Section 11172 Of Article 2.5. Child Abuse And Neglect Reporting Act From California Penal Code >> Title 1. >> Part 4. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 2.5.
11172
. (a) 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 this article 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 person required to make a report pursuant to this article,
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, images, or
material with the reports required by this article. However, this
section shall not be construed to grant immunity from this liability
with respect to any other use of the photographs.
(b) 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 a known
or suspected instance of child abuse or neglect shall not incur civil
or criminal liability as a result of providing that access.
(c) Any commercial computer technician, and any employer of any
commercial computer technician, who, pursuant to a warrant from a law
enforcement agency investigating a report of suspected child abuse
or neglect, provides the law enforcement agency with a computer or
computer component which contains possible evidence of a known or
suspected instance of child abuse or neglect, shall not incur civil
or criminal liability as a result of providing that computer or
computer component to the law enforcement agency.
(d) (1) The Legislature finds that even though it has provided
immunity from liability to persons required or authorized to make
reports pursuant to this article, that immunity does not eliminate
the possibility that actions may be brought against those persons
based upon required or authorized reports. In order to further limit
the financial hardship that those persons may incur as a result of
fulfilling their legal responsibilities, it is necessary that they
not be unfairly burdened by legal fees incurred in defending those
actions. Therefore, a mandated reporter may present a claim to the
California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board for
reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred in any action against
that person on the basis of making a report required or authorized by
this article if the court has dismissed the action upon a demurrer
or motion for summary judgment made by that person, or if he or she
prevails in the action. The California Victim Compensation and
Government Claims Board shall allow that claim if the requirements of
this subdivision are met, and the claim shall be paid from an
appropriation to be made for that purpose. Attorney's fees awarded
pursuant to this section shall not exceed an hourly rate greater than
the rate charged by the Attorney General of the State of California
at the time the award is made and shall not exceed an aggregate
amount of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).
(2) This subdivision shall not apply if a public entity has
provided for the defense of the action pursuant to Section 995 of the
Government Code.
(e) A court may award attorney's fees and costs to a commercial
film and photographic print processor when a suit is brought against
the processor because of a disclosure mandated by this article and
the court finds this suit to be frivolous.