CHURCHES GUIDE TO AB506

General Questions

What is California AB 506? 
AB 506 is a law that was signed by the governor in September 2021 and is now being implemented statewide. The law requires an administrator, employee, or regular volunteer (as defined by the statute) of a youth service organization to complete child abuse and neglect reporting training and undergo a background check. For more information, see this law at: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB506

Are churches considered ‘Youth Service Organizations’?
If you have youth or minors in your church and sponsor any activities involving such, you are a youth service organization.

How does this affect my church?
AB 506 requires all administrators (pastor and all ministerial body), employees (church-paid staff), and “regular volunteers” who are 18 years of age or older and who have direct contact with or supervision of minors, and who perform at least 16 hours of service per month or 32 hours per year, to complete a Live Scan background check and take California’s online mandated reporter training found at https://mandatedreporterca.com/training/volunteers or the yearly child abuse prevention training provided by your district. Once you have completed the training, you will receive a certificate that you must send to your local church liaison.

Local Church
Children/Junior/Youth Ministry Leadership

How many mandated reporters must be present in each event where minors are present?
If at all possible, the law recommends that there always be two mandated reporters present anytime minors are with an adult. So all classes/events should now have two adults (who have completed the Live Scan background check and completed the mandated reporter training) present at all times, if possible.

When Do Mandated Reporters Need to File a Report?
Mandated reporters are required to make a telephone report immediately, or as soon as practicably possible, to Child Protective Services or an appropriate law enforcement agency when a mandated reporter knows or has reasonable suspicion of abuse or neglect of a child by any person. This must be done following the protocols taught at your district child abuse prevention training. Specifically, the local church pastor and district bishop be first notified, along with the Apostolic Assembly’s general counsel. In addition, if warranted, a written Suspected Child Abuse Report (“SCAR”) must be completed within 36 hours of receiving information that prompted concerns.

To obtain contact information for Child Protective Services (“CPS”) agencies for all counties, visit the California Department of Social Services website at http://www.cdss.ca.gov. Contacting CPS can help address the child’s safety needs, protect the child from further harm, and facilitate the provision of services to the child and their family.

How can I prepare for this change?
Inform your ministers, deacons, youth, juniors, and children’s ministry that they will all need to complete a Live Scan and take the child abuse prevention training to comply with California law.

Regular Volunteers

Where can I go to get a Live Scan?
For city and county locations, visit: https://oag.ca.gov/fingerprints/locations

What do I need to bring to have my Live Scan done?
Bring in your Live Scan form completed and filled out; you will be given your church-specific form through your local church liaison.  You’ll also need an I.D. A valid California Driver’s License or Identification Card is best. Driver Licenses from other states are also acceptable. Other types of photo I.D.s (U.S. or foreign passports, etc.) are also acceptable but would require a secondary form of Identification. Contact your Live Scan provider for information about a secondary form of Identification.

Payment (credit card/check, cash, etc.)

What if I do not have a U.S. government-issued Identification?
This will vary from Live Scan location to location. In most cases, a foreign government-issued Identification with a picture may be used. Please call ahead and confirm what alternatives they will accept. Social Security numbers are not essential for the California Live Scan but are necessary for the federal Live Scan.

How much does a Live Scan cost?
Having a Live Scan done can vary by location but can range from $25-$35.

How long does it take to receive my Live Scan results? 
Your employer or your organization should receive your live scan results within 7 to 10 days. Your live scan fingerprint results will be sent electronically to the organization that requested you to be fingerprinted. This process usually takes three days or less but can take up to thirty business days.

Once the transaction is received by the Department of Justice, the fingerprint images are used to automatically search against all other fingerprint images in the fingerprint database. If there are no fingerprints matching the applicant’s fingerprints, the transaction is generally processed electronically without a technician’s intervention within 48 to 72 hours. However, if an applicant’s fingerprints match fingerprints in the database, the associated RAP sheet must be reviewed by a technician. This is a manual process that can take an indeterminate amount of time.

What if someone has already had a Live Scan from another organization?
That does not meet the requirements of the AB506 law. You must complete a Live Scan with your local church form(find your form here). Live Scans completed with other organizations (i.e., School District/Girl-Boy Scouts/Sports Leagues/Government Office) will not be valid with our organization, per the statute.

This process is completely confidential. Agencies or employers are not allowed to share a person’s background check information with one another or anyone else.