BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1730
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 1, 2016
Counsel: David Billingsley
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Bill Quirk, Chair
AB
1730 (Atkins) - As Introduced January 28, 2016
SUMMARY: Authorizes the chief probation officer of a county to
create a program to provide services to youth within the county
that address the need for services relating to the commercial
sexual exploitation of youth. Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes the chief probation officer of a county to create a
program to provide services to youth within the county that
address the need for services relating to the commercial
sexual exploitation of youth.
2)Provides that funding for these purposes shall be contingent
upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act.
3)Provides that funds appropriated for these purposes shall be
administered by the Board of State and Community Corrections.
EXISTING LAW:
1)States that "sexual exploitation" refers to a person who
knowingly promotes, aids, or assists, employs, uses,
persuades, induces, or coerces a child, or a person
responsible for the welfare of a child, who knowingly permits
or encourages a child to engage in, or assist others to engage
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in, prostitution or a live performance involving obscene
sexual conduct, or to either pose or model alone or with
others for purposes of preparing a film, photograph, negative,
slide, drawing, painting or other pictorial depiction
involving obscene sexual conduct. (Pen. Code § 11165.1, subd.
(c)(2).
2)Permits a city, county, or community-based nonprofit
organization to establish a multiagency, multidisciplinary
family justice center to assist victims of domestic violence,
sexual assault, elder or dependent adult abuse, and human
trafficking, to ensure that victims of abuse are able to
access all needed services in one location in order to enhance
victim safety, increase offender accountability, and improve
access to services for victims of domestic violence, sexual
assault, elder or dependent adult abuse, and human
trafficking. (Pen. Code § 13750, subd.(a).)
3)Allows the County of Alameda, contingent upon local funding,
to establish a pilot project to develop a comprehensive,
multidisciplinary model to address the needs and effective
treatment of commercially sexually exploited minors who have
been arrested or detained by local law enforcement for a
violations of specified prostitution offenses. (Welf. And
Inst. Code §18259, subd. (a).)
4)Allows the District Attorney of the County of Alameda, in
collaboration with county and community-based agencies, to
develop, as a component of the specified pilot project,
protocols for identifying and assessing minors, upon arrest or
detention by law enforcement, who may be victims of commercial
sexual exploitation. (Welf. And Inst. Code § 18259, subd.
(b).)
5)Specifies that the District Attorney of the County of Alameda,
in collaboration with county and community-based agencies that
serve commercially sexually exploited minors, may develop, as
a component of the pilot project described in this chapter, a
diversion program reflecting the best practices to address the
needs and requirements of arrested or detained minors who have
been determined to be victims of commercial sexual
exploitation. (Welf. And Inst. Code §18259, subd. (c).)
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6)Permits the District Attorney of the County of Alameda, in
collaboration with county and community-based agencies, to
form, as a component of the pilot project described in this
chapter, a multidisciplinary team including, but not limited
to, city police departments, the county sheriff's department,
the public defender's office, the probation department, child
protection services, and community-based organizations that
work with or advocate for commercially sexually exploited
minors. (Welf. And Inst. Code § 18259, subd. (d).)
7)Requires the District Attorney of the County of Alameda to
submit a report to the Legislature by April 1, 2016 that
summarizes the activities of the pilot project. (Welf. And
Inst. Code § 18259.1.)
8)States that the authorization for the pilot project in Alameda
County will expire on January 1, 2017, unless extended by the
Legislature. (Welf. And Inst. Code § 18259.5.)
9)Provides that a juvenile convicted of specified offenses
related to prostitution may, upon reaching 18 years of age,
petition the court to have those convictions sealed without
having to demonstrate that they have not been convicted of a
felony or of any misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, or
that rehabilitation has been attained to the satisfaction of
the court. (Pen. Code § 1203.47, subd. (a).)
10)Allows the County of Los Angeles to establish a pilot project
to develop a comprehensive, replicative, multidisciplinary
model to address the needs and effective treatment of
commercially sexually exploited minors who have been arrested
or detained by local law enforcement for a violation of
specified sexual offenses. (Welf. And Inst. Code §18259.7,
subd. (a).)
11)Requires the District Attorney of the County of Los Angeles
to submit a report to the Legislature by April 1, 2016 that
summarizes the activities of the pilot project. (Welf. And
Inst. Code § 18259.7.)
12)States that the authorization for the pilot project in Los
Angeles County will expire on January 1, 2017, unless extended
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by the Legislature. (Welf. And Inst. Code §18259.10.)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
1)Author's Statement: According to the author, "Human
trafficking is modern day slavery and, unfortunately, this
crime is growing rapidly in our state. According to the FBI,
the San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego metropolitan
areas comprise three of the nation's 13 areas of 'high
intensity' child sex trafficking exploitation in the country.
"Currently, many child victims of sex trafficking, once removed
from the sex trade environment, have only two options for
housing: juvenile detention and court-ordered foster care
placement. Due to this limited range of options, juvenile
detention too often means placement of some duration in
juvenile hall. Although the foster care system is building
service capacity, it does not have a suitable array of
specially-tailored service options for this population.
Moreover, in the foster care system, it can take some time to
finalize a long-term placement appropriate for child sex
trafficking victims, and these victims often need a place to
stay immediately after being recovered from their trafficker.
"Consequently, there are few facilities around the state that
have the comprehensive services necessary to assist in the
recovery and care of these child victims. Child sex
trafficking victims have specific needs; many have suffered
the same level of trauma as a prisoner of war. Without these
services, or without a place to go, victims often end up back
on the streets with their traffickers.
"AB 1730 creates a pilot program that would provide commercially
sexually exploited children a safe place to stay with
trauma-informed, mental health services that can help them
recover and thrive. Other aspects of the pilot program's
design criteria will include assessment of the youth victim's
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condition; development and recommendations for permanent
placement solutions; staff experienced to work with these
victims as well as survivor, peer mentors; and a secure and
protective service delivery setting secluded from the victim's
trafficking environment, such as a geographically remote
location, a staff protective presence, or any combination of
strategies intended to protect the victim."
2)Juvenile Probation Department Services: Probation officers
are involved throughout juvenile criminal justice proceedings.
The probation department may be used at the "front end" of
the juvenile justice system for first-time, low-risk offenders
or at the "back end" as an alternative to institutional
confinement for more serious offenders. The responsibilities
of juvenile probation departments include the intake screening
of cases referred to juvenile courts, predisposition or
presentence investigation of juveniles, and court-ordered
supervision of juvenile offenders.
Juvenile probation officers investigate and provide information
to the court about the juvenile's educational status, family
situation, and any risk factors to assist the court in making
decisions at every step in the juvenile process. When the
court makes orders regarding the conduct of the juvenile, the
probation officers are responsible for supervising the
juvenile to ensure they follow those orders.
The primary goal of the juvenile criminal justice system is
rehabilitation of the juvenile. Sentencing by the court and
supervision by probation are meant to further that
rehabilitative goal. As part of their supervisory
responsibilities, the probation officers provide support to
the juvenile and their family to help with the process of
rehabilitation. That support can take the form of classes,
services, or programs offered or facilitated by the probation
department.
Juvenile victims of human trafficking enter the juvenile justice
system when they are arrested for a crime that might, or might
not be, related to the fact that they are a victim of human
trafficking. To the extent that effective rehabilitation for
those juveniles is going to take place, it is important to
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have resources to address the needs of those juveniles as
victims of human trafficking.
3)Alameda County Pilot Project: The Legislature has authorized
pilot programs in Alameda and Los Angeles Counties to create,
implement, and deliver standardized training curricula that
would provide a protocol for law enforcement and social
services to assess and recognize sexually exploited minors
within the juvenile justice system.
The Alameda County pilot project was authorized under AB 499
(Swanson), Chapter 359, Statutes of 2008, is part of a larger
project called "H.E.A.T (Human Exploitation and Trafficking)
Watch." H.E.A.T Watch is a multidisciplinary, multisystem
program that brings together individuals and agencies from law
enforcement, health care, advocacy, victim and support
services, the courts, probation agencies, the commercial
sector, and the community to (1) ensure the safety of victims
and survivors and (2) pursue accountability for exploiters and
traffickers. Strategies employed by H.E.A.T. Watch include,
among others, stimulating community engagement, coordinating
training and information sharing, and coordinating the
delivery of victim and support services.
The program uses a multisector approach to coordinate the
delivery of support services. For example, multidisciplinary
case review (modeled on the multidisciplinary team approach)
is used to create emergency and long-term safety plans.
Referrals for case review are made by law enforcement,
prosecutors, probation officials, and social service
organizations that have come into contact with these youth.
This approach enables members of the multidisciplinary team to
share confidential information with agencies that can assist
youth in need of services and support. (Confronting Commercial
Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking of Minors in the
United States, A Guide for Providers of Victim and Support
Services. Institute of Medicine and National Research Council,
Pp. 30-31.)
In a March 23, 2011 progress report on the AB 499 Diversion
Program, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office (ACDAO)
stated: "As a result of the passage of AB 499, the ACDAO has
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been able to develop a comprehensive system response that
directs Commercially Sexually Exploited Children (CSEC) away
from the criminal justice system and into programs offering
specialized services essential for the stabilization, safety,
and recovery of these vulnerable children. . . .
The Legislature authorized the same pilot project for Los
Angeles County. (SB 1279 (Pavley), Chapter 116, Statutes of
2010.)
4)Labor Trafficking Estimated to be More than Three Times as
Large as Sex Trafficking:
In 2012, the California Department of Justice published a report
about human trafficking in California. The report was
compiled by the Attorney General's Human Trafficking Work
Group. The Work Group was comprised of representatives of
educational institutions, private entities, and a broad
spectrum of law enforcement agencies, governmental agencies,
victim service providers, and technology companies. Included
in the report's findings was an examination of the extent and
nature of human trafficking. The report emphasized that labor
trafficking was under reported compared to sex trafficking.
The report pointed out that labor trafficking was believed to
be 3.5 times as prevalent as sex trafficking. (The State of
Human Trafficking in California (2012), California Department
of Justice, pp. 4, 47.) Given the significance of labor
trafficking, consideration should be given to ensure any
resources devoted to county probation departments to assist
juvenile victims of human trafficking include victims of labor
trafficking.
5)Argument in Support: According to San Diego Office of the
District Attorney, "University of San Diego and Point Loma
Nazarene University released a study that estimates there are
anywhere between 8-thousand to 11-thousand victims trafficked
each year in San Diego. The study also found our local human
trafficking industry generates more than $800-million each
year, supporting an underground economy second only to the
illegal drug trade.
"The study also confirms what our office sees on a daily basis;
local criminal gangs are running many of these sex trafficking
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rings. The report states 85% of local sex trafficking is
being run by individuals involved in gangs.
"AB 1730 will provide the opportunity for the chief probation
officer to create a program that will provide specific
services to youth affected by this criminal enterprise. The
program could also include physical and mental health
assessments for the young victims, and counseling services to
deal with trauma and stigma of being a victim of human
trafficking. Peer mentors may be utilized in the design and
provision of service delivery. This program may also provide
plans for protection of the victim away from the trafficking
environment. These provisions are innovative, and will serve
a very specific victim that current, local services may not be
able to reach."
6)Related Legislation: AB 1731 (Atkins), creates the Statewide
Interagency Human Trafficking Task Force to gather statewide
data on human trafficking, to recommend interagency protocols
and best practices for training and outreach to law
enforcement, victim service providers, and other state and
private sector employees likely to encounter sex trafficking,
and to evaluate and implement approaches to increase public
awareness about human trafficking. AB 1731 will be heard in
this committee today.
7)Prior Legislation:
a) AB 1623 (Atkins), Chapter 85, Statutes of 2014,
authorizes a local government or nonprofit organization to
establish a family justice center to assist specified types
of crime victims, including victims of human trafficking.
b) AB 799 (Swanson), Chapter 51, Statutes of 2011, extended
the pilot program in Alameda County until January 1, 2017
(Please see (d)).
c) SB 1279 (Pavley), Chapter 116, Statutes of 2010,
established a pilot project in Los Angeles County to
create, implement, and deliver standardized training
curricula that would provide a protocol for law enforcement
and social services to assess and recognize sexually
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exploited minors within the juvenile justice system.
d) AB 499 (Swanson), Chapter 359, Statutes of 2008,
established a pilot project in Alameda County to create,
implement, and deliver standardized training curricula that
would provide a protocol for law enforcement and social
services to assess and recognize sexually exploited minors
within the juvenile justice system.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Public Defenders Association
California Statewide Law Enforcement Association
Fraternal Order of Police, California State Lodge
San Diego County Office of the District Attorney
State Coalition of Probation Organizations
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared
by: David Billingsley / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744