INPORTANT INFORMATION...IMPORTANT INFORMATION..
CALIFORNIA STATUTES/ LAWS:
that are supposed to govern Children's Parents' Slayers {CPS}
CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT:
Child Witnesses to Domestic Violence
To better understand this issue and to view it across States, see the Child Witnesses to Domestic Violence: Summary of State Laws (PDF - 222 KB) publication.
Circumstances That Constitute Witnessing
Citation: Penal Code § 1170.76
[In criminal law] A child is considered a witness of domestic violence when the person who commits or attempts to commit a violation of §§ 243.4 [sexual battery], 245 [assault with a deadly weapon], or 273.5 [infliction of injury on a present or former spouse], is or has been a member of the household of the child or the victim of the offense, is a marital or blood relative of the child or the victim, or the offender or the victim is the natural parent, adoptive parent, stepparent, or foster parent of the child, and the offense contemporaneously occurred in the presence of, or was witnessed by, the child.
Consequences
Citation: Penal Code § 1170.76
Such circumstances shall be considered a circumstance in aggravation of the crime in imposing a term under § 1170(b).
Clergy as Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect
To better understand this issue and to view it across States, see the Clergy as Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect: Summary of State Laws (PDF - 287 KB) publication.
Citation: Cal. Penal Code § 11166(d)(1)-(2) (LexisNexis through Cal. 2007 Legis. Serv., Ch. 393)
A clergy member who acquires knowledge or reasonable suspicion of child abuse during a penitential communication is not subject to the requirement to make a report. For the purposes of this subdivision, ''penitential communication'' means a communication, intended to be in confidence, including, but not limited to, a sacramental confession, made to a clergy member who, in the course of the discipline or practice of his or her church, denomination, or organization, is authorized or accustomed to hear those communications, and under the discipline, tenets, customs, or practices of his or her church, denomination, or organization, has a duty to keep those communications secret.
Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to modify or limit a clergy member's duty to report known or suspected child abuse when a clergy member is acting in some other capacity that would otherwise make the clergy member a mandated reporter.
Citation: Cal. Penal Code § 11165.7(a)(32)-(33) (LexisNexis through 7/30/07)
A mandated reporter is defined as any of the following:
A clergy member, as specified in § 11166(c). As used in this article, ''clergy member'' means a priest, minister, rabbi, religious practitioner, or similar functionary of a church, temple, or recognized denomination or organization.
Any custodian of records of a clergy member, as specified in this section and § 11166(c).
Cross-Reporting Among Responders to Child Abuse and Neglect
To better understand this issue and to view it across States, see the Cross-Reporting Among Responders to Child Abuse and Neglect: Summary of State Laws (PDF - 267 KB) publication.
Cal. Penal Code § 11166(k) (LexisNexis through Cal. 2007 Legis. Serv., Ch. 393)
[Effective 1-1-08]
A law enforcement agency shall immediately, or as soon as practicably possible, report by telephone, fax, or electronic transmission to the agency given responsibility for investigation of cases under § 300 of the Welfare and Institutions Code and to the district attorney's office every known or suspected instance of child abuse or neglect reported to it, except acts or omissions coming within § 11165.2(b), which shall be reported only to the county welfare or probation department. A law enforcement agency shall report to the county welfare or probation department every known or suspected instance of child abuse or neglect reported to it that is alleged to have occurred as a result of the action of a person responsible for the child's welfare, or as the result of the failure of a person responsible for the child's welfare to adequately protect the minor from abuse when the person responsible for the child's welfare knew or reasonably should have known that the minor was in danger of abuse. A law enforcement agency also shall send, fax, or electronically transmit a written report thereof within 36 hours of receiving the information concerning the incident to any agency to which it makes a telephone report.
Cal. Penal Code § 11166(j) (LexisNexis through Cal. 2007 Legis. Serv., Ch. 393)
[Effective 1-1-08]
A county probation or welfare department shall immediately, or as soon as practically possible, report by telephone, fax, or electronic transmission to the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the case, to the agency given the responsibility for investigation of cases, and to the district attorney's office every known or suspected instance of child abuse or neglect, or reports made based on risk to a child that relates solely to the inability of the parent to provide the child with regular care due to the parent's substance abuse, that shall be reported only to the county welfare or probation department. A county probation or welfare department also shall send, fax, or electronically transmit a written report thereof within 36 hours of receiving the information concerning the incident to any agency to which it is required to make a telephone report under this subdivision.
Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect
To better understand this issue and to view it across States, see the Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect: Summary of State Laws (PDF - 442 KB) publication.
Physical Abuse
Citation: Penal Code §§ 11165.6; 11165.3
Child abuse or neglect includes:
Physical injury inflicted by other than accidental means upon a child by another person
Willful harming or injury of the child or the endangering of the person or health of the child
Unlawful corporal punishment or injury
Willful harming or injuring of a child or the endangering of the person or health of a child means a situation in which any person willfully causes or permits any child to suffer, or inflicts thereon, unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering, or having the care or custody of any child, willfully causes or permits the person or health of the child to be placed in a situation in which his or her person or health is endangered.
Neglect
Citation: Penal Code § 11165.2
Neglect means the negligent treatment or the maltreatment of a child by a person responsible for the child's welfare under circumstances indicating harm or threatened harm to the child's health or welfare. The term includes both acts and omissions on the part of the responsible person.
Severe neglect means the negligent failure of a person having the care or custody of a child to protect the child from severe malnutrition or medically diagnosed nonorganic failure to thrive. Severe neglect also means those situations of neglect where any person having the care or custody of a child willfully causes or permits the person or health of the child to be placed in a situation such that his or her person or health is endangered, including the intentional failure to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical care.
General neglect means the negligent failure of a person having the care or custody of a child to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or supervision where no physical injury to the child has occurred.
Sexual Abuse
Citation: Penal Code § 11165.1
Sexual abuse means sexual assault or sexual exploitation as defined below:
Sexual assault includes rape, statutory rape, rape in concert, incest, sodomy, lewd or lascivious acts upon a child, oral copulation, sexual penetration, or child molestation.
Sexual exploitation refers to any of the following:
Depicting a minor engaged in obscene acts; preparing, selling, or distributing obscene matter that depicts minors; employing a minor to perform obscene acts
Knowingly permitting or encouraging a child to engage in, or assisting others to engage in, prostitution or a live performance involving obscene sexual conduct, or to either pose or model alone or with others for purposes of preparing a film, photograph, negative, slide, drawing, painting, or other pictorial depiction, involving obscene sexual conduct
Depicting a child in, or knowingly developing, duplicating, printing, or exchanging any film, photograph, videotape, negative, or slide in which a child is engaged in an act of obscene sexual conduct
Emotional Abuse
Citation: Penal Code § 11166.05
Serious emotional damage is evidenced by states of being or behavior including, but not limited to, severe anxiety, depression, withdrawal, or untoward aggressive behavior toward self or others.
Abandonment
This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.
Standards for Reporting
Citation: Penal Code §§ 11165.2; 11165.6
A report is required when a parent:
Willfully causes or permits harm to the child
Has inflicted by nonaccidental means injury on the child
Persons Responsible for the Child
Citation: Penal Code § 11165.1
Person responsible for a child's welfare means a parent, guardian, foster parent, or a licensed administrator or employee of a public or private residential home, residential school, or other residential institution.
Exceptions
Citation: Penal Code §§ 11165.2; 11165.6
A child not receiving specific medical treatment for religious reasons is not considered neglected.
Informed and appropriate medical decisions made by a parent, after consultation with a physician, do not constitute neglect.
Child abuse or neglect does not include a mutual affray between minors.
Definitions of Domestic Violence
To better understand this issue and to view it across States, see the Definitions of Domestic Violence: Summary of State Laws (PDF - 639 KB) publication.
Defined in Domestic Violence Civil Laws
Citation: Fam. Code §§ 6203; 6320
For purposes of this act, ''abuse'' means any of the following:
Intentionally or recklessly causing or attempting to cause bodily injury
Sexual assault
Placing a person in reasonable apprehension of imminent serious bodily injury to that person or to another
Engaging in any behavior that has been or could be enjoined pursuant to § 6320
The court may issue an ex parte order enjoining a party from molesting; attacking; striking; stalking; threatening; sexually assaulting; battering; harassing; telephoning, including, but not limited to, annoying telephone calls as described in § 653m of the Penal Code; destroying personal property; contacting, either directly or indirectly, by mail or otherwise; coming within a specified distance of; or disturbing the peace of the other party; and, in the discretion of the court, on a showing of good cause, of other named family or household members.
Defined in Child Abuse Reporting and Child Protection Laws
Citation:
This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.
Defined in Criminal Laws
Citation: Penal Code § 273.5
Any person who willfully inflicts upon a person who is his or her spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former cohabitant, or the mother or father of his or her child, corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition, is guilty of a felony.
Persons Included in the Definition
Citation: Fam. Code § 6211
[In civil law] ''Domestic violence'' is abuse perpetrated against any of the following persons:
A spouse or former spouse
A cohabitant or former cohabitant, as defined in § 6209
A person with whom the respondent is having or has had a dating or engagement relationship
A person with whom the respondent has had a child, where the presumption applies that the male parent is the father of the child of the female parent under the Uniform Parentage Act
A child of a party or a child who is the subject of an action under the Uniform Parentage Act, where the presumption applies that the male parent is the father of the child to be protected
Any other person related by consanguinity or affinity within the second degree
Disclosure of Confidential Child Abuse and Neglect Records
To better understand this issue and to view it across States, see the Disclosure of Confidential Child Abuse and Neglect Records: Summary of State Laws (PDF - 574 KB) publication.
Confidentiality of Records
Citation: Penal Code § 11167.5
Reports shall be confidential and may be disclosed only as provided by law.
Persons or Entities Allowed Access to Records
Penal Code §§ 11167.5; 11170; 11170.5
Reports of suspected child abuse or neglect may be disclosed only to the following:
Persons or agencies with whom investigations of child abuse or neglect are coordinated
Multidisciplinary personnel teams
Hospital scan teams
Coroners and medical examiners when conducting a post mortem examination of a child
The Board of Parole Hearings when parole revocation proceedings are pending against a parolee charged with child abuse or neglect
Personnel from an agency responsible for placing a child
Persons who have been listed in the Child Abuse Central Index
Out-of-State law enforcement agencies conducting an investigation of child abuse or neglect
Out-of-State agencies responsible for approving prospective foster or adoptive parents or relative caregivers for placement of a child
County child death review teams
Authorized persons within county health departments shall be permitted to receive copies of any reports made by health practitioners.
When a report is made, the investigating agency, upon completion of the investigation, shall inform the mandated reporter of the results of the investigation.
The Department of Justice shall make available to a law enforcement agency, county welfare department, or county probation department that is conducting a child abuse investigation, relevant information contained in the index.
The department shall make available to investigative agencies, probation officers, or court investigators responsible for placing children or assessing the possible placement of children information regarding a known or suspected child abuser contained in the index concerning any adult residing in the home where the child may be placed, when this information is requested for purposes of ensuring that the placement is in the best interests of the child.
When Public Disclosure of Records is Allowed
This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.
Use of Records for Employment Screening
Citation: Penal Code §§ 11167.5; 11170
The Department of Justice shall make information from the Index available to:
The State Department of Social Services or any county licensing agency when an individual has applied for a community care license or child daycare license, or for employment in an out-of-home care facility, or when a complaint alleges child abuse or neglect by an operator or employee of an out-of-home care facility
The State Department of Social Services, any county licensing agency duties, a Tribal court, or Tribal child welfare agency about any person who is an applicant for licensure, any adult who resides or is employed in the home of an applicant for licensure, or a person who is an applicant for employment in a position having supervisorial or disciplinary power over a child or children or who will provide 24-hour care for a child or children in a residential home or facility
A Court Appointed Special Advocate program that is conducting a background investigation of an applicant seeking employment with the program or a volunteer position as a Court Appointed Special Advocate
A government agency conducting a background investigation of an applicant seeking employment as a peace officer
Establishment and Maintenance of Central Registries for Child Abuse Reports
To better understand this issue and to view it across States, see the Establishment and Maintenance of Central Registries for Child Abuse Reports: Summary of State Laws (PDF - 310 KB) publication.
Establishment
Citation: Penal Code § 11170
Effective January 1, 2009
The Department of Justice shall maintain an index of all reports of child abuse and severe neglect submitted pursuant to § 11169.
Purpose
Citation: Penal Code § 11170
Effective January 1, 2009
Information from the Child Abuse Central Index shall be provided to specific persons or agencies for the following purposes:
For investigating a case of known or suspected child abuse or neglect
For conducting background checks of employment or volunteer candidates
For placing children or assessing the possible placement of children
For conducting a background investigation of an applicant seeking employment as a peace officer
For conducting a background investigation of an applicant seeking employment or volunteer status in a position that will give the person direct contact with children
Contents
Citation: Penal Code §§ 11167; 11169
The report shall include the following information, if known:
The child's name
The child's address, present location, and, if applicable, school, grade, and class
The names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the child's parents or guardians
The name, address, telephone number, and other relevant personal information about the person or persons who might have abused or neglected the child
An agency shall forward to the Department of Justice a report in writing of every case it investigates of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that is determined not to be unfounded. An agency shall not forward a report to the Department of Justice unless it has conducted an active investigation and determined that the report is not unfounded.
Maintenance
Citation: Penal Code § 11170
Effective January 1, 2009
The index shall be continually updated by the department and shall not contain any reports that are determined to be unfounded. The department may adopt rules governing recordkeeping and reporting pursuant to this article.
The Department of Justice shall act only as a repository of reports of suspected child abuse and severe neglect to be maintained in the Child Abuse Central Index. The submitting agencies are responsible for the accuracy, completeness, and retention of the reports described in this section. The department shall be responsible for ensuring that the Child Abuse Central Index accurately reflects the report it receives from the submitting agency.
Immunity for Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect
To better understand this issue and to view it across States, see the Immunity for Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect: Summary of State Laws (PDF - 174 KB) publication.
Citation: Cal. Penal Code § 11172(a), (b) (LexisNexis through 2008 Ch. 765)
Statute:
No mandated reporter shall be civilly or criminally liable for any report required or authorized by this article, and this immunity shall apply even if the mandated reporter acquired the knowledge or reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect outside of his or her professional capacity or outside the scope of his or her employment.
Any other person reporting a known or suspected instance of child abuse or neglect shall not incur civil or criminal liability as a result of any report authorized by law unless it can be proven that a false report was made and the person knew that the report was false or was made with reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the report, and any person who makes a report of child abuse or neglect known to be false or with reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the report is liable for any damages caused.
No mandatory reporter, nor any person taking photographs at his or her direction, shall incur any civil or criminal liability for taking photographs of a suspected victim of child abuse or neglect, or causing photographs to be taken of a suspected victim of child abuse or neglect, without parental consent, or for disseminating the photographs with the reports required by law. However, this section does not grant immunity from liability with respect to any other use of the photographs.
Any person who, pursuant to a request from a government agency investigating a report of suspected child abuse or neglect, provides the requesting agency with access to the victim of known or suspected instance of child abuse or neglect shall not incur civil or criminal liability as a result of providing that access.
Making and Screening Reports of Child Abuse and Neglect
To better understand this issue and to view it across States, see the Making and Screening Reports of Child Abuse and Neglect: Summary of State Laws (PDF - 619 KB) publication.
Reporting Procedures
Individual Responsibility
Citation: Penal Code § 11166
A mandated reporter who knows or reasonably suspects that a child has been a victim of abuse or neglect shall make an initial report immediately by telephone and prepare and send, fax, or electronically transmit a follow-up written report within 36 hours.
Any commercial film and photographic print processor who has knowledge of or observes any film, photograph, videotape, negative, or slide depicting a child under age 16 engaged in an act of sexual conduct shall report the instance of suspected child abuse to the law enforcement agency immediately, or as soon as practicably possible, by telephone and shall prepare and send, fax, or electronically submit a written report of it with a copy of the film, photograph, videotape, negative, or slide attached within 36 hours.
Content of Reports
Citation: Penal Code § 11167
Reports of suspected child abuse or neglect shall include:
The name, business address, and telephone number of the mandated reporter
The capacity that makes the person a mandated reporter
The information that gave rise to the reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect and the source or sources of that information
If a report is made, the following information, if known, shall also be included in the report:
The child's name, address, present location, and, if applicable, school, grade, and class
The names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the child's parents or guardians
The name, address, telephone number, and other relevant personal information about the person or persons who might have abused or neglected the child
The mandated reporter shall make a report even if some of this information is not known or is uncertain to him or her.
Special Reporting Procedures
Suspicious Deaths
Citation: Penal Code §§ 11166; 11166.1
The agency shall be notified and a report prepared and sent, faxed, or electronically submitted even if the child has died, regardless of whether or not the possible abuse was a contributing factor to the death, and even if suspected child abuse was discovered during an autopsy.
The agency shall notify within 24 hours the licensing office that has jurisdiction over a facility when a child has died while living at or enrolled in that facility.
Substance-Exposed Infants
Citation: Penal Code §§ 11165.13; 11166
A positive toxicology screen at the time of the delivery of an infant is not in and of itself a sufficient basis for reporting child abuse or neglect. However, any indication of maternal substance abuse shall lead to an assessment of the needs of the mother and child pursuant to § 123605 of the Health and Safety Code. If other factors are present that indicate risk to a child, then a report shall be made.
A report based on risk to a child that relates solely to the inability of the parent to provide the child with regular care due to the parent's substance abuse shall be made only to a county welfare or probation department, and not to a law enforcement agency.
Screening Reports
Citation: Penal Code § 11167; Welf. & Inst. Code § 16504; DSS Manual Ch. 31, §§ 100, 105, 110, 115
At the time of the initial contact with the individual who is subject to the investigation, the agency shall advise the individual of the complaints or allegations against him or her, in a manner that is consistent with laws protecting the identity of the reporter.
Any child reported to the county welfare department as endangered by abuse, neglect, or exploitation shall be eligible for initial intake and evaluation of risk services. Each county welfare department shall maintain and operate a 24-hour response system. An immediate in-person response shall be made by a county welfare department social worker in emergency situations. An in-person response is not required when the county welfare department, based upon an evaluation of risk, determines that an in-person response is not appropriate. An evaluation of risk includes collateral contacts, a review of previous referrals, and other relevant information.
In regulation: The social worker shall immediately initiate and complete the Emergency Response Protocol process to determine whether an in-person investigation is required.
Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect
To better understand this issue and to view it across States, see the Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect: Summary of State Laws (PDF - 633 KB) publication.
Professionals Required to Report
Citation: Penal Code §§ 11166; 11165.7
Mandated reporters include any of the following:
Teachers, teacher's assistants, administrative officers, certificated pupil personnel employees of any public or private school
Administrators and employees of public or private day camps, youth centers, youth recreation programs, or youth organizations
Employees of child care institutions, including, but not limited to, foster parents, group home personnel, and personnel of residential care facilities
Social workers, probation officers, or parole officers
Any person who is an administrator or a counselor in a child abuse prevention program in any public or private school
District attorney investigators, peace officers, firefighters, except for volunteer firefighters
Physicians, surgeons, psychiatrists, psychologists, dentists, licensed nurses, dental hygienists, optometrists, marriage counselors, family and child counselors, clinical social workers
Emergency medical technicians I or II or paramedics
State or county public health employees
Coroners or medical examiners
Commercial film and photographic print processors
Child visitation monitors
Animal control officers or humane society officers
Clergy members, which includes priests, ministers, rabbis, religious practitioners, or similar functionary of a church, temple, or recognized denomination or organization
Any custodian of records of a clergy member
Employees of any police department, county sheriff's department, county probation department, or county welfare department
Employees or volunteers of Court Appointed Special Advocate programs
Reporting by Other Persons
Citation: Penal Code § 11166
Any other person who reasonably suspects that a child is a victim of abuse or neglect may report.
For the purposes of this section, ''any other person'' includes a mandated reporter who acts in his or her private capacity and not in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment.
Standards for Making a Report
Citation: Penal Code §§ 11166; 11165.7
A report is required when:
A mandated reporter, in his or her professional capacity, or within the scope of his or her employment, has knowledge of or observes a child whom the reporter knows or reasonably suspects is the victim of abuse or neglect.
Commercial film and photographic print processors have knowledge of or observe any film, photograph, videotape, negative, or slide depicting a child under age 16 engaged in an act of sexual conduct.
Privileged Communications
Citation: Penal Code § 11166
Only the clergy-penitent privilege is permitted.
Inclusion of Reporter's Name in Report
Citation: Penal Code § 11167
Reports of mandated reporters shall include:
The name, business address, and telephone number of the mandated reporter
The capacity that makes the person a mandated reporter
Reports of other persons do not require the reporter's name.
Disclosure of Reporter Identity
Citation: Penal Code § 11167
The identity of the reporter shall be confidential, and shall be disclosed only:
To agencies investigating the report
When the person waives confidentiality
By court order
Parental Drug Use As Child Abuse
To better understand this issue and to view it across States, see the Parental Drug Use As Child Abuse: Summary of State Laws (PDF - 324 KB) publication.
Citation: Cal. Health & Safety Code § 11379.7 (LexisNexis through 5-6-09)
Statute Text:
Except as provided below, any person convicted of a violation of §11379.6(a) [manufacture of a controlled substance] or §11383 [possession of the chemicals or equipment used for such manufacture], or of an attempt to violate those sections, as those sections relate to methamphetamine or phencyclidine, when the commission or attempted commission of the crime occurs in a structure where any child under age 16 is present, shall, in addition and consecutive to the punishment prescribed for the felony of which he or she has been convicted, be punished by an additional term of 2 years in the State prison.
Any person convicted of a violation of § 11379.6(a) or § 11383, or of an attempt to violate those sections, as those sections relate to methamphetamine or phencyclidine, where the commission of the crime causes any child under age 16 to suffer great bodily injury, shall, in addition and consecutive to the punishment prescribed for the felony of which he or she has been convicted, be punished by an additional term of 5 years in the State prison.
As used in this section, ''structure'' means any house, apartment building, shop, warehouse, barn, building, vessel, railroad car, cargo container, motor vehicle, housecar, trailer, trailer coach, camper, mine, floating home, or other enclosed structure capable of holding a child and manufacturing equipment.
Citation: Cal. Penal Code § 11165.13 (LexisNexis through 5-6-09)
Statute Text:
A positive toxicology screen at the time of the delivery of an infant is not in and of itself a sufficient basis for reporting child abuse or neglect. However, any indication of maternal substance abuse shall lead to an assessment of the needs of the mother and child pursuant to law.
If other factors are present that indicate risk to a child, then a report shall be made. However, a report based on risk to a child that relates solely to the inability of the parent to provide the child with regular care due to the parent's substance abuse shall be made only to a county welfare or probation department and not to a law enforcement agency.
Penalties for Failure to Report and False Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect
To better understand this issue and to view it across States, see the Penalties for Failure to Report and False Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect: Summary of State Laws (PDF - 166 KB) publication.
Failure to Report
Penal Code §§ 11166(c); 11166.01
Any mandated reporter who fails to report an incident of known or reasonably suspected child abuse or neglect is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months in a county jail, by a fine of $1,000, or both. If a mandated reporter intentionally conceals his or her failure to report an incident known by the mandated reporter to be abuse or severe neglect, the failure to report is a continuing offense until an agency specified in § 11165.9 discovers the offense.
Any supervisor or administrator who violates § 11166(1) [that prohibits impeding others from making a report], shall be punished by not more than 6 months in a county jail, by a fine of not more than $1,000, or both.
Any mandated reporter who willfully fails to report abuse or neglect, or any person who impedes or inhibits a report of abuse or neglect, where that abuse or neglect results in death or great bodily injury, shall be punished by not more than 1 year in a county jail, by a fine of not more than $5,000, or both.
False Reporting
Penal Code § 11172(a)
Any person reporting a known or suspected instance of child abuse or neglect shall not incur civil or criminal liability as a result of any report unless it can be proven that a false report was made and the person knew that the report was false or was made with reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the report.
Any person who makes a report of child abuse or neglect known to be false or with reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the report is liable for any damages caused.
Review and Expunction of Central Registries and Reporting Records
To better understand this issue and to view it across States, see the Review and Expunction of Central Registries and Reporting Records: Summary of State Laws (PDF - 502 KB) publication.
Right of the Reported Person to Review and Challenge Records
Penal Code § 11170
Any person may determine if he or she is listed in the Child Abuse Central Index by making a request in writing to the Department of Justice. The request shall be notarized and include the person's name, address, date of birth, and either a Social Security number or a California identification number.
Upon receipt of a notarized request, the Department of Justice shall make available to the requesting person information identifying the date of the report and the submitting agency. The requesting person is responsible for obtaining the investigative report from the submitting agency pursuant to § 11167.5(11)(b).
When Records Must Be Expunged
Penal Code § 11170
Information from an inconclusive or unsubstantiated report shall be deleted from the Child Abuse Central Index after 10 years if no subsequent report concerning the same suspected child abuser is received within that time period. If a subsequent report is received within that 10-year period, information from any prior report, as well as any subsequently filed report, shall be maintained in the Child Abuse Central Index for a period of 10 years from the time the most recent report is received by the Department of Justice.
If a person is listed in the Child Abuse Central Index only as a victim of child abuse or neglect, and that person is age 18 or older, that person may have his or her name removed from the index by making a written request to the Department of Justice. The request shall be notarized and include the person's name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth.
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