SACRAMENTO, CA – Assemblymember Mary Hayashi (D-Hayward) announced that her bill, AB 2904: County Child Welfare Service: Mortality Review passed unanimously Tuesday in the Assembly Judiciary Committee. AB 2904 clarifies that county boards of supervisors may access otherwise confidential case information when a minor who is in the custody of child welfare services dies because of neglect or abuse. This bill is sponsored by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.

The county board of supervisors oversees administration of the child welfare system where many minors who are in the care of county agencies die each year despite efforts to protect them. County boards of supervisors are not regularly involved in the oversight of these deaths, so it is difficult to determine whether these boards can make effective procedural changes that will protect children.

AB 2904 will allow county board of supervisors to receive and review any records in custody of the juvenile court, law enforcement agencies, or any other involved county agencies relating to the death of a child who was receiving county child welfare services. These protected child mortalities include a minor’s death while in custody, while under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court or immediately after termination of the court’s jurisdiction. It also includes during or shortly after a social service agency has investigated a report of neglect or abuse, and during or shortly after treatment by public mental health agencies.