BILL NUMBER: AB 260 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Lopez
FEBRUARY 9, 2015
An act to amend Sections 300 and 16002.5 of, and to add Section
825.5 to, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to foster care.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 260, as introduced, Lopez. Foster care: parenting youth.
Existing law establishes the jurisdiction of the juvenile court,
which may adjudge a child to be a dependent of the court under
certain circumstances, including when the child has been left without
any provision for support or when a parent or guardian fails to
provide the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical
treatment. Existing law provides that the Legislature declares that a
child whose parent has been adjudged a dependent child of the court
shall not be considered at risk of abuse or neglect solely because of
the age, dependent status, or foster care status of the parent.
This bill would additionally declare that a child whose parent has
been adjudged a dependent child of the court shall not be considered
at risk of abuse or neglect solely on the basis of information
concerning the parent's placement history, behaviors, health or
mental health diagnoses, or any other circumstances, occurring prior
to the birth of the child.
Existing law requires the clerk of the superior court to open a
separate court file for nonminor dependents under the dependency,
delinquency, or transition jurisdiction of the court and limits
access to those files.
This bill would require the clerk of the superior court to
maintain court files and records concerning a minor dependent parent
or a nonminor dependent parent separate from court files and records
concerning his or her child, as specified. The bill would prohibit
dependency court records concerning a minor dependent parent or a
nonminor dependent parent from being disclosed to counsel in the
child's dependency proceedings or admitted as evidence in the child's
dependency procedings, except pursuant to a certain court order.
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 dependant parents and nonminor dependent
parents. Existing law requires foster care placements for minor
parents and their children to demonstrate a willingness and ability
to provide support and assistance to minor parents and their
children.
This bill would additionally require those foster care placements
to support the preservation of the family unit and provide preventive
services to address any concerns regarding the safety, health, or
well-being of the child, and to prevent, whenever possible, the
filing of a petition to declare the child a dependent of the juvenile
court.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 300 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
300. Any child who comes within any of the following descriptions
is within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court which may adjudge
that person to be a dependent child of the court:
(a) The child has suffered, or there is a substantial risk that
the child will suffer, serious physical harm inflicted
nonaccidentally upon the child by the child's parent or guardian. For
the purposes of this subdivision, a court may find there is a
substantial risk of serious future injury based on the manner in
which a less serious injury was inflicted, a history of repeated
inflictions of injuries on the child or the child's siblings, or a
combination of these and other actions by the parent or guardian
which indicate the child is at risk of serious physical harm. For
purposes of this subdivision, "serious physical harm" does not
include reasonable and age-appropriate spanking to the buttocks where
there is no evidence of serious physical injury.
(b) (1) The child has suffered, or there is a substantial risk
that the child will suffer, serious physical harm or illness, as a
result of the failure or inability of his or her parent or guardian
to adequately supervise or protect the child, or the willful or
negligent failure of the child's parent or guardian to adequately
supervise or protect the child from the conduct of the custodian with
whom the child has been left, or by the willful or negligent failure
of the parent or guardian to provide the child with adequate food,
clothing, shelter, or medical treatment, or by the inability of the
parent or guardian to provide regular care for the child due to the
parent's or guardian's mental illness, developmental disability, or
substance abuse. No child shall be found to be a person described by
this subdivision solely due to the lack of an emergency shelter for
the family. Whenever it is alleged that a child comes within the
jurisdiction of the court on the basis of the parent's or guardian's
willful failure to provide adequate medical treatment or specific
decision to provide spiritual treatment through prayer, the court
shall give deference to the parent's or guardian's medical treatment,
nontreatment, or spiritual treatment through prayer alone in
accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or
religious denomination, by an accredited practitioner thereof, and
shall not assume jurisdiction unless necessary to protect the child
from suffering serious physical harm or illness. In making its
determination, the court shall consider (1) the nature of the
treatment proposed by the parent or guardian, (2) the risks to the
child posed by the course of treatment or nontreatment proposed by
the parent or guardian, (3) the risk, if any, of the course of
treatment being proposed by the petitioning agency, and (4) the
likely success of the courses of treatment or nontreatment proposed
by the parent or guardian and agency. The child shall continue to be
a dependent child pursuant to this subdivision only so long as is
necessary to protect the child from risk of suffering serious
physical harm or illness.
(2) The Legislature finds and declares that a child who is
sexually trafficked, as described in Section 236.1 of the Penal Code,
or who receives food or shelter in exchange for, or who is paid to
perform, sexual acts described in Section 236.1 or 11165.1 of the
Penal Code, and whose parent or guardian failed to, or was unable to,
protect the child, is within the description of this subdivision,
and that this finding is declaratory of existing law. These children
shall be known as commercially sexually exploited children.
(c) The child is suffering serious emotional damage, or is at
substantial risk of suffering serious emotional damage, evidenced by
severe anxiety, depression, withdrawal, or untoward aggressive
behavior toward self or others, as a result of the conduct of the
parent or guardian or who has no parent or guardian capable of
providing appropriate care. No child shall be found to be a person
described by this subdivision if the willful failure of the parent or
guardian to provide adequate mental health treatment is based on a
sincerely held religious belief and if a less intrusive judicial
intervention is available.
(d) The child has been sexually abused, or there is a substantial
risk that the child will be sexually abused, as defined in Section
11165.1 of the Penal Code, by his or her parent or guardian or a
member of his or her household, or the parent or guardian has failed
to adequately protect the child from sexual abuse when the parent or
guardian knew or reasonably should have known that the child was in
danger of sexual abuse.
(e) The child is under the age of five years and has suffered
severe physical abuse by a parent, or by any person known by the
parent, if the parent knew or reasonably should have known that the
person was physically abusing the child. For the purposes of this
subdivision, "severe physical abuse" means any of the following: any
single act of abuse which causes physical trauma of sufficient
severity that, if left untreated, would cause permanent physical
disfigurement, permanent physical disability, or death; any single
act of sexual abuse which causes significant bleeding, deep bruising,
or significant external or internal swelling; or more than one act
of physical abuse, each of which causes bleeding, deep bruising,
significant external or internal swelling, bone fracture, or
unconsciousness; or the willful, prolonged failure to provide
adequate food. A child may not be removed from the physical custody
of his or her parent or guardian on the basis of a finding of severe
physical abuse unless the social worker has made an allegation of
severe physical abuse pursuant to Section 332.
(f) The child's parent or guardian caused the death of another
child through abuse or neglect.
(g) The child has been left without any provision for support;
physical custody of the child has been voluntarily surrendered
pursuant to Section 1255.7 of the Health and Safety Code and the
child has not been reclaimed within the 14-day period specified in
subdivision (e) of that section; the child's parent has been
incarcerated or institutionalized and cannot arrange for the care of
the child; or a relative or other adult custodian with whom the child
resides or has been left is unwilling or unable to provide care or
support for the child, the whereabouts of the parent are unknown, and
reasonable efforts to locate the parent have been unsuccessful.
(h) The child has been freed for adoption by one or both parents
for 12 months by either relinquishment or termination of parental
rights or an adoption petition has not been granted.
(i) The child has been subjected to an act or acts of cruelty by
the parent or guardian or a member of his or her household, or the
parent or guardian has failed to adequately protect the child from an
act or acts of cruelty when the parent or guardian knew or
reasonably should have known that the child was in danger of being
subjected to an act or acts of cruelty.
(j) The child's sibling has been abused or neglected, as defined
in subdivision (a), (b), (d), (e), or (i), and there is a substantial
risk that the child will be abused or neglected, as defined in those
subdivisions. The court shall consider the circumstances surrounding
the abuse or neglect of the sibling, the age and gender of each
child, the nature of the abuse or neglect of the sibling, the mental
condition of the parent or guardian, and any other factors the court
considers probative in determining whether there is a substantial
risk to the child.
It is the intent of the Legislature that nothing in this section
disrupt the family unnecessarily or intrude inappropriately into
family life, prohibit the use of reasonable methods of parental
discipline, or prescribe a particular method of parenting. Further,
nothing in this section is intended to limit the offering of
voluntary services to those families in need of assistance but who do
not come within the descriptions of this section. To the extent that
savings accrue to the state from child welfare services funding
obtained as a result of the enactment of the act that enacted this
section, those savings shall be used to promote services which
support family maintenance and family reunification plans, such as
client transportation, out-of-home respite care, parenting training,
and the provision of temporary or emergency in-home caretakers and
persons teaching and demonstrating homemaking skills. The Legislature
further declares that a physical disability, such as blindness or
deafness, is no bar to the raising of happy and well-adjusted
children and that a court's determination pursuant to this section
shall center upon whether a parent's disability prevents him or her
from exercising care and control. The Legislature further declares
that a child whose parent has been adjudged a dependent child of the
court pursuant to this section shall not be considered to be at risk
of abuse or neglect solely because of the age, dependent status, or
foster care status of the parent. parent, or
solely on the basis of information concerning the parent's placement
history, behaviors, health or mental health diagnoses, or any other
circumstances, occurring prior to the birth of the child.
As used in this section, "guardian" means the legal guardian of
the child.
SEC. 2. Section 825.5 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
825.5. The clerk of the superior court shall maintain court files
and records concerning a minor dependent parent or a nonminor
dependent parent of a child who is the subject of a dependency
petition separate from court files and records concerning the child.
Dependency court records concerning a minor dependent parent or a
nonminor dependent parent shall not be disclosed to counsel in the
child's dependency proceedings or admitted as evidence in the child's
dependency procedings except pursuant to a court order issued in
response to a petition filed under subparagraph (P) of paragraph (1)
of subdivision (a) of Section 827.
SEC. 3. 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 nonminor dependent 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
complete and accurate data on parenting minor and nonminor dependents
is collected, and that the State Department of Social Services shall
ensure that the following information is publicly available on a
quarterly basis by county about parenting minor and nonminor
dependents: total number of parenting minor and nonminor dependents
in each county, their age, their ethnic group, their placement type,
their time in care, the number of children they have, and whether
their children are court dependents.
(a) To the greatest extent possible, minor parents and nonminor
dependent parents and their children 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 dependent parent's ability to provide
a permanent and safe home for the child. Examples of these services
may include, but are not limited to, child care, parenting classes,
child development classes, and frequent visitation.
(b) Child welfare agencies may provide minor parents and nonminor
dependent parents with 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. Child welfare agencies are encouraged to update the case
plans for pregnant and parenting dependents within 60 calendar days
of the date the agency is informed of a pregnancy. When updating the
case plan, child welfare agencies may hold a specialized conference
to assist pregnant or parenting foster youth and nonminor dependents
with planning for healthy parenting and identifying appropriate
resources and services, and to inform the case plan. The specialized
conference shall include the pregnant or parenting minor or nonminor
dependent, family members, and other supportive adults, and the
specially trained social worker or resource specialist. The
specialized conference may include other individuals, including, but
not limited to, a public health nurse, a community health worker, or
other personnel with a comprehensive knowledge of available maternal
and child resources, including public benefit programs. Participation
in the specialized conference shall be voluntary on the part of the
foster youth or nonminor dependent and assistance in identifying and
accessing resources shall not be dependent on participation in the
conference.
(c) The minor parents and nonminor dependent parents 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 may 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.
(e) Foster care placements for minor parents and nonminor
dependent parents and their children shall demonstrate a willingness
and ability to provide support and assistance to minor parents and
nonminor dependent parents and their children.
children, shall support the preservation of the family unit, and
shall provide preventive services to address any concerns regarding
the safety, health, or well -being of the child, and to
prevent, whenever possible, the filing of a petition to declare the
child a dep endent of the juvenile court pursuant to
Section 300.
(f) Contact between the child, the custodial parent, and the
noncustodial parent shall be facilitated if that contact is found to
be in the best interest of the child.
(g) For the purpose of this section, "child" refers to the child
born to the minor parent.
(h) For the purpose of this section, "minor parent" refers to a
dependent child who is also a parent.
(i) For the purpose of this section, "nonminor dependent parent"
refers to a nonminor dependent, as described in
subdivision (v) of Section 11400 11400,
who also is a parent.