BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 738|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 738
Author: Yee (D)
Amended: 5/7/13
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 6-0, 4/23/13
AYES: Yee, Berryhill, Emmerson, Evans, Liu, Wright
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/30/13
AYES: Evans, Walters, Anderson, Corbett, Jackson, Leno, Monning
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/13
AYES: De Le�n, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SUBJECT : Sexually exploited and trafficked minors
SOURCE : Coalition Against Slavery and Trafficking
International Justice Mission
Junior League of California
DIGEST : This bill provides that a child may come within the
jurisdiction of the juvenile dependency court if the minor is a
victim of human trafficking, a victim of sexual exploitation, or
receives food or shelter in exchange for sexual acts, or is paid
to perform sexual acts, and the parent or guardian failed or was
unable to protect the child. This bill also requires the
training for administrators of group home facilities, licensed
foster parents, and relative or nonrelative extended family
member caregivers to include instruction on cultural competency
and sensitivity related to providing adequate care to a sexually
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exploited and trafficked minor. This bill requires the
California Child Welfare Council (CCWC) and California Health
and Human Services Agency (CHHS) to convene an interagency
workgroup, as provided. This workgroup is required to provide
recommendations and updates to the State Plan to Serve and
Protect Sexually Exploited and Trafficked Minors by January 30,
2015.
ANALYSIS :
Existing federal law:
1.Enacts the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 which
increased penalties for trafficking, provided for mandatory
restitution for victims and increased funding for victim
services.
2.Enacts a series of Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Acts in 2003, 2005, 2008, and 2013 which
mandated new information campaigns, required an annual report
from the Attorney General to Congress, created a new civil
cause of action allowing trafficking victims to sue their
traffickers in federal district court, and most recently
enhanced support for state and local efforts to address
victims of human trafficking, especially minor sex trafficking
victims.
3.Establishes the President's Interagency Task Force to Monitor
and Combat Trafficking in Persons, chaired by the Secretary of
State, bringing together federal departments and agencies to
develop a multi-agency approach to human trafficking.
4.Includes, in defining the term "victim of a severe form of
trafficking in persons," a person who has been subjected to
sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by
force, fraud, or coercion and in which the person induced to
perform such act has not attained 18 years of age.
Existing law:
1.Establishes the criteria by which a child who has suffered, or
is at risk of suffering, significant abuse or harm is within
the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge that
person to be a dependent child of the court.
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2.Includes, within the definition of "child welfare services,"
public social services that are directed toward the prevention
of exploitation or delinquency of children as well as services
provided on behalf of children alleged to be the victims of
exploitation.
3.Provides that a minor who violates a state, federal, or local
law is within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which
may adjudge such person to be a ward of the court.
4.Provides that a person who engages in or agrees to engage in
any act of prostitution is guilty of disorderly conduct, a
misdemeanor.
5.Provides that evidence that a victim of human trafficking, as
defined, has engaged in any commercial sexual act as a result
of being a victim of human trafficking is inadmissible to
prove the victim's criminal liability for that activity.
6.Provides that sexual intercourse with a minor, who is not the
spouse of the perpetrator, is unlawful and punishable as
either a misdemeanor or felony, as specified.
7.Establishes the CCWC to serve as an advisory body responsible
for improving the collaboration and processes of the multiple
agencies and the courts that service the children and youth in
the child welfare and foster care systems.
8.Requires the California Department of Social Services (DSS) to
develop and establish a certification program to ensure that
group home administrators have appropriate training.
9.Requires every licensed foster parent to complete a minimum of
12 hours of foster parent training, prior to the placement of
any foster children and a minimum of eight hours of foster
parent training annually.
This bill:
1.Authorizes the juvenile court to exercise jurisdiction over a
child who is a victim of human trafficking, as specified, or
who receives food or shelter in exchange for sexual acts, or
is paid to perform sexual acts, and the parent or guardian
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failed to or was unable to protect the child.
2.Requires, by January 30, 2014, the CHHS to convene an
interagency workgroup, in consultation with the CCWC, to
develop a State Plan to Serve and Protect Sexually Exploited
and Trafficked Minors.
3.Requires the interagency workgroup to be comprised of the
Department of Health Care Services, the Children and Family
Services Division of DSS, the Division of Juvenile Justice in
the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), and
the Department of Education (DOE), as well as specified
stakeholders responsible to address the needs of the youth.
4.Requires that the plan be submitted to the Legislature,
Judicial Council, and the Governor no later than January 30,
2015, and include the following:
A. An evaluation of juvenile court jurisdiction pertaining
to child trafficking, including the adequacy of existing
jurisdictional statutes under existing law;
B. A multiagency-coordinated child trafficking response
protocol and guidelines for local implementation addressing
identification, screening, assessment, immediate and safe
shelter, and clear lines of ongoing responsibility;
C. The identified funding sources and timeline for
creation, if new specialized services and programs are
needed as specified;
D. Identification of training needs of child welfare staff,
law enforcement, and probation staff, as specified; and the
development of data collection and sharing protocols among
agencies.
1.Requires, that in developing the plan, the workgroup consider
existing laws and practices in other states and jurisdictions,
and the outcomes and consequences of such policies, as well as
the adequacy of existing protocols.
2.Requires group home administrator certification programs to
include instruction on cultural competency and sensitivity
relating to, and best practices for, providing adequate care
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to a sexually exploited and trafficked minor in out of home
care.
3.Requires foster parent training programs, including post
placement annual training programs, to provide instruction on
cultural competency and sensitivity relating to, and best
practices for, providing adequate care to a sexually exploited
and trafficked minor in out of home care.
4.Requires community college district foster care education
programs for relative and non-relative extended family member
caregivers to include instruction on cultural competency and
sensitivity relating to, and best practices for, providing
adequate care to a sexually exploited and trafficked minor in
out of home care.
Background
Human trafficking is an estimated $32 billion-a-year global
industry. After drug trafficking, human trafficking is the
world's second most profitable criminal enterprise. The United
States is one of the top destination countries for trafficking
in persons, and California - a populous border state with a
significant immigrant population and the world's ninth largest
economy - is one of the nation's top four destination states for
trafficking human beings. (Office of the Attorney General, The
State of Human Trafficking in California, 2012.)
According to the Attorney General, significant new challenges in
combating this crime have emerged in the last five years.
Criminal organizations and street gangs have increasingly turned
to human trafficking because they find it more profitable with
lower risk than drug trafficking. Additionally, new innovations
in technology make it possible for traffickers to recruit
victims and perpetrate their crimes online.
Prior Legislation
AB 799 (Swanson, Chapter 51, Statutes of 2011), extended until
January 1, 2012, the sunset of a authorizing the Alameda County
District Attorney to create a pilot project, contingent upon
local funding, for the purposes of developing a comprehensive,
replicative, multidisciplinary model to address the needs and
effective treatment of commercially sexually exploited minors.
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SB 1279 (Pavley, Chapter 116, Statutes of 2010), authorizes,
until January 1, 2014, a discretionary pilot project in Los
Angeles County to encourage the development of a comprehensive,
multidisciplinary model reflecting the best practices for the
response of law enforcement and the criminal and juvenile
justice systems to identify, assess and address the needs of
commercially sexually exploited children who have been arrested
or detained by local law enforcement for prostitution crimes.
AB 499 (Swanson, Chapter 359, Statutes of 2008), authorizes a
discretionary pilot project in Alameda County to encourage the
development of a comprehensive, replicative, multidisciplinary
model reflecting the best practices for the response of law
enforcement and the criminal and juvenile justice systems to
identify, assess and address the needs of commercially sexually
exploited children who have been arrested, as specified.
SB 180 (Kuehl, Chapter 239, Statutes of 2005), establishes the
California Alliance to Combat Trafficking and Slavery Task Force
to be chaired by the California Attorney General and set forth
its course of action and physical make-up.
AB 22 (Lieber, Chapter 240, Statutes of 2005), establishes civil
and criminal penalties for trafficking in human beings, allows
for forfeiture of assets derived from human trafficking, makes
legislative findings and requires law enforcement agencies to
provide Law Enforcement Agency Endorsement to trafficking
victims, creates the California Alliance to Combat Trafficking
Task Force, and provides restitution to victims.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Unknown, potential minor net increase in annual child
welfare services costs (General Fund) to the extent
sexually exploited and trafficked minors are placed under
the jurisdiction of the juvenile dependency court.
One-time costs of $10,000 (General Fund) to the UC to
develop new curriculum component to the required training
program for foster care providers. Annual costs of $65,000
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to provide training for this new component to foster
caregivers.
Increased costs to the CHHS in the range of $30,000
(General Fund) to lead the workgroup and prepare and submit
the state plan by January 1, 2015.
Costs of approximately $15,000 (General Fund) per
participating department (CDE, DSS, CDCR) to engage in the
review of existing programs and services and development of
the state plan by January 2015.
Major future cost pressure to implement the
recommendations in the state plan that are to include (1) a
multiagency-coordinated response protocol and guidelines
that address identification, screening, and assessment of
victims, (2) identification of specialized services and
programs, funding sources, and timelines, (3) training
needs of law enforcement, child welfare staff, and
probation staff, and, (4) data collection and sharing
protocols among agencies.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/24/13)
Coalition Against Slavery and Trafficking (co-source)
International Justice Mission (co-source)
Junior League of California (co-source)
Alameda County Foster Youth Alliance
California Alliance of Child and Family Services
California Coalition Against Sexual Assault
Children Now
Children's Law Center
Children's Rights Project at Public Counsel
Crittenton Services for Children and Families
Don't Sell Bodies
Food Chain Workers Alliance
Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission
John Burton Foundation for Children Without Homes
Junior League of Long Beach, Los Angeles, Orange County,
Riverside, Sacramento, and San Diego
Juvenile Court Judges of California
Legal Advocates for Children & Youth
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National Center for Youth Law
National Council of Jewish Women-California
Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California
Polaris Project
Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary
Religious Sisters of Charity
San Francisco Domestic Violence Consortium
San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services
Survivors for Solutions
Thai Community Development Center
The Alliance for Children's Rights
The Art of Yoga Project
U.S. Fund for UNICEF
Westcoast Children's Clinic
Young Minds Advocacy Project
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office:
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) estimates that
over 100,000 children are trafficked annually in the United
States. Three of the FBI's thirteen highest areas of
commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC) are found
in California: San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the San
Diego metropolitan areas. A 2012 report released by
Attorney General Kamala Harris entitled, The State of Human
Trafficking in California, states that in the past two
years, California's nine human trafficking task forces
identified 1,277 victims of human trafficking. Another
report published by the California Child Welfare Council
found that 50% to 80% of CSEC are or were involved in the
child welfare system.
Due to systemic problems in both the child welfare and
juvenile delinquency systems, there is no structure for
where a CSEC is referred to once taken off the streets.
The lack of specialized programs for CSEC, training for law
enforcement and service providers working with CSEC, and
whether CSEC fall under welfare or delinquency are just a
few of the challenges that need to be addressed.
JL:ej 5/25/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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