SACRAMENTO, CA — Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed AB 369 (Solorio) which would better protect foster care children from abuse by allowing Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) programs to more thoroughly screen the background of potential staff and volunteers who have close contact with foster care children. 
 
CASA programs already allow access to applicants' FBI and Department of Justice records when screening potential staff and volunteers, but California law does not currently allow CASA programs to take the additional precaution of checking the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) for allegations of abuse.  To date, most other states (i.e. New York) have allowed access to such information. 

“The state of California should do everything it can to protect foster children from abuse and neglect.  It is important that we thoroughly screen the background of every potential staff member and volunteer who might have close contact with foster children.  AB 369 will greatly improve this screening process,” said Assemblyman Solorio.   

CASAs are specially trained volunteers from the community who are appointed by the juvenile/dependency court to build close relationships with, and serve as advocates for, children in foster care.  CASA program staff and volunteers have regular, unsupervised contact with children who have been abused or neglected. 

AB 369 will become effective on January 1, 2008.  AB 369 is sponsored by the California Court Appointed Special Advocate Association and is supported by the County Welfare Directors Association of California, the Children’s Advocacy Institute, Children’s Law Center of Los Angeles, the Judicial Council of California, Juvenile Court Judges of California, Youth Law Center, and the Family Law Section of the State Bar of California.

Assemblyman Jose Solorio represents the Sixty-Ninth Assembly District, which includes the cities of Anaheim, Garden Grove, and Santa Ana.  He is also the Chair of the Assembly Public Safety Committee.  For more information about Assemblyman Solorio, you can visit www.assembly.ca.gov/solorio.