BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 424
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Date of Hearing: March 24, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Mark Stone, Chair
AB 424
(Beth Gaines) - As Amended March 18, 2015
PROPOSED CONSENT
SUBJECT: Court-appointed child advocates: wards
KEY ISSUE: IN ORDER TO BETTER PROTECT YOUTH IN THE JUVENILE
COURT SYSTEM, SHOULD THE LAW BE CLARIFIED TO EXPLICITLY ALLOW A
JUVENILE COURT JUDGE TO APPOINT A COURT-APPOINTED SPECIAL
ADVOCATE (CASA) ON BEHALF OF A WARD?
SYNOPSIS
When children are removed from their families due to abuse or
neglect, social workers with a county child welfare agency
oversee their cases, dependency counsel represent them,
relatives, foster parents or group homes care for them and the
court makes all key decisions. However, all too often social
workers and dependency counsel have too many cases to adequately
give each child the time and attention that the child needs. In
addition, foster care placements may change frequently, leaving
the child without a constant adult in his or her life. In an
attempt to better understand the child's needs and provide some
constancy for the child, the juvenile court may appoint a CASA
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to advocate on behalf of the child. A CASA is a trained and
supervised volunteer, appointed by the judge, who generally
works with one or two children at a time. A CASA can make all
the difference in the life of an abused or neglected child by
understanding the child's needs and best interest, working with
the parties and closely monitoring the case for the court. This
non-controversial bill clarifies that CASAs can be appointed,
not just to advocate on behalf of foster children and nonminor
foster youth, but also wards subject to juvenile court
jurisdiction. This bill is supported by all of the judges from
El Dorado Superior Court and the Juvenile Court Judges of
California, and has no known opposition.
SUMMARY: Allows a Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) to be
appointed in a delinquency proceeding. Specifically, this bill:
1)Provides that a CASA may be appointed on behalf of a ward who
is subject to juvenile court jurisdiction.
2)Allows a CASA to participate in any delinquency proceeding
after the adjudication of delinquency and in any dual-status
proceeding (for youth who may be both dependents and wards of
the juvenile court).
3)Provides that a CASA is not prevented from appearing in a
delinquency or criminal court proceeding when the CASA is
acting as a support person to the child or is in court on
behalf of a child who is a crime victim.
4)Clarifies that a CASA is considered to be court personnel for
purposes of access to court records, as provided, thus
allowing the CASA access to his or her appointed child's case
file.
5)Revises definitions for "child," "dependent," and "nonminor
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dependent," and defines "ward."
EXISTING LAW:
1)Provides that a juvenile court has jurisdiction over a child
who is subject to abuse or neglect. (Welfare and Institutions
Code Section 300. Unless stated otherwise, all further
statutory references are to that code.)
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. (Sections 601 and
602.)
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. Notwithstanding the 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. (Section 241.1.)
4)Allows a judge in a dependency proceeding to appoint a CASA
for a minor or nonminor dependent. Requires each CASA to
provide the court with independent, factual information about
the child or nonminor dependent, and represent the best
interests of the children involved. Requires the court to
determine the CASA's duties in each case that he or she has
been appointed, which may include interviewing and observing
the child and reviewing appropriate reports. Requires the
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CASA to report the results of the investigation to the court.
Requires that otherwise confidential information reviewed by a
CASA during the course of his or her duties remains
confidential. (Section 100 et seq.)
5)Provides that nothing in the CASA statutory scheme permits a
CASA to participate in a criminal proceeding or in a
proceeding to declare a person a ward of the juvenile court.
Rule of Court definition of CASAs provides that they present
the best interest of children in both dependency and wardship
proceedings. (Section 109; California Rule of Court Section
5.655(b).)
6)Limits access to juvenile case files, as defined, to specified
individuals and officials, including the child's parent or
guardian, attorneys for the parties, court and state
personnel, including law enforcement and child protective
services, and school district officials. Prohibits any party
authorized to inspect a juvenile court case file from
disseminating the file or its contents unless otherwise
permitted. (Section 827(a).)
FISCAL EFFECT: As currently in print this bill is keyed fiscal.
COMMENTS: This non-controversial bill seeks to clarify that
CASAs can be appointed, not just to advocate on behalf of
dependent and nonminor dependents, but also wards subject to
juvenile court jurisdiction. In support of the bill, the author
writes: "In El Dorado County, and certain other counties around
the state, judges appoint CASAs to represent wards to help
facilitate the rehabilitation of the ward. While existing law
does not expressly prohibit the appointment of a CASA, there are
serious questions raised as to the legality of these
appointments, and further the liability imposed on both the
court and CASAs. This bill will remedy that issue."
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Unique Role of CASAs in Advocating for Foster Children: When
children are removed from their families due to abuse or
neglect, social workers with a county child welfare agency
oversee their cases, dependency counsel represent them,
relatives, foster parents or group homes care for them and the
court makes all key decisions. However, all too often social
workers and dependency counsel have too many cases to adequately
give each one the time and attention it needs. In addition,
foster care placements may change frequently, leaving the child
without a constant adult in his or her life.
In an attempt to better understand the child's needs and provide
some constancy for the child, the juvenile court may appoint a
CASA when the court determines that a child requires CASA
services. A CASA is a trained and supervised volunteer,
appointed at the discretion of the juvenile court judge. CASAs
make a real difference in the life of an abused or neglected
child by understanding the child's needs and best interest,
working with the parties and closely monitoring the case for the
court. CASAs can be the one constant in the child's life, there
to advocate for the child. Because CASAs usually advocate on
behalf of one or two cases at a time, and commit to a minimum of
a year of service to each child, they build relationships with
each child, spending time with them, gathering facts about their
life so they can report back to the judge, who can then, in
turn, make better decisions as to what is best for the child.
The judges of the El Dorado Superior Court, who support the
bill, succinctly explain the importance of CASAs, both to the
child and to the court:
The appointment of a CASA [] can be critical to achieving
the best possible result in a child's case. Many timers
the adult appointed to advocate for the child is the only
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stable adult in the child's life. Volunteers interact with
the child differently than CPS social workers and probation
officers. The attorneys in the case have many other
responsibilities, and are generally unable to develop the
type of personal connection that a CASA advocate has with
the child. This relationship provides the child with a
positive adult role model. The interaction between the
child and the advocate helps from the basis of the reports
that are provided to the court before decisions are made
that affect the future of the child.
Current Law Unclear as to Whether CASAs May be Appointed For
Wards: Current law clearly states that a CASA may be appointed
for a foster child or a nonminor dependent, but is less than
clear when it comes to wards of the court. While statutory
language provides that nothing in the CASA statutory scheme
permits a CASA to participate in a criminal proceeding or in a
proceeding to declare a person a ward of the juvenile court, the
rules of court provides that CASAs set forth the best interest
of children in both dependency and wardship proceedings. Many
courts today already appoint CASAs in delinquency proceedings,
but some courts apparently do not, based on the restrictive
language in the statute. This bill clarifies that CASAs may be
appointed for wards, but limits their appointment until after
the court has made its initial adjudication of delinquency.
This ensures that CASAs are not used to investigate a ward's
alleged crime, which is the job of law enforcement. Instead,
CASAs in delinquency cases are used the same way that CASAs in
dependency court are used - to find out what is best for the
youth and to advocate on the youth's behalf.
Foster Youth Can Often End Up in the Delinquency System, But
Still Need Support and Advocacy From CASAs: Foster youth are
far more likely than the general population to become involved
with the juvenile justice system:
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Youth put in care were three times more likely to be
arrested, convicted, and imprisoned as adults compared to
those who were allowed to remain at home. This indicates
that, after controlling for abuse severity, foster care
experience has some additional impact on future
criminality beyond the effects of abuse and neglect?. For
children and juveniles in out-of-home placements,
experiences of abuse and neglect are often compounded by
other negative experiences and factors?. The extensive
needs of children who are placed in foster care often go
unmet, increasing the likelihood that youth will engage
in future delinquent behavior.
(Erin McLaughlin, Dual-System Youth: The Need for Systems
Integration to Improve Outcomes for Foster Youth who Commit
Delinquent Acts 16-17 (2009).) Foster youth are "not only more
likely to be arrested as juveniles than their peers not in care,
they are also more likely to be arrested at a younger age and
more likely to recidivate." (Id. at 11.) By clarifying that
CASAs can be appointed for delinquent youth, this bill
appropriately recognizes that foster youth may end up in the
delinquency system, but that these youth will still need and
deserve the help and support of a caring adult - their CASA.
Dual Status Jurisdiction: In an effort to allow for better
oversight of youth who are involved with both the foster care
and delinquency systems, counties, should they so elect, may
adopt dual status protocols which permit children to be both
dependents and wards at the same time. (AB 129 (Cohn), Chap.
468, Stats. 2004.) Dual status for children who are both wards
and dependents allows for better oversight and coordination
between child welfare and probation. 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
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juvenile court. According to the Judicial Council website, 15
of California's 58 counties have elected to develop these
protocols.
This bill specifically permits a CASA to participate in dual
status proceedings, thus ensuring that the foster youth's caring
CASA is able to be there when the youth gets into trouble, and
properly advocate for the youth in that proceeding.
This Bill Also Cleans-Up Other CASAs Statutory Provisions to
Ensure That CASAs Can Best Advocate on Behalf of Children: Some
of the CASA statutes have not been amended for years, and, as a
result, the author rightly proposes to do some necessary, but
mostly technical, clean-up to some of the governing provisions.
In particular, in order to ensure that CASAs can properly do
their job, the bill clarifies that CASAs may access the child's
juvenile court file, just like the child's lawyer, parents, and
court personnel can do. Like everyone else authorized to
inspect a juvenile court case file, a CASA would be prohibited
from disseminating the file or its contents unless otherwise
permitted. In addition, current law makes clear that otherwise
confidential information reviewed by a CASA during the course of
his or her duties remains confidential, thus ensuring that
confidential information is protected.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
The Judges of the El Dorado Superior Court
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Juvenile Court Judges of California
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Leora Gershenzon / JUD. / (916) 319-2334