BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2607
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2607 (Skinner)
As Amended August 22, 2014
Majority vote
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |62-0 |(April 21, |SENATE: |33-1 |(August 26, |
| | |2014) | | |2014) |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: JUD.
SUMMARY : Requires that minors or nonminors be released from
juvenile detention as ordered, unless the court determines that
a delay in release from detention is reasonable. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Provides that a minor or nonminor shall be released from
juvenile detention upon an out-of-home placement order unless
the court determines that a delay in the release from
detention is reasonable, as specified.
2)Provides that, when the juvenile court holds its required
hearing every 15 days that a minor or nonminor is detained
pending execution of a court order of commitment or any other
disposition and considers, as required, the actions taken by
the probation department to carry out the court's order, the
reason for the delay in executing the order, and the effects
of the delay on the youth, the following shall not be
considered reasonable delays:
a) The probation officer's failure to identify a specific,
appropriate, and available placement for the minor in a
case plan, as specified, upon the court issuing an
out-of-home placement, as specified, if the minor was
previously adjudged to be a dependent child of the court
and was in foster care at the time the petition was filed
to adjudicate the minor to be a ward of the court on the
ground that the minor is delinquent, as specified;
b) Delays caused by administrative processes, including,
but not limited to, the work load of probation officers; or
c) Delays in convening any meetings between agencies, as
defined.
AB 2607
Page 2
3)Requires the probation officer, prior to the hearing in 2)
above, to contact appropriate placements in order to identify
specific, appropriate and available placements for the minor
or nonminor.
4)Provides that 2) above, does not preclude the court from
determining that any other delay is not reasonable, as
provided, including a failure by the probation officer, for a
minor or nonminor who was a dependent when he or she became a
ward of the court, to identify a placement, unless the
probation officer documents that his or her efforts to find an
appropriate placement were reasonable.
5)If the court finds the delay in releasing the youth
unreasonable, the court must order the probation officer to
assess the availability of suitable temporary placements or
other alternatives to detention in a secure setting. Allows
the court, after consultation with all interested parties at
the hearing, to place youth in a suitable nonsecure placement.
Allows the court to make any reasonable orders for the
youth's care and support, as defined.
6)Allows a ward to be placed in an approved home of a resource
family, as defined.
7)States the intent of the Legislature that minor and nonminor
wards are to be released expeditiously and that any
unreasonable periods of detention must be eliminated because
they are not in the best interests of the minor or nonminor.
The Senate amendments require the probation officer to contact
appropriate placements; allow the court to determine that other
delays in release are unreasonable; if the court finds that the
delay is unreasonable, require the court to have suitable
nonsecure placements assessed and allow a ward to be placed in a
nonsecure placement, as provided; and allow a ward to be placed
with a resource family.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that a juvenile court has jurisdiction over a child
as a dependent child when that child is subject to abuse or
neglect.
AB 2607
Page 3
2)Provides that a juvenile court has jurisdiction over a child
when that child has committed acts that trigger delinquency
jurisdiction rendering the child a ward.
3)Requires that, if a child is both a dependent and a
delinquent, the probation department and child welfare
services department must initially determine which status will
best serve the interests of the child and the protection of
society. Requires that the recommendations of both
departments be presented to the juvenile court, which
determines which status is appropriate for the child. A child
may not be designated simultaneously both a dependent child
and a ward of the court.
4)Notwithstanding 3) above, authorizes the probation department
and the child welfare services department in any county, in
consultation with the presiding juvenile court judge, to
create a dual status protocol which would permit a minor who
meets specified criteria to be designated simultaneously as
both a dependent child and a ward of the juvenile court.
5)Allows the juvenile court to order a ward be detained in a
detention home or otherwise, as provided. Requires the
juvenile court, when it holds its required hearing every 15
days that a minor is detained pending execution of a court
order of commitment or any other disposition, to consider the
actions taken by the probation department to carry out the
court's order, the reason for the delay in executing the
order, and the effects of the delay on the youth.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : If a foster child commits a crime and becomes a ward
of the court as a delinquent, the child's status as a dependent
is terminated since a child cannot, as a general rule and except
as discussed below, be both a dependent and a ward of the
juvenile court at the same time. If the child successfully
completes a detention by the juvenile court, the child will
normally be returned to his or her parents. However, if the
child came to delinquency out of the foster care system, it may
not be safe for that child to return home. In most counties,
the court can either send the child home and wait to see if
child welfare is called in again, or the court can retain
delinquency jurisdiction over the child in order to be able to
place the child outside the home. In many instances neither of
AB 2607
Page 4
these options will be in the best interest of a child who has
already been subject to abuse or neglect and the systemic
difficulties found in both the foster care and delinquency
programs.
In an effort to address this issue and allow for better
oversight of youth who have been involved in both the foster
care and delinquency systems, in 2004 the Legislature passed
legislation to allow counties, should they so choose, to adopt
dual status protocols which permit children to be both
dependents and wards at the same time. (AB 129 (Cohn), Chapter
468, Statutes of 2004.) Dual status for children who are both
wards and dependents allows for better oversight and
coordination between child welfare and probation and helps
ensure that children who have completed their detention are not
held in limbo with no home in which to return.
This voluntary program authorizes the probation department and
the child welfare services department in any county, in
consultation with the presiding juvenile court judge, to create
a dual status protocol to permit a youth who meets specified
criteria to be designated simultaneously as both a dependent
child and a ward of the juvenile court. According to the
Judicial Council Web site, 15 of California's 58 counties have
elected to develop these protocols: Butte, Colusa, Del Norte,
Los Angeles, Inyo, Modoc, Placer, Riverside, San Bernardino, San
Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Siskiyou, Sonoma and
Stanislaus. The remaining 43 counties have not elected to
establish dual jurisdiction protocols.
One of the biggest concerns in counties that have not adopted
dual-status protocols is what happens to a dependent child
turned ward after his or her detention period ends. In many
cases, without a safe home in which to return, children have had
to remain in detention beyond their term of confinement while
the probation officer attempts to find a safe place for them to
live. This bill seeks to alleviate that problem by specifically
requiring that a youth in juvenile detention be released from
detention when the court orders so, unless the court determines
that a delay in release from detention is reasonable.
Under existing law, the court is already required to hold a
hearing every 15 days that a youth is detained pending execution
of a court order of commitment or any other disposition to
consider the actions taken by the probation department to carry
AB 2607
Page 5
out the court's order, the reason for the delay in executing the
order, and the effects of the delay on the youth. This bill
provides that the following three possible reasons for delay are
not considered reasonable:
1)If the minor was previously adjudicated a dependent of the
court and was in foster care at the time the petition to
adjudicate the minor a ward of the court was filed, the
probation officer's failure to identify a specific,
appropriate and available placement for the minor in the case
plan, as defined, upon an order of the juvenile court.
2)Delays caused by the administrative processes, including, but
not limited to, workload of probation officers.
3)Delays in convening meetings between agencies, as defined.
By adding the last two provisions, this bill protects not just
foster youth who enter the juvenile justice system, but all
wards who require out-of-home placement. This bill helps ensure
that these youth are not confined in a detention facility beyond
the time required by a court simply because of administrative
delays. This bill also allows the court to find that other
reasons for delay are also not reasonable.
Analysis Prepared by : Leora Gershenzon / JUD. / (916)
319-2334
FN:
0005402