BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1730 Hearing Date: June 21, 2016
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|Author: |Atkins |
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|Version: |May 27, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|AA |
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Subject: Human Trafficking: Pilot Program for Minors
HISTORY
Source: Author
Prior Legislation:None
Support: California Public Defenders Association; California
Statewide Law Enforcement Association; County of San
Diego; Fraternal Order of Police; Los Angeles
Professional Peace Officers Association; San Diego
County Board of Supervisors; San Diego County District
Attorney; State Coalition of Probation Organizations
Opposition:None known
Assembly Floor Vote: 80 - 0
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to require the Board of State and
Community Corrections to establish pilot projects in three
specified counties to address the need for services relating to
the commercial sexual exploitation of youth, as specified.
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Current law establishes the "Board of State and Community
Corrections" ("BSCC"), as specified. (Penal Code § 6024.)
Current law provides the following mission for the BSCC:
The mission of the board shall include providing
statewide leadership, coordination, and technical
assistance to promote effective state and local
efforts and partnerships in California's adult and
juvenile criminal justice system, including addressing
gang problems. This mission shall reflect the
principle of aligning fiscal policy and correctional
practices, including, but not limited to prevention,
intervention, suppression, supervision, and
incapacitation, to promote a justice investment
strategy that fits each county and is consistent with
the integrated statewide goal of improved public
safety through cost-effective, promising, and
evidence-based strategies for managing criminal
justice populations. (Penal Code § 6024(b).)
This bill would require the BSCC to "establish a pilot project
in each of the Counties of Sacramento, San Diego, and Santa
Clara, in which, if the county elects to participate in the
pilot project, the chief probation officer of the county shall
create a program to provide services to youth within his or her
jurisdiction that addresses the need for services relating to
the commercial sexual exploitation of youth."
This bill would require that programs receiving funding for this
project "be licensed by the State Department of Social Services
and may include, but shall not be limited to, programs that do
the following:
(1) Assess the youth victim's condition, including a review
of the extent of trauma suffered, physical and mental
health, and the status of age-appropriate developmental
factors, such as educational status.
(2) Serve exploited youth in a services-rich environment,
including trauma-informed counseling services.
(3) Research options, make recommendations, and work to find
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solutions to provide specialized services and permanent
placement solutions for the youth.
(4) Provide staff who are trained to work with, and
experienced in working with, child sex trafficking victims.
(5) Include peer mentors in the design and provision of
service delivery.
This bill contains uncodified legislative findings and
declarations concerning human trafficking and the commercial
sexual exploitation of children in the United States, as
specified.
RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION
For the past several years this Committee has scrutinized
legislation referred to its jurisdiction for any potential
impact on prison overcrowding. Mindful of the United States
Supreme Court ruling and federal court orders relating to the
state's ability to provide a constitutional level of health care
to its inmate population and the related issue of prison
overcrowding, this Committee has applied its "ROCA" policy as a
content-neutral, provisional measure necessary to ensure that
the Legislature does not erode progress in reducing prison
overcrowding.
On February 10, 2014, the federal court ordered California to
reduce its in-state adult institution population to 137.5% of
design capacity by February 28, 2016, as follows:
143% of design bed capacity by June 30, 2014;
141.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2015; and,
137.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2016.
In December of 2015 the administration reported that as "of
December 9, 2015, 112,510 inmates were housed in the State's 34
adult institutions, which amounts to 136.0% of design bed
capacity, and 5,264 inmates were housed in out-of-state
facilities. The current population is 1,212 inmates below the
final court-ordered population benchmark of 137.5% of design bed
capacity, and has been under that benchmark since February
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2015." (Defendants' December 2015 Status Report in Response to
February 10, 2014 Order, 2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC, 3-Judge
Court, Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (fn. omitted).) One
year ago, 115,826 inmates were housed in the State's 34 adult
institutions, which amounted to 140.0% of design bed capacity,
and 8,864 inmates were housed in out-of-state facilities.
(Defendants' December 2014 Status Report in Response to February
10, 2014 Order, 2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC, 3-Judge Court, Coleman
v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (fn. omitted).)
While significant gains have been made in reducing the prison
population, the state must stabilize these advances and
demonstrate to the federal court that California has in place
the "durable solution" to prison overcrowding "consistently
demanded" by the court. (Opinion Re: Order Granting in Part and
Denying in Part Defendants' Request For Extension of December
31, 2013 Deadline, NO. 2:90-cv-0520 LKK DAD (PC), 3-Judge Court,
Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (2-10-14). The Committee's
consideration of bills that may impact the prison population
therefore will be informed by the following questions:
Whether a proposal erodes a measure which has contributed
to reducing the prison population;
Whether a proposal addresses a major area of public safety
or criminal activity for which there is no other
reasonable, appropriate remedy;
Whether a proposal addresses a crime which is directly
dangerous to the physical safety of others for which there
is no other reasonably appropriate sanction;
Whether a proposal corrects a constitutional problem or
legislative drafting error; and
Whether a proposal proposes penalties which are
proportionate, and cannot be achieved through any other
reasonably appropriate remedy.
COMMENTS
1.Stated Need for This Bill
The author states:
Human trafficking is modern day slavery and,
unfortunately, this crime is growing rapidly in our
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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 include
assessment of the youth victim's 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.
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2.Background: Probation 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 have resources to address the needs of
those juveniles as victims of human trafficking.
3.Background: Alameda and Los Angeles Pilot Projects
The Legislature has authorized pilot programs in Alameda
and Los Angeles Counties to create, implement, and deliver
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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 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 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. . . .
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The Legislature authorized the same pilot project for Los
Angeles County. (SB 1279 (Pavley), Chapter 116, Statutes of
2010.) The sunsets for these programs would be eliminated
under SB 1064 (Hancock), currently pending in the Assembly.
4.Background: Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Minors
Addressing the treatment of children who engage in acts of
prostitution has been an issue policy makers have been
examining closely in recent years. Earlier this year this
Committee passed SB 1322 (Mitchell), which would
decriminalize prostitution committed by minors. That bill
is pending in the Assembly.
As explained in this Committee's analysis of SB 1322,
recent years have seen a great increase in awareness of and
concerns about minors - most often girls - engaged in
commercial sex activities. Organized, coerced trafficking
has received the most attention. Sex trafficking has been
described as sexual slavery. Trafficked minors are
isolated, controlled by and made dependent on their
exploiters, and can even be perversely loyal because of the
manufactured dependency.
A 2013 report on commercial sexual exploitation of minors
published by the Institute of Medicine (supported by a
grant between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S.
Department of Justice) concluded in part:
It is important to understand that commercial sexual
exploitation and sex trafficking of minors are
manifestations of child abuse. By doing so, one can
gather valuable insights from the nation's work on
child abuse and neglect over the past several decades
and gain a better understanding of the challenges that
must be overcome to confront these crimes. . . .
This report reveals that the complex needs of these
young people are not being adequately met by either
criminal justice or child protection systems. Further,
mandatory reporting of suspected cases will not help
these youth if the resources they need are
unavailable. It is time to refocus the perspective on
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these problems and direct efforts toward preventing
commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of
minors; identifying youth at risk and those who have
become ensnared; and developing effective, evidence-
and trauma-informed approaches that can enable them to
reclaim their lives.
. . . The committee's ultimate goals in this report
are to identify what is known about commercial sexual
exploitation and sex trafficking of minors and to
define strategies for improving prevention and
identification of and interventions for victims and
survivors of these crimes. As noted in Chapter 1, the
committee was guided in its work by three principles:
1. Commercial sexual exploitation and sex
trafficking of minors should be understood as acts
of abuse and violence against children and
adolescents.
2. Minors who are commercially sexually
exploited or trafficked for sexual purposes should
not be considered criminals.
3. Identification of victims and survivors and
any intervention, above all, should do no further
harm to any child or adolescent.<1>
This report included the following recommendation:
All national, state, local, tribal, and territorial
jurisdictions should develop laws and policies that
redirect young victims and survivors of commercial
sexual exploitation and sex trafficking from arrest
and prosecution as criminals or adjudication as
delinquents to systems, agencies, and services that
are equipped to meet their needs. Such laws should
apply to all children and adolescents under age 18.
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<1> IOM (Institute of Medicine) and NRC (National Research
Council). 2013. Confronting commercial sexual exploitation and
sex trafficking of minors in the United States. Washington, DC:
The National Academies Press.
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Drawing on its analysis of federal, state, tribal, and
local laws and their application . . . , as well as
new understandings of adolescent development . . . ,
the committee concluded that current laws are
inadequate to prevent, identify, and respond to
commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of
minors. Therefore, the committee urges states and
local, tribal, and territorial jurisdictions to
develop laws that, at a minimum,
" prevent commercially sexually exploited
children and adolescents from being arrested or
prosecuted for prostitution;
" provide victims and survivors of commercial
sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of minors
with needed support services; and
" apply to children and adolescents at least up to
age 18.
These laws will need to be evaluated over time to
determine best practices. Further, laws and practices
that divert victims from the criminal or juvenile
justice system to the child welfare system to receive
supportive services could include older adolescents
(over age 18) who have been victims of commercial
sexual exploitation or sex trafficking since
childhood. The committee believes a number of other
recent legislative initiatives may also merit further
consideration, with care being taken to avoid adverse
consequences for victims and survivors while
maintaining strong penalties for exploiters. These
initiatives include decriminalization of prostitution
for minors in recognition that they are victims, not
criminals. . . . . (emphasis in original)<2>
1.Suggested Consideration
As currently drafted the bills specifies the counties that
could conduct the pilot programs the bill proposes. The
author may wish to consider making this a competitive
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<2> Id.
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grant, open to counties wishing to apply.
6. Amendments
The author offers the following amendments to be taken in
Committee:
Add the following evaluation component for the
pilot created by this bill:
A county that establishes a pilot program pursuant
to this section shall conduct an evaluation of its
impact and effectiveness. The evaluation shall
include, but not be limited to, monitoring the
program's effect on youth being served, if any, and
its effectiveness with respect to program
participants, including outcome-related data for
program participants compared to youth who do not
participate in the pilot.
Permit participating counties the flexibility to
decide if the county foster care or probation agency
or both would participate in the pilot.
State that the intent of the pilot is to test a
service model which would produce improved outcomes
youth victims of trafficking.
Add a 5-year sunset.
Delete the findings and declarations contained in
Section one.
-- END -
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