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:
AB 900
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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.
AB 900
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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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