Section 11169 Of Article 2.5. Child Abuse And Neglect Reporting Act From California Penal Code >> Title 1. >> Part 4. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 2.5.
11169
. (a) An agency specified in Section 11165.9 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 to be substantiated, other than cases coming within
subdivision (b) of Section 11165.2. 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 substantiated, as
defined in Section 11165.12. If a report has previously been filed
which subsequently proves to be not substantiated, the Department of
Justice shall be notified in writing of that fact and shall not
retain the report. The reports required by this section shall be in a
form approved by the Department of Justice and may be sent by fax or
electronic transmission. An agency specified in Section 11165.9
receiving a written report from another agency specified in Section
11165.9 shall not send that report to the Department of Justice.
(b) On and after January 1, 2012, a police department or sheriff's
department specified in Section 11165.9 shall no longer forward to
the Department of Justice a report in writing of any case it
investigates of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect.
(c) At the time an agency specified in Section 11165.9 forwards a
report in writing to the Department of Justice pursuant to
subdivision (a), the agency shall also notify in writing the known or
suspected child abuser that he or she has been reported to the Child
Abuse Central Index (CACI).The notice required by this section shall
be in a form approved by the Department of Justice. The requirements
of this subdivision shall apply with respect to reports forwarded to
the department on or after the date on which this subdivision
becomes operative.
(d) Subject to subdivision (e), any person who is listed on the
CACI has the right to a hearing before the agency that requested his
or her inclusion in the CACI to challenge his or her listing on the
CACI. The hearing shall satisfy due process requirements. It is the
intent of the Legislature that the hearing provided for by this
subdivision shall not be construed to be inconsistent with hearing
proceedings available to persons who have been listed on the CACI
prior to the enactment of the act that added this subdivision.
(e) A hearing requested pursuant to subdivision (d) shall be
denied when a court of competent jurisdiction has determined that
suspected child abuse or neglect has occurred, or when the allegation
of child abuse or neglect resulting in the referral to the CACI is
pending before the court. A person who is listed on the CACI and has
been denied a hearing pursuant to this subdivision has a right to a
hearing pursuant to subdivision (d) only if the court's jurisdiction
has terminated, the court has not made a finding concerning whether
the suspected child abuse or neglect was substantiated, and a hearing
has not previously been provided to the listed person pursuant to
subdivision (d).
(f) Any person listed in the CACI who has reached 100 years of age
shall have his or her listing removed from the CACI.
(g) Any person listed in the CACI as of January 1, 2013, who was
listed prior to reaching 18 years of age, and who is listed once in
CACI with no subsequent listings, shall be removed from the CACI 10
years from the date of the incident resulting in the CACI listing.
(h) If, after a hearing pursuant to subdivision (d) or a court
proceeding described in subdivision (e), it is determined the person'
s CACI listing was based on a report that was not substantiated, the
agency shall notify the Department of Justice of that result and the
department shall remove that person's name from the CACI.
(i) Agencies, including police departments and sheriff's
departments, shall retain child abuse or neglect investigative
reports that result or resulted in a report filed with the Department
of Justice pursuant to subdivision (a) for the same period of time
that the information is required to be maintained on the CACI
pursuant to this section and subdivision (a) of Section 11170.
Nothing in this section precludes an agency from retaining the
reports for a longer period of time if required by law.
(j) The immunity provisions of Section 11172 shall not apply to
the submission of a report by an agency pursuant to this section.
However, nothing in this section shall be construed to alter or
diminish any other immunity provisions of state or federal law.