News & Updates: AB 506 – Youth Service Organizations Background Check and Mandated Reporting Requirements

A new law taking effect on January 1, 2022 will impose significant new requirements on “youth service organizations,” including public or private youth centers, youth recreation programs, and youth organizations.  AB 506 requires that youth service organizations take each of the following steps:

• Conduct LiveScan criminal background checks on all administrators, employees, and regular volunteers to identify and exclude any persons with a history of child abuse;
• Ensure that all administrators, employees, and regular volunteers complete training on identifying child abuse and neglect and mandated reporting;
• Develop and implement child abuse prevention policies and procedures including mandated reporter requirements; and
• Ensure at least two mandated reporters are present whenever administrators, employees, or volunteers are in contact with, or supervising, children.

“Regular volunteers” means volunteers with a youth service organization who (1) are at least 18 years old and (2) have direct contact with or supervise children for more than 16 hours per month or 32 hours per year.

As a reminder, existing law (Business and Professions Code Section 18950) requires a “business that provides services to minors” to provide written notice to the parent or guardian of any minor receiving those services that describes the business’s policies relating to obtaining criminal background checks for its employees. If the business does conduct criminal background checks on employees, the written notice must indicate whether the criminal background checks include state and federal criminal history information and the nature of the types of offenses the business looks to identify. The written notice can be a posting on the business’s website.

Under Business and Professions Code Section 18950, a “business that provides services to minors” is a business that both (1) has as its primary purpose the provision of an extracurricular service or program of instruction, including, but not limited to, academic tutors and instructors, for youth under 18 years of age, and (2) has adult employees who have supervisory or disciplinary power over a child or children. It does not include licensed child care or day care facilities or medical treatment facilities or hospitals. This definition differs from the definition of “youth service organizations” under AB 506, so organizations should consider whether one or both laws apply to them.