(a) (1) At least annually, the department shall publish and make available to interested persons a list or lists covering all licensed community care facilities and the services for which each facility has been licensed or issued a special permit.

(2) For a group home, transitional housing placement provider, community treatment facility, youth homelessness prevention center, temporary shelter care facility, transitional shelter care facility, or short-term residential therapeutic program, the list shall include both of the following:

(A) The number of licensing complaints, types of complaints, and outcomes of complaints, including citations, fines, exclusion orders, license suspensions, revocations, and surrenders.

(B) The number, types, and outcomes of law enforcement contacts made by the facility staff or children, as reported pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 1538.7.

(3) This subdivision does not apply to foster family homes or the certified family homes or resource families of foster family agencies.

(b) Subject to subdivision (c), to protect the personal privacy of foster family homes and the certified family homes and resource families of foster family agencies, and to preserve the security and confidentiality of the placements in the homes, the names, addresses, and other identifying information of facilities licensed as foster family homes and certified family homes and resource families of foster family agencies shall be considered personal information for purposes of the Information Practices Act of 1977 (Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1798) of Title 1.8 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code). This information shall not be disclosed by any state or local agency pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code), except as necessary for administering the licensing program, facilitating the placement of children in these facilities, and providing names and addresses, upon request, only to bona fide professional foster parent organizations and to professional organizations educating foster parents, including the Foster and Kinship Care Education Program of the California Community Colleges.

(c) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), the department, a county, or a foster family agency may request information from, or divulge information to, the department, a county, or a foster family agency, regarding a prospective certified parent, foster parent, or relative caregiver for the purpose of, and as necessary to, conduct a reference check to determine whether it is safe and appropriate to license, certify, or approve an applicant to be a certified parent, foster parent, or relative caregiver.

(2) This subdivision shall apply only to applications received on or before December 31, 2016, in accordance with Section 1517 or 1517.1 of this code or Section 16519.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(d) The department may issue a citation and, after the issuance of that citation, may assess a civil penalty of fifty dollars ($50) per day for each instance of a foster family agency’s failure to provide the department with a log of certified and decertified homes or a log of resource families that were approved or had approval rescinded during the month by the 10th day of the following month.

(e) The Legislature encourages the department, if funds are available for this purpose, to develop a database that would include all of the following information:

(1) Monthly reports by a foster family agency regarding certified family homes and resource families.

(2) A log of certified and decertified family homes, approved resource families, and resource families for which approval was rescinded, provided by a foster family agency to the department.

(3) Notification by a foster family agency to the department informing the department of a foster family agency’s determination to decertify a certified family home or rescind the approval of a resource family due to any of the following actions by the certified family parent or resource family:

(A) Violating licensing rules and regulations.

(B) Aiding, abetting, or permitting the violation of licensing rules and regulations.

(C) Conducting oneself in a way that is inimical to the health, morals, welfare, or safety of a child placed in that certified family home, or for a resource family, engaging in conduct that poses a risk or threat to the health and safety, protection, or well-being of a child or nonminor dependent.

(D) Being convicted of a crime while a certified family parent or resource family.

(E) Knowingly allowing any child to have illegal drugs or alcohol.

(F) Committing an act of child abuse or neglect or an act of violence against another person.

(f) At least annually, the department shall post on its internet website a statewide summary of the information gathered pursuant to Sections 1538.8 and 1538.9. The summary shall include only deidentified and aggregate information that does not violate the confidentiality of a child’s identity and records.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 341, Sec. 6. (AB 1235) Effective January 1, 2020.)