Las máquinas de Live Scan son operadas por el Departamento de Servicios Sociales de California por medio de un contrato con L-1 Enrollment Services (anteriormente IBT) o por varias entidades aprobadas por el Departamento de Justicia las cuales incluyen agencias del orden público y otros sitios estatales del gobierno (e.g. distritos escolares). Cuando uno presenta sus huellas electrónicamente utilizando tecnología de Live Scan debe: 1. Llenar la solicitud TrustLine Voluntary Registry Application (TLR 2) con fecha de 2/09. 2. Llamar a L-1 Enrollment Services al 1-800-315-4507 o visitar su página de Online Enrollment para obtener la dirección de la sucursal más cercana a usted y hacer una cita para tomarse las huellas.
Para Hacer una Cita de Huellas por Teléfono
Llame al 1-800-315-4507 y dígale al operador de L-1 Enrollment Services que su solicitud incluíra el total de la tarifa de TrustLine.
El operador de L-1 Enrollment Services le pedirá que proporcione la información de la solicitud de TrustLine para que la información se encuentre en la computadora cuando llegue a su cita.
Lleve la solicitud TrustLine Registry ya llena y el pago de $82.00 a su cita. Asegúrese de que el técnico que tome sus huellas llene la cajilla al final de la solicitud. Esta forma será el único recibo y prueba que tendrá de haber sometido sus huellas. En cuanto llene y firme la solicitud de TrustLine, envíe ambos con un cheque de $43.00 (hecho a nombre de CA Department of Social Services) a la dirección que aparece en la cajilla #10 de la solicitud de TrustLine.
Para Hacer una Cita de Huellas Por Internet
Empiece el proceso de registración y coloque el número de ORI en la cajilla disponible. El número de ORI se encuentra en la cajilla #15 de la solicitud.
Escoja “TrustLine Employee (Voluntary TrustLine) Applicant.”
No tiene un DOJ Billing Number así que pase a la siguiente cajilla. No llene la información de la siguiente pantalla, esas preguntas no aplican a su solicitud de TrustLine.
Coloque su código postal para encontrar la sucursal de huellas más cercana a usted. Si ninguna de esas sucursales le es conveniente, favor de pasar al #3 abajo.
Si se encuentra una sucursal de L-1 Enrollment Services que le es conveniente, haga su cita. Por favor tenga en cuenta de que los operadores de L-1 Enrollment Services solamente hacen citas de huellas. Ellos no tienen información acerca de TrustLine.
3. Si es que no hay una sucursal de L-1 Enrollment Services cerca de usted, comuníquese con el departamento de policía u oficina de sheriff local y pida una cita para tomarse las huellas.
Atención: Algunos sitios del Departamento de Justicia requieren que se utilice la petición de Live Scan (TLR 9163A). Asi que lleve la solicitud de TrustLine y tambien la petición de Live Scan a su cita de huellas. Asegúrese de que en ambos formularios el título sea “TrustLine Registry Employee”.
Las agencias del Departamento de Justicia necesitan quedarse con una copia de su solicitud de TrustLine/petición de Live Scan, por lo tanto, asegúrese de llevar dos copias completadas de la solicitud de TrustLine Registry Application/Request for Live Scan Service a su cita de huellas. Los sitios del Departamento de Justicia cobran $66.00 por la investigación de antecedentes, a parte de una tarifa adicional que varía entre $10.00 y $30.00. Asegúrese de que el técnico que tome sus huellas llene la cajilla al final de la TLR2 o TLR 9163A, ya que esta forma será el único recibo y prueba que tendra de haber sometido sus huellas. En cuanto llene y firme la solicitud TrustLine Registry Application, y si utilizó la petición de Live Scan Service, envíelas con un cheque de $43.00 (hecho a nombre de CA Department of Social Services) a la dirección que aparece en la cajilla #10 de la solicitud de TrustLine Registry Application. 4. Para más información sobre TrustLine o preguntas llame al 1-800-822-8490.
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 772
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 10, 1999
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 7, 1999
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 8, 1999
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 7, 1999
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 2, 1999
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 1, 1999
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 25, 1999
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 16, 1999
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 8, 1999
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 1, 1999
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 27, 1999
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 15, 1999
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Aroner
FEBRUARY 24, 1999
An act to add Section 1596.653 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to transport escort services.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST
AB 705, Aroner. Transport escort services: registration.
Existing law does not provide for the registration of transport escort services, as defined.
This bill would provide for the regulation of transport escort services as child care providers under the trustline registry established by the State Department of Social Services. Specifically, it would require a transport escort service, defined as any person, partnership, association, or corporation that accepts financial compensation or other consideration to accompany or transport minors who are residents of this state to any residential facility or institution located outside the state, to first provide certain information to the minor’s parents, custodial parent, or legal guardian and to verify in writing that the information was received. The bill would require the transport escort service to obtain permission from the minor’s parents, custodial parent, or legal guardian prior to transportation of the minor. A violation of the bill’s requirements would subject a transport escort service to civil action and would also be a crime punishable as a misdemeanor by fine or imprisonment, as specified. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1596.653 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:
1596.653. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to protect the well-being of California children by regulating private individuals and companies that transport or accompany minors to out-of-state residential facilities or institutions.
(b) As used in this section:
(1) “Transport escort service” means any person, partnership, association, or corporation that accepts financial compensation or other consideration to accompany or transport minors who are residents of California to any residential facility or institution located outside the state.
(2) “Minor” means any person under the age of 18 years.
(3) “Department” means the State Department of Social Services.
(c) Every transport escort service that accompanies or transports a minor who is a resident of California to any residential facility or institution located outside the state, shall first provide the minor’s parents, custodial parent, or legal guardian with all of the following:
(1) A description of the child care provider trustline registry established pursuant to this chapter that provides criminal history checks on child care providers.
(2) An explanation of how a parent may obtain more information about the childcare provider trustline registry.
(3) A statement that a transport escort service is prohibited bylaw from transporting or accompanying a minor unless the person or persons transporting the minor are trustline registered childcare providers.
(4) An explanation of how the parent may verify the trustline registration of the transport escort service.
(5) An explanation of the minor’s right to make a complaint to a child protective agency concerning abusive treatment by the transport escort service.
(d) A transport escort service shall not transport or accompany a minor without obtaining the written permission of the minor’s parents, custodial parent, or legal guardian.
(e) The transport escort service shall verify in writing that the minor’s parents, custodial parent, or legal guardian has received the information required under subdivision (c).
(f) A transport escort service shall not accompany or transport a minor to any residential facility or institution located outside the state, unless the person or persons transporting or accompanying the minor are trustline registered child care providers.
(g) A minor, parent, or legal guardian claiming to be aggrieved by a violation of this section by a transport escort service may bring a civil action for injunctive relief or damages, or both.
(h) In addition to the remedy provided in subdivision (g), a violation of this section may be prosecuted as a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) or more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) as to each person with respect to whom a violation occurs, or imprisonment in a county jail for not more than six months.
(i) This section does not apply to the following:
(1) The transport of minors by any governmental agency or employee.
(2) The transport of minors under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.
(3) The transport of minors by family members or relatives.
(j) Nothing in this section shall limit any claim for damages or the issuance of any injunction that a parent or child may assert against a transport escort service pursuant to any other state or federal law or regulation. SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
BILL NUMBER: AB 2001 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 287
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE AUGUST 13, 1998
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR AUGUST 12, 1998
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 3, 1998
PASSED THE SENATE JULY 30, 1998
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 1, 1998
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 27, 1998
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 15, 1998
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 25, 1998
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Kuehl
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Washington)
FEBRUARY 18, 1998
An act to add Section 1812.5093 to the Civil Code, and to amend
Section 1596.65 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to employment
agencies.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST
AB 2001, Kuehl. Employment agencies: child care providers.
Existing law generally regulates employment agencies, as defined.
Existing law prohibits a babysitting, domestic, or other employment agency which procures babysitting or domestic employment for employers from referring babysitters or domestics without first personally interviewing the jobseeker and making a reasonable effort to verify the experience or training of the jobseeker. Under existing law, the violation of these provisions is a misdemeanor. Existing law authorizes a child care provider, as defined, who possesses any one of 4 identification cards to initiate a background examination process by submitting one set of fingerprints and a completed trustline application to the Department of Justice.
Existing law prohibits an employment agency from placing a child care provider with parents or guardians who are not required to be licensed as a child day care facility, if the child care provider is not a trustline applicant or registered child care provider.
This bill would require every employment agency that refers a child care provider to an employer who is not required to be a licensed day care facility to provide specified information to these employers regarding the trustline registry. It would require written verification of receipt of that information by an employer. It also would provide that an employment agency that makes such a referral shall not make a placement of a provider who is not a trustline applicant or a registered child care provider. A violation of this latter prohibition would be a misdemeanor. Since this bill would establish new crimes, it would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1812.5093 is added to the Civil Code, immediately preceding Section 1812.5095, to read:
1812.5093. (a) Every employment agency that refers a child care provider to an employer who is not required to be a licensed child day care facility pursuant to Section 1596.792 of the Health and Safety Code shall provide the employer with all the following:
(1) A description of the child care provider trustline registry established pursuant to Chapter 3.35 (commencing with Section 1596.60) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code that provides criminal history checks on child care providers.
(2) An explanation of how an employer may obtain more information about the child care provider trustline registry.
(3) A statement that an employment agency is prohibited by law from placing a child care provider unless the provider is a trustline applicant or a registered child care provider.
(4) An explanation of how the employer may verify the prospective child care provider’s trustline registry registration.
(b) Receipt of the information required to be provided pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be verified in writing by the employer.
SEC. 2. Section 1596.65 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
1596.65. (a) An employment agency, as defined in Section 1812.501
of the Civil Code, that refers a child care provider to parents or
guardians who are not required to be a licensed child day care
facility shall not make a placement of a child care provider who is
not a trustline applicant or a registered child care provider. (b) Any violation of this section is a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by a fine of one hundred dollars ($100).
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
Notwithstanding Section 17580 of the Government Code, unless otherwise specified, the provisions of this act shall become operative on the same date that the act takes effect pursuant to the California Constitution.
CALIFORNIA CODES HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE SECTION 1596.60-1596.68
1596.60. For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply: (a) “Department” means the State Department of Social Services. (b) “Director” means the Director of Social Services. (c) “Trustline provider,” “license exempt child care provider,” or”provider,” for the purposes of this chapter means a person 18 years of age or older who provides child care, supervision, or any person providing in-home educational or counseling services to a minor, and who is not required to be licensed pursuant to Section 1596.792.
1596.601. Any child care provider who possesses any one of the following identification cards may initiate a background examination to be a trustline provider: (a) A valid California driver’s license. (b) A valid identification card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles. (c) A valid Alien Registration Card. (d) In the case of a person living in a state other than California, a valid numbered photo identification card issued by an agency of the state other than California.
1596.603. (a) Each person initiating a background examination to be a trustline provider shall either obtain two sets of fingerprints from a law enforcement agency or other local agency on a fingerprint card authorized by the Department of Justice and shall submit the fingerprints, or send his or her fingerprints to the Department of Justice by electronic transmission in a manner approved by the department, unless exempted in subdivision (e), and a completed trustline application to the department, or the local child care resource and referral agency which will immediately forward theapplication package to the department. The agency taking the fingerprints shall inscribe the serial number from the identification card described in Section 1596.601 on the fingerprint cards. (b) A law enforcement agency or other local agency authorized to take fingerprints may charge a reasonable fee to offset the costs offingerprinting for the purposes of this chapter. (c) Upon receipt, the department shall transmit the fingerprintcard and a copy of the application to the Department of Justice. TheDepartment of Justice shall use the fingerprints and the application to search the state and Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history information pursuant to Section 1596.871 and the automated child abuse system pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1596.877. (d) A person who is a current licensee or employee in a facility licensed by the department need not submit fingerprints to the department and may transfer their criminal record clearance pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1596.871. The person shall instead submit to the department, along with the person’s application, a copy of the person’s identification card described in Section 1596.601and sign a declaration verifying the person’s identity. A willful false declaration is a violation of this subdivision punishable inthe same manner as provided under Section 1596.890.
1596.605. (a) (1) The department shall establish a trustline registry pursuant to this chapter and shall continuously update the registry information. Upon submission of the trustline applicationand fingerprints or other identification documents pursuant to either subdivision (a) or (e) of Section 1596.603, the department shall enter into the trustline registry the provider’s name, identification card number, and an indicator that the provider has submitted an application and fingerprints or identification documentation. This provider shall be known as a “trustline applicant.” (2) A person shall not be entitled to apply to be a trustline provider and shall have his or her application returned without the right to appeal if the provider would not be eligible to obtain achild care license pursuant to Section 1596.851. (b) (1) Before approving the person’s application, the department shall check the individual criminal history pursuant to Section1596.871 and against the child abuse index pursuant to subdivision(b) of Section 1596.877. Upon completion of the searches of the state summary criminal history information and the child abuse index,and, if applicable, the records of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the department shall grant the trustline application if grounds do not exist for denial pursuant to Section 1596.607 andthe department shall enter that finding in the provider’s record in the trustline registry and shall notify the provider of the action.This provider shall be known as a “registered trustline child care provider.” (2) The department may transfer the criminal record clearance granted to a registered trustline child care provider and hold the registered trustline child care provider’s criminal record clearance in its active files pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1596.871.
1596.607. (a) (1) If the department finds that the trustline applicant has been convicted of a crime, other than a minor traffic violation, the department shall deny the application, unless the director grants an exemption pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section1596.871. (2) If the department finds that the trustline applicant has an arrest as described in subdivision (a) of Section 1596.871, the department may deny the application if the trustline applicant may pose a risk to the health and safety of any person who is or may become a client and the department complies with subdivision (e) of Section 1596.871. (3) The department shall comply with the requirements of Section 1596.877 and may deny the application of a trustline applicant for substantiated child abuse that may pose a threat to the health and safety of any person who is or may become a client. (4) The department may deny the application for registration of the trustline applicant if it discovers that it had previously revoked a license or certificate to be a certified family home held by the trustline applicant or excluded the trustline applicant from alicensed facility. (5) The department may deny the application for registration of the trustline applicant if it discovers that it had previously deniedthe trustline applicant’s application for a license from thedepartment or certificate of approval to be a certified family home.
(b) (1) If, the department denies registration pursuant tosubdivision (a), it shall advise the provider of the right to appeal. The provider shall have 15 days to appeal the denial. (2) Upon receipt by the department of the appeal, the appeal shallbe set for hearing. The hearing shall be conducted in accordancewith Section 1596.887.
1596.608. (a) (1) The department may revoke a provider’s trustlineregistration for any of the following: (A) Procuring trustline registration by fraud ormisrepresentation. (B) Knowingly making or giving any false statement or informationin conjunction with the application for issuance of trustlineregistration. (C) Criminal conviction unless an exemption is granted pursuant toSection 1596.871. (D) Incident of child abuse or neglect or other conduct that posesa threat to the health and safety of any person who is or may becomea client. (2) The hearing to revoke the trustline registration shall beconducted in accordance with Section 1596.887. (b) The trustline provider’s registration shall be consideredforfeited under the following conditions: (1) The trustline provider has had a license or certificate ofapproval revoked, suspended, or denied as authorized under Section1534, 1550, 1568.082, 1569.50, or 1596.885. (2) The trustline provider has been denied employment, residence,or presence in a facility based on action resulting from anadministrative hearing pursuant to Section 1558, 1568.092, 1569.58,or 1596.8897. (3) The trustline provider fails to maintain a current mailingaddress with the department.
1596.61. (a) The department may charge a fee to a trustlineapplicant. The department may enter into an interagency agreementfor the purpose of transferring funds to offset the costs incurred bythe California Child Care Resource and Referral Network to implementthe trustline program pursuant to this chapter. (b) The maximum fee shall not exceed the total actual costs of allof the following: (1) The searches of the state summary criminal history informationand the child abuse index performed by the Department of Justice.The cost to check the criminal history information shall notsubsidize the cost to check the criminal history of other persons bythe State Department of Social Services who are not charged a fee bythe Department of Justice. (2) The cost incurred by the Department of Justice for thesearches of the records of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (3) The information and technical assistance provided by theCalifornia Child Care Resource and Referral Network to parents,providers, and employment agencies. (4) The implementation by the local child care resource andreferral programs of the trustline program. (5) The cost to the department to process the applications andmaintain the trustline registry.
1596.615. All moneys collected by the department to implement thischapter shall, notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code,be continuously appropriated to the department without regard tofiscal year for expenditure pursuant to this chapter.
1596.62. (a) (1) The Department of Justice shall maintain andcontinually update an index of reports of child abuse by, andpertinent criminal convictions of, providers and shall inform thedepartment of subsequent reports received from the child abuse indexpursuant to Section 11170 of the Penal Code and the criminal history. The department shall continually update the trustline registrypursuant to the actions required in Section 1596.607. (2) The trustline applicant and registered trustline providershall inform the department of any new mailing address in writingwithin 10 days of the change in address. (b) The department shall provide the California Child CareResource and Referral Network with a continually updated record ofthe trustline applicants, trustline applicants that the departmentdenied, the registered trustline child care providers, and providerswhose registration that the department revoked. (c) Notwithstanding any other law, including Part 3 (commencingwith Section 900) of Division 3.6 of Title 1 of the Government Code,state officers or employees shall not be liable for any damagescaused by their conduct pursuant to this chapter except forintentional acts or gross negligence. (d) On July 1, 1998, the Department of Justice shall transfer alltrustline application and registration material to the department.The department shall be responsible for all pending applications andhearings and shall transfer all trustline application andregistration information.
1596.63. It is a misdemeanor for a person to falsely represent orpresent himself or herself as a trustline applicant or a registeredtrustline child care provider.
1596.64. (a) The department shall enter into a contract with theCalifornia Child Care Resource and Referral Network to administer thetrustline duties as described in this chapter. (b) The California Child Care Resources and Referral Network maysubcontract with local resource and referral programs for theimplementation of the trustline program at the local level.
1596.645. The California Child Care Resource and Referral Network,in consultation with representatives of private industry, parents,child care resource and referral agencies, the department, the StateDepartment of Education, trustline providers, employment agencies,and the pediatric health sector, shall review and makerecommendations concerning the operation of the trustline. Thisreview shall include a consideration of strategies for reducing theprocessing time for trustline application denials, and to the extentpossible, an evaluation of, or proposed methodology for measuring,whether those child care providers for whom trustline applicationsare denied are still providing care when denial letters are sent to them.
1596.65. (a) An employment agency, as defined in Section 1812.501of the Civil Code, that refers a child care provider to parents orguardians who are not required to be a licensed child day carefacility shall not make a placement of a child care provider who isnot a trustline applicant or a registered child care provider. (b) Any violation of this section is a misdemeanor and shall bepunishable by a fine of one hundred dollars ($100).
1596.653. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to protect thewell-being of California children by regulating private individualsand companies that transport or accompany minors to out-of-stateresidential facilities or institutions. (b) As used in this section: (1) “Transport escort service” means any person, partnership,association, or corporation that accepts financial compensation orother consideration to accompany or transport minors who areresidents of California to any residential facility or institutionlocated outside the state. (2) “Minor” means any person under the age of 18 years. (3) “Department” means the State Department of Social Services. (c) Every transport escort service that accompanies or transportsa minor who is a resident of California to any residential facilityor institution located outside the state, shall first provide theminor’s parents, custodial parent, or legal guardian with all of thefollowing: (1) A description of the child care provider trustline registryestablished pursuant to this chapter that provides criminal historychecks on child care providers. (2) An explanation of how a parent may obtain more informationabout the child care provider trustline registry. (3) A statement that a transport escort service is prohibited bylaw from transporting or accompanying a minor unless the person orpersons transporting the minor are trustline registered child careproviders. (4) An explanation of how the parent may verify the trustline registration of the transport escort service. (5) An explanation of the minor’s right to make a complaint to achild protective agency concerning abusive treatment by the transportescort service. (d) A transport escort service shall not transport or accompany aminor without obtaining the written permission of the minor’sparents, custodial parent, or legal guardian. (e) The transport escort service shall verify in writing that theminor’s parents, custodial parent, or legal guardian has received theinformation required under subdivision (c). (f) A transport escort service shall not accompany or transport aminor to any residential facility or institution located outside thestate, unless the person or persons transporting or accompanying theminor are trustline registered child care providers. (g) A minor, parent, or legal guardian claiming to be aggrieved bya violation of this section by a transport escort service may bringa civil action for injunctive relief or damages, or both. (h) In addition to the remedy provided in subdivision (g), aviolation of this section may be prosecuted as a misdemeanorpunishable by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) ormore than five thousand dollars ($5,000) as to each person withrespect to whom a violation occurs, or imprisonment in a county jailfor not more than six months. (i) This section does not apply to the following: (1) The transport of minors by any governmental agency oremployee. (2) The transport of minors under the jurisdiction of the juvenilecourt. (3) The transport of minors by family members or relatives. (j) Nothing in this section shall limit any claim for damages orthe issuance of any injunction that a parent or child may assertagainst a transport escort service pursuant to any other state orfederal law or regulation.
1596.655. A child care resource and referral agency establishedpursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 8210) of Chapter 2 ofPart 6 of the Education Code shall have the followingresponsibilities in the administration of the trustline within itslocal geographic area of service: (a) Implement the local elements of the promotion plan designed bythe California Child Care Resource and Referral Network pursuant toSection 1596.643 and publicize the availability, purpose, andbenefits of the trustline to parents, child care providers,prospective child care providers, and institutions and agencies thathave frequent contact with parents and providers. (b) Cooperate with the California Child Care Resource and ReferralNetwork in promotional and data collection efforts. (c) Report annually to the California Child Care Resource andReferral Network on local promotional efforts, problems encountered,and recommendations for program improvement. (d) Ensure that the trustline is accessible to all persons in thestate, regardless of their ability to speak English. (e) Provide information and technical assistance on the trustlineprocess to parents, child care providers, and other interested parties.
1596.66. (a) Each license-exempt child care provider, as definedpursuant to Section 1596.60, who is compensated, in whole or in part,with funds provided pursuant to the Alternative Payment Program,Article 3 (commencing with Section 8220) of Chapter 2 of Part 6 ofthe Education Code or pursuant to the federal Child Care andDevelopment Block Grant Program, except a provider who is, bymarriage, blood, or court decree, the grandparent, aunt, or uncle ofthe child in care, shall be registered pursuant to Sections 1596.603and 1596.605 in order to be eligible to receive this compensation.Registration under this chapter shall be required for providers whoreceive funds under Section 9858 and following of Title 42 of theUnited States Code only to the extent permitted by that law and theregulations adopted pursuant thereto. Registration under thischapter shall be required for providers who receive funds under thefederal Child Care and Development Block Grant Program only to theextent permitted by that program and the regulations adopted pursuantthereto. (b) For the purposes of registration of the providers identifiedin subdivision (a), the following procedures shall apply:
(1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 1596.603, theprovider shall submit the fingerprints and trustline application tothe local child care resource and referral agency establishedpursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 8210) of Chapter 2 ofPart 6 of the Education Code. The local child care resource andreferral agency shall transmit the fingerprints and completed trustline applications to the department and address any localproblems that occur in the registration system. If a fee is chargedby the local child care resource and referral agency that takes aprovider’s fingerprints, the provider shall be reimbursed for thischarge by the State Department of Education, through the local childcare resource and referral agency, from federal Child Care andDevelopment Block Grant funds to the extent that those funds areavailable.
(2) The department shall adhere to the requirements of Sections1596.603, 1596.605, 1596.606, and 1596.607 and shall notify theCalifornia Child Care Resource and Referral Network of any action ittakes pursuant to Sections 1596.605, 1596.606, and 1596.607. (3) The California Child Care Resource and Referral Network shallnotify the applicable local child care resource and referralagencies, alternative payment programs, and county welfaredepartments of the status of the trustline applicants and registered trustline child care providers. The network shall maintain atoll-free telephone line to provide information to the local resourceand referral agencies, the alternative payment programs, and thechild care recipients of the status of providers. (c) This section shall become operative only if funds appropriatedfor the purposes of this article from Item 6110-196-890 of Section 2of the Budget Act of 1991 are incorporated into and approved as partof the state plan that is required pursuant to Section 658(E)(a) ofthe federal Child Care Block Grant Act of 1990 (Sec. 5082, P.L.101-508).
1596.67. (a) To the extent permitted by federal law, each childcare provider, as defined by Section 1596.60, who receivescompensation, in whole or in part, under Stage 1 of the CalWORKsChild Care Program pursuant to Article 15.5 (commencing with Section8350) of Chapter 2 of Part 6 of the Education Code, for providingchild care for a recipient or former recipient, except a provider whois, by marriage, blood, or court decree, the grandparent, aunt, oruncle of the child in care, shall be registered pursuant to Sections1596.603 and 1596.605 in order to be eligible to receive thiscompensation. Active trustline registration is required forproviders who receive compensation under Stage 1 of the CalWORKsChild Care Program pursuant to Article 15.5 (commencing with Section8350) of Chapter 2 of Part 6 of the Education Code, for providingchild care for a recipient or former recipient only to the extentpermitted by that law and the regulations adopted pursuant thereto.This section applies only to a license-exempt child care provider, asdefined by Section 1596.60, who registers for payment under Stage 1of the CalWORKs Child Care Program pursuant to Article 15.5(commencing with Section 8350) of Chapter 2 of Part 6 of theEducation Code, for providing child care for a recipient or formerrecipient after the implementation of the trustline registrationsystem in those programs. A provider, as defined by Section 1596.60,who was exempted from trustline registration because the providerwas not compensated, in whole or in part, with funds provided underStage 1 of the CalWORKs Child Care Program pursuant to Article 15.5(commencing with Section 8350) of Chapter 2 of Part 6 of theEducation Code, for providing child care for a recipient or formerrecipient shall be registered, at no cost to the provider, pursuantto Sections 1596.603 and 1596.605 when either of the following occur:
(1) The provider begins to provide child care to an eligiblefamily for which he or she has not provided care. (2) The provider begins to provide child care to an eligiblefamily subsequent to a lapse in providing care that is compensatedunder Stage 1 of the CalWORKs Child Care Program pursuant to Article15.5 (commencing with Section 8350) of Chapter 2 of Part 6 of theEducation Code, for providing child care for a recipient or formerrecipient. (b) Payment provided pursuant to subdivision (a) shall cease ifthe provider has a criminal conviction for which the department hasnot granted a criminal record exemption pursuant to subdivision (f)of Section 1596.871. (c) Subdivision (a) shall not be implemented unless funding fortrustline registration is appropriated to the department for thispurpose in the annual Budget Act or in other legislation. Thedepartment shall enter into a contract with the California Child CareResource and Referral Network to administer the trustline as itrelates to providers who are compensated under Stage 1 of theCalWORKs Child Care Program pursuant to Article 15.5 (commencing withSection 8350) of Chapter 2 of Part 6 of the Education Code, forproviding child care for a recipient or former recipient.
1596.68. (a) This chapter shall be operative on July 1, 1998. (b) (1) Before, on, or after July 1, 1998, the department mayadopt regulations to implement this chapter. (2) The initial adoption of any emergency regulations for purposesof this chapter following January 1, 1998, shall be deemed to be anemergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the publicpeace, health, and safety, or general welfare. Emergency regulations adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall remain in effect for nomore than 180 days.
CALIFORNIA – Moraga mother Mary Beth Phillips sat in stunned silence as a Justice, in the eyes of the former Alameda County Superior Court Judge Martin Pulich, called for the nanny to pay a $100 fine and perform 2,000 hours of community service. No jail time. Just probation. In fact, reasoning it would be wrong to deprive the nanny of a means to support herself, he approved her new job as another family’s live-in baby sitter. judge passed sentence on the neighbor’s nanny, just convicted of felony child abuse for shaking Phillips’ 6-month-old daughter so violently that baby Elizabeth lay partially paralyzed and permanently blinded.
An outraged Phillips vowed to herself and to Elizabeth that she would change things.
It was 1985, 12 years before the nation would lock in bitter debate about the case of a convicted au pair and the baby who suffered at her hands.
Phillips united with two others grieving under similar circumstances: a Temecula woman and a Fremont mother, Bonnie Reeves, whose baby shared a room with Elizabeth at Oakland Children’s Hospital. She lobbied long and hard to tighten California’s loose system for license-exempt child care givers.
The result of the efforts is TrustLine, a state government hot line that allows parents, usually for a fee, to run criminal and abuse background checks on potential baby sitters, nannies and au pairs. Since 1994, TrustLine has given California parents access to the nation’s most comprehensive research on child care providers. And anybody can use it.
The catch is, most people don’t even know about it.
And it’s pricey – $90 per screening.
Yet for parents apprehensive about hiring someone to watch their children – a trepidation heightened by last week’s sentencing of British au pair Louise Woodward for shaking to death a baby boy in Massachusetts – TrustLine holds the promise of a baseline assurance.
Spreading the word
Now, its founders have won a grant from the Pacific Mutual Foundation to pay for a spring public service campaign tentatively keyed to the theme “When you need to rely on more than your instincts.”
“We’re trying to figure out how to really get the word out,” said Phillips, who would love to see the service heralded on utility bills, milk cartons, billboards.
“Right now, TrustLine really is the best kept secret in the state of California.”
It works like this: Parents wishing to research a particular applicant can call TrustLine to see whether the individual already has passed the background screening. If not, they can order one for $90, so long as the applicant agrees to provide a fingerprint. Sometimes, providers submit their own names and pay the research fee in order to offer themselves as precertified by TrustLine.
And if parents are low-income and qualify for subsidized childcare, the state does the TrustLine check for free.
Experts say the incidence of “shaken baby syndrome” nationally has increased to 1,300 cases in 1995 from 800 a decade earlier, perhaps partly because of doctors’ increased awareness.
TrustLine is administered by the state Department of Justice, which contracts with the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network to handle inquiries – about 500 per week. Next year, TrustLine will go under the jurisdiction of the Department of Social Services, with wider investigative powers – for example, the opportunity to consider a pattern of arrests without convictions, and to screen for convictions in other states via the FBI.
To date, 27,000 child-care givers have been investigated by TrustLine. Some 22,000 qualified applicants appear on the database, meaning their past is unmarred by substantiated child-abuse allegations or significant criminal convictions in California and, where an FBI check is requested, nationwide. The remaining 5,000 applicants either are in the midst of the approval process, have withdrawn from consideration or have been rejected.
“Believe it or not, about 5 to 6 percent of applicants are disqualified,” said Cindy Swanson, program manager for TrustLine at the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network, in San Francisco. “We’ve had convicted murderers apply, we’ve had people with 10- to 15-page rap sheets – it’s quite amazing.”
That doesn’t even count the nanny and baby sitter wannabes who lose interest in a job when they discover a parent wants to check them out on TrustLine. Others suddenly get honest, like the applicant who said, “I suppose this might be a good time to tell you that I’ve had my own children taken away for neglect . . .”
Parents and agencies who run checks on applicants will receive simple yes-or-no notices from the state. Rejected applicants will receive detailed letters from the Justice Department explaining the decision. Accepted applicants remain on the TrustLine Registry, which is updated continually.
It’s not a cure-all
Even so, the system has its limits. Registrants are not required to have training or experience working with children, or to have mastered infant CPR or first aid. A TrustLine check often may take a couple of weeks.
And for now, the $90 screening covers only California – an FBI search of the other 49 states requires a second set of fingerprints and another $24. Likewise, the records of foreign au pairs in their home countries are not accessible through TrustLine, although theoretically such employees cannot obtain green cards through the Immigration and Naturalization Service if they have criminal records in their native lands.
The registry’s most critical shortcoming is that it can never predict first-time offenders. The nanny who so severely injured Elizabeth most likely would have cleared TrustLine before that incident. Only one thing might have raised a red flag: In a bizarre twist to the Phillips saga, the nanny had recently legally changed her name because, unbeknownst to her employer, she was a transsexual man undergoing a sex-change operation.
Like it was yesterday, Phillips recalls going to a neuropsychology class one afternoon 14 years ago and leaving Elizabeth for a few hours with her neighbor’s live-in nanny. When she returned, she was met at the door by the neighbor, who broke the news: “There’s been a little accident.”
By that time, Elizabeth was in the hospital, and the nanny already was attributing her injuries to a mischievous pet Highland terrier – a story the authorities quickly jettisoned.
“I think what’s so remarkable about TrustLine is that it was parents who took their personal and extraordinary pain and said, “This happened to my child, and I want to do everything I can to make sure it doesn’t ever happen to another child,’ ” said Patty Siegel, executive director of the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network. “It’s one tool to ensure that people who’ve abused children before won’t be entrusted with the opportunity to do so again.”
“It was a healing thing for me,” said Phillips, who credits former San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos, among others, for championing her cause during his years in the Legislature. “I know some people would curl up in a closet and never come out again, but that’s not me.”
As for Elizabeth? An honor student who long ago mastered her Braille computer, she has all but vanquished lingering signs of paralysis, has carried the Olympic Torch, plays piano and attends prestigious College Preparatory School in Oakland.
“She’s a miracle child, and her courage keeps me going,” said Phillips. “She once asked me if I thought it was a good thing that she got blinded. I said no, but I do believe that out of that awful thing, we made good things happen.”
TrustLine can be reached at 1-800-822-8490 Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
LA Times syndicate article, sunday, september 26th, 1999
melissa healy
Mary Beth Phillips is the mother of a 16-year-old daughter named Elizabeth and state-run child-protection program called TrustLine. Her progeny are linked by tragedy and triumph–and by a discredited nanny named Colette Andrews.
When Elizabeth Valentine Phillips was 6 months old, her mother returned to her Oakland home from a graduate class in neuropsychology to horrifying news: The baby, left with Andrews for an hour and a half, had been rushed to a hospital comatose and convulsing–the victim of violent shaking by her caregiver. Both her retinas were detached by the abuse. Elizabeth survived her ordeal to become a gifted student, songwriter and champion of children’s causes. But she was blinded for life.
Three years after Elizabeth lay near death from her injuries, Andrews was convicted of felony child abuse. She was fined $100, required to perform 2,000 hours of community service and put on five years’ probation. The judge ignored entreaties from the Phillips family and from Alameda County Dist. Atty. Robert Platt to bar Andrews from working with children again. For a time, at least, the convicted child abuser worked again as a nanny for other families.
So Mary Beth Phillips, then a 30-year-old mother juggling a graduate internship, a doctoral dissertation, a disabled child and a newborn, began a campaign to spare other parents the pain she had experienced. “I was clearly driven,” she said. Descending on Sacramento, she urged lawmakers to create a registry of caregivers whose names and fingerprints would be screened for criminal pasts or histories of abuse. Parents could check the registry before hiring a nanny.
In the years since TrustLine became a reality in 1993, the state has denied its stamp of approval to 3,981 prospective caregivers whose pasts are tainted with convictions of serious criminal misconduct–including murder and sexual assault–or credible allegations of child abuse or endangerment. Most of the caregivers who seek inclusion on the state-certified registry–an average of 2,000 a month–do so because it is required by government programs that pay child-care subsidies to low-income families.
Now Phillips and the registry’s administrators want to expand TrustLine’s customer base to middle-income and affluent parents. So far, fewer than 200 caregivers a month submit to the background check on their own initiative or at the urging of parents who want to employ them. In an effort to encourage parents to ask job-seeking nannies if they have been approved by TrustLine, the program’s administrators have launched a statewide campaign to increase public awareness. They are pressing pamphlets on new parents as they leave maternity wards, posting signs in pediatricians’ offices and advertising on supermarket bags.
A Push to Take Program Nationwide
And, at a time when few Californians know about TrustLine, Phillips also wants to take the program national. Congress in recent years has taken steps to make it easier for states to institute criminal background checks on caregivers. But lawmakers have shied away from debating a national registry–a far more ambitious goal.
To bring TrustLine to life in California, Phillips and her allies triumphed over civil libertarians, skeptical lawmakers and wary bureaucrats. If a national registry of caregivers is ever to take shape, Phillips warns, proponents will have to prevail over the same critics. Chris Hansen, an attorney with the ACLU’s national office in New York, acknowledged that criminal background checks for any prospective employees raise hackles among civil rights activists. “You always have to be somewhat uncomfortable about the notion that we have to investigate everyone in order to catch one bad apple,” said Hansen, who added that those turned away from registries often are given insufficient information and recourse.
To such objections, one can add a more intractable obstacle: balky criminal-records computers that cannot share information from state to state. Phillips keeps pressing, however. “We need someone like [software mogul] Bill Gates, with lots of money, lots of energy and lots of computer resources, to figure out how states can talk to each other. . . . It’s not impossible. It takes will and, more fundamentally, it takes collaboration between departments within and between states that have never worked together before.” Honored last year at the White House for her work on TrustLine, Phillips has pinned her hopes on First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, with whom she has discussed the program at length. If Mrs. Clinton were to win a Senate seat in New York, Phillips believes that she would have the clout and the commitment to rally the political will and find the funds for a national registry of caregivers.
But Phillips also knows that if the TrustLine model is to take hold elsewhere, it will be because of parents like her. No politician, Phillips said, has the passion–or effectiveness–for the job that parents of abused children do. “I think, truly, if Elizabeth had come through OK, I never would have gone to Sacramento” to fight for the program, Phillips said. “I wouldn’t have had that angst, that agony.”
One of Phillips’ earliest allies in fighting for TrustLine was Cheri Robertson of Temecula, Calif., whose son, Bryan, was shaken violently by a caregiver at the age of 10 months. In the days before Phillips was to appear before a state legislative committee, she called Robertson for support. The next day, with her baby on her hip, Robertson flew to Sacramento to testify alongside Phillips. As they struggled to bring TrustLine to life, Robertson coordinated visits and letters from parents of babies abused by their caregivers, while Phillips talked to legislators.
Mobilizing an Army of Angry Parents
Working both sides of the Legislature helped, Phillips said. The addition of an appeals process for rejected applicants helped to quell early opposition from Democrats, who raised concerns about the rights of those rejected by the registry. Republicans were also skeptical, fearing that TrustLine would create an unwieldy bureaucracy. As legislation setting up TrustLine neared a crucial first vote in 1986, Phillips recalled, the state’s Republican caucus urged its members to vote against the bill, a move that mobilized a small army of angry parents and established a pattern of lobbying that the group would use again and again.
“We were going door-to-door through the Legislature, marching into these offices,” Phillips remembered. “We just walked up to the person in the office who had a picture of a kid on his or her desk. And we’d say: ‘Here’s what we’re trying to do, and your guy is not supporting it. Can you drag him out so we can talk to him?’ And they did! It was cool!”
Today, TrustLine is a state-funded program touted on supermarket bags across California. Daughter Elizabeth Phillips is soon to be the keynote speaker at a statewide conference on child abuse prevention. Her mother falls into unaccustomed silence when she ponders whether TrustLine or her daughter is the greater miracle.
“Just an amazing journey,” she said.
Copyright Los Angeles Times, 2002. Reprinted with permission.
TrustLine was created by the California Legislature in 1987 and is a powerful resource for parents hiring a nanny or babysitter. TrustLine is California’s registry of in-home child care providers who have passed a background screening. All caregivers listed with TrustLine have been cleared through a fingerprint check of records at the California Department of Justice. This means they have no disqualifying criminal convictions or substantiated child abuse reports in California.
Administration
TrustLine is a child protection program of the State of California and the California Child Care Resource & Referral Network. The California Department of Social Services and the California Department of Justice assist in managing and distributing the information.
Program Highlights
TrustLine is the only child care registry in California with access to the most up-to-date and detailed databases at the California Department of Justice and the FBI
TrustLine is effective. Its database, which is updated continuously, screens out individuals who have been convicted of murder, manslaughter, child molestation, assault with a deadly weapon, willful child cruelty and other crimes. Thousands of individuals with criminal records have been denied a listing on the registry.
All employment agencies are required by law to register their caregivers with TrustLine upon placement. Parents should call TrustLine to make sure the employment agency has registered their caregiver with TrustLine.
Easy to Use
Parents can check if a provider is listed on TrustLine by calling 1-800-822-8490 and giving the provider’s full name, driver’s license number or other approved identification.
Easy to Register
Child care providers complete an application from TrustLine and send it to the California Department of Social Services along with a set of fingerprints (used to check Department of Justice and FBI records) and appropriate fees. If there are no disqualifying California or FBI criminal convictions of substantiated child abuse reports, the provider’s name is added to the registry.
Information
The general public can receive more information about TrustLine by calling 800-822-8490 or logging on at www.trustline.org.
TrustLine is an essential step in finding the right nanny or baby-sitter. But TrustLine is just one important tool to help you choose the best in-home caregiver for your child. Here are some other TrustLine tips:
Check each candidate’s references and work histories, and then make sure they’re registered with TrustLine by calling 1-800-822-8490.
Interview potential caregivers and observe how they interact with and respond to your child.
Ask all candidates open-ended questions to understand how they care for children:
Tell me about your previous experiences working with children.
What activities do you like to do with children?
What are your feelings about discipline?
How would you handle naps, eating, toilet training or emergencies?
Are you comfortable following directions even if you would do things differently with your own children?
Ask practical questions:
Are you certified in child/infant CPR or first aid?
What if my child cries all day or refuses to eat or to nap?
Are you wiling to care for my child if he/she is sick?
What hours are you available? Could you work extra hours occasionally and how much notice would you need?
Trust your instincts.
Hire someone both you and your children like and then agree to a trial period. Spend some time watching your children and the caregiver interact before leaving them alone.
Once you have found a good caregiver:
Set up clear job responsibilities.
Communicate regularly about how the arrangement is working.
Periodically drop in unannounced to observe your child.
Always leave emergency contact information.
TrustLine is continually updated. Caregivers who have committed a disqualifying crime subsequent to their clearance are removed. So, you should call TrustLine periodically to make sure your caregiver is still registered.
For information on choosing child care and for referrals to licensed child care, contact your local child care resource and referral agency. For the one nearest you, call TrustLine at 1-800-822-8490 or see the Child Care Resource and Referral Network web site.
For Immediate Release: Contact: Cindy Mall
April 7, 1998 415-882-0234
Statewide Public Education Campaign Launched to Prevent Nanny/Baby Sitter Abuse
Pacific Life Foundation Grant Helps to Educate Public aboutLife-Saving TrustLine Program
TrustLine 1-800-822-8490
Sacramento – Parents and children victimized by unconscionable nannies and baby-sitters launched a comprehensive statewide public education campaign today for TrustLine – the state’s only background check for in-home child care with access to Department of Justice records – to help prevent abuse.
“You can never do too much to see that your children are safe. Parents should use all resources at their disposal, including TrustLine, checking references and conducting a thorough interview, to find the right in-home caregiver,” said Mary Beth Phillips, a TrustLine founder, whose daughter was permanently blinded after being shaken severely by a neighbor’s nanny. “Being registered on TrustLine is a minimum requirement that parents should ask of a caregiver. We hope the TrustLine campaign encourages parents and caregivers to use this life-saving service.”
TrustLine is a child protection program jointly administered by the California Department of Social Services and the non-profit Child Care Resource and Referral Network. All caregivers listed with TrustLine have been cleared through a fingerprint check of records at the California Department of Justice. This means they have no disqualifying criminal convictions or substantiated child abuse reports in California. It is also the only background check authorized by state law to use three databases that the general public, including private investigators and private background check companies, cannot access. These databases include the fingerprint records from the California Department of Justice’s California Criminal History System; the Child Abuse Central Index of California; and fingerprint records of the FBI Criminal History System. TrustLine is endorsed by the California Academy ofPediatrics.
“With talk of fingerprinting and criminal records, some parents may feel uncomfortable requiring their caregiver to register with TrustLine,” said Eloise Anderson, Director, Department of Social Services. “But is it worth the risk to not call or not register an in-home caregiver on TrustLine? It’s simply the right thing to do.”
Pacific Life Foundation, the charitable giving arm of Pacific Life Insurance Company, provided a $180,000 grant for the public education campaign that includes the creation and statewide distribution of English and Spanish television and radio public service announcements, brochures and posters as well ascorporate fundraising and media campaigns.
“Pacific Life Foundation is proud to support this life-saving program,” said Robert G. Haskell, President of Pacific Life Foundation. “We encourage other organizations to help spread the word about TrustLine.”
According to Patricia Siegel, executive director, California Child Care Resource & Referral Network, more than 30,000 applicants have been processed through TrustLine. “In 1997, more than 800 applicants were denied approval from the registry because of criminal backgrounds, including individuals with criminal convictions for murder, manslaughter, willful child cruelty, sexual assault and kidnapping,” she said. “It’s an invaluable resource to prevent child abuse and address issues of quality of care in license exempt child care settings.”
Program administrators said that parents and potential caregivers will be more likely to call TrustLine’s 800 number because the campaign uses positive, nurturing themes and images to create interest and awareness.
The public education campaign is aimed at parents and those that influence them on a daily basis, such as pediatricians, hospital birthing center personnel, child care resource and referral agencies, play groups and more. TrustLine’s posters and brochures feature bright colors with smiling toddlers framed in flowers with the headline, “Did you ever imagine you could love someone so much?” Two public service announcements, one in English and one in Spanish, also will be distributed to television and radio stations statewide. The television spots show a women caring for a toddler in a variety of settings. However, it’s not until the end of the piece, when the parents walk through the front door, that it is revealed that the caregiver is a nanny/baby-sitter.
Siegel pointed out that all child care providers who operate in State-Licensed settings, such as child care centers, have undergone a similar screening process. All employment agencies also are required by law to register their caregivers with TrustLine upon placement
