BILL NUMBER: SB 528 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Yee
FEBRUARY 21, 2013
An act to amend Sections 369 and 16002.5 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, relating to juveniles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 528, as introduced, Yee. Dependents: care and treatment: minor
and nonminor dependent parents.
Under existing law, minors are authorized to consent to medical
and other treatment under certain circumstances, including the
diagnosis and treatment of sexual assault, medical care relating to
the prevention or treatment of pregnancy, treatment of infectious,
contagious, and communicable diseases, mental health treatment, and
treatment for alcohol and drug abuse.
Under existing law, a child may come within the jurisdiction of
the juvenile court and become a dependent child of the court under
certain circumstances, including in cases of abuse and neglect. Under
existing law, when a minor has been, or has a petition filed with
the court to be, adjudged a dependent child of the court, the court
may authorize, or order that a social worker may authorize, medical
and other care for the minor, as prescribed. Under existing law, a
social worker may, without court order, authorize medical and other
care for a minor in emergency situations, as specified.
This bill would specify that nothing in those provisions shall be
construed to limit the rights of dependent children to consent to
specified types of medical and other care, including the diagnosis
and treatment of sexual assault, medical care relating to the
prevention or treatment of pregnancy, treatment of infectious,
contagious, and communicable diseases, mental health treatment, and
treatment for alcohol and drug abuse. This bill would require a
dependent child's social worker, if the child is 10 years of age or
older, to ensure that the child is informed of his or her right as a
minor to consent to and receive those health services, and provided
with prescribed information regarding, among other things,
reproductive health care.
Existing law declares the intent of the Legislature to maintain
the continuity of the family unit and to support and preserve
families headed by minor parents and nonminor dependent parents, as
defined, and provides that, to the greatest extent possible, minor
parents and their children living in foster care shall be provided
with access to services that target supporting, maintaining, and
developing the parent-child bond and the minor parent's ability to
provide a permanent and safe home for the child. Under existing law,
minor parents are required to be given the ability to attend school,
complete homework, and participate in age and developmentally
appropriate activities separate from parenting.
This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to ensure
that complete and accurate data on pregnant and parenting minor and
nonminor dependents and their children is collected, and would
require child welfare agencies to ensure that minor parents and
nonminor dependent parents have access to social workers or resource
specialists who have received specified training, and that case plans
are developed and updated through a prescribed team decisionmaking
process. This bill would require child welfare agencies, local
educational agencies, and child care resource and referral agencies
to make reasonable and coordinated efforts to ensure that minor
parents and nonminor dependent parents who have not completed high
school have access to school programs that provide onsite or
coordinated child care, and that minor parents are given priority for
subsidized child care.
By requiring social workers and county agencies to perform
additional duties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 369 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
369. (a) Whenever any If a
person is taken into temporary custody under Article 7
(commencing with Section 305) and is in need of medical, surgical,
dental, or other remedial care, the social worker may, upon the
recommendation of the attending physician and surgeon or, if the
person needs dental care and there is an attending dentist, the
attending dentist, authorize the performance of the medical,
surgical, dental, or other remedial care. The social worker shall
notify the parent, guardian, or person standing in loco parentis of
the person, if any, of the care found to be needed before that care
is provided, and if the parent, guardian, or person standing in loco
parentis objects, that care shall be given only upon order of the
court in the exercise of its discretion.
(b) Whenever If it
appears to the juvenile court that any a
person concerning whom a petition has been filed with the court
is in need of medical, surgical, dental, or other remedial care, and
that there is no parent, guardian, or person standing in loco
parentis capable of authorizing or willing to authorize the remedial
care or treatment for that person, the court, upon the written
recommendation of a licensed physician and surgeon or, if the person
needs dental care, a licensed dentist, and after due notice to the
parent, guardian, or person standing in loco parentis, if any, may
make an order authorizing the performance of the necessary medical,
surgical, dental, or other remedial care for that person.
(c) Whenever If a
dependent child of the juvenile court is placed by order of the court
within the care and custody or under the supervision of a social
worker of the county in which where the
dependent child resides and it appears to the court that there is no
parent, guardian, or person standing in loco parentis capable of
authorizing or willing to authorize medical, surgical, dental, or
other remedial care or treatment for the dependent child, the court
may, after due notice to the parent, guardian, or person standing in
loco parentis, if any, order that the social worker may authorize the
medical, surgical, dental, or other remedial care for the dependent
child, by licensed practitioners, as may from time to time
appear necessary.
(d) Whenever If it appears that a
child otherwise within subdivision (a), (b), or (c) requires
immediate emergency medical, surgical, or other remedial care in an
emergency situation, that care may be provided by a licensed
physician and surgeon or, if the child needs dental care in an
emergency situation, by a licensed dentist, without a court order and
upon authorization of a social worker. The social worker shall make
reasonable efforts to obtain the consent of, or to notify, the
parent, guardian, or person standing in loco parentis prior to
authorizing emergency medical, surgical, dental, or other remedial
care. "Emergency situation," for the purposes of this subdivision
means a child requires immediate treatment for the alleviation of
severe pain or an immediate diagnosis and treatment of an
unforeseeable medical, surgical, dental, or other remedial condition
or contagious disease which if not immediately diagnosed and treated,
would lead to serious disability or death.
(e) In any case in which If
the court orders the performance of any medical, surgical,
dental, or other remedial care pursuant to this section, the court
may also make an order authorizing the release of information
concerning that care to social workers, parole officers, or any other
qualified individuals or agencies caring for or acting in the
interest and welfare of the child under order, commitment, or
approval of the court.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the
right of a parent, guardian, or person standing in loco parentis, who
has not been deprived of the custody or control of the child by
order of the court, in providing any medical, surgical, dental, or
other remedial treatment recognized or permitted under the laws of
this state.
(g) The parent of any a person
described in this section may authorize the performance of medical,
surgical, dental, or other remedial care provided for in this section
notwithstanding his or her age or marital status. In nonemergency
situations situations, the parent
authorizing the care shall notify the other parent prior to the
administration of that care.
(h) Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the
rights of dependent children, pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with
Section 6920) of Part 4 of Division 11 of the Family Code, to consent
to, among other things, the diagnosis and treatment of sexual
assault, medical care relating to the prevention or treatment of
pregnancy, including contraception, abortion, and prenatal care,
treatment of infectious, contagious, or communicable diseases, mental
health treatment, and treatment for alcohol and drug abuse. If a
dependent child is 10 years of age or older, his or her social worker
shall ensure the child is informed of his or her right as a minor to
consent to and receive those health services, as necessary, and
provided with age-appropriate information about reproductive health
care and the prevention of unplanned pregnancies and sexually
transmitted diseases.
SEC. 2. Section 16002.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
16002.5. It is the intent of the Legislature to maintain the
continuity of the family unit and to support and preserve families
headed by minor parents and nonminor dependent parents who are
themselves under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court by ensuring
that minor parents and their children are placed together in as
family-like a setting as possible, unless it has been determined that
placement together poses a risk to the child. It is also the
intent of the Legislature to ensure that complet e and
accurate data on pregnant and parenting minor and nonminor
dependents and their children is collected, and that the State
Department of Social Services ensures that the Child
Welfare Services/Case Management System is effectively utilized to
obtain this data.
(a) To the greatest extent possible, dependent
minor parents and their children living in foster care shall be
provided with access to existing services for which they may be
eligible, that are specifically targeted at supporting, maintaining,
and developing both the parent-child bond and the minor parent's
ability to provide a permanent and safe home for the child. Examples
of these services may include, but shall not be
are not limited to, child care, parenting classes, child
development classes, and frequent visitation.
(b) Child welfare agencies shall ensure that minor parents and
nonminor dependent parents have access to social workers or resource
specialists who have received training on the needs of teenage
parents and available resources, including, but not limited to,
maternal and child health programs, child care, and child development
classes, and that case plans for minor and nonminor dependent
parents are developed and updated through a team decisionmaking
process that includes the teenage parent, family members, and other
supportive adults, and the specially trained social worker or
resource specialist.
(b)
( c) The minor parent shall be given the
ability to attend school, complete homework, and participate in age
and developmentally appropriate activities unrelated to and separate
from parenting.
(d) Child welfare agencies, local educational agencies, and child
care resource and referral agencies shall make reasonable and
coordinated efforts to ensure that minor parents and nonminor
dependent parents who have not completed high school have access to
school programs that provide onsite or coordinated child care, and
that minor dependent parents are given priority for subsidized child
care.
(c)
( e) Foster care placements for minor
parents and their children shall demonstrate a willingness and
ability to provide support and assistance to dependent minor parents
and their children.
(d)
( f) Contact between the child, the
custodial parent, and the noncustodial parent shall be facilitated
when if that contact is found to be in
the best interest of the child.
(e)
( g) For the purpose of this section, "child"
refers to the child born to the minor parent.
(f)
( h) For the purpose of this section, "minor
parent" refers to a dependent child who is also a parent.
(g)
(i) For the purpose of this section, "nonminor
dependent parent" refers to a nonminor as described in subdivision
(v) of Section 11400 who also is a parent.
SEC. 3. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.