BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 424
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Date of Hearing: April 15, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
424 (Beth Gaines) - As Amended March 18, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY: This bill allows a Court-Appointed Special Advocate
(CASA) to be appointed in a delinquency proceeding.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Allows a CASA to be appointed on behalf of a ward subject to
juvenile court jurisdiction.
AB 424
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2)Allows a CASA to participate in any delinquency proceeding
after the adjudication of delinquency and in any dual-status
proceeding.
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, thus allowing the CASA
access to his or her appointed child's case file.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Minor and absorbable General Fund costs to train additional CASA
volunteers.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose. According to the author, although current law is
ambiguous regarding the appointment of CASAs for wards of the
court, many courts today already appoint CASAs in delinquency
proceedings. However, some courts do not, based on the
restrictive language in the statute. This bill clarifies that
CASAs can be appointed to advocate on behalf of wards subject
to juvenile court jurisdiction. This bill limits a CASA's
appointment to a ward until after the court has made its
initial adjudication of delinquency.
2.Background. A CASA is a trained and supervised volunteer,
AB 424
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appointed at the discretion of the juvenile court judge to
help determine the best interests of the child and to advocate
on the child's behalf. When a child is removed from a family
due to abuse or neglect, county social workers, dependency
counsel, foster parents, and the court are all involved.
However, social workers and dependency counsel often have too
many cases to adequately give each one the attention it needs.
In addition, foster care placements change, sometimes
frequently, leaving a child without a constant adult advocate.
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.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081