Registered sex offenders: community care facilities.

(1) Existing law, the Sex Offender Registration Act, requires persons convicted of specified sex offenses to register with local authorities for life while residing, located, attending school, or working in California. Willful failure to register, as required, is a misdemeanor, or a felony, depending on the underlying offense. Existing law provides for the licensing and regulation of various community care and child care facilities by the State Department of Social Services. This bill would prohibit a person required to register under the act from residing, except as specified, working, or volunteering in, among other places, foster homes or facilities licensed by the State Department of Social Services or a county child welfare services agency. Violation of this prohibition would be a misdemeanor. The bill would also authorize a juvenile court to waive this prohibition if the residence involved is that of a noncustodial parent, relative, or nonrelative extended family member who receives the placement of a child who is or may be declared a dependent of the court and the court finds that placing the child in that residence is in the child's best interest. This bill would require specified officials who register a person under the act to make a specified determination regarding the registration, notify the person when his or her registered residence or place of employment would be prohibited by the bill, and take appropriate law enforcement action, or make a specified notification, including notifying the county child welfare agency and the Department of Social Services, as specified, if the person registers at a prohibited residence or place of employment. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to, by January 1, 2014, provide specified public officers and persons or entities that register a person who is required to register with the addresses or other equivalent data of, among other things, foster homes or facilities that serve children under 18 years of age and that are licensed by the department or a county child welfare agency. This bill would also require specified investigators of the State Department of Social Services to compare the residence and employment addresses of persons required to register under the act against the addresses of certain facilities, including, among others, foster homes or facilities licensed by the department or a county child welfare agency. The bill would require investigators to immediately, or as soon as practicably possible, make a report, as specified, to the appropriate county child welfare agency and the State Department of Social Services if those addresses match. (2) Existing law, the California Child Day Care Act, requires the Director of Social Services to annually publish and make available certain lists covering all licensed child day care facilities, other than small family day care homes, as defined, and the services for which each facility has been licensed. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to prevent the use of lists containing names, addresses, and other identifying information of small family day care homes, except for specified purposes, including, among others, providing the names and addresses of these small family day care homes to certain state agencies, programs, organizations, or plans. This bill would include a local law enforcement agency among the agencies that may receive lists containing the names, addresses, and other identifying information of small family day care homes, as specified. This bill would create a new crime and impose additional duties upon local officials, thereby creating 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.