(a) The board shall verify with hospitals, physicians, law enforcement officials, or other interested parties involved, the treatment of the victim or derivative victim, circumstances of the crime, amounts paid or received by or for the victim or derivative victim, and any other pertinent information deemed necessary by the board. Verification information shall be returned to the board within 10 business days after a request for verification has been made by the board. Verification information shall be provided at no cost to the applicant, the board, or victim centers. When requesting verification information, the board shall certify that a signed authorization by the applicant is retained in the applicant’s file and that this certification constitutes actual authorization for the release of information, notwithstanding any other provision of law. If requested by a physician or mental health provider, the board shall provide a copy of the signed authorization for the release of information.
(b) (1) The applicant shall cooperate with the staff of the board or the victim center in the verification of the information contained in the application. Failure to cooperate shall be reported to the board, which, in its discretion, may reject the application solely on this ground.
(2) An applicant may be found to have failed to cooperate with the board if any of the following occur:
(A) The applicant has information, or there is information that he or she may reasonably obtain, that is needed to process the application or supplemental claim, and the applicant failed to provide the information after being requested to do so by the board. The board shall take the applicant’s economic, psychosocial, and postcrime traumatic circumstances into consideration, and shall not unreasonably reject an application solely for failure to provide information.
(B) The applicant provided, or caused another to provide, false information regarding the application or supplemental claim.
(C) The applicant refused to apply for other benefits potentially available to him or her from other sources besides the board including, but not limited to, worker’s compensation, state disability insurance, social security benefits, and unemployment insurance.
(D) The applicant threatened violence or bodily harm to a member of the board or staff.
(c) The board may contract with victim centers to provide verification of applications processed by the centers pursuant to conditions stated in subdivision (a). The board and its staff shall cooperate with the Office of Criminal Justice Planning and victim centers in conducting training sessions for center personnel and shall cooperate in the development of standardized verification procedures to be used by the victim centers in the state. The board and its staff shall cooperate with victim centers in disseminating standardized board policies and findings as they relate to the centers.
(d) (1) Notwithstanding Section 827 of the Welfare and Institutions Code or any other provision of law, every law enforcement and social service agency in the state shall provide to the board or to victim centers that have contracts with the board pursuant to subdivision (c), upon request, a complete copy of the law enforcement report and any supplemental reports involving the crime or incident giving rise to a claim, a copy of a petition filed in a juvenile court proceeding, reports of the probation officer, and any other document made available to the probation officer or to the judge, referee, or other hearing officer, for the specific purpose of determining the eligibility of a claim filed pursuant to this chapter.
(2) The board and victim centers receiving records pursuant to this subdivision may not disclose a document that personally identifies a minor to anyone other than the minor who is so identified, his or her custodial parent or guardian, the attorneys for those parties, and any other persons that may be designated by court order. Any information received pursuant to this section shall be received in confidence for the limited purpose for which it was provided and may not be further disseminated. A violation of this subdivision is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500).
(3) The law enforcement agency supplying information pursuant to this section may withhold the names of witnesses or informants from the board, if the release of those names would be detrimental to the parties or to an investigation in progress.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, every state agency, upon receipt of a copy of a release signed in accordance with the Information Practices Act of 1977 (Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1798) of Title 1.8 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code) by the applicant or other authorized representative, shall provide to the board or victim center the information necessary to complete the verification of an application filed pursuant to this chapter.
(f) The Department of Justice shall furnish, upon application of the board, all information necessary to verify the eligibility of any applicant for benefits pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 13956, to recover any restitution fine or order obligations that are owed to the Restitution Fund or to any victim of crime, or to evaluate the status of any criminal disposition.
(g) A privilege is not waived under Section 912 of the Evidence Code by an applicant consenting to disclosure of an otherwise privileged communication if that disclosure is deemed necessary by the board for verification of the application.
(h) Any verification conducted pursuant to this section shall be subject to the time limits specified in Section 13958.
(i) Any county social worker acting as the applicant for a child victim or elder abuse victim shall not be required to provide personal identification, including, but not limited to, the applicant’s date of birth or social security number. County social workers acting in this capacity shall not be required to sign a promise of repayment to the board.
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 569, Sec. 2. (AB 1140) Effective January 1, 2016.)