide written notice to the parent or guardian of a youth participating in the service offered by the business regarding the business’s policies relating to criminal background checks for employees who provide services to minors, as specified. Existing law generally regulates classes of insurance, including liability insurance.
This bill would require an administrator, employee, or volunteer of a youth service organization, as defined, to
complete online mandated reporter training provided by the Office of Child Abuse Prevention in the State Department of Social Services.
child abuse and neglect reporting training, as specified. The bill would require an administrator, employee, or volunteer of a youth service organization, organization who is 18 years of age or older, a mandated reporter, as specified, to undergo a background screening, except as specified. screening. The bill would require a youth service organization to develop and implement child abuse prevention policies
and procedures that, among other things, ensure the reporting of suspected incidents of child abuse to persons or entities outside of the organization.
This bill would authorize an insurer to request information demonstrating compliance with these provisions from a youth service organization before writing liability insurance for a youth service organization.
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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 2.9 (commencing with Section 18975) is added to Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code, to read:CHAPTER 2.9. Youth Service Organizations
18975.
(a) An administrator, employee, or volunteer of a youth service organization who is a mandated reporter, as defined in Section 11165.7 of the Penal Code, shall complete training in the duties imposed by Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 11164) of Chapter 2 of Title 1 of Part 4 of the Penal Code. This training shall include training in child abuse and neglect identification and training in child abuse and neglect reporting. The training requirement may be met by completing the online mandated reporter training provided by the Office of Child Abuse Prevention in the State Department of Social Services.(b) (1)An administrator, employee, or volunteer of a youth service organization who is 18 years of age or older a mandated reporter pursuant to Section 11165.7 of the Penal Code shall undergo a background screening to identify and exclude any persons with a history of child abuse.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a volunteer who volunteers fewer than 16 hours per
month or 32 hours per year with the youth service organization shall not be required to undergo a background screening.
(c) A youth service organization shall develop and implement child abuse prevention policies and procedures, including, but not limited to, both of the following:
(1) Policies to ensure the reporting of suspected incidents of child abuse to persons or entities outside of the organization, including the reporting required pursuant to Section 11165.9 of the Penal Code.
(2) Policies requiring, to the greatest extent possible, the presence of at least two mandated reporters whenever administrators, employees, or volunteers are in contact with, or supervising,
children.
(d) Before writing liability insurance for a youth service organization in this state, an insurer may request information demonstrating compliance with this section from the youth service organization as a part of the insurer’s loss control program.
(e) For purposes of this section, “youth service organization” means an organization that employs or utilizes the services of persons who, due to their relationship with the organization, are mandated reporters pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 11165.7 of the Penal Code.
SEC. 2.
Section 11165.7 of the Penal Code is amended to read:11165.7.
(a) As used in this article, “mandated reporter” is defined as any of the following:(1) A teacher.
(2) An instructional aide.
(3) A teacher’s aide or teacher’s assistant employed by a public or private school.
(4) A classified employee of a public school.
(5) An administrative officer or supervisor of child welfare and attendance, or a certificated pupil personnel employee of a public or private school.
(6) An administrator of a public or private day camp.
(7) The following individuals associated with a public or private youth center, youth recreation program, or youth organization:
(A) An administrator or employee.
(B) A volunteer over 18 years of age who volunteers more than 16 hours per month or 32 hours per year with the youth center, youth recreation program, or youth organization who is 18 years of age or older and who has and whose duties involve
direct contact with, or supervision of, children. children for more than 16 hours per month or 32 hours per year.
(8) An administrator, board member, or employee of a public or private organization whose duties require direct contact and supervision of children, including a foster family agency.
(9) An employee of a county office of education or the State Department of Education whose duties bring the employee into contact with children on a regular basis.
(10) A licensee, an administrator, or an employee of a licensed community
care or child daycare facility.
(11) A Head Start program teacher.
(12) A licensing worker or licensing evaluator employed by a licensing agency, as defined in Section 11165.11.
(13) A public assistance worker.
(14) An employee of a childcare institution, including, but not limited to, foster parents, group home personnel, and personnel of residential care facilities.
(15) A social worker, probation officer, or parole officer.
(16) An employee of a school district police or security department.
(17) A person who is an administrator or presenter of, or a counselor in, a child abuse prevention program in a public or private school.
(18) A district attorney investigator, inspector, or local child
support agency caseworker, unless the investigator, inspector, or caseworker is working with an attorney appointed pursuant to Section 317 of the Welfare and Institutions Code to represent a minor.
(19) A peace officer, as defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2, who is not otherwise described in this section.
(20) A firefighter, except for volunteer firefighters.
(21) A physician and surgeon, psychiatrist, psychologist, dentist, resident, intern, podiatrist, chiropractor, licensed nurse, dental hygienist, optometrist, marriage and family therapist, clinical social worker, professional clinical counselor, or any other person who is currently licensed under Division 2 (commencing
with Section 500) of the Business and Professions Code.
(22) An emergency medical technician I or II, paramedic, or other person certified pursuant to Division 2.5 (commencing with Section 1797) of the Health and Safety Code.
(23) A psychological assistant registered pursuant to Section 2913 of the Business and Professions Code.
(24) A marriage and family therapist trainee, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 4980.03 of the Business and Professions Code.
(25) An unlicensed associate marriage and family therapist registered under Section 4980.44 of the Business and Professions Code.
(26) A state or county public health employee who treats a minor for venereal disease or any other condition.
(27) A coroner.
(28) A medical examiner or other person who performs autopsies.
(29) A commercial film and photographic print or image processor as specified in subdivision (e) of Section 11166. As used in this article, “commercial film and photographic print or image processor” means a person who develops exposed photographic film into negatives, slides, or prints, or who makes prints from negatives or slides, or who prepares, publishes, produces, develops, duplicates, or prints any representation of information, data, or an image, including, but not limited to, any film, filmstrip, photograph, negative,
slide, photocopy, videotape, video laser disc, computer hardware, computer software, computer floppy disk, data storage medium, CD-ROM, computer-generated equipment, or computer-generated image, for compensation. The term includes any employee of that person; it does not include a person who develops film or makes prints or images for a public agency.
(30) A child visitation monitor. As used in this article, “child visitation monitor” means a person who, for financial compensation, acts as a monitor of a visit between a child and another person when the monitoring of that visit has been ordered by a court of law.
(31) An animal control officer or humane society officer. For the purposes of this article, the following terms have the following meanings:
(A) “Animal control officer” means a person employed by a city, county, or city and county for the purpose of enforcing animal control laws or regulations.
(B) “Humane society officer” means a person appointed or employed by a public or private entity as a humane officer who is qualified pursuant to Section 14502 or 14503 of the Corporations Code.
(32) A clergy member, as specified in subdivision (d) of Section 11166. As used in this article, “clergy member” means a priest, minister, rabbi, religious practitioner, or similar functionary of a church, temple, or recognized denomination or organization.
(33) Any custodian of records of a clergy member, as specified
in this section and subdivision (d) of Section 11166.
(34) An employee of any police department, county sheriff’s department, county probation department, or county welfare department.
(35) An employee or volunteer of a Court Appointed Special Advocate program, as defined in Rule 5.655 of the California Rules of Court.
(36) A custodial officer, as defined in Section 831.5.
(37) A person providing services to a minor child under Section 12300 or 12300.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(38) An alcohol and drug counselor. As used in this article, an “alcohol and drug counselor” is a person
providing counseling, therapy, or other clinical services for a state licensed or certified drug, alcohol, or drug and alcohol treatment program. However, alcohol or drug abuse, or both alcohol and drug abuse, is not, in and of itself, a sufficient basis for reporting child abuse or neglect.
(39) A clinical counselor trainee, as defined in subdivision (g) of Section 4999.12 of the Business and Professions Code.
(40) An associate professional clinical counselor registered under Section 4999.42 of the Business and Professions Code.
(41) An employee or administrator of a public or private postsecondary educational institution, whose duties bring the administrator or employee into contact with children on a regular basis, or who
supervises those whose duties bring the administrator or employee into contact with children on a regular basis, as to child abuse or neglect occurring on that institution’s premises or at an official activity of, or program conducted by, the institution. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as altering the lawyer-client privilege as set forth in Article 3 (commencing with Section 950) of Chapter 4 of Division 8 of the Evidence Code.
(42) An athletic coach, athletic administrator, or athletic director employed by any public or private school that provides any
combination of instruction for kindergarten, or grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
(43) (A) A commercial computer technician as specified in subdivision (e) of Section 11166. As used in this article, “commercial computer technician” means a person who works for a company that is in the business of repairing, installing, or otherwise servicing a computer or computer component, including, but not limited to, a computer part, device, memory storage or recording mechanism, auxiliary storage recording or memory capacity, or any other material relating to the operation and maintenance of a computer or computer network system, for a fee. An employer who provides an electronic communications service or a remote computing service to the public shall be deemed to comply with this article if that employer complies with
Section 2258A of Title 18 of the United States Code.
(B) An employer of a commercial computer technician may implement internal procedures for facilitating reporting consistent with this article. These procedures may direct employees who are mandated reporters under this paragraph to report materials described in subdivision (e) of Section 11166 to an employee who is designated by the employer to receive the reports. An employee who is designated to receive reports under this subparagraph shall be a commercial computer technician for purposes of this article. A commercial computer technician who makes a report to the designated employee pursuant to this subparagraph shall be deemed to have complied with the requirements of this article and shall be subject to the protections afforded to mandated reporters, including, but not limited
to, those protections afforded by Section 11172.
(44) Any athletic coach, including, but not limited to, an assistant coach or a graduate assistant involved in coaching, at
public or private postsecondary educational institutions.
(45) An individual certified by a licensed foster family agency as a certified family home, as defined in Section 1506 of the Health and Safety Code.
(46) An individual approved as a resource family, as defined in Section 1517 of the Health and Safety Code and Section 16519.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(47) A qualified autism service provider, a qualified autism service professional, or a qualified autism service paraprofessional, as defined in Section 1374.73 of the Health and Safety Code and Section 10144.51 of the Insurance Code.
(48) A human resource employee of a business
subject to Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code that employs minors. For purposes of this section, a “human resource employee” is the employee or employees designated by the employer to accept any complaints of misconduct as required by Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 12940) of Part 2.8 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(49) An adult person whose duties require direct contact with and supervision of minors in the performance of the minors’ duties in the workplace of a business subject to Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code is a mandated reporter of sexual abuse, as defined in Section 11165.1. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to modify or limit the person’s duty to report known or suspected child abuse or
neglect when the person is acting in some other capacity that would otherwise make the person a mandated reporter.
(b) Except as provided in paragraphs (7) and (35) of subdivision (a), volunteers of public or private organizations whose duties require direct contact with and supervision of children are not mandated reporters but are encouraged to obtain training in the identification and reporting of child abuse and neglect and are further encouraged to report known or suspected instances of child abuse or neglect to an agency specified in Section 11165.9.
(c) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (d) and paragraph (2), employers are strongly encouraged to provide their employees who are mandated reporters with training in the duties imposed by this article. This
training shall include training in child abuse and neglect identification and training in child abuse and neglect reporting. Whether or not employers provide their employees with training in child abuse and neglect identification and reporting, the employers shall provide their employees who are mandated reporters with the statement required pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 11166.5.
(2) Employers subject to paragraphs (48) and (49) of subdivision (a) shall provide their employees who are mandated reporters with training in the duties imposed by this article. This training shall include training in child abuse and neglect identification and training in child abuse and neglect reporting. The training requirement may be met by completing the general online training for mandated reporters offered by the Office of Child Abuse Prevention
in the State Department of Social Services.
(d) Pursuant to Section 44691 of the Education Code, school districts, county offices of education, state special schools and diagnostic centers operated by the State Department of Education, and charter schools shall annually train their employees and persons working on their behalf specified in subdivision (a) in the duties of mandated reporters under the child abuse reporting laws. The training shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, training in child abuse and neglect identification and child abuse and neglect reporting.
(e) (1) On and after January 1, 2018, pursuant to Section 1596.8662 of the Health and Safety Code, a childcare licensee applicant shall take training in the duties of mandated reporters under
the child abuse reporting laws as a condition of licensure, and a childcare administrator or an employee of a licensed child daycare facility shall take training in the duties of mandated reporters during the first 90 days when that administrator or employee is employed by the facility.
(2) A person specified in paragraph (1) who becomes a licensee, administrator, or employee of a licensed child daycare facility shall take renewal mandated reporter training every two years following the date on which that person completed the initial mandated reporter training. The training shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, training in child abuse and neglect identification and child abuse and neglect reporting.
(f) Unless otherwise specifically provided, the absence of training
shall not excuse a mandated reporter from the duties imposed by this article.
(g) Public and private organizations are encouraged to provide their volunteers whose duties require direct contact with and supervision of children with training in the identification and reporting of child abuse and neglect.