Attorney General shall report annually to the Legislature concerning the information pertaining to the sexual abuse of children reported to the Department of Justice. No confidential information shall be released in the reports submitted to the Legislature.
As mandated reporters, a medical or nonmedical practitioner with reasonable certainty to believe that the child under 14 has been subjected to child abuse (can be ascertained through medical reports) must make a report to a child protection agency
A mandated reporter shall make a report to an agency specified in Penal Code 11165.9 whenever the mandated reporter has knowledge or observes a child reasonably suspected of being a victim of child abuse or neglect. The mandated reported shall make an immediate initial report, followed by a written report which may include any nonprivileged documentary evidence relating to the incident. Failure to report is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in county jail, fine of one thousand dollars or both.
Authorized persons within county health departments shall be permitted to receive copies of any reports made by health practitioners. The Department of Justice is not required to disclose information contained in its records of child abuse and severe neglect index or records from its investigations of out-of-home care abuse. Disclosure of any reports or records of child abuse or neglect is not permitted if the disclosure would be prohibited by any other state or federal laws.
The Department of Justice shall maintain an index of all reports of child abuse and severe neglect submitted by mandated reporters. The department shall maintain a repository of reports in the Child Abuse Central Index. Information from an inconclusive report filed by mandated reporters shall be deleted from the Child Abuse Central Index after 10 years if no subsequent report is received within that time period.
After a mandated report is made, the investigating agency shall inform the mandated reporter of the results of the investigation and of any action the agency is taking with regard to the child or family.
Women prisoners who participate in the survey sample of children of incarcerated parents shall provide written permission that allows the California Research Bureau access to their children's records like medical records (including drug or alcohol use and mental health). The California Research Bureau shall follow appropriate procedures to ensure confidentiality of the records and to protect the privacy of the survey participants and their children.
Mandated reports required by law, and child abuse or neglect investigative reports filed with the Department of Justice, shall be confidential and may be disclosed only to certain persons or agencies, including: the State Department of Social Services, "hospital scan teams" (i.e.
If Child Abuse Central Index information is requested by an agency for the temporary placement of a child in an emergency situation, the Department of Justice is exempt from the requirements of accuracy, relevance, timeliness, and completeness if compliance would cause a delay in providing an expedited response to the agency's inquiry and if further delay in placement may be detrimental to the child.
