California Department of Consumer Affairs

The mission of the DCA is to serve the interests of California consumers by ensuring professional standards in key industries and promoting informed consumer practices. The DCA provides the public with information on safe consumer practices to protect them from unscrupulous or unqualified individuals offering deceptive products or services. The DCA licenses or certifies practitioners across more than 255 professions, with over 2.4 million practitioners currently licensed by the DCA. The department comprises over 40 bureaus, boards, commissions, committees, and other entities responsible for licensing and regulating practitioners. Regulatory responsibilities include investigating complaints against licensees and violators. The boards, commissions, and committees operate independently but rely on the DCA for administrative support. In 2015, the DCA’s Investigations Division conducted an investigation into the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT). An unknown number of enforcement cases were mishandled illegally, and private data from these cases was improperly shared. This incident prompted unprecedented changes by the CA legislature regarding the enforcement powers under Bills AB 179 and AB 1229. There has been little further public disclosure about this event. As of March 7, 2008, nurses and psychiatric technicians whose cases were mishandled and whose private data was shared had not been notified. Fees paid by licensees fund nearly all DCA operations. Bureaus, programs, divisions, and offices are entirely controlled by the DCA.