On January 1, 2022, Assembly Bill 506 (AB 506) took effect, which requires youth service organizations to train their administrators, employees, and regular volunteers in child abuse and neglect identification and reporting, to adopt certain child abuse and neglect policies, to conduct criminal background checks of all administrators, employees, and regular volunteers, and to exclude any persons with a history of child abuse. Also, youth service organizations are to require, to the greatest extent possible, the presence of at least two mandated reporters whenever administrators, employees, or volunteers are in contact with or supervising, children.
A “youth service organization” is an organization that employs or utilizes the services of administrators or employees of a private youth center, youth recreation program, or youth organization who are mandated reporters. A “regular volunteer” is a volunteer who is 18 years of age or older and who has direct contact with, or supervision of, children for more than 16 hours per month or 32 hours per year through their volunteer work with the youth service organization.
Assembly Bill 2669 (AB 2669) modifies AB 506 in the following ways:
- Excludes, until January 1, 2024, from the background check requirement youth service organizations that, prior to January 1, 2022, did not require administrators, employees, or regular volunteers to undergo background checks.
- Excludes an organization that provides one-to-one mentoring to youth that has adopted and implemented policies to ensure reporting of suspected incidents of child abuse to outside persons or entities, comprehensive screening of volunteers, training of volunteers and parents or guardians, and regular contact with volunteers and parents or guardians from the requirement that, to the greatest extent possible, at least two mandated reporters be present whenever administrators, employees, or volunteers are in contact with or supervising, children.
AB 2669 was passed with urgency and took effect on September 6, 2022.
(AB 2669 amends Section 18975 of the Business and Professions Code.)
