Mandated child abuse reporting.

Existing law authorizes members of a multidisciplinary personnel team engaged in the prevention, identification, and treatment of child abuse to disclose and exchange information and writings to and with one another relating to any incidents of child abuse that may also be a part of a juvenile court record or otherwise designated as confidential under state law if the member of the team having that information or writing reasonably believes it is generally relevant to the prevention, identification, or treatment of child abuse. Under existing law, all discussions relative to the disclosure or exchange of this information during team meetings are confidential and testimony concerning those discussions is not admissible in any criminal, civil, or juvenile court proceeding. A multidisciplinary personnel team is defined for purposes of this provision to mean any team of 3 or more persons who are trained in the prevention, identification, and treatment of child abuse, as specified. This bill would, until January 1, 2014, additionally authorize the disclosure and exchange of information to occur telephonically and electronically, for 30 days, or longer if documented good cause exists, following a report of suspected child abuse or neglect, if there is adequate verification of the identity of the multidisciplinary personnel who are involved in that disclosure or exchange of information. The bill would revise the definition of a multidisciplinary personnel team for purposes of this provision to mean any team of 2 or more persons created to investigate a report of suspected child abuse, as specified, who are trained in the prevention, identification, and treatment of child abuse, as specified. The bill would require that the sharing of information permitted in the period following a report of suspected child abuse or neglect be governed by protocols developed in each county describing how and what information may be shared to ensure that confidential information is not disclosed in violation of state or federal law. Existing law provides that a county may establish a computerized database system within that county to allow provider agencies to share identifying information regarding families at risk for child abuse or neglect, for the purpose of forming multidisciplinary personnel teams for the prevention, identification, management, or treatment of child abuse. A multidisciplinary personnel team is defined for purposes of this provision to mean any team of 3 or more persons who are trained in the prevention, identification, and treatment of child abuse, as specified. This bill would revise the definition of multidisciplinary personnel teams for purposes of this provision to additionally include any team of 2 or more persons who are trained in the prevention, identification, management, or treatment of child abuse, as specified. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 18961.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code proposed by this bill and AB 2322, to become operative only if this bill and AB 2322 are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2011, and this bill is chaptered last.