(SACRAMENTO, CA) The Senate Committee on Human Services passed Assembly Bill (AB) 1192 authored by Assemblymember Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa), Chair of the Assembly Democratic Caucus, to protect the developmentally disabled from abusive caregivers through creating a registry tracking abusive caregivers.

AB 1192 now goes to the Senate Judiciary Committee for further review.

“The developmentally disabled face the prospect of abuse in the very settings responsible for their well being,” says Evans. “We have registries to protect children, battered spouses, and seniors from abuse. We know that they work. People with developmental disabilities also need this protection.”

AB 1192 directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a registry of care providers with abusive histories and make the information available to the groups hiring caregivers. It also requires that the employers of caregivers report instances of abuse. Failure to report abuse would be a misdemeanor, punishable by not more than six months in jail and/or by a fine up to $1,000.

In California over 220,000 individuals with developmental disabilities receive care in residential and day programs, at independent and supported living, and through at-home, private care. Forty-four percent of abusers make contact with their victims as unlicensed, direct care workers. If caught, investigated, and/or fired, many abusers move on to another agency because they can. Without such knowledge of a caregiver’s past, employers continue to hire abusive caregivers.

“This bill will help prevent the cycle of violence and abuse,” adds Evans.

Abuse of the developmentally disabled encompasses physical, sexual, verbal, and financial abuse, as well as neglect, abandonment, abduction, isolation, and deprivation of needed goods and services. They face a higher risk of abuse because they are often segregated from the population and are dependent on others for their basic needs.

An analysis conducted by the REACH Project found that individuals with developmental disabilities are 11 times more likely of being sexually assaulted and 13 times more likely of being robbed than people without disabilities. One study by U.C. Irvine found that there are 5 million crimes against the developmentally disabled each year.

The Adult Protective Services of Orange County already has an Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Registry in place at http://www.ssa.ocgov.com/Elder_Disabled/Report_Abuse.asp. It received nearly 5,500 reports of elder and dependent adult abuse in 2005, elder and dependent adult abuse reports have increased by 127% from 1994 to 2005, and between 450-550 reports are received at the Registry each month.

AB 1192 is sponsored by the REACH – Registry to End Abusive Caregiver Hiring - Project. Further information about this bill is available online at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov and http://www.calreachproject.org.