(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a city, county, city and county, or community-based nonprofit organization may establish a human trafficking multidisciplinary personnel team consisting of two or more persons who are trained in the prevention, identification, management, or treatment of human trafficking cases and who are qualified to provide a broad range of services related to human trafficking.

(b) A human trafficking multidisciplinary team may include, but need not be limited to, any of the following:

Ask a legal question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

(1) Law enforcement personnel.

(2) Medical personnel.

(3) Psychiatrists, psychologists, marriage and family therapists, or other trained counseling personnel.

(4) District attorneys and city attorneys.

(5) Victim-witness program personnel.

(6) Sexual assault counselors, as defined in § 1035.2 of the Evidence Code.

(7) Domestic violence counselors, as defined in § 1037.1 of the Evidence Code.

(8) Social service agency staff members.

(9) Child welfare agency social workers.

(10) County health department staff.

(11) City or county welfare and public assistance workers.

(12) Nonprofit agency counseling professionals.

(13) Civil legal service providers.

(14) Human trafficking caseworkers, as defined in § 1038.2 of the Evidence Code.

(c) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, following a report of suspected human trafficking, members of a human trafficking multidisciplinary personnel team engaged in the prevention, identification, and treatment of human trafficking may disclose to and exchange with one another information and writings that relate to any incident of human trafficking that may also be designated as confidential under state law if the member of the team having that information or writing reasonably believes it is generally relevant to the prevention, identification, or treatment of human trafficking. Any discussion relative to the disclosure or exchange of the information or writings during a team meeting is confidential, and testimony concerning that discussion is not admissible in any criminal, civil, or juvenile court proceeding unless required by law.

(2) Disclosure and exchange of information pursuant to this section may occur telephonically or electronically if there is adequate verification of the identity of the human trafficking multidisciplinary personnel who are involved in that disclosure or exchange of information.

(3) Disclosure and exchange of information pursuant to this section shall not be made to anyone other than members of the human trafficking multidisciplinary personnel team and those qualified to receive information as set forth in subdivision (d).

(d) The human trafficking multidisciplinary personnel team may designate persons qualified pursuant to subdivision (b) to be a member of the team for a particular case. A person designated as a team member pursuant to this subdivision may receive and disclose relevant information and records, subject to the confidentiality provisions of subdivision (g).

(e) (1) The sharing of information permitted under subdivision (c) shall be governed by protocols developed in each county describing how and what information may be shared by the human trafficking multidisciplinary team to ensure that confidential information gathered by the team is not disclosed in violation of state or federal law. A copy of the protocols shall be distributed to each participating agency and to persons in those agencies who participate in the human trafficking multidisciplinary team.

(2) Members of the team that have confidential information obtained from an individual shall not disclose that information to and with one another unless the member has obtained that individual’s informed, written, reasonably time-limited consent to the disclosure, in accordance with all applicable state and federal confidentiality laws, or it is otherwise required by other state or federal law or by court order. Before such consent is obtained, a member of the team is required to inform the individual that the information may be shared with law enforcement professionals or other entities without that individual’s consent if required by law.

(3) A disclosure of information consented to by an individual shall not be deemed a waiver of any privilege or confidentiality provision, including those contained in Sections 2263, 2918, 4982, and 6068 of the Business and Professions Code and in Chapter 4 of Division 8 of the Evidence Code.

(f) Every member of the human trafficking multidisciplinary personnel team who receives information or records regarding children or families in his or her capacity as a member of the team shall be under the same privacy and confidentiality obligations and subject to the same confidentiality penalties as the person disclosing or providing the information or records. The information or records obtained shall be maintained in a manner that ensures the maximum protection of privacy and confidentiality rights.

(g) This section shall not be construed to restrict guarantees of confidentiality provided under state or federal law.

(h) Information and records communicated or provided to the team members by providers and agencies, as well as information and records created in the course of a domestic violence investigation, shall be deemed private and confidential and shall be protected from discovery and disclosure by applicable statutory and common law protections, except where disclosure is required by law. Existing civil and criminal penalties shall apply to the inappropriate disclosure of information held by the team members.

(Added by Stats. 2018, Ch. 802, Sec. 3. (AB 998) Effective January 1, 2019.)