BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 2000 (Campos) - Wards: termination of juvenile court
jurisdiction
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|Version: May 31, 2016 |Policy Vote: PUB. S. 6 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 2000 would 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, specified information, documents, and services to the
ward. This bill would authorize a juvenile court at its
discretion to make these provisions applicable to a ward under
17 years of age, as specified.
Fiscal
Impact:
County probation departments : One-time and ongoing
potentially state-reimbursable costs ranging from the hundreds
of thousands to low millions of dollars (General Fund)
annually for increased workload related to the mandated
hearing process and the provision of the required documents,
information, and services to wards. The magnitude of costs
AB 2000 (Campos) Page 1 of
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would be dependent on the caseload of wards impacted, and the
time required to obtain, or make reasonable efforts to obtain,
all of the necessary documents and information, which could
vary widely. To the extent courts elect to make the provisions
applicable to all wards, regardless of age, ongoing costs to
probation departments could be substantial.
Courts : Potential increase in court costs for additional
jurisdictional termination hearings (General Fund*), including
continuances for cases in which the mandates of the bill are
not met.
Judicial Council : One-time minor costs (General Fund*) to
develop and implement standards, as well as develop and adopt
appropriate forms.
*Trial Court Trust Fund
Background: Existing law establishes the jurisdiction of the juvenile
court, which may adjudge a minor to be a ward of the court on
the basis of the minor's delinquent behavior. Under existing
law, the jurisdiction of the juvenile court may continue until
the ward attains 21 or 25 years of age, depending on the nature
of the offense. Existing law requires the juvenile court to hold
a hearing prior to terminating jurisdiction over a ward who is
subject to an order of foster care, as specified.
Under existing law, whenever the juvenile court terminates
jurisdiction over a ward who has also been designated a
dependent of the court or previously placed into foster care,
the probation or parole officer is required to provide the ward
with specified information and documents relating to benefits
for former foster children. (Welfare and Institutions Code § 391
(e).)
This bill seeks to ensure that non-dependent wards are provided
with the necessary information, documents, and services upon
termination of jurisdiction in the delinquency system, similar
to the provisions under existing law that require such
information to be provided to foster youth transitioning out of
the dependency system.
AB 2000 (Campos) Page 2 of
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Proposed Law:
This bill would prohibit the juvenile court from terminating
jurisdiction over a ward who has attained 17 years of age, and
who is not subject to Section 607.3, 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:
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, and the date on which the jurisdiction of the
juvenile court would be terminated.
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.
The following documents:
o Social security card, or a photocopy thereof.
o Certified copy of his or her birth
certificate.
o Health and education summary, if applicable.
o Driver's license or identification card, as
specified.
o A letter prepared by the probation department
that includes the ward's name and date of birth and
the dates during which the ward was within the
jurisdiction of the juvenile court.
o If applicable, the death certificate of the
parent or parents.
o An advance health care directive form.
Assistance with completing an application for Medi-Cal
or assistance with obtaining other health insurance, unless
the ward has health insurance.
AB 2000 (Campos) Page 3 of
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Referrals to transitional housing, if available, or
referrals to assistance with securing other housing, unless
the ward has housing.
Referrals for assistance with obtaining employment or
other financial support.
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.
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.
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.
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 provides 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. 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 provides 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 provides 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.
AB 2000 (Campos) Page 4 of
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This bill requires the Judicial Council to develop and implement
standards, and develop and adopt appropriate forms, necessary to
implement this section.
Prior
Legislation: SB 945 (Liu) Chapter 631/2010 requires probation
and parole officers to provide wards of the court formerly in
foster care with notification regarding their eligibility for
services and benefits available for former foster youth when the
court terminates jurisdiction, or upon release of a ward from a
non-foster care facility.
Staff
Comments: By imposing additional duties on county probation
officers, this bill creates a state-mandated local program,
potentially resulting in significant ongoing costs, potentially
state-reimbursable, to probation departments to meet the
mandates in this bill.
This bill requires specified documents, information, and
services to be provided to a ward 17 years of age or older, and
potentially to all wards at court discretion, prior to
delinquency jurisdiction being terminated. The workload involved
in obtaining, or making reasonable efforts to obtain, the
specified documents and information could be significant, and
would vary based on numerous factors including but not limited
to the circumstances of the ward (as some wards may already be
in possession of certain documents), the coordination between
probation and other local government agencies to obtain the
specified documents, and the time involved for each probation
officer to provide the documents and information to the ward, as
well as costs for travel, document fees, and overtime. The costs
could range from the high hundreds of thousands to low millions
of dollars (General Fund) annually for increased workload. To
the extent courts elect to make the provisions applicable to all
wards, regardless of age, costs to probation departments could
be substantially higher.
Because the provisions of this measure prohibit a ward from
being held in physical confinement or subject to any terms or
conditions of probation if a continuance of the termination
AB 2000 (Campos) Page 5 of
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hearing is required solely for the probation department to
comply with the bill's requirements, the CDCR Division of
Juvenile Justice (DJJ) should not experience any delays in the
release of wards from its facilities nor incur any additional
costs for supervision or incarceration.
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