Humphries

I. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

A. The Statutory Scheme

1. The Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act

California maintains a database of “reports of suspected child abuse and severe neglect,” known as the Child Abuse Central Index or CACI. CAL. PENAL CODE § 11170(a)(2). Cali- fornia has collected such information since 1965, see 1965 Cal. Stat. 1171, and since 1988, the maintenance of the CACI has been governed by the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (“CANRA”), CAL. PENAL CODE §§ 11164-11174.

a. Inclusion in the CACI

There are many different ways a person can find themself listed in the CACI. CANRA mandates that various statutorily enumerated individuals report instances of known or sus- pected child abuse and neglect either to a law enforcement agency or to a child welfare agency. Id. § 11165.9. These agencies, in turn, are required to conduct “an active investiga- tion,” id. § 11169(a), which involves investigating the allega- tion and determining whether the incident is “substantiated, inconclusive, or unfounded,” CAL. CODE REGS. tit. 11, § 901(a) (2008).

In an attempt by the legislature to demonstrate how many negatives it could place in a single provision,…