Amended  IN  Assembly  March 21, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill No. 691

Introduced by Assembly Member McCarty

February 15, 2019

An act to amend Section 3407 of the Penal Code, relating to inmates. An act to amend Section 11174.32 of the Penal Code, relating to child death investigations.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 691, as amended, McCarty. Pregnant inmates. Child death investigations: review teams.
(1) Existing law authorizes each county to establish an interagency child death review team to assist local agencies in identifying and reviewing suspicious child deaths and facilitating communication among persons who perform autopsies and the various persons and agencies involved in child abuse or neglect cases. Existing law also authorizes each county to develop a protocol to be used as a guideline by persons performing autopsies on children to assist coroners and other persons who perform autopsies in the identification of child abuse or neglect, in the determination of whether child abuse or neglect contributed to death or whether child abuse or neglect had occurred prior to, but was not the actual cause of, death, and in the proper written reporting procedures for child abuse or neglect, including the designation of the cause and mode of death.
This bill, instead, would require the autopsy-related protocol described above to be developed by the State Department of Public Health, and would authorize the department to consult with the Counties of Los Angeles and Sacramento in developing the protocol. The bill would require the protocol to include data collection, confidentiality, and reporting provisions. The bill would require that data collection process to include specified information about a deceased child, including, race, gender, age, and cause of death. The bill would require the department to provide access to the protocol free of charge to any county that requests a copy.
(2) Existing law requires each child death review team, no less than once each year, to make available to the public findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the team, including aggregate statistical data on the incidences and causes of child deaths.
This bill, instead, would require each child death review team, no less than once every 3 years, to make available to the public findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the team, including, but not limited to, aggregate statistical data on the incidences and causes of child deaths and recommendations to prevent future deaths.

Existing law prohibits a pregnant inmate, as defined, in labor, in recovery, or after delivery, from being restrained by the use of leg irons, waist chains, or handcuffs behind the body, and also prohibits, in these circumstances, restraint by the wrists, ankles, or both, unless deemed necessary for the safety and security of the inmate, the staff, or the public. Existing law requires restraints to be removed when a medical professional determines it to be necessary, as specified.

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 11174.32 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

11174.32.
 (a) Each county may establish an interagency child death review team to assist local agencies in identifying and reviewing suspicious child deaths and facilitating communication among persons who perform autopsies and the various persons and agencies involved in child abuse or neglect cases. Interagency child death review teams have been used successfully to ensure that incidents of child abuse or neglect are recognized and other siblings and nonoffending family members receive the appropriate services in cases where a child has expired.
(b) Each county may (1) (A) The State Department of Public Health shall develop a protocol that may be used as a guideline by persons performing autopsies on children to assist coroners and other persons who perform autopsies in the identification of child abuse or neglect, in the determination of whether child abuse or neglect contributed to death or whether child abuse or neglect had occurred prior to to, but was not the actual cause of of, death, and in the proper written reporting procedures for child abuse or neglect, including the designation of the cause and mode of death.
(B) The department may consult with the Counties of Los Angeles and Sacramento in developing the protocol.
(2) The department shall provide access to the protocol, free of charge, to any county that requests a copy.
(3) The protocol shall include data collection, confidentiality, and reporting provisions.
(4) A child death review team shall implement a data collection process that includes, but is not limited to, all of the following information about a deceased child:
(A) Race.
(B) Gender.
(C) Cause of death.
(D) Age.
(c) In developing an interagency child death review team and an autopsy protocol, team, each county, working in consultation with local members of the California State Coroners Association and county child abuse prevention coordinating councils, may solicit suggestions and final comments from persons, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) Experts in the field of forensic pathology.
(2) Pediatricians with expertise in child abuse.
(3) Coroners and medical examiners.
(4) Criminologists.
(5) District attorneys.
(6) Child protective services staff.
(7) Law enforcement personnel.
(8) Representatives of local agencies which that are involved with child abuse or neglect reporting.
(9) County health department staff who deals deal with children’s health issues.
(10) Local professional associations of persons described in paragraphs (1) to (9), inclusive.
(d) Records exempt from disclosure to third parties pursuant to state or federal law shall remain exempt from disclosure when they are in the possession of a child death review team.
(e) Written and oral information pertaining to the child's death as requested by a child death review team may be disclosed to a child death review team established pursuant to this section. The team may make a request, in writing, for the information sought and any person with information of the kind described in paragraph (2) may rely on the request in determining whether information may be disclosed to the team.
(1) An individual or agency that has information governed by this subdivision shall not be required to disclose information. The intent of this subdivision is to allow the voluntary disclosure of information by the individual or agency that has the information.
(2) The following information may be disclosed pursuant to this subdivision:
(A) Notwithstanding Section 56.10 of the Civil Code, medical information, unless disclosure is prohibited by federal law.
(B) Notwithstanding Section 5328 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, mental health information.
(C) Notwithstanding Section 11167.5, information from child abuse reports and investigations, except the identity of the person making the report, which shall not be disclosed.
(D) State summary criminal history information, criminal offender record information, and local summary criminal history information, as defined in Sections 11105, 11075, and 13300, respectively.
(E) Notwithstanding Section 11163.2, information pertaining to reports by health practitioners of persons suffering from physical injuries inflicted by means of a firearm or of persons suffering physical injury where the injury is a result of assaultive or abusive conduct.
(F) Notwithstanding Section 10850 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, records of in-home supportive services, unless disclosure is prohibited by federal law.
(3) Written or oral information disclosed to a child death review team pursuant to this subdivision shall remain confidential, and shall not be subject to disclosure or discovery by a third party unless otherwise required by law.
(f) (1) No less than once each year, every three years, each child death review team shall make available to the public findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the team, including including, but not limited to, aggregate statistical data on the incidences and causes of child deaths. deaths and recommendations to prevent future deaths.
(2) In its report, the child death review team shall withhold the last name of the child that is subject to a review or the name of the deceased child’s siblings unless the name has been publicly disclosed or is required to be disclosed by state law, federal law, or court order.

SECTION 1.Section 3407 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
3407.

(a)An inmate known to be pregnant or in recovery after delivery shall not be restrained by the use of leg irons, waist chains, or handcuffs behind the body.

(b)A pregnant inmate in labor, during delivery, or in recovery after delivery, shall not be restrained by the wrists, ankles, or both, unless deemed necessary for the safety and security of the inmate, the staff, or the public.

(c)Restraints shall be removed when a professional who is currently responsible for the medical care of a pregnant inmate during a medical emergency, labor, delivery, or recovery after delivery determines that the removal of restraints is medically necessary.

(d)This section does not require restraints in a case when restraints are not otherwise required pursuant to a statute, regulation, or correctional facility policy.

(e)Upon confirmation of an inmate’s pregnancy, the inmate shall be advised, orally or in writing, of the standards and policies governing pregnant inmates, including, but not limited to, the provisions of this chapter, the relevant regulations, and the correctional facility policies.

(f)For purposes of this section, “inmate” means an adult or juvenile who is incarcerated in a state or local correctional facility.