BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 879|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 879
Author: Burke (D), et al.
Amended: 7/7/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/9/15
AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning,
Wieckowski
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 4/27/15 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Juveniles: court proceedings: notice
SOURCE: County Welfare Directors Association of California
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
DIGEST: This bill allows, until January 1, 2019, notice of
juvenile dependency hearings to be made by electronic mail if
the county and the court choose to permit service by electronic
mail, and the person to be served has consented to service by
electronic mail by signing a specified form, as provided.
Senate Floor Amendments of 7/7/15 add coauthors and make
technical changes.
ANALYSIS:
AB 879
Page 2
Existing law:
1)Establishes notice requirements for juvenile dependency
proceedings, assigning notification responsibilities to the
social worker, probation officer, and/or the clerk of the
court, depending on the hearing. (Welf. & Inst. Code Secs.
290.1-297.)
2)Requires that certain parties be served with notice of a
juvenile dependency hearing, based on the type and purpose of
the hearing, including:
the mother;
the father or fathers, presumed and alleged;
the legal guardian(s);
the child, if he or she is 10 years of age or older;
any known, dependent siblings, as specified;
adult relatives who are residing in the state, as
specified; and
the attorney for the parent(s) or legal guardian(s).
(Welf. & Inst. Code Secs. 290.1- 297.)
1)Provides that service of the juvenile dependency hearing
notice must be written or oral, if the person being served
cannot read. (Welf. & Inst. Code Secs. 290.1- 297.)
2)Allows the court to require notice of a juvenile dependency
hearing to be made by publication in a newspaper if designated
as the most likely way to give notice to the parent, under
specified conditions. (Welf. & Inst. Code Sec. 296.)
3)Provides that notice involving Indian children shall be given
to the minor's legal parents, guardians, custodian and tribe
by registered or certified mail, as specified. (Welf. & Inst.
Code Secs. 224.2, 290.1-297.)
This bill:
AB 879
Page 3
1)Allows notification in juvenile dependency proceedings to be
provided by electronic mail, as specified, if the county and
the court permit service by electronic mail and the party to
be served has consented to service by electronic mail by
signing Judicial Council Form EFS-005.
2)Permits notice of juvenile dependency proceedings to be
provided to a child 16 years of age or older by electronic
mail only if the following requirements are met:
the city and/or county and the court permit service by
electronic mail; and
the child and the child's attorney have consented to
service by electronic mail by signing Judicial Council Form
EFS-005.
1)Permits notice of juvenile dependency proceedings to be
provided to a child who is 14 or 15 years of age by electronic
mail as well as by regular mail if the following requirements
are met:
the city and/or county and the court permit service by
electronic mail; and
the child and the child's attorney have consented to
service by electronic mail by signing Judicial Council Form
EFS-005.
1)Prohibits notice of juvenile dependency proceedings by
electronic mail in the following circumstances:
for notice of any hearing at which the county is
recommending termination of parental rights, in which case
notice may only be served by electronic mail if in addition
to first-class mail; and
any hearing where the social worker or probation officer
knows or has reason to know that an Indian child is
involved.
Background
AB 879
Page 4
The juvenile dependency system is designed to protect children
from abuse and neglect, while also preserving the rights of
parents and families. (In re Alexander, 152 Cal.App.2d 458).
Thus, any control the dependency system exercises over a child
is subject to a series of hearings and judicial oversight
designed to ensure that parental rights are only limited to the
extent necessary to protect the child.
When a child is suspected to be a victim of abuse or neglect, a
county welfare social worker is required to immediately
investigate the complaint. If the complaint is valid, the child
is removed from a parent's physical custody and may be placed in
the temporary custody of the social worker, a responsible
relative, or guardian. The social worker is required to file a
petition with the juvenile court, and the court then holds a
detention hearing to determine whether the child should be
further detained. If the child is further detained, the court
must then hold a dispositional hearing to ascertain whether
there are child welfare services that would permit the child to
return home, and, if appropriate, order services to reunify the
child and family. In "family reunification" cases where the
child is placed in out-of-home care, and "family maintenance"
cases where the child is returned to the parent's custody, the
juvenile court must hold periodic review hearings, generally
every six months, to monitor the progress of the services being
offered to the family and the best interests of the child.
For each of the above hearings, interested parties must be
notified by mail, as specified. Generally, notice of a hearing
is required to be provided, by the social worker or probation
officer, to the mother, father or fathers, guardian(s), and the
child (if he or she is over 10 years of age), as well as any
known sibling of the child, and the attorney for the parent or
parents. This bill additionally allows notice to be served by
electronic mail, as long the party consents to such service and
electronic mail service is permitted by the county and the
court.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified7/6/15)
AB 879
Page 5
County Welfare Directors Association of California (co-source)
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (co-source)
California College and University Police Chiefs Association
California Probation, Parole and Correctional Association
California State Association of Counties
Judicial Council of California
Juvenile Court Judges of California
San Bernardino County
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Urban Counties Caucus
OPPOSITION: (Verified7/6/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author:
Sending legal notice by regular mail is both time-consuming
and costly for child welfare agencies and the courts, and does
not always result in actual notice to the intended recipient.
In Los Angeles County alone, on average 30 dependency hearings
per day in 20 courtrooms are conducted, leading to
approximately 12,000 hearings per month. For individuals
without a permanent address, receiving court notices in a
timely fashion in order to engage in a hearing is a challenge.
AB 879 adds an additional avenue for complying with notice
requirements in some juvenile court proceedings.
Specifically, AB 879 allows notification of most juvenile
dependency court proceedings to be provided by electronic mail
when the party to be served has consented to service by
electronic mail by signing Judicial Council Form EFS-005. For
hearings that involve the possible termination of parental
rights, however, notice must be provided as required under
current law and may additionally be given by electronic mail.
The provisions of AB 879 are voluntary, and require all
parties - the county, the courts, and the individuals
AB 879
Page 6
themselves to agree to send/receive notices electronically.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 4/27/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang, Chau,
Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly,
Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting,
Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Campos
Prepared by:Nichole Rapier / JUD. / (916) 651-4113
7/8/15 12:02:37
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