BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     AB 900


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          Date of Hearing:  May 20, 2015


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                                 Jimmy Gomez, Chair


          AB  
          900 (Levine) - As Amended April 23, 2015


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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  NoReimbursable:  No


          SUMMARY:


          This bill authorizes the establishment of guardianships for  
          youth between ages 18 until 21 who may qualify for federal  
          Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. Specifically, this bill:









                                                                     AB 900


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          1)Allows a probate court, with the consent of the proposed ward,  
            to establish a guardianship of the person for an unmarried  
            individual, who is at least 18 years of age, but not yet 21,  
            in connection with a petition to make necessary findings  
            regarding SIJS, as specified.


          2)Allows a court, with the consent or at the request of the  
            ward, to extend the guardianship of the person beyond 18 years  
            of age in order to allow the ward to complete the application  
            process with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for  
            classification as a special immigrant juvenile, as specified.   



          3)Requires Judicial Council to adopt necessary rules and forms  
            by July 1, 2016.


          FISCAL EFFECT:


          Potential significant costs to the courts for additional  
          guardianship procedures. The average cost of court time for each  
          such procedure is estimated at around $1,000 for the judicial  
          officer and support staff. The number additional guardianship  
          cases as a result of this bill is unknown, but information from  
          the author's office estimates that, based on the total number of  
          unaccompanied immigrant children released to sponsors in  
          California last year (5,800), up to 1,000 could be impacted by  
          this bill, resulting in court costs of $1 million. The total  
          number of such children released to sponsors thus far this year  
          is on pace to be only one half of last year's total, so ongoing  
          impacts to the courts could be significantly less.


          COMMENTS:









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          1)Background. "Special Immigrant Juvenile Status" is a federal  
            immigration classification that may help undocumented,  
            vulnerable children and youth remain in the United States.   
            Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act  
            of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-457, any unmarried person under age  
            21 who has been abused, neglected or abandoned by a parent may  
            seek classification as a Special Immigrant Juvenile and then  
            immediately apply for lawful permanent resident status.  To be  
            eligible for SIJS, a state juvenile court must first find  
            that:


             a)   The child is a dependent of a juvenile court or  
               committed to the custody of a state agency or a  
               court-appointed individual;


             b)   Reunification with one or both of the child's parents is  
               not viable due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or a similar  
               basis found under state law; and 


             c)   Return to the child's country of nationality or last  
               habitual residence is not in his or her best interest.


            The first finding originally only applied to children under  
            the direct jurisdiction of the juvenile court, thus limiting  
            eligibility for SIJS.  This was expanded in 2008 to include  
            children with a court-appointed custodian, thus allowing the  
            required findings to be made on behalf of children with  
            guardianships established by a probate court and custodial  
            arrangements established by a family court.  This  
            significantly expanded the number of immigrant children  
            eligible for SIJS.  Once a state court makes the requisite  
            findings, the child may apply to the U.S. Citizenship and  
            Immigration Services for SIJS.









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            Last year, in AB 873 (Budget and Fiscal Review), Chap. 685,  
            Stats. 2014, the Legislature specifically provided that  
            superior courts, including  juvenile, probate, or family  
            courts, have jurisdiction to make judicial determinations  
            regarding the custody and care of juveniles within the meaning  
            of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, and requires  
            the court to make an order containing the necessary findings  
            for SIJS, if there is evidence to support them.


            For youths over 18 who are not dependents of the juvenile  
            court, however, there is currently no state court proceeding  
            under which the requisite state court findings can be made. As  
            a result, there is a gap between who the federal government  
            will assist under SIJS - youth under 21 who meet the necessary  
            findings - and those who can get the necessary findings in  
            California - all youth under 18, but only those over 18 who  
            are nonminor dependents of the juvenile court.  


          2)Purpose. This bill seeks to close the gap explained above by  
            allowing probate courts to establish guardianships for youth  
            who are at least 18, but less than 21, and to extend existing  
            guardianships up to 21, if done in connection with a petition  
            to make the necessary SIJS findings.  Thus, this bill allows  
            for the necessary state court finding to help these youth  
            become legal residents of California.  


          Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081















                                                                     AB 900


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