Review and Expunction of Central Registries and Reporting Records - California

Right of the Reported Person to Review and Challenge Records
Citation: Penal Code §§ 11169; 11170

Any person may determine if they are listed in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) by making a request in writing to the Department of Justice (DOJ). The request shall be notarized and include the person's name, address, date of birth, and either a Social Security number or a California identification number.

Upon receipt of a notarized request, the DOJ shall make available to the requesting person information identifying the date of the report and the submitting agency. The requesting person is responsible for obtaining the investigative report from the submitting agency pursuant to § 11167.5(b)(11).

Any person who is listed on the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) has the right to a hearing before the agency that requested their inclusion in the CACI to challenge their listing on the CACI. The hearing shall satisfy due process requirements. It is the intent of the legislature that the hearing shall not be construed to be inconsistent with hearing proceedings available to persons who have been listed on the CACI prior to the enactment of the act that added this subdivision.

A hearing shall be denied when a court of competent jurisdiction has determined that suspected child abuse or neglect has occurred or when the allegation of child abuse or neglect resulting in the referral to the CACI is pending before the court. A person who is listed on the CACI and has been denied a hearing has a right to a hearing only if the court's jurisdiction has terminated, the court has not made a finding concerning whether the suspected child abuse or neglect was substantiated, and a hearing has not previously been provided to the listed person.

If, after a hearing or a court proceeding, it is determined the person's CACI listing was based on a report that was not substantiated, the agency shall notify the Department of Justice of that result and the department shall remove that person's name from the CACI.

Agencies, including police departments and sheriff's departments, shall retain child abuse or neglect investigative reports that result or resulted in a report filed with the Department of Justice for the same time period that the information is required to be maintained on the CACI pursuant to this section and § 11170(a). Nothing in this section precludes an agency from retaining the reports for a longer time if required by law.

When Records Must Be Expunged
Citation: Penal Code §§ 11169; 11170

Any person listed in the CACI who has reached 100 years of age shall have their listing removed from the CACI.

Any person listed in the CACI as of January 1, 2013, who was listed prior to reaching age 18 and who is listed once in CACI with no subsequent listings, shall be removed from the CACI 10 years from the date of the incident resulting in the CACI listing.

If a person listed in the CACI was under age 18 at the time of the report, the information shall be deleted from the index 10 years from the date of the incident resulting in the index listing, if no subsequent report concerning the same person is received during that time.

If a person is listed in the index only as a victim of child abuse or neglect, and that person is age 18 or older, that person may have their name removed from the index by making a written request to the DOJ. The request shall be notarized and include the person's name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth.