Department of Justice: child abuse reporting.

Assembly Member Ransom's proposal to enhance monitoring of Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program personnel would require the Department of Justice to actively track and notify CASA programs when child abuse investigations involving their employees or volunteers appear in the Child Abuse Central Index. The legislation builds upon existing background check requirements for CASA programs by establishing ongoing surveillance of personnel records.

The bill creates new obligations for both the Department of Justice and CASA programs. CASA programs must immediately notify the Department when individuals leave their positions and verify every six months that personnel receiving monitoring are still actively employed or volunteering. The Department must terminate monitoring upon receiving notice that someone has left a CASA program. To cover costs associated with these expanded duties, the Department may increase fees charged for processing CASA program background checks and subsequent monitoring.

Under current law, CASA programs can submit fingerprints and information to screen potential employees and volunteers through state and federal criminal record checks and the Child Abuse Central Index. The programs, which provide court-appointed advocates for children in dependency and wardship proceedings, are limited to one designated organization per county and must follow Judicial Council guidelines. The proposed changes aim to ensure ongoing awareness of any new child abuse investigations involving program personnel after their initial background screening.