(1) (a) The state department, in conjunction with the attorney general, shall adopt rules concerning the statewide implementation of a conflict resolution process in each county and city and county pursuant to the provisions of this section. The purpose of such conflict resolution process is to provide a forum for grievances concerning the conduct of county department personnel in performing their duties pursuant to this article.

(b) A citizen review panel shall be created in each county and city and county. The members of such citizen review panel shall be appointed by the governing body without influence from the state department or the county department, be representative of the community, have demonstrable personal or professional knowledge and experience with children, and not be employees or agents of the state department or any county department. At least one member of the citizen review panel in each county and city and county shall be the parent of a minor child at the time of his or her appointment to serve on such panel.

(c) The conflict resolution process shall provide for the resolution of grievances as follows:

(I) Transmittal of all grievances to the county director for internal resolution by the county department within ten working days after receipt of the grievance;

(II) Closure of the grievance and issuance of a written final decision if the county department has resolved the grievance to the complainant's satisfaction;

(III) Referral of the grievance to the citizen review panel upon the request of the complainant if the county department has not resolved the grievance to the complainant's satisfaction;

(IV) Review by the citizen review panel of the grievance and the county department's proposed resolution of the grievance within thirty days after receipt of the referral;

(V) Written notification by the citizen review panel to the complainant and the county director of its recommendation concerning the grievance and the basis for its recommendation;

(VI) Closure of the grievance and issuance of a written final decision by the county director if the county department agrees with the recommendation of the citizen review panel;

(VII) Referral of a grievance to the governing body for review if the county department or the complainant disagrees with the recommendation of the citizen review panel.

(d) The governing body shall submit a written decision containing its recommendation and the basis for its recommendation to the county director and any county department employee who is the subject of a grievance, and the county director shall issue a written final decision that shall include the county director's plan for implementation of the final decision.

(e) Any recommendations of the citizen review panel and of the governing body shall be limited to actions within the authority of the county director including, but not limited to, recommendations for case reassignment, personnel training, and disciplinary action concerning a county department employee. If disciplinary action is initiated against a county department employee as a result of recommendations, the employee shall be entitled to the rights, including procedural rights to appeal, that the employee has through the merit system or other applicable personnel system under which the employee is employed.

(f) A citizen review panel and any governing body shall have access to child abuse or neglect reports and any information from the complete case file that the governing body believes is pertinent to the grievance, which shall be reviewed solely for the purpose of resolving grievances pursuant to the provisions of this section; except that access to identifying information concerning any person who reported child abuse or neglect shall not be provided and no participant in the conflict resolution process shall divulge or make public any confidential information contained in a report of child abuse or neglect or in other case file records to which he or she has been provided access.

(g) The county department shall prepare a final report to the citizen review panel within thirty days after the issuance of any final decision in the conflict resolution process that shall include the disposition of each grievance referred to the citizen review panel in a manner not inconsistent with applicable state and county personnel rules.

(h) The complainant or county department employee who is the subject of the grievance shall receive copies of the following:

(I) The written decision of the governing body required pursuant to paragraph (d) of this subsection (1);

(II) The final written decision of the county director required pursuant to paragraph (d) of this subsection (1);

(III) The final report of the county department required pursuant to paragraph (g) of this subsection (1).

(2) The state department shall create a system for monitoring compliance with this section that shall include annual reports prepared by each county and city and county as to the grievances received and their disposition. Such annual reports shall be made available to the citizen review panels and the state department and shall be available for public review.

(3) (a) At the request of the complainant, the county department, or the subject of the grievance, each citizen review panel, as part of its review, may take informal testimony submitted voluntarily and without fee by experts or other individuals, including county department personnel.

(b) Each citizen review panel may request and receive information from any other county or city and county that may be pertinent to the grievance.

(4) Each county department shall implement the conflict resolution process. The state department shall promulgate rules governing the implementation of the process in the following areas:

(a) Procedures for making relevant information concerning the conflict resolution process public;

(b) Time frames for the citizen review panel's and the governing body's written notification of recommendations; and

(c) Procedures for processing grievances, for determining if a grievance is within the scope of the conflict resolution process, and for receiving testimony and other information from the complainant, the county department, and the subject of the grievance.

(5) (a) Nothing in this section shall be construed to direct or authorize any participant in the conflict resolution process to use the process to interfere with any civil or criminal investigation or judicial proceeding, to seek relief from any court action, or to seek a remedy that is within the authority of a court having jurisdiction over a pending proceeding.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection (5), a county department shall not be precluded from presenting any relevant evidence in a pending civil or criminal investigation or proceeding that the county department has obtained in the course of fulfilling its duties in the conflict resolution process pursuant to the provisions of this section.