Report 2021-112 Recommendation Responses
Report 2021-112: The Child Abuse Central Index: The Unreliability of This Database Puts Children at Risk and May Violate Individuals' Rights (Release Date: May 2022)
Recommendation for Legislative Action
To maximize the effectiveness of child abuse background checks in protecting children, the Legislature should amend state law to require all reports of substantiated child abuse to be included in DOJ's background checks. To protect the due process rights of individuals, the Legislature should continue to require a grievance hearing process.
Description of Legislative Action
AB 1544 (Lackey, 2023) would authorize a police or sheriff's department to forward to the DOJ a report of its investigation of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that is determined to be substantiated, and would require the DOJ to create a grievance procedure for these reports.
- Legislative Action Current As-of: January 2026
California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Legislation Introduced
Description of Legislative Action
AB 1544 (Lackey, 2023) would have authorized a police or sheriff's department to forward to the DOJ a report of its investigation of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that is determined to be substantiated, and would have required the DOJ to create a grievance procedure for these reports. This bill died in the Senate.
- Legislative Action Current As-of: January 2026
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: No Action Taken
Description of Legislative Action
The Legislature did not take action during the 2021-2022 Legislative Session to address this specific recommendation.
- Legislative Action Current As-of: January 2023
California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: No Action Taken
Description of Legislative Action
As of August 10, 2022, the Legislature has not taken action to address this specific recommendation.
- Legislative Action Current As-of: August 2022
California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: No Action Taken
As of August 10, 2022, the Legislature has not taken action to address this specific recommendation.