(SACRAMENTO, CA) Assemblymember Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa), Chair of the Assembly Democratic Caucus, reintroduced legislation yesterday to protect the developmentally disabled from abusive caregivers by creating a registry to track them and prevent them from further employment as a caregiver.

“The Governor vetoed a similar bill last year,” said Evans. “I hope that he sees things differently. Developmentally disabled people cannot fight back against their abusers. We need to pass this bill and protect them.”

Assembly Bill (AB) 1983 directs the Department of Developmental Services to establish a registry of care providers with abusive histories and make the information available to the groups hiring caregivers. The bill also:

• requires employers to consult the registry prior to hiring a caregiver
• prohibits the hiring of any caregiver listed on the registry
  
• requires employers of caregivers report instances of abuse to the department for inclusion on the registry.
  The first two points listed above were added AB 1983 in order to respond to the Governor’s veto message of AB 1192, a substantively similar bill authored by Evans last year which passed the Legislature unanimously.
  
  

“We received word from the Administration too late last year to respond to the Governor’s concerns the first go around,” added Evans. “This bill is an effort to craft a bill the Governor will sign.”

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 knowledge of a caregiver’s past, employers continue to hire abusive caregivers.

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

“This bill will help prevent abusive caregivers from moving around the state to continue their violence and abuse,” added Evans. “We need to stop the cycle of violence. A registry will help protect the public from these criminals.”

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 the University of California, Irvine found that there are five million crimes against the developmentally disabled each year.

AB 1983 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.