BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 791|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 791
Author: Ammiano (D)
Amended: 3/30/11 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 06/07/11
AYES: Evans, Harman, Blakeslee, Corbett, Leno
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 04/28/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Dependent children: birth certificates
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the court, when denying or
terminating reunification services with a parent or
guardian, to order that a dependent child's caregiver be
provided with the child's birth certificate, or, when
appropriate, if the child is 16 years of age or older, that
the child receive his or her birth certificate.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that a child may be
removed from his or her parent's custody on the basis of
abuse or neglect and adjudged a dependent of the court.
(Welf. & Inst. Code Sec. 300.)
Existing law provides that it is the intent of the
Legislature that caregivers are provided with basic
information about the children placed in their care in
order to provide for the child's basic educational and
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health-related needs, including, the child's birth
certificate. (Welf. & Inst. Code Sec. 16010.4.)
Existing law provides that a placing agency must provide a
caregiver a copy of the child's birth certificate within 30
days of receiving a copy of the birth certificate. (Welf. &
Inst. Code Sec. 16010.5.)
Existing law provides that children and families in the
child welfare system should receive a specified amount of
time of reunification services. Existing law provides that
the court consider several factors when determining whether
reunification services will benefit the child. (Welf. &
Inst. Code Sec. 361.5.)
Existing law provides that when the court orders that a
termination of parental rights hearing be held, the court
must also order the termination of reunification services
to the parent or legal guardian. (Welf. & Inst. Code Sec.
366.21.)
This bill requires the court when ordering termination or
denial of reunification services to also order that the
child's caregiver receive the child's birth certificate in
accordance with existing laws.
This bill also requires the court when ordering that
reunification services be denied or terminated to order,
when appropriate, that a child who is 16 years of age or
older receive his or her birth certificate.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/8/11)
California Youth Connection
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office:
ÝThis bill] clarifies existing law by initiating the
process of obtaining and providing a foster youth's
birth certificate when the court denies the order for
reunification services or orders the termination of
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reunification services for a foster youth. Caregivers
will be the recipients of the birth certificate and
the youth shall receive his or her birth certificate
if he or she is 16 years of age or older. Ensuring
the birth certificate is received in a time
appropriate manner allows the social worker, caregiver
and youth enough time to engage in the process for
correcting inaccuracies on the birth certificate.
Many youth age out of the child welfare system and are
not provided with their correct and certified birth
certificate. Additionally, while in the child welfare
system, caregivers of foster youth are not being
provided copies of birth certificates, not only making
it difficult to sign foster youth up for educational
and extracurricular activities, but also making it
difficult to correct missing information or
inaccuracies on the birth certificate before the youth
ages out of care.
Some foster youth are aging out of the system with
inaccurate or missing information on their birth
certificates. Even worse, some youth are aging out of
the system without having a birth certificate at all.
Despite law mandating otherwise, many foster youth and
their caregivers find themselves in this situation far
too many times.
Although the law says that caregivers and youth should
and must be provided a copy of their birth
certificate, further clarification is needed as to
when and who is responsible for obtaining the birth
certificate. ÝThis bill] provides this clarification.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 04/28/11
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman,
Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill,
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Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller,
Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan,
Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner,
Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Gorell, Mitchell, Vacancy
RJG:nl 6/8/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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