California Health and Safety Code 1522.1 – (a) Prior to granting a license to, or otherwise approving, any …
(a) Prior to granting a license to, or otherwise approving, any individual to care for or reside with children, the department shall check the Child Abuse Central Index pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) of § 11170 of the Penal Code. The Department of Justice shall maintain and continually update an index of reports of child abuse by providers and shall inform the department of subsequent reports received from the Child Abuse Central Index pursuant to § 11170 of the Penal Code and the criminal history. The department shall investigate any reports received from the Child Abuse Central Index. The investigation shall include, but not be limited to, the review of the investigation report and file prepared by the child protective agency which investigated the child abuse report. Licensure or approval shall not be denied based upon a report from the Child Abuse Central Index unless child abuse or severe neglect is substantiated.
(b) For any application received on or after January 1, 2008, if any prospective foster parent, or adoptive parent, or any person 18 years of age or older residing in their household, has lived in another state in the preceding five years, the licensing agency or licensed adoption agency shall check that state’s child abuse and neglect registry, in addition to checking the Child Abuse Central Index as provided for in subdivision (a). The department, in consultation with the County Welfare Directors Association of California, shall develop and promulgate the process and criteria to be used to review and consider other states’ findings of child abuse or neglect.
Terms Used In California Health and Safety Code 1522.1
- certified family home: means an individual or family certified by a licensed foster family agency and issued a certificate of approval by that agency as meeting licensing standards, and used exclusively by that foster family agency for placements. See California Health and Safety Code 1506
- Community care facility: means any facility, place, or building that is maintained and operated to provide nonmedical residential care, day treatment, adult daycare, or foster family agency services for children, adults, or children and adults, including, but not limited to, the physically handicapped, mentally impaired, incompetent persons, and abused or neglected children, and includes the following:
California Health and Safety Code 1502
- County: includes city and county. See California Health and Safety Code 14
- department: means State Department of Health Services. See California Health and Safety Code 20
- Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
- Foster family home: means any residential facility providing 24-hour care for six or fewer foster children that is owned, leased, or rented and is the residence of the foster parent or parents, including their family, in whose care the foster children have been placed. See California Health and Safety Code 1502
- license: means a basic permit to operate a community care facility. See California Health and Safety Code 1503
- Person: means any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, limited liability company, or company. See California Health and Safety Code 19
- State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Health and Safety Code 23
(c) If any person in the household is 18 years of age or older and has lived in another state in the preceding five years, the department or its designated representative shall check the other state’s child abuse and neglect registry to the same extent required for federal funding, in addition to checking the Child Abuse Central Index as provided for in subdivision (a), prior to granting a license to, or otherwise approving, any foster family home, certified family home, resource family, or person for whom an adoption home study is conducted or who has filed to adopt.
(d) If any licensee of a community care facility that is eligible to accept placement of a dependent child or any associated individual, as described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 1522, has lived in another state in the preceding five years, the department shall check that state’s child abuse and neglect registry, in addition to the Child Abuse Central Index as specified in subdivision (a). The department shall develop and promulgate the process and criteria to be used to review and consider other states’ findings of child abuse or neglect.
(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 777, Sec. 6. (AB 819) Effective January 1, 2020.)