BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 962
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:  June 22, 2010

                           ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
                                  Mike Feuer, Chair
                      SB 962 (Liu) - As Amended:  June 17, 2010

                                  PROPOSED CONSENT

           SENATE VOTE  :  30-0
           
          SUBJECT:  PRISONERS: PARTICIPATION IN DEPENDENCY PROCEEDINGS

           KEY ISSUE  :  SHOULD VIDEOCONFERENCING OR TELECONFERENCING, IF  
          ORDERED BY A COURT AND AVAILABLE, BE PROVIDED FOR PRISONERS TO  
          PARTICIPATE IN CERTAIN DEPENDENCY COURT PROCEEDINGS FOR THEIR  
          CHILDREN?

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  As currently in print this bill is keyed fiscal.

                                      SYNOPSIS
          
          This bill, sponsored by Friends Outside and Los Angeles  
          Dependency Lawyers, allows for the use of video or  
          teleconference technology for prisoners to participate in  
          judicial proceedings involving their parental rights or a  
          dependency petition for their child under Welfare and  
          Institutions Code Section 300.  This bill also allows the  
          California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations (CDCR)  
          to accept donated materials and services for a three-year pilot  
          program to facilitate the participation of incarcerated parents  
          in dependency court hearings regarding their children.  

          This bill was approved by the Assembly Public Safety Committee  
          on a vote of 7-0 on June 15, 2009.  It is supported by, among  
          others, the California Public Defenders Association, the County  
          Welfare Directors Association, the Judicial Council and the  
          Family Law Section of the State Bar.  There is no known  
          opposition.

           SUMMARY  :  Allows for the use of video or teleconference  
          technology in order for prisoners to participate in judicial  
          proceedings involving their parental rights or a dependency  
          petition for their child.  Specifically,  this bill  :    

          1)Provides that a prisoner who is a parent of a child involved  








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            in a dependency hearing and who has either waived his or her  
            right to physical presence at the hearing, or who has not been  
            ordered before the court may, at the court's discretion, in  
            order to facilitate the parent's participation in the  
            proceeding, be given the opportunity to participate in the  
            hearing by videoconference, if that technology is available,  
            and if that participation otherwise complies with the law.  If  
            videoconferencing technology is not available, provides that  
            teleconferencing may be utilized to facilitate parental  
            participation.  

          2)States that, because of the significance of dependency court  
            hearings for parental rights and children's long-term care,  
            physical attendance by the parent at the hearings is preferred  
            to participation by videoconference or teleconference.  

          3)Provides that the use of videoconference or teleconference to  
            replace in-person family visits with prisoners is not  
            authorized.

          4)Provides that a prisoner subject to this section shall not  
            lose internal job placement opportunities, be removed from a  
            court-ordered course, or be denied any earned privileges as a  
            result of his or her participation in the dependency  
            proceedings, whether in person or by videoconference or  
            teleconference, unless the prisoner is absent from the  
            institution for this purpose for more than 10 days.

          5)Provides that nothing in this bill shall be construed to limit  
            a prisoner's right to physically attend a specified dependency  
            hearing.

          6)Authorizes CDCR, until January 1, 2014, to accept donated  
            materials and services for a three-year pilot project to  
            facilitate the participation of incarcerated parents in  
            dependency court hearings regarding their children.  Requires  
            that the donors make a report to the Legislature, within two  
            years of the start of the pilot, about the program and provide  
            any collected data. 

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Authorizes the juvenile court to declare a child a dependent  
            of the court if there is evidence that the child has suffered  
            or is at risk of physical, sexual or emotional abuse, neglect  








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            or exploitation.  (Welfare & Institutions Code Sections 300  
            and 300.2.)  

          2)Provides that, where a judicial proceeding concerns the  
            termination of the parental rights of any prisoner, or the  
            dependency proceeding involving a prisoner's child, the  
            superior court of the county in which the proceeding is  
            pending, or a judge thereof, shall order notice of any court  
            proceeding regarding the proceeding transmitted to the  
            prisoner, as specified.  (Penal Code Section 2625.  Unless  
            otherwise stated, all further statutory references are to that  
            code.)

          3)Requires the temporary removal of a prisoner from an  
            institution for the prisoner's production before the court  
            where a prisoner has advised the court of his or her desire to  
            be present, as specified.  (Id.)

          4)Provides that no proceeding (terminating parental rights or  
            dependency adjudication) may be held without the physical  
            presence of the prisoner or the prisoner's attorney, unless  
            the court has before it a knowing waiver of the right of  
            physical presence signed by the prisoner or an affidavit  
            signed by the warden, superintendent, or other person in  
            charge of the institution, or his or her designated  
            representative stating that the prisoner has, by express  
            statement or action, indicated an intent not to appear at the  
            proceeding.  (Id.)

           COMMENTS  :  Over the past eight years the California Research  
          Bureau (CRB) has issued a series of reports focusing on  
          California law as it relates to the lives of incarcerated  
          prisoners and their children.   (See Charlene Wear Simmons,  
          Children of Incarcerated Parents, CRB Note Vol. 7, No. 2, March  
          2000; Clare M. Nolan, Children of Arrested Parents: Strategies  
          to Improve Their Safety and Well-Being, CRB 03-011, July 2003;  
          M. Anne Powell, California State Prisoners With Children:   
          Findings from the 1997 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal  
          Correctional Facilities, CRB 03-014, November 2003.)  The  
          reports have highlighted the state's lack of clear policies and  
          laws on how criminal justice authorities, as well as the child  
          welfare system, should respond to circumstances and issues  
          raised by incarcerated parents and their children.  As explained  
          in the reports, there are profound social, mental, and health  
          implications for children whose parents are incarcerated.  These  








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          problems have become even more pressing as the state's prison  
          population, particularly the female population, continues to  
          increase dramatically.  

          This bill seeks to address one aspect of the problems that exist  
          for incarcerated parents and their children, particularly those  
          who end up the subject of dependency proceedings.  Specifically,  
          in order to facilitate participation by incarcerated parents in  
          judicial proceedings involving dependency petitions for their  
          children or their parental rights, this bill allows for  
          participation via video or teleconferencing in specified  
          circumstances.  

          This bill was approved by the Assembly Public Safety Committee  
          on a vote of 7-0.  

          In support of the bill, the author states:

               A substantial majority of Californians in the criminal  
               justice system are parents.  The California Research  
               Bureau estimates that 67% of male inmates are fathers  
               and 79% of female inmates are mothers (2000).  Over  
               the last 15 years, an increasing number of adults have  
               been incarcerated under the state's more strict  
               criminal sentencing policies.  As a consequence, the  
               number of children whose parents are in prison has  
               grown.  

               These children often enter and remain in the child  
               welfare system because logistical issues prevent  
               incarcerated parents from maintaining their parental  
               rights, irrespective of their parenting practices.   
               Incarcerated parents often waive physical appearance  
               at a hearing, not because they are unwilling to be  
               present and participate, but because attending may  
               result in the loss of good time credits or  
               rehabilitation program eligibility.  Often these are  
               the very credits or program participation required by  
               the family reunification case plan (Family and  
               Juvenile Law Advisory Committee).  If a parent elects  
               to attend a dependency hearing in person, hearing and  
               travel time can take up to 10 days, greatly damaging  
               the parent's ability to fulfill the family  
               reunification requirements.  . . .









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               In the wake of fiscal distress, counties in other  
               states have already begun utilizing video-conferencing  
               for inmates as a cost-saving measure.  SB 962 seeks to  
               prevent unnecessary termination of parental rights by  
               allowing for a cost-savings solution.  

           This Bill Allows Use of Videoconferencing for Incarcerated  
          Parents to Participate in Dependency Proceedings  :  Pursuant to  
          Welfare and Institutions Code Section 300(g), children of  
          incarcerated parents may fall within the juvenile court's  
          jurisdiction if a parent cannot arrange for the child's care.   
          The courts have interpreted "incarcerated" in Section 300 as  
          meaning "jailed," which would include a parent who has been  
          arrested and charged, but not yet convicted.  (See Edgar O. v.  
          Superior Court of Los Angeles County (2000) 84 Cal.App.4th 13.)   
          A significant number of the children of incarcerated parents  
          become dependents of the juvenile court, and are placed in  
          foster care because parents do not have friends or relatives who  
          can care for their children.

          Once a child is involved in dependency proceedings in the  
          juvenile court, there is a strict process and timeframe  
          prescribed by federal and state law, with the ultimate goal to  
          establish a permanent home for the child.  The state must  
          petition to terminate parental rights of any child over age six  
          who has been in foster care 15 of the last 18 months (or 12  
          months for younger children), unless a relative is caring for  
          the child or termination would not be in the best interests of  
          the child.  (Welfare & Institutions Code Sections 361.5, 366.2.)  
           Section 2625 expressly gives incarcerated parents the right to  
          be present at a court hearing involving the termination of  
          parental rights.  However, as noted by the author, there are a  
          number of barriers that may prevent an incarcerated parent from  
          choosing to physically attend a hearing.

          This bill allows for the use of video or teleconference  
          technology for prisoners to participate in judicial proceedings  
          involving their parental rights or a dependency petition for  
          their child under Welfare and Institutions Code Section 300.   
          Specifically, this bill would, at the court's discretion, allow  
          for participation via video or teleconferencing, subject to  
          availability of that technology, and if the participation  
          otherwise complies with the law.  A prisoner would have to waive  
          his or her right to physical presence at the hearing.  However,  
          the bill states that because of the significance of dependency  








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          court proceedings for parental rights and children's long-term  
          care, physical attendance by the parent at the hearings is  
          preferred to participation by video or teleconference.  

          The purpose of this bill is to remove barriers for incarcerated  
          parents to participation in dependency hearings in order to  
          promote family reunification and to decrease the number of  
          children in the child welfare system.  Thus, this bill  
          specifically states that it does not authorize the use of video  
          or teleconference as a substitute to replace in-person family  
          visits with the prisoner.  This bill also emphasizes that  
          physical attendance at hearings is preferred to participation by  
          video or teleconferencing.  Thus, this bill rightly does not  
          erode the right of incarcerated parents to participate in  
          dependency hearings in person or create a precedent where  
          videoconferencing is the standard form of participation.

          Further, this bill provides that prisoners will not lose  
          internal job placement opportunities, be removed from a  
          court-ordered course, or be denied any earned privileges as a  
          result of his or her participation in these proceedings, whether  
          in person or by videoconference or teleconference, unless the  
          prisoner is absent from the institution for this purpose for  
          more than 10 days.  

          Finally, this bill authorizes CDCR to conduct a three-year pilot  
          project to facilitate the participation of incarcerated parents  
          in dependency court hearings regarding their children, with  
          donated materials and services, as specified.  In order to  
          ensure that the Legislature can determine the success of the  
          program, the bill requires that the donor organizations make a  
          report to the Legislature about the program and provide the  
          collected data, within two years of the start of the pilot.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          Los Angeles Dependency Lawyers (co-sponsor)
          Friends Outside (co-sponsor)
          California Public Defenders Association
          Children's Law Center of Los Angeles
          County Welfare Directors Association
          Family Law Section of the State Bar
          Judicial Council








                                                                  SB 962
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          SEIU Local 1000
          Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety

           Opposition 
           
          None on file
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :  Leora Gershenzon / JUD. / (916) 319-2334