BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1702 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 1702 (Mark Stone and Maienschein) As Amended June 16, 2016 Majority vote -------------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: | 76-0 | (May 2, 2016) |SENATE: | 37-0 | (June 30, 2016) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: HUM. S. SUMMARY: Expands the court's ability to deny reunification services to the parent or guardian of a dependent child to include instances in which the court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that the parent or guardian has knowingly participated in or permitted the child's sexual exploitation, as specified. The Senate amendments: 1)Clarify that the provisions of this bill pertain to those parents who knowingly participate in or permit the sexual exploitation of a child. 2)Clarify that instances in which a parent or guardian who AB 1702 Page 2 adequately demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she was coerced into permitting or participating in the sexual exploitation of the child are not subject to the provisions of this bill. EXISTING LAW: 1)Establishes that the purpose of the dependency system is the maximum safety and protection of children who are currently being abused, neglected, or exploited. Provides that the focus is on the preservation of the family, as well as the safety, protection, and physical and emotional well-being of the child. (Welfare and Institutions Code Section (WIC) 300.2) 2)States the intent of the Legislature to preserve and strengthen a child's family ties whenever possible and to reunify a foster youth with his or her biological family whenever possible, or to provide a permanent placement alternative, such as adoption or guardianship. (WIC 16000) 3)Requires the court, if at the initial hearing the juvenile court orders a child be removed from his or her parent or guardian due to abuse or neglect, to order that child welfare reunification services be provided to the family as soon as possible in order to reunify the child with his or her family, if appropriate. (WIC 319(e)) 4)Requires the court, at a dispositional hearing, to order a social worker to provide child welfare services to a child who has been removed from his or her parents' or guardians' custody and to the parents or guardians in order to support the goal of reunification, for a specified time period, except under certain circumstances. Provides that children and families in the child welfare system should typically receive a full six months of reunification services if the child is under three years of age, and twelve months if the child is AB 1702 Page 3 over three years of age, but that may be extended up to 18 or 24 months, as provided. (WIC 361.5(a)) 5)Provides that reunification services need not be provided if the court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that specified conditions exist, including: a) The parent or guardian is suffering from a mental disability that renders the parent incapable of using the reunification services; b) The parent or guardian has caused the death of another child through abuse or neglect; c) The child or a sibling has been adjudicated a dependent as the result of severe physical or sexual abuse; d) The parent or guardian has been convicted of a violent felony; and e) The parent or guardian has a history of drug or alcohol abuse and has failed to comply with treatment programs as provided. (WIC 361.5(b)) 6)Prevents the court from ordering reunification services for a parent or guardian in specified situations, unless the court finds that reunification is in the child's best interest. (WIC 361.5(c)) 7)Allows any party to petition the court to terminate reunification services early, and allows the court to terminate those services after finding, by clear and convincing evidence, that: AB 1702 Page 4 a) Circumstances now exist that, had they previously existed, would have led the court to bypass or not order reunification services; or, b) The action or inaction of the parent or guardian creates a substantial likelihood that reunification will not occur, including but not limited to the parent's or guardian's failure to visit the child, or the failure to participate regularly and make substantive progress in a court-ordered treatment plan. (WIC 388(c)) 8)Defines "sexual exploitation" and "commercial sexual exploitation" of a child. (Penal Code Section (PEN) 11165.1 (c) and (d)) FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel. COMMENTS: Child Welfare Services: The purpose of California's Child Welfare Services (CWS) system is to protect children from abuse and neglect and provide for their health and safety. When children are identified as being at risk of abuse, neglect or abandonment, county juvenile courts hold legal dependency jurisdiction; these children are served by the CWS system through the appointment of a social worker. Through this juvenile dependency system, there are multiple opportunities for the custody of the child, or his or her placement outside of the home, to be evaluated, reviewed and determined by the judicial system, in consultation with the child's social worker, to help provide the best possible services to the child. The CWS system seeks to help children who have been removed from their homes reunify with their parents or guardians, whenever appropriate. However, the court may determine that an alternate permanent placement is more fitting; the court must give preference to AB 1702 Page 5 potential placements in this order: relatives, nonrelative extended family members, or family foster homes. Placement in group homes or other intensive treatment placement settings are considered only in more challenging situations where a child may need stabilization services in order to transition to a less restrictive placement, such as with a relative or foster caregiver. There are currently close to 63,000 children and youth in California's CWS system. Family reunification services: Because the intent of the dependency system is to, whenever possible, reunify children with their families, parents are often provided reunification services in order to safely reunify with their children in foster care. Reunification services often include efforts to address the circumstances under which a child was removed from their parent's custody, including drug and alcohol treatment, anger management counseling, or parenting classes. Currently reunification services may be denied to parents or guardians in order to protect the child from further harm, including a parent who: is a registered sex offender, has willfully abducted the child or a sibling, or has been convicted of a violent felony, among others. Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC): Commercial sexual exploitation of children is defined as the sexual exploitation of children entirely, or at least primarily, for financial or other economic reasons. Under this definition, the economic exchanges may be either monetary or non-monetary (i.e., for food, shelter, drugs). Sex trafficking of minors is defined as the "recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act" where the person is a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident under the age of 18 years. According to Department of Social Services (DSS), approximately 800,000 victims annually are trafficked across international borders worldwide, and between 14,500-17,500 of those victims are trafficked into the United States. Nearly 95% of CSEC victims in the United States are female, and it is estimated that between 50-80% of child victims of commercial sexual exploitation have been involved with the child welfare system, AB 1702 Page 6 according to the National Center for Youth Law. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, it is estimated that one in six endangered runaways were likely sex trafficking victims in 2014. Many experts believe, however, that these statistics are underestimated; challenges arise when identifying victims, collecting and cross-referencing data, and deciding on common definitions in order to collect accurate statistics. Many youth also do not identify as victims or may be reluctant to admit to victimization due to fears of retaliation from traffickers, deportation, or incarceration by law enforcement. Need for this bill: According to the author's office, "The sex trafficking of children is a serious problem in California; three metropolitan areas (San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego) have been rated as 'high intensity child prostitution' areas by the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation]. Particularly at risk are children living in unstable family environments. It is estimated that as many as 59% of children being prostituted are or were formerly in the foster care system according to the Los Angeles County Probation Department. Although the numbers of specific cases are low, there have been instances in which parents have been responsible for the trafficking of their child. It is in these specific instances that extra protections for commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC) are needed. [This bill] will add commercial sexual exploitation of a child to the list of circumstances under which family reunification may be eschewed for the protection of the child. Such a change in law will offer local flexibility to juvenile courts in the decision of whether reunification services should be provided to a parent. It will also provide additional legal protections to foster youth who have been the victim of exploitation. Further, this bill will include new protections in state law that ensure all foster youth who have been sexually exploited are not at risk of further exploitation by their parent or guardian." Analysis Prepared by: Kelsy Castillo / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089 FN: 0003513Click here to enter text. 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