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California Business And Professions Code Section 28

Legal Research Home > California Lawyer > Business and Professions Code > California Business And Professions Code Section 28

The Legislature finds that there is a need to ensure that
professionals of the healing arts who have demonstrable contact with
child abuse victims, potential child abuse victims, and child abusers
and potential child abusers are provided with adequate and
appropriate training regarding the assessment and reporting of child
abuse which will ameliorate, reduce, and eliminate the trauma of
child abuse and neglect and ensure the reporting of child abuse in a
timely manner to prevent additional occurrences.
   The Board of Psychology and the Board of Behavioral Sciences shall
establish required training in the area of child abuse assessment
and reporting for all persons applying for initial licensure and
renewal of a license as a psychologist, clinical social worker, or
marriage and family therapist on or after January 1, 1987.  This
training shall be required one time only for all persons applying for
initial licensure or for licensure renewal on or after January 1,
1987.
   All persons applying for initial licensure and renewal of a
license as a psychologist, clinical social worker, or marriage and
family therapist on or after January 1, 1987, shall, in addition to
all other requirements for licensure or renewal, have completed
coursework or training in child abuse assessment and reporting which
meets the requirements of this section, including detailed knowledge
of Section 11165 of the Penal Code.  The training shall meet all of
the following requirements:
   (a) Be completed after January 1, 1983.
   (b) Be obtained from one of the following sources:
   (1) An accredited or approved educational institution, as defined
in Sections 2902, 4980.40, and 4996.18, including extension courses
offered by those institutions.
   (2) A continuing education provider approved by the responsible
board.
   (3) A course sponsored or offered by a professional association or
a local, county, or state department of health or mental health for
continuing education and approved by the responsible board.
   (c) Have a minimum of 7 contact hours.
   (d) Include the study of the assessment and method of reporting of
sexual assault, neglect, severe neglect, general neglect, willful
cruelty or unjustifiable punishment, corporal punishment or injury,
and abuse in out-of-home care.  The training shall also include
physical and behavioral indicators of abuse, crisis counseling
techniques, community resources, rights and responsibilities of
reporting, consequences of failure to report, caring for a child's
needs after a report is made, sensitivity to previously abused
children and adults, and implications and methods of treatment for
children and adults.
   (e) An applicant shall provide the appropriate board with
documentation of completion of the required child abuse training.
   The Board of Psychology and the Board of Behavioral Sciences shall
exempt an applicant who applies for an exemption from the
requirements of this section and who shows to the satisfaction of the
board that there would be no need for the training in his or her
practice because of the nature of that practice.
   It is the intent of the Legislature that a person licensed as a
psychologist, clinical social worker, or marriage and family
therapist have minimal but appropriate training in the areas of child
abuse assessment and reporting.  It is not intended that by solely
complying with the requirements of this section, a practitioner is
fully trained in the subject of treatment of child abuse victims and
abusers.
   (f) This section shall become operative on January 1, 1997.

Last modified: January 12, 2009