11105.08. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, a tribe or tribal organization may request from the Department of Justice state and federal summary criminal history information for the purpose of licensing or approving a tribally approved home, as defined in subdivision (r) of Section 224.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, for the placement of an Indian child into foster or adoptive care.
(b) A tribe or tribal organization shall submit to the Department of Justice fingerprint images and related information required by the Department of Justice of an individual applying with the tribe or tribal organization as a prospective foster parent or adoptive parent, any adult who resides or is employed in the home of an applicant, any person who has a familial or intimate relationship with any person living in the home of an applicant, or employee of the child welfare agency who may have contact with a child, for the purposes of obtaining the individual’s full criminal record pursuant to Section 8712 of the Family Code.
(c) Upon receipt of a tribe’s or tribal organization’s request for federal summary criminal history information received pursuant to this section, the Department of Justice shall transmit the request to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Department of Justice shall review the information returned from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and compile and disseminate a response to the requesting tribe or tribal organization.
(d) The Department of Justice shall provide a state and federal level response to a tribe or tribal organization pursuant to Section 8712 of the Family Code.
(e) A tribe or tribal organization shall request from the Department of Justice subsequent notification service pursuant to Section 11105.2 for persons described in subdivision (b) of this section.
(f) The Department of Justice may charge a fee sufficient to cover the reasonable and appropriate costs of processing the request pursuant to this section.
(g) As used in this section a “tribal organization” means an entity designated by a federally recognized tribe as authorized to approve a home consistent with Section 1915 of the federal Indian Child Welfare Act (25 U.S.C. Sec. 1915) for the purpose of placing an Indian child into foster or adoptive care. This includes the authority to conduct a criminal or child abuse background check of, and grant exemptions to, an individual who is a prospective foster or adoptive parent, an adult who resides or is employed in the home of an applicant for approval, any person who has a familial or intimate relationship with any person living in the home of an applicant, or an employee of a tribal child welfare agency who may have contact with a child.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 288, Sec. 1. (AB 1283) Effective January 1, 2022.)