Child Abuse Central Index.

Existing law, subject to exceptions, requires a police department, a sheriff's department, a county probation department under certain circumstances, and a county welfare department to forward to the Department of Justice a report in writing of every case it investigates of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect which is determined not to be unfounded, for purposes of inclusion by the department in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) . Existing law prohibits those agencies from forwarding reports to the department unless the agency has conducted an active investigation and determined that the report is not unfounded. Existing law further requires, if a report has previously been filed which subsequently proves to be unfounded, the department be notified of that fact and the department shall not retain the report. Existing law classifies reports as unfounded, substantiated, or inconclusive. A substantiated report means a report that is determined by the investigator who conducted the investigation to constitute child abuse or neglect, as defined, based upon evidence that makes it more likely than not that child abuse or neglect occurred. This bill would instead apply those provisions to reports that are substantiated. The bill would revise the definition of a substantiated report to exclude a report where the investigator who conducted the investigation found the report to be false, inherently improbable, to involve an accidental injury, or to not constitute child abuse or neglect, as specified. The bill would also provide that on and after January 1, 2012, a police department or sheriff's department shall no longer forward to the Department of Justice that report. Existing law charges the Department of Justice with maintaining CACI and requires that the index be continually updated by the department and not contain any reports that are determined to be unfounded. This bill would instead provide that only information from reports that are reported as substantiated would be filed, and all other determinations would be removed from the centralized list. The bill would also provide that any person who is listed on the CACI has the right to an agency hearing, as specified, to challenge his or her listing on the CACI. The bill would require the hearing to meet due process requirements. The bill would also specify the circumstances under which the hearing may be denied. The bill would further provide that a person who is listed on the CACI has a right to that hearing if the court's jurisdiction terminates, the court has not made a finding concerning whether the suspected child abuse or neglect was substantiated, and that hearing has not been provided previously to the listed person. After that hearing or a court proceeding, if it is determined that the person's CACI listing was based on a report that was not substantiated, the agency would be required to notify the department of that result and the department shall remove that person's name from the CACI. The bill would provide that any person listed in the CACI who has reached 100 years of age shall have his or her listing removed from the CACI. The bill would also require agencies, including police departments and sheriff's departments, to retain child abuse or neglect investigative reports that result or resulted in a report filed with the Department of Justice for the same period of time that the information is required to be maintained on the CACI, as specified. By imposing additional duties on local government agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 11170 of the Penal Code made by AB 212, to become operative if AB 212 and this bill become effective on or before January 1, 2012, and this bill is enacted last. 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.