Care facilities: criminal background checks.

Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to license and regulate various care facilities that include, among others, residential care facilities for the elderly and child day care facilities. Existing law requires the department to obtain a criminal history record for all applicants for licenses for these facilities and specified individuals connected with these facilities, including employees, volunteers, and officers of these facilities. Existing law prohibits persons with certain criminal convictions from obtaining a license and further prohibits these specified individuals from being present in these care facilities before obtaining either a criminal record clearance or a criminal record exemption from the department. This bill would require the department, among other things, to convene a working group, with a specified membership, to make recommendations and propose revised regulations to change the criminal record exemption process in order to expedite the process for people who seek licensure from the department and have a criminal conviction. The bill would require the working group, on or before July 1, 2024, to propose revisions to the department's regulations, and further require the department to submit those proposed revisions to the Office of Administrative Law within one month of finalization by the working group. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2025. This bill would require the department to post information on its internet website concerning applications, including the total number of applicants who submitted fingerprints for the purpose of providing criminal record information, and the number of applicants who had a nonexemptible conviction or who were granted a clearance or a criminal record exemption, as specified. The bill would require the department to publish data in aggregate and without any personally identifying information. The bill would require the department to issue a report of its findings on or before January 1, 2023. The bill would prohibit the department, in the course of securing electronic fingerprint images and criminal history information from license applicants for specified residential facilities, child daycare facilities, and home health agencies, from requiring applicants to disclose their criminal history information, except that the department may inquire about out-of-state convictions for sex offense crimes that, if committed within California, would require a person to register with the Sex Offender Registration Act.