BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2000 Hearing Date: June 28, 2016
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|Author: |Campos |
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|Version: |May 31, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|AA |
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Subject: Wards: Termination of Juvenile Court Jurisdiction
HISTORY
Source: Juvenile Court Judges of California
Prior Legislation:SB 945 (Liu) - Ch. 631, Stats. 2010
Support: Commonweal Juvenile Justice Program; Legal Services
for Prisoners with Children; National Association of
Social Workers; East Bay Children's Law Offices; Youth
Law Center
Opposition:None known
Assembly Floor Vote: 68 - 9
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to 1) prohibit the juvenile court
from terminating jurisdiction over a ward who has attained 17
years of age until the court conducts a hearing and finds that
the probation department has provided, or made reasonable
efforts to provide, certain information, documents, and services
to the ward; 2) authorize a juvenile court at its discretion to
make these provisions applicable to a ward under 17 years of
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age, as specified; and 3) provide circumstances to not delay the
termination, as specified.
Under current law the purpose of juvenile court law "is to
provide for the protection and safety of the public and each
minor under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court and to
preserve and strengthen the minor's family ties whenever
possible, removing the minor from the custody of his or her
parents only when necessary for his or her welfare or for the
safety and protection of the public." (Welfare and Institutions
Code ("WIC") § 202.)
Current law generally provides for minors to come under the
jurisdiction of the juvenile court due to neglect or abuse, as
specified (WIC § 300 et seq.), or as a consequence of delinquent
conduct. (WIC §§ 601, 602.)
Current law generally describes how long the court may retain
jurisdiction over a person found to be a dependent or delinquent
ward of the court, as specified. (Welfare and Institutions Code
(WIC) §§ 607 et seq.)
Current law requires that whenever the juvenile court terminates
jurisdiction over a ward who also has been a dependent ward of
the court or in foster care, or upon release of a ward from a
facility that is not a foster care facility, a probation officer
or parole officer shall provide the person with, at a minimum,
all of the following:
1) A written notice stating that the person is a former
foster child and may be eligible for the services and
benefits that are available to a former foster child
through public and private programs, including, but not
limited to, any independent living program for former
foster children, as specified.
2) Existing information that informs the person of the
availability of assistance to enable the person to apply
for, and gain acceptance into, federal and state programs
that provide benefits to former foster children, as
specified.
3) Existing information that informs the person of the
availability of assistance to enable the person to apply
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for, and gain acceptance into, federal and state programs
that provide independent living services to youth 16 years
of age and over who may be eligible for services, as
specified. (WIC § 607.3; see also WIC § 607.5)
This bill would enact a new law to provide that the juvenile
court shall not terminate jurisdiction over a ward who has
attained 17 years of age, as specified, until a hearing is
conducted pursuant to this section and the court finds that the
following information, documents, and services have been
provided to the ward, or, in any case in which the information,
document, or service is unavailable or cannot be provided, that
the probation officer has made reasonable efforts to provide the
following information, documents, or services to the ward:
1) Written information concerning the ward's case,
including any known information regarding the ward's Indian
heritage or tribal connections, if applicable, directions
on how to access the documents the ward is entitled to
inspect under Section 827, and the date on which the
jurisdiction of the juvenile court would be terminated.
2) Written information regarding any psychoactive or other
medications that the ward is taking, including the dosage,
the reason the medications were prescribed, contact
information of the prescribing doctor or psychiatrist, and
information regarding how to maintain the medication
regimen if the ward so chooses.
3) The following documents:
A. Social security card or a photocopy thereof.
B. Certified copy of his or her birth certificate.
C. Health and education summary, as described in
subdivision (a) of Section 16010, if applicable.
D. Driver's license, as described in Section 12500 of
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the Vehicle Code, or identification card, as described
in Section 13000 of the Vehicle Code.
E. A letter prepared by the probation department that
includes the following information:
(i) The ward's name and date of birth.
(ii) The dates during which the ward was within the
jurisdiction of the juvenile court.
F. If applicable, the death certificate of the parent or
parents.
G. An advance health care directive form.
1) Assistance with completing an application for Medi-Cal
or assistance with obtaining other health insurance, unless
the ward has health insurance.
2) Referrals to transitional housing, if available, or
referrals to assistance with securing other housing, unless
the ward has housing.
3) Referrals for assistance with obtaining employment or
other financial support.
4) Referrals for assistance in applying for admission to
college or to a vocational training program or other
educational institution and in obtaining financial aid,
where appropriate.
5) If the ward has been in out-of-home placement for 90
days or longer from the date the ward entered foster care
or was committed or detained for 90 days or longer, contact
information in the ward's file for individuals who are
important to the ward, based on the ward's best interests.
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6) Information about the sealing of juvenile records as
required by subdivision (h) of Section 781, including
information on the sealing provisions of Section 786 and
other applicable provisions regarding the sealing of
juvenile records.
7) If the ward has applied for special immigrant juvenile
status or otherwise applied for legal residency, and the
application is being processed, information on the status
of the application and whether an active juvenile court
case is required for approval of the application.
This bill would provide that the "ward shall not be held in
physical confinement or subject to any terms or conditions of
probation if a continuance of the termination hearing is
required solely for the probation department to comply with the
requirements of this section."
This bill would provide that if "the ward has met his or her
rehabilitative goal and requests immediate termination of
jurisdiction, the termination shall not be delayed for the
probation department to comply with this section."
This bill would provide that a "juvenile court may, in its
discretion, make the provision of information, documents,
services, and referrals for service required by this section
applicable to a ward under 17 years of age, if requested by the
ward, and if the court finds that doing so is in the best
interest of the ward."
This bill would provide that the "ward, after having an
opportunity to confer with the ward's counsel, may waive the
right to receive the information, documents, services, and
referrals for service specified in this section."
This bill would require the Judicial Council to develop and
implement standards, and develop and adopt appropriate forms,
necessary to implement this section.
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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
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
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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 in part:
Youth who exit the juvenile criminal justice system at
age 17 and after lack preparedness and
self-sufficiency; they are faced with many barriers
that can lead to undesired adult outcomes. Providing
this vulnerable population with vital information,
documents, referrals for services, and assisting them
to regain basic health insurance coverage will help
them in their transition to adulthood and decrease the
likelihood of incarceration, homelessness,
unemployment, and early and unwanted pregnancies. . .
.
Currently there is no requirement to provide reentry
or aftercare services to youth who are exiting
Juvenile Probation and are being released from custody
unless they are a current foster youth. The number of
juvenile probation youth who leave probation with
current foster care status is small. There is no law
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that the Probation Department or the Court has to
ensure that the youth leave with important documents
like birth certificates or school and placement
history, though most or all of these documents are in
the youth's probation file.
. . . AB 2000 aims to help juvenile justice youth age
17 and over, by providing them with vital documents
that they will need in their transition into
adulthood. The legislation would provide equity to
the young adults who exit the court systems from
Juvenile Probation similarly, but on a smaller scale,
as for foster youth.
Youth who exit the foster care or juvenile justice
system after age 17 are faced with major challenges.
For juvenile court youth, transition often results in
problems with accessing education, health care
benefits, stable housing, and economic supports.
Emancipated juvenile court youth are more likely to
experience homelessness, unemployment, unplanned
pregnancy, adult criminal court involvement, and
substance abuse. They are also less likely to earn
enough to support themselves, have a high school
diploma, and enroll in college or other postsecondary
education or training.
Providing services and support to youth reentering
society can help reduce recidivism and foster
successful reconnections with families and
communities. ?
2.What This Bill Does
Current law (WIC Section 391(e)) provides that foster youth who
age out of the dependency system when they become adults (or 21
years of age for "nonminor dependents") are provided with a
number of documents and resources when leaving the dependency
system. Prior to termination of the juvenile court's
jurisdiction, the county welfare department is required to do a
number of things to help the nonminor transition to living
without the support of the juvenile court and the county welfare
department.
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This bill would provide a structure adopting this general
approach for delinquent wards of the juvenile court, so they can
receive information that could help them before the court
terminates jurisdiction. The information is specified on pages
two and three of this analysis.
3.Background
The Assembly Appropriations Committee's analysis of this bill
quotes the sponsor, Juvenile Court Judges of California,
explaining the need for the legislation:
Information such as medication needs, a Social
Security card or copy, a copy of the youth's birth
certificate, driver's license, and a health and
education summary should be in the file. Assistance
with obtaining Medi-Cal, and referrals for assistance
for housing, employment, financial support, and
college or vocational school applications are all
resources that most juvenile justice probation
departments have at their disposal. This legislation
seeks a more concerted effort to rally behind a youth
prior to leaving the system and is unlikely to cause a
greater burden for the probation department to
document or research because most of the information
is already in the file or easily obtainable.
This bill does not propose assistance with certain of
the items listed above but instead proposes referrals
for assistance, for example, a resources print out of
options rather than specific assistance to obtain
those services. Medi-Cal assistance has been included
because many youth lose their Medi-Cal coverage while
incarcerated, and upon exit lack the resources and
information to resume coverage.
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