Opinion No. (2004)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General GREGORY L. GONOT Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE BILL MAZE AND SHARON RUNNER, MEMBERS OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, have requested an opinion on the following question: May the children's services inspector general of a county, an officer within the department of the auditor-controller appointed by the board of supervisors to identify county program improvements to prevent the recurrence of child deaths due to neglect or abuse, inspect the juvenile case file of a deceased child without issuance of a prior court order? CONCLUSION The children's services inspector general of a county, an officer within the department of auditor-controller created by the board of supervisors to identify county program improvements to prevent the recurrence of child deaths due to neglect or abuse, may not inspect the juvenile case file of a deceased child without issuance of a prior court order. ANALYSIS The board of supervisors of a county has created the office of children's services inspector general ("Inspector") within the department of the auditor-controller to identify county program improvements that may prevent the recurrence of child deaths due to neglect or…