Department of Justice: child abuse reporting.

Assembly Member Ransom's legislation expands background check requirements and monitoring protocols for Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) programs, mandating that these organizations submit employee and volunteer fingerprints to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for both state and federal criminal history verification. The bill also requires the DOJ to monitor the Child Abuse Central Index and notify CASA programs if records of child abuse investigations involving their personnel are added.

The legislation establishes new notification management responsibilities for CASA programs, which must promptly inform the DOJ when individuals leave their positions and verify every six months that those receiving notifications remain in authorized roles. CASA programs must also respond immediately if they receive notifications about unknown individuals or those for whom monitoring was previously terminated. The DOJ will cease monitoring upon receiving termination requests from CASA programs.

Under the bill's provisions, the DOJ maintains its authority to charge fees for federal-level criminal record checks while continuing to provide state-level information at no cost. The department may adjust its fees for CASA candidates to cover expenses related to ongoing Child Abuse Central Index monitoring. The legislation also codifies that each California county may designate only one CASA program, aligning with existing Welfare and Institutions Code definitions.