13954
. (a) The board shall verify with hospitals, physicians, law
enforcement officials, or other interested parties involved, the
treatment of the victim or derivative victim, circumstances of the
crime, amounts paid or received by or for the victim or derivative
victim, and any other pertinent information deemed necessary by the
board. Verification information shall be returned to the board within
10 business days after a request for verification has been made by
the board. Verification information shall be provided at no cost to
the applicant, the board, or victim centers. When requesting
verification information, the board shall certify that a signed
authorization by the applicant is retained in the applicant's file
and that this certification constitutes actual authorization for the
release of information, notwithstanding any other provision of law.
If requested by a physician or mental health provider, the board
shall provide a copy of the signed authorization for the release of
information.
(b) (1) The applicant shall cooperate with the staff of the board
or the victim center in the verification of the information contained
in the application. Failure to cooperate shall be reported to the
board, which, in its discretion, may reject the application solely on
this ground.
(2) An applicant may be found to have failed to cooperate with the
board if any of the following occur:
(A) The applicant has information, or there is information that he
or she may reasonably obtain, that is needed to process the
application or supplemental claim, and the applicant failed to
provide the information after being requested to do so by the board.
The board shall take the applicant's economic, psychosocial, and
postcrime traumatic circumstances into consideration, and shall not
unreasonably reject an application solely for failure to provide
information.
(B) The applicant provided, or caused another to provide, false
information regarding the application or supplemental claim.
(C) The applicant refused to apply for other benefits potentially
available to him or her from other sources besides the board
including, but not limited to, worker's compensation, state
disability insurance, social security benefits, and unemployment
insurance.
(D) The applicant threatened violence or bodily harm to a member
of the board or staff.
(c) The board may contract with victim centers to provide
verification of applications processed by the centers pursuant to
conditions stated in subdivision (a). The board and its staff shall
cooperate with the Office of Criminal Justice Planning and victim
centers in conducting training sessions for center personnel and
shall cooperate in the development of standardized verification
procedures to be used by the victim centers in the state. The board
and its staff shall cooperate with victim centers in disseminating
standardized board policies and findings as they relate to the
centers.
(d) (1) Notwithstanding Section 827 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code or any other provision of law, every law
enforcement and social service agency in the state shall provide to
the board or to victim centers that have contracts with the board
pursuant to subdivision (c), upon request, a complete copy of the law
enforcement report and any supplemental reports involving the crime
or incident giving rise to a claim, a copy of a petition filed in a
juvenile court proceeding, reports of the probation officer, and any
other document made available to the probation officer or to the
judge, referee, or other hearing officer, for the specific purpose of
determining the eligibility of a claim filed pursuant to this
chapter.
(2) The board and victim centers receiving records pursuant to
this subdivision may not disclose a document that personally
identifies a minor to anyone other than the minor who is so
identified, his or her custodial parent or guardian, the attorneys
for those parties, and any other persons that may be designated by
court order. Any information received pursuant to this section shall
be received in confidence for the limited purpose for which it was
provided and may not be further disseminated. A violation of this
subdivision is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed five
hundred dollars ($500).
(3) The law enforcement agency supplying information pursuant to
this section may withhold the names of witnesses or informants from
the board, if the release of those names would be detrimental to the
parties or to an investigation in progress.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, every state
agency, upon receipt of a copy of a release signed in accordance with
the Information Practices Act of 1977 (Chapter 1 (commencing with
Section 1798) of Title 1.8 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code)
by the applicant or other authorized representative, shall provide
to the board or victim center the information necessary to complete
the verification of an application filed pursuant to this chapter.
(f) The Department of Justice shall furnish, upon application of
the board, all information necessary to verify the eligibility of any
applicant for benefits pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 13956,
to recover any restitution fine or order obligations that are owed
to the Restitution Fund or to any victim of crime, or to evaluate the
status of any criminal disposition.
(g) A privilege is not waived under Section 912 of the Evidence
Code by an applicant consenting to disclosure of an otherwise
privileged communication if that disclosure is deemed necessary by
the board for verification of the application.
(h) Any verification conducted pursuant to this section shall be
subject to the time limits specified in Section 13958.
(i) Any county social worker acting as the applicant for a child
victim or elder abuse victim shall not be required to provide
personal identification, including, but not limited to, the applicant'
s date of birth or social security number. County social workers
acting in this capacity shall not be required to sign a promise of
repayment to the board.