Protection and advocacy agencies.

Existing law prescribes, in accordance with federal law, the powers of the protection and advocacy agency, which is a private, nonprofit corporation charged with protecting and advocating for the rights of persons with developmental disabilities and mental disorders. Under existing law, a protection and advocacy agency's powers include the authority to investigate any incident of abuse or neglect of persons with developmental disabilities or persons with mental illness if the complaints are reported to the protection and advocacy agency or if probable cause exists to believe that abuse or neglect has occurred. This authority includes the authorization to examine all relevant records and interview any facility or program service recipient, employee, or other person who might have knowledge of the alleged abuse or neglect. Existing law requires the agency to have access to the records of specified people with disabilities, including reports prepared by an agency charged with investigating reports of incidents of abuse, neglect, injury, or death occurring at the program, facility, or service. This bill would provide that the authority to access these records includes access to an unredacted facility evaluation report form, unredacted complaint investigation report form, unredacted citation report, unredacted licensing report, unredacted survey report, unredacted plan of correction, or unredacted statement of deficiency prepared by a department responsible for issuing a license or certificate to a program, facility, or service serving an individual with a disability. Existing law requires the confidentiality of all information and records obtained in the course of providing intake, assessment, and services pursuant to specified provisions of existing law to persons with developmental disabilities and to voluntary or involuntary recipients of services under the existing Lanterman-Petris Short Act or within a prescribed state or county hospital. This bill would authorize disclosure of the above-described confidential information to a protection and advocacy agency to the extent that the information is incorporated within an unredacted facility evaluation report form, unredacted complaint investigation report form, unredacted citation report, unredacted licensing report, unredacted survey report, unredacted plan of correction, or unredacted statement of deficiency prepared by authorized licensing personnel or authorized representatives of the State Department of Health Care Services or the State Department of Social Services.