BILL ANALYSIS AB 1048 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 6, 2009 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Kevin De Leon, Chair AB 1048 (Torrico) - As Amended: March 31, 2009 Policy Committee: Public SafetyVote: 5-0 Judiciary 8-2 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: Yes SUMMARY This bill extends, from 72 hours to 30 days, the age at which a child may be left at a designated safe surrender site. This bill also: 1)Adds a local fire agency, upon the approval of the appropriate local governing body of the agency, to the designated safe surrender sites. (Current sites are either designated by boards of supervisors, or are locations within a hospital, as designated by the hospital. 2)Requires, by July 1, 2010, the Department of Social Services (DSS) to convene a workgroup, as specified, to disseminate updated instructions to counties regarding the provisions of the safe surrender program. 3)Requires, by January 1, 2013, DSS to begin reporting to the Legislature, on an annual basis, specified information and statistics related to the safe surrender program, FISCAL EFFECT 1)Minor, potentially state-reimbursable costs for local entities and governments to consult on the designation of safe-surrender sites. 2)The bill specifies that the required DSS workgroup activities, which would likely cost at least $150,000 for staff time and development and dissemination of specified materials, must be funded by available moneys from the State Children's Trust AB 1048 Page 2 Fund, the CA Children and Families Commission, or private donations. The State Children's Trust Fund is currently spending about $3 million more than the $1.1 million it brings in via fees and licensing. The CA Children and Families Trust Fund (Proposition 10/"First 5"), is currently designated for a redirection of $608 million to the GF in 2009-10 by Proposition 1D, pending the May 19 statewide election. The LAO estimates the Children and Families Trust Fund will bring in about $500 million in 2009-10. 3)Minor annual GF costs, likely in the range of $25,000, for DSS reporting costs regarding the safe surrender program. COMMENT 1)Rationale. The author contends the safe-surrender law should be expanded and advertised, citing 22 other states that provide more than a month to surrender an infant. "A survey of these states elicited two primary rationales for the extended period. The first was a general desire to provide sufficient time for a parent to take a responsible course of action. The second was the correlation between the onset of postpartum depression and infanticide or abuse. In our neighboring state, Nevada, (which allows 30 days) Assemblywoman Barbara Cegavske responded that they were trying to leave enough time and space in between when a mother abandoned her baby and went through any postpartum depression episodes that might be experienced. "According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, postpartum depression is defined as episodes of depression beginning within 4 weeks of giving birth. Cases in which postpartum depression poses the greatest danger to the child is when the mother is suffering from postpartum psychotic depression. Postpartum psychotic depression can occur within 3 weeks of birth and often goes unnoticed as the women that suffer from postpartum depression may appear well." According to a June 2008 DSS report on the safe surrender law, AB 1048 Page 3 251 newborns have been safely surrendered in California since the advent of the safe surrender law in 2001, while an additional 149 infants were found alive during this period following illegal abandonment. The author disputes these figures. "The 175 abandoned babies DSS reported is, first, misleading and second, still an astoundingly significant number of lives that could have been saved by changes to the current law. In 2008, the State Auditor found that 404 babies had actually been abandoned since the inception of the law and the figure DSS had reported was based on abandoned babies younger than seven days." 2)The need for DSS to prepare and disseminate updated information . The author notes the existing law does not require any governmental entity to administer and enforce the law, much less establish awareness. There are varying levels of understanding from county to county. This lack of clear comprehension of the law poses significant problems for those seeking information and those providing information. "In California, there are over 6 million limited English proficient residents and currently, informational pamphlets have only been available in English and Spanish. Without access to information for the nearest safe surrender sites and confusion among county experts, it appears unreasonable to expect a desperate mother to safely surrender within the 72 hour window." 3)Current law, established by SB 1368 (Brulte, 2000), provides for the surrender of a newborn by a parent or other responsible person to a safe-surrender site. SB 1368 was intended to provide mothers of unwanted newborns a safe alternative to abandoning infants in places where babies would likely die. SB 1368 designated safe places (such as an emergency room of a hospital) where a person can surrender a baby, with no questions asked, and retrieve the baby within a 14-day period, as specified, with immunity from criminal penalties under child abandonment laws. 4)Other States . According to an April 2009 policy brief by the Guttmacher Instititute - a nonprofit organization focused on sexual and reproductive health research, policy analysis and public education - all 50 states have legalized relinquishment (32 of which authorize anonymous relinquishment and legal AB 1048 Page 4 immunity, while others request medical information and/or investigate missing child status): 16 for 72 hours; 11 for five days to three weeks; 14 for 28 to 31 days: five for 45 to 90 days, and two (North Dakota and Missouri) for one year. 5)Opposition , which includes the County Welfare Directors' Association, the CA State Association of Counties, and L.A. County, centers on the extension of 72 hours to 30 days, based on the premise that the original 72-hour period was designed to deal with the immediate emotional period in which most infant homicides occur, rather than a protracted period during which a child may be relinquished, but not anonymously. The County Welfare Directors Association (CWDA) contends this bill "is not supported by research on baby abandonment, would run counter to the policy of anonymity for women who surrender their babies, and would bypass more appropriate existing methods for helping parents whose babies are older than a few days." According to CWDA, the existing voluntary relinquishment process enables parents to voluntarily place children who are older than three days up for adoption. Voluntary relinquishment offers safeguards to birth parents, the child and the adoptive parents. Moreover, voluntary placement rules allow a parent to place a child in foster care for up to six months. These two paths, according to CWDA, offer short- and long-term options for parents who are overwhelmed or are suffering from post-partum depression. These options, which are easily accessed at the local level, would also allow for the collection of important medical history information, provide full disclosure and due process for both the mother and father of the baby, and allow for potential future contact between the baby and the birth family. 6)Related legislation. a) AB 2262 (Torrico, 2008) was similar to AB 1048 and was vetoed. The governor stated, "I have vetoed similar measures twice before and there is no new data or information to support a change in my position. California's Safe Surrender Law is carefully crafted to provide an emergency alternative to a woman in crisis while also reserving the fundamental rights of a child." AB 1048 Page 5 b) AB 81 (Torrico, 2007) was similar to AB 1048 and was vetoed. The governor stated, "The current 72-hour period contained in law allows for a no-questions-asked safe surrender of a newborn, and is supported by research and statistics which indicate that most neonaticide occurs within the first day. Experts have raised concerns that instead of improving child safety, increasing the time that a baby may be surrendered from 72 hours will put newborns in greater risk by keeping them in an unsafe environment without proper care and supervision." c) AB 1873 (Torrico, 2006) was similar to AB 1048 and was vetoed with a similar message. d) SB 139 (Brulte), Chapter 150, Statutes 2003, provides a child may be surrendered at any hospital or other designated safe-surrender site. Previously, a designated employee at a hospital emergency room or other location was the only person permitted to accept a baby. Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081