SECTIONS 18960-18964 - California Statutes

WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE

SECTION 18960-18964

18960. (a) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that child abuse
and neglect prevention and intervention programs be encouraged by
the funding of agencies addressing needs of children at high risk of
abuse or neglect and their families.
(2) Funding for this program is subject to appropriation in the
annual Budget Act.
(3) Priority shall be given to prevention programs through
nonprofit agencies, including, where appropriate, programs that
identify and provide services to isolated families, particularly
those with children five years of age or younger, high quality home
visiting programs based on research-based models of best practice,
and services to child victims of crime.
(b) (1) Projects funded in Calaveras, El Dorado, Humboldt, Lassen,
Modoc, Plumas, San Luis Obispo, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity,
and Yuba Counties, with the exception of statewide innovative
projects, shall be funded by the State Department of Social Services
for the purposes established in this article until June 30, 1993.
(2) Beginning in the 1993-94 fiscal year and in subsequent years,
projects funded in the counties set forth in paragraph (1) shall be
selected by the competitive process described in Section 18961.
Projects funded in all other counties in the 1992-93 and subsequent
fiscal years shall be selected by the competitive process.

18961. (a) Projects funded pursuant to this article shall be
selected through a competitive process, which shall include all of
the following criteria:
(1) Priority shall be given to private, nonprofit agencies with
programs that serve the needs of children at risk of abuse or neglect
and that have demonstrated effectiveness in prevention or
intervention.
(2) Agencies shall be eligible for funding provided that evidence
is submitted as part of the application to demonstrate broad-based
community support and that proposed services are not duplicated in
the community, are based on needs of children at risk, and are
supported by a local public agency, including, but not limited to,
one of the following:
(A) The county welfare department.
(B) A public law enforcement agency.
(C) The county probation department.
(D) The county board of supervisors.
(E) The county public health department.
(F) The county mental health department.
(G) The school district.
(3) Services provided shall be culturally and linguistically
appropriate to the populations served.
(4) Services may include, but need not be limited to, family
counseling, day care, respite care, teaching and demonstrating
homemakers, family workers, transportation, temporary in-home
caretakers, psychiatric evaluations, health services,
multidisciplinary team services, and special law enforcement
services.
(5) Applicant agencies shall demonstrate the existence of a 10
percent cash or in-kind match, other than funding provided by the
State Department of Social Services, that will support the goals of
child abuse and neglect prevention and intervention.
(6) Funding shall be used to supplement, but not supplant, child
welfare services authorized pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with
Section 16500) of Part 4.
(7) Training and technical assistance shall be provided by
private, nonprofit agencies to those agencies funded to provide
services under this article. Training and technical assistance shall
encompass all of the following:
(A) Multidisciplinary approaches to child abuse prevention,
intervention, and treatment.
(B) Facilitation of local services networks.
(C) Establishment and support of child abuse councils.
(D) Dissemination of information addressing issues of child abuse
among multicultural and special needs populations.
(8) Priority for services shall be given to children who are at
high risk, including children who are being served by the county
welfare departments for being abused and neglected and other children
who are referred for services by legal, medical, or social services
agencies.
(9) Service to minority populations shall be reflected in the
funding of projects.
(10) Projects shall clearly be related to the needs of children,
especially those 14 years of age and under.
(b) In a county that has established a multidisciplinary council,
the council shall be utilized to provide recommendations to the board
of supervisors for the funding processes and priorities.
(c) Each county shall monitor the projects it funds. The Office of
Child Abuse Prevention shall monitor innovative and training and
technical assistance projects funded pursuant to this article.
(d) The State Department of Social Services shall allocate funds
appropriated pursuant to this article, based upon criteria that
reflect the reported number of abused and neglected children in a
county, such as police reports, including reports to the Criminal
Identification and Information Branch of the Department of Justice,
reports made to child protective services, or other public reports
that indicate a need for services. Rural counties shall be provided a
base allocation of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per county. For
purposes of this subdivision, "rural county" means a county with a
population of less than 125,000.
(e) The State Department of Social Services shall develop a
reporting instrument relevant to both urban and rural areas, that
shall reflect recognized potential abuse factors, such as
unemployment levels, by percentage, drug and alcohol abuse, and
teenage birth rates. This instrument shall be approved after
consultation with the appropriate state level advisory committees,
legislative committees, and private nonprofit agencies operating
statewide in the area of child abuse and neglect prevention. This
instrument shall be used to develop future reports regarding the
potential for child abuse and neglect.

18961.5. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any county
may establish a computerized database system within that county to
allow provider agencies, as defined in subdivision (h), to share
identifying information, as specified in subdivision (c), regarding
families at risk for child abuse or neglect for the purposes of
forming a multidisciplinary personnel team, as defined in either
subdivision (d) of Section 18951 or paragraph (2) of subdivision (b)
of Section 18961.7, for the prevention, identification, management,
or treatment of child abuse or neglect, or for the provision of child
welfare services to a child or child's family.
(b) Each county shall develop its own standards for defining "at
risk" before establishing this system. Only information about
children, the families of children, and persons living in the child's
home, at risk for child abuse or neglect may be entered into a
computerized database system established pursuant to this section.
(c) With regard to a case in which a child or family has been
identified as at risk for child abuse or neglect under this section,
only the following information shall be entered into the system:
(1) The name, address, telephone number, and date and place of
birth of family members and persons living in the child's home.
(2) The number assigned to the case by each provider agency.
(3) The name and telephone number of each employee assigned to the
case, or a contact person, from each provider agency.
(4) The date or dates of contact between each provider agency and
a family member or a person living in the child's home.
(d) The information may only be entered into the system by, or
disclosed to, provider agency employees designated by the director of
each participating provider agency. Members of the multidisciplinary
personnel teams shall be drawn from these designated employees, or
other persons, as specified in Section 18961. The heads of provider
agencies shall establish a system by which unauthorized personnel
cannot access the data contained in the system.
(e) The information obtained pursuant to this section shall be
kept confidential and shall be used solely for the prevention,
identification, management, or treatment of child abuse, child
neglect, or both, or for the provision of child welfare services. Any
person knowingly and intentionally violating this subdivision shall
be subject to any administrative or civil penalties set forth in the
respective statutes governing the confidentiality of the records
maintained by the provider agencies.
(f) This section shall not supplant any duties required by the
Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (Article 2.5 (commencing with
Section 11164) of Chapter 2 of Title 1 of Part 3 of the Penal Code).
(g) No employee of a provider agency which serves children and
their families shall be civilly or criminally liable for furnishing
or sharing information as authorized by this section.
(h) For the purposes of this section, "provider agency" means any
governmental or other agency which has as one of its purposes the
prevention, identification, management, or treatment of child abuse
or neglect. The provider agencies serving children and their families
which may share information under this section shall include, but
not be limited to, the following entities or service agencies:
(1) Social services.
(2) Children's services.
(3) Health services.
(4) Mental health services.
(5) Probation.
(6) Law enforcement.
(7) Schools.
(i) A county that establishes a computerized database system
pursuant to this section shall install system controls to monitor
system use and to detect any violations of the system controls.

18961.6. (a) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 18961.5, if
the County of Los Angeles establishes a database pursuant to Section
18961.5, the database may also include the convictions of family
members and persons living in the child's home for crimes that
involved a child as a victim.
(b) Information entered pursuant to subdivision (a) shall only be
accessible to those provider agencies, as described in subdivision
(h) of Section 18961.5, currently entitled to obtain criminal history
records. These provider agencies shall include, but not be limited
to, children's services, probation, and law enforcement. The County
of Los Angeles shall install system controls to only allow access to
the information entered pursuant to subdivision (a) to those provider
agencies, as described in subdivision (h) of Section 18961.5,
currently entitled to obtain criminal history records, including, but
not limited to, children's services, probation, and law enforcement.
Nothing in this section shall preclude the information entered
pursuant to subdivision (a) from being discussed in the context of a
multidisciplinary team, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section
18951.
(c) If the database of the County of Los Angeles includes
conviction information pursuant to subdivision (a), the conviction
information added to the database pursuant to subdivision (a) shall
be removed from the database 50 years after the date of the
conviction.

18961.7. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county
may establish a child abuse multidisciplinary personnel team within
that county to allow provider agencies to share confidential
information in order for provider agencies to investigate reports of
suspected child abuse or neglect made pursuant to Section 11160,
11166, or 11166.05 of the Penal Code, or for the purpose of child
welfare agencies making a detention determination.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall
have the following meanings:
(1) "Child abuse multidisciplinary personnel team" means any team
of two or more persons who are trained in the prevention,
identification, or treatment of child abuse and neglect cases and who
are qualified to provide a broad range of services related to child
abuse. The team may include, but shall not be limited to:
(A) Psychiatrists, psychologists, marriage and family therapists,
or other trained counseling personnel.
(B) Police officers or other law enforcement agents.
(C) Medical personnel with sufficient training to provide health
services.
(D) Social services workers with experience or training in child
abuse prevention.
(E) Any public or private school teacher, administrative officer,
supervisor of child welfare attendance, or certified pupil personnel
employee.
(2) "Provider agency" means any governmental or other agency that
has as one of its purposes the prevention, identification,
management, or treatment of child abuse or neglect. The provider
agencies serving children and their families that may share
information under this section shall include, but not be limited to,
the following entities or service agencies:
(A) Social services.
(B) Children's services.
(C) Health services.
(D) Mental health services.
(E) Probation.
(F) Law enforcement.
(G) Schools.
(c) (1) Notwithstanding Section 827 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code or any other provision of law, during a 30-day
period, or longer if documented good cause exists, following a report
of suspected child abuse or neglect, members of a child abuse
multidisciplinary personnel team engaged in the prevention,
identification, and treatment of child abuse may disclose to and
exchange with one another information and writings that relate to any
incident of child abuse that may also be designated as confidential
under state law if the member of the team having that information or
writing reasonably believes it is generally relevant to the
prevention, identification, or treatment of child abuse. Any
discussion relative to the disclosure or exchange of the information
or writings during a team meeting is confidential and,
notwithstanding any other provision of law, testimony concerning that
discussion is not admissible in any criminal, civil, or juvenile
court proceeding.
(2) Disclosure and exchange of information pursuant to this
section may occur telephonically and electronically if there is
adequate verification of the identity of the child abuse
multidisciplinary personnel who are involved in that disclosure or
exchange of information.
(3) Disclosure and exchange of information pursuant to this
section shall not be made to anyone other than members of the child
abuse multidisciplinary personnel team, and those qualified to
receive information as set forth in subdivision (d).
(d) The child abuse multidisciplinary personnel team may designate
persons qualified pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) to be
a member of the team for a particular case. A person designated as a
team member pursuant to this subdivision may receive and disclose
relevant information and records, subject to the confidentiality
provisions of subdivision (f).
(e) The sharing of information permitted under subdivision (c)
shall be governed by protocols developed in each county describing
how and what information may be shared by the child abuse
multidisciplinary team to ensure that confidential information
gathered by the team is not disclosed in violation of state or
federal law. A copy of the protocols shall be distributed to each
participating agency and to persons in those agencies who participate
in the child abuse multidisciplinary team.
(f) Every member of the child abuse multidisciplinary personnel
team who receives information or records regarding children and
families in his or her capacity as a member of the team shall be
under the same privacy and confidentiality obligations and subject to
the same confidentiality penalties as the person disclosing or
providing the information or records. The information or records
obtained shall be maintained in a manner that ensures the maximum
protection of privacy and confidentiality rights.
(g) This section shall not be construed to restrict guarantees of
confidentiality provided under state or federal law.
(h) Information and records communicated or provided to the team
members by all providers and agencies, as well as information and
records created in the course of a child abuse or neglect
investigation, shall be deemed private and confidential and shall be
protected from discovery and disclosure by all applicable statutory
and common law protections. Existing civil and criminal penalties
shall apply to the inappropriate disclosure of information held by
the team members.
(i) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2014, and as of that date is repealed.

18962. (a) (1) The State Department of Social Services shall notify
counties of allocations of funds for services provided pursuant to
Section 18961 no later than 30 days after the effective date of this
section, and annually thereafter.
(2) The board of supervisors of each county shall notify the State
Department of Social Services of its intent to contract or not
contract with public or private nonprofit agencies to provide
services in accordance with this article within 60 days of
notification by the department of the county's allocation. If a board
chooses not to contract for those services, it may subcontract with
other counties to provide administrative oversight of the project,
subject to the same 60-day notification requirement.
(3) If a board of supervisors chooses not to contract or
subcontract for the provision of services, the funds allocated for
that county shall revert to the State Children's Trust Fund
established under Section 18969 and shall be administered in
accordance with the provisions of law relating to the fund.
(b) The board of supervisors of each county shall provide to the
Office of Child Abuse Prevention no later than October 1 of each year
a list of projects funded in the prior fiscal year and the amounts
funded to, and expended by, each of the listed projects. The report
shall include a description of services rendered, populations served,
and results of service.

18963. Unless otherwise specified in the annual Budget Act, the
funds appropriated in the annual Budget Act to the State Department
of Social Services for the purposes of this article shall be
allocated as follows:
(a) A sum equal to 90 percent of the appropriation shall be
allocated to the board of supervisors of each of the participating
counties.
(b) A sum equal to 7 percent of the appropriation shall be
allocated to the State Children's Trust Fund established under
Section 18969 for innovative, child-centered approaches which
indicate promise of quality, cost-effective services to prevent child
abuse and neglect.
(c) The Office of Child Abuse Prevention shall reserve a sum
equal to 3 percent of the appropriation, to be used to provide
administrative oversight and consultation that shall include
activities necessary to do all of the following:
(1) Ensure that each county allocates revenues through the use of
an accountable process that utilizes a multidisciplinary approach,
particularly including strengthening child abuse councils and
allocates revenues in a manner consistent with a county expenditure
plan for all Child Abuse Prevention, Intervention, and Treatment
program revenues. The county plans shall explain how services funded
under this article are coordinated with the array of services
available in the county and are based on unmet need. The Office of
Child Abuse Prevention shall review and approve these plans prior to
authorizing county expenditure of funds. The Office of Child Abuse
Prevention shall require counties to submit annual reports on program
services.
(2) Ensure Child Abuse Prevention, Intervention, and Treatment
program compliance and accountability to the county plan and
legislative intent.
(d) Counties with provider contracts in effect as of June 30,
1998, may continue those contracts. However, no county shall receive
an augmentation of Child Abuse Prevention, Intervention, and
Treatment funds unless the county modifies its program in accordance
with subdivision (c). During the 1998-99 state fiscal year, if a
county qualifies to receive an augmentation of funds, counties may
augment existing provider contracts without competitive bids.
(e) The Office of Child Abuse Prevention may contract with a
statewide nonprofit consortium with broad-based statewide
representation to provide training and technical assistance, and to
improve accountability for the use of funds in the Child Abuse
Prevention, Intervention, and Treatment program using funds
identified in subdivision (c).
(f) A portion of the funds specified in subdivision (c) may be
allocated to the State Children's Trust Fund to be used for statewide
training and technical assistance services. Moneys for statewide
training and technical assistance may be supplemented under
subdivision (a) by an amount not to exceed 0.50 percent of the total
Child Abuse Prevention, Intervention, and Treatment appropriation but
the total amount allocated statewide for training and technical
assistance shall not exceed 2 percent of the total Child Abuse
Prevention, Intervention, and Treatment appropriation. This
augmentation may be accomplished by means of the following:
(1) The board of supervisors of each participating county may
allocate annually a portion of its allocation under this section as a
supplement to funds for statewide training and technical assistance.
Activities to be funded with these supplemental moneys may be
specified by the allocating county and approved by the State
Department of Social Services.
(2) In combination with funds provided by a county pursuant to
paragraph (1) a portion of the moneys reverted to the State Children'
s Trust Fund pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section
18962 may be allocated annually for statewide training and technical
assistance. Any amount allocated from the State Children's Trust Fund
in a state fiscal year shall not exceed the moneys reverted under
paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 18962 in that state
fiscal year.

18964. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of law governing the
disclosure of information and records, including, but not limited to,
Section 5328 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, a person who is
trained and qualified to serve on a multidisciplinary personnel team
pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 18951, whether or not the
person is serving on a team, may be deemed, by the team, to be part
of the team as necessary for the purpose of the prevention,
identification, management, or treatment of an abused child and his
or her parents. The designated team may deem a person to be a member
of the team for a particular case, and that team shall specify its
reasons, in writing, for deeming that person to be a member of the
team. The person, when deemed a member of the team, may receive and
disclose information relevant to a particular case as though he or
she were a member of the team. The information and records which may
be disclosed shall not be restricted to those obtained in the course
of providing services pursuant to this chapter.
(b) The caregiver of the child and, in the case of an Indian
child, the child's tribe shall be permitted to provide information
about the child to the multidisciplinary personnel team that will be
considered by the team and to attend meetings of the
multidisciplinary personnel team, as deemed appropriate by the team,
without becoming a member of the team. Any caregiver or tribal
representative who attends multidisciplinary personnel team meetings
shall agree in writing not to disclose any confidential information
he or she receives as a result of his or her participation with the
team.