Since 1965, the state of California has maintained a list of adults who are credibly believed to have abused children.
Police and prosecutors use it when evaluating suspects. Child-care facilities and schools check the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) when evaluating a potential hire, as do many other public and private employers.
But according to a new report by the state auditor’s office, the database is completely unreliable.
Acting State Auditor Michael Tilden: “Users of this database cannot depend on it to help protect children from being placed in the care of individuals with a history of abusing children.”
The blistering critique of a vital system, run by the state’s Department of Justice, by the numbers:
- Between July 2017 and June 2021, county social workers substantiated more than 52,000 cases of child abuse.
- Only about 25,000 of those reports made it into the statewide database.
- In at least 224 incidents, authorities or child-care centers were told by the state that an individual was not in the database when they should have been.
What’s the hang-up? The culprit, according to the audit, is outdated technology and bureaucracy. Filing a report is a tedious process, and the index can take a month or more to update.
In response to the audit, a spokesperson from Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office provided a letter it sent to the auditor’s office and said that discrepancies between the state and county systems could be the result of different reporting requirements.
Bonta’s office: “Our office has already taken several steps to strengthen CACI, including reaching out to the California Department of Social Services to ensure any additional eligible records are entered into CACI and improving tracking and follow-up with local agencies on incomplete reports.”
While the auditor’s report slams the system for allowing substantiated cases of abuse to fall through the cracks, others have criticized the system for snaring the innocent.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported earlier this year that a foster mother named “Lynn” was placed on the index after the infant she was caring for took a tumble from her car seat. A judge later threw out the finding, but it took four years and thousands of dollars in legal fees for Lynn to get her name expunged.
Kerri Melucci, Lynn’s lawyer: “Due process means you have an opportunity to know what the evidence is against you, and (to) defend yourself … before they do something as damaging as declaring you a child abuser and putting you on a list that your employer could find.”
