BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 652
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          Date of Hearing:  May 7, 2013
          Counsel:       Shaun Naidu


                         ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
                                 Tom Ammiano, Chair

                 AB 652 (Ammiano) - As Introduced:  February 21, 2013


           SUMMARY  :   States that for the purposes of the Child Abuse and  
          Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA), the fact that a child is homeless  
          or is classified as an unaccompanied minor, as defined, is not,  
          in and of itself, a sufficient basis for reporting child abuse  
          or neglect.  

           EXISTING LAW  : 

          1)Defines "child" under CANRA to mean person under the age of 18  
            years.  (Penal Code Section 11165.)

          2)Defines "neglect" under CANRA to mean the negligent treatment  
            or the maltreatment of a child by a person responsible for the  
            child's welfare under circumstances indicating harm or  
            threatened harm to the child's health or welfare. The term  
            includes both acts and omissions on the part of the  
            responsible person.  (Penal Code Section 11165.2.)

          3)Defines "severe neglect" under CANRA to mean the negligent  
            failure of a person having the care or custody of a child to  
            protect the child from severe malnutrition or medically  
            diagnosed nonorganic failure to thrive. "Severe neglect" also  
            includes situations of neglect where any person having the  
            care or custody of a child willfully causes or permits the  
            person or health of the child to be placed in a situation such  
            that his or her person or health is endangered, as specified,  
            including the intentional failure to provide adequate food,  
            clothing, shelter, or medical care.  [Penal Code Section  
            11165.2(a).]

          4)Defines "general neglect" under CANRA to mean the negligent  
            failure of a person having the care or custody of a child to  
            provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or  
            supervision where no physical injury to the child has  
            occurred.  [Penal Code Section 11165.2(b).]








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          5)Defines "child abuse or neglect" under CANRA to include  
            physical injury or death inflicted by other than accidental  
            means upon a child by another person, sexual abuse as defined,  
            neglect as defined, the willful harming or injuring of a child  
            or the endangering of the person or health of a child as  
            defined, and unlawful corporal punishment or injury as  
            defined.  "Child abuse or neglect" does not include a mutual  
            affray between minors or an injury caused by reasonable and  
            necessary force used by a peace officer acting within the  
            course and scope of his or her employment as a peace officer.   
            (Penal Code Section 11165.6.)

          6)Defines "mandated reporter" under Child Abuse and Neglect  
            Reporting Act (CANRA) as any of the following: a teacher; an  
            instructional aide; a teacher's aide or teacher's assistant  
            employed by any public or private school; a classified  
            employee of any public school; an administrative officer or  
            supervisor of child welfare and attendance, or a certificated  
            pupil personnel employee of any public or private school; an  
            administrator of a public or private day camp; an  
            administrator or employee of a public or private youth center,  
            youth recreation program, or youth organization; an  
            administrator or employee of a public or private organization  
            whose duties require direct contact and supervision of  
            children; any employee of a county office of education or the  
            State Department of Education, whose duties bring the employee  
            into contact with children on a regular basis; a licensee, an  
            administrator, or an employee of a licensed community care or  
            child day care facility; a Head Start program teacher; a  
            licensing worker or licensing evaluator employed by a  
            licensing agency as defined; a public assistance worker; an  
            employee of a child care institution, including, but not  
            limited to, foster parents, group home personnel, and  
            personnel of residential care facilities; a social worker,  
            probation officer, or parole officer; an employee of a school  
            district police or security department; any person who is an  
            administrator or presenter of, or a counselor in, a child  
            abuse prevention program in any public or private school; a  
            district attorney investigator, inspector, or local child  
            support agency caseworker unless the investigator, inspector,  
            or caseworker is working with an attorney appointed to  
            represent a minor; a peace officer, as defined, who is not  
            otherwise described in this section; a firefighter, except for  
            volunteer firefighters; a physician and surgeon, psychiatrist,  








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            psychologist, dentist, resident, intern, podiatrist,  
            chiropractor, licensed nurse, dental hygienist, optometrist,  
            marriage and family therapist, clinical social worker,  
            professional clinical counselor, or any other person who is  
            currently licensed as a health care professional as specified;  
            any emergency medical technician I or II, paramedic, or other  
            person certified to provide emergency medical services; a  
            registered psychological assistant; a marriage and family  
            therapist trainee, as defined; a registered unlicensed  
            marriage and family therapist intern; a state or county public  
            health employee who treats a minor for venereal disease or any  
            other condition; a coroner; a medical examiner, or any other  
            person who performs autopsies; a commercial film and  
            photographic print processor, as defined; a child visitation  
            monitor, as defined; an animal control officer or humane  
            society officer, as defined; a clergy member, as defined; any  
            custodian of records of a clergy member, as specified; any  
            employee of any police department, county sheriff's  
            department, county probation department, or county welfare  
            department; an employee or volunteer of a Court Appointed  
            Special Advocate program, as defined; any custodial officer,  
            as defined; any person providing services to a minor child, as  
            specified; an alcohol and drug counselor, as defined; a  
            clinical counselor trainee, as defined; and a registered  
            clinical counselor intern.  (Penal Code Section 11165.7(a).)

          7)States that any mandated reporter who fails to report an  
            incident of known or reasonably suspected child abuse or  
            neglect is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by up to 6  
            months confinement in a county jail, by a fine of $1,000, or  
            by both that imprisonment and fine.  States that if a mandated  
            reporter intentionally conceals his or her failure to report  
            an incident known by the mandated reporter to be abuse or  
            severe neglect, the failure to report is a continuing offense  
            until a specified agency discovers the offense.  (Penal Code  
            Section 11166(c).)

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown

           COMMENTS  :   

           1)Author's Statement :  According to the author, "It is hard to  
            imagine a youth desiring to be taken into police custody or  
            returned by police to a home the youth has fled. Many of the  
            unaccompanied minors on the street are foster youth that have  








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            fled the child welfare system and feel the system has failed  
            them. Allowing mandated reporters to not report solely based  
            on homelessness allows the youth to access services and the  
            service providers that specialize in homeless youth services  
            to effectively do their jobs. Most importantly, the barrier  
            keeping many youth from seeking services is removed and we are  
            able to reduce the number of homeless youth on the streets  
            engaging in risky behavior."

           2)Background  :  Youth most often contribute family conflict and  
            breakdown-commonly abuse or neglect, alcohol or drug addiction  
            of a family member, pregnancy, and rejection over sexual  
            orientation-as the major reason for their homelessness or  
            episodes of running away.  (Adrienne L. Fernandes,  
            Congressional Research Service, Runaway and Homeless Youth:  
            Demographics, Programs, and Emerging Issues, (January 2007) p.  
            6.)  Additionally, a sizeable portion of homeless youth  
            reported being physically or sexually abused at home in the  
            prior year or feared abuse upon returning home.  (Id. at pp.  
            6-7.)   

          According to the author, "Studies have shown that only 1 in 12  
            unaccompanied youth seek services, like shelter, health care,  
            food, education, employment, etc., largely due to the fear of  
            being referred to law enforcement or child welfare."
           
          3)State Estimates of Homeless Youth  :  As reported by the  
            California Homeless Youth Project, the size of the homeless  
            youth population in the state is not known as that data is not  
            reliably collected.  The California Homeless Youth Project  
            states:

               The total number of young people who are staying in  
               shelters, sleeping on their friends' couches and  
               floors, staying in abandoned buildings, camping in  
               parks or woods, and living on the streets in  
               California is not known. In addition, there is not a  
               reliable estimate based on state-level data. While  
               limited data on homeless youth is reported to one  
               department, the state has not collected information on  
               this population through periodic surveys and does not  
               have a comprehensive reporting system. 

               The John Burton Foundation for Children without Homes  
               and the California Coalition for Youth extrapolated  








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               the following state estimate from national data:  
               200,000 homeless youth ages 12 to17, along with  
               numerous 18 to 24 year-olds, are likely to be homeless  
               over the course of a year.  In the absence of an  
               established and reliable statewide estimate of  
               homeless youth, this number has been widely adopted.   
               (Lisa K. Foster, MSW, MPA, California Homeless Youth  
               Project, Estimating California's Homeless Youth  
               Population (Oct. 2010) p. 4 (footnotes omitted).) 

            Overrepresented in the homeless population are lesbian,  
            gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth.  According  
            to the California Homeless Youth Project, estimates range  
            from 7% of homeless youth receiving services to 39% of  
            street youth are LGBT.  (California Homeless Youth  
            Project, Youth Homelessness in California: A Quick  
            Overview, p. 2.)  Moreover, LGBT youth leave home more  
            frequently and are subject to greater victimization than  
            heterosexual homeless youth while on the street.  (Ibid.)

           4)Arguments in Support  :

             a)   According to the  National Association for the Education  
               of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY)  , "Educators and  
               youth service providers know that young people often do not  
               seek services for fear of being reported to child welfare.   
               Over the past six months, NAEHCY surveyed school district  
               homeless liaisons and homeless youth service providers in  
               San Diego and Sacramento about barriers to youth receiving  
               services.  The number one barrier to homeless youth under  
               18 seeking services was: 'Youth are afraid to seek services  
               due to fears of being reported to police or CPS (foster  
               care).'  A draft report from Massachusetts Appleseed Center  
               for Law and Justice shares similar results for a survey of  
               service providers in that state:  Nearly 85% of the  
               providers agreed that fear of being reported to the state  
               prevents youth from coming forward to access needed  
               services."  (Internal citations omitted.)

             b)   The  California Teachers Association (CTA)  states, "Child  
               abuse is a crime, while homelessness is simply a condition  
               we would like to change.  CTA believes that the mere fact  
               of homelessness does not equate to abuse or neglect.   
               Children living in multi-family dwellings who are deemed  
               homeless certainly should not be considered neglected.   








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               Additionally, homeless but conscientious parents who  
               otherwise would reach out for assistance are intimidated in  
               doing so when a teacher is mandated to report them for  
               neglect because of their residential status."

           5)Related Legislation  :  

              a)   AB 309 (Mitchell) clarifies requirements pertaining to  
               CalFresh applications submitted by unaccompanied homeless  
               children and youth.  AB 309 is pending referral by the  
               Senate Rules Committee.
              
              b)   AB 951 (Medina) requires the local educational agency to  
               train its school administrators and certified and  
               classified staff at least once a year regarding the  
               educational rights of homeless children and youth.  AB 951  
               is awaiting a hearing in the Assembly Appropriations  
               Committee.

             c)   SB 177 (Liu) requires the Department of Social Services  
               to convene a workgroup to develop policies and practices to  
               support homeless children and youths and to ensure that  
               child abuse and neglect reporting requirements do not  
               create barriers to the school enrollment and attendance.   
               SB 177 is awaiting a hearing in the Senate Appropriations  
               Committee.

           6)Prior Legislation  :  SB 123 (Liu), of the 2011-12 Legislative  
            Session, would have required the California Emergency  
            Management Agency, in collaboration with specified entities,  
            to develop a statewide plan for runaway, homeless, and  
            exploited youth.  SB 123 was held on the Senate Appropriations  
            Committee suspense file.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          California Coalition for Youth
          California Teachers Association
          National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and  
          Youth
          National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter

           Opposition 








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          None
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :    Shaun Naidu / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744