SECTIONS 7550-7554 - California Statutes

PENAL CODE

SECTION 7550-7554

7550. The State Department of Health Services shall prepare
standardized forms for the reports, notices, and findings required by
this title, and distribute these forms to the Department of
Corrections, the Department of the Youth Authority, and to each
county health officer within three months of the effective date of
this title.

7551. A correctional, custodial, or law enforcement agency to which
this title applies shall be responsible for informing staff of the
provisions of this title, and assisting in its implementation as it
applies to the respective agency.

7552. (a) It is recommended that every city or county correctional,
custodial, and law enforcement agency to which this title applies
have a comprehensive AIDS and HIV prevention and education program in
operation by March 31, 1989. Recommended goals for the programs
include all of the following:
(1) Education. Implementation of an educational plan which
includes education and training for officers, support staff, and
inmates on the prevention and transmission of HIV, with regular
updates, at least every three months, with all persons held in
custody for at least 12 hours in a correctional institution being
provided at least with a pamphlet approved by the county health
officer, and more detailed education for persons kept beyond three
days.
(2) Body fluid precautions. Because all bodily fluids are
considered as potentially infectious, supplying all employees of
correctional institutions with the necessary equipment and supplies
to follow accepted universal bodily fluids precautions, including
gloves and devices to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation, when
dealing with infected persons or those in high-risk groups for HIV or
hepatitis B or C.
(3) Separate housing for infected individuals. Making available
adequate separate housing facilities for housing inmates who have
tested positive for HIV infection and who continue to engage in
activities which transmit HIV, with facilities comparable to those of
other inmates with access to recreational and educational
facilities, commensurate with the facilities available in the
correctional institution.
(4) Adequate AIDS medical services. The provision of medical
services appropriate for the diagnosis and treatment of HIV
infection.
(5) These guidelines are advisory only and do not constitute a
state mandate.
(b) The program shall require confidentiality of information in
accordance with this title and other provisions of law.
(c) The Corrections Standards Authority and the State Department
of Health Services shall assist in developing the programs.

7553. With the approval of the county health officer, the State
Department of Health Services, as it deems necessary for HIV
detection and prevention, may conduct periodic anonymous unlinked
serologic surveys of all or portions of the inmate population or
persons under custody within a city or county.

7554. (a) The purpose of this section is to establish the extent of
peace officers' occupational exposure for HIV infection.
(b) The correctional, custodial, or law enforcement agency to
which this title applies or the chief medical officer of a
correctional, custodial, or law enforcement agency to which this
title applies shall report each reportable incident involving a law
enforcement employee under this title together with the disposition
of each case to the State Department of Health Services.
The report shall include all of the following: the assignment of
the law enforcement employee; the type of incident; the type of
injury sustained; the treatment rendered to the injured employee;
citations to criminal laws which were allegedly violated; and the
identity of the employing agency. Under no circumstances shall the
identity of the law enforcement employee or the source person be
transmitted by the local law enforcement agency or the chief medical
officer of the local agency to the State Department of Health
Services.
(c) The State Department of Health Services shall release the
data, upon written request, to any law enforcement agency or to any
bona fide, nonprofit law enforcement research body primarily
concerned with peace officer health issues, provided that the
identity of any law enforcement employee, any person who is the
subject of a report, or any tested person under this title shall
remain anonymous. Any unauthorized release of information leading to
the identity of a person whose identity is protected under this
section shall constitute a misdemeanor.
(d) For purposes of this section, a "reportable incident" means an
incident described in subdivision (a) of Section 7510. A "source
person" means a person whose bodily fluids are believed to have
contacted the bodily fluids of a law enforcement employee as
described in subdivision (a) of Section 7510.