BILL ANALYSIS Ó
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2005|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2005
Author: Ridley-Thomas (D)
Amended: 8/15/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 6-1, 6/14/16
AYES: Hancock, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning, Stone
NOES: Anderson
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 5/5/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Juveniles: out-of-state placement
SOURCE: Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice
Youth Law Center
DIGEST: This bill provides that, with respect to the placement
of delinquent wards in private, out-of-state residential
facilities, 1) the court must make specified findings by "clear
and convincing evidence"; 2) the court must find that a case
plan for the minor demonstrates that the out-of-state placement
is the most appropriate and is in the best interests of the
minor, and that in-state facilities or programs have been
considered and are unavailable or inadequate to meet the needs
and best interests of the minor; and 3) the existing authority
of the court to place a delinquent ward in a juvenile home,
ranch, camp, or forestry camp shall not be construed to
authorize a court to commit a minor to one of these facilities
located outside of the state.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/15/16 make technical changes to
address chaptering issues with AB 1997 (Stone).
AB 2005
Page 2
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Provides that 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.)
2)Provides that when a minor is adjudged a delinquent ward of
the court, "the court may make any reasonable orders for the
care, supervision, custody, conduct, maintenance, and support
of the minor, . . ." (WIC § 727.)
3)Provides that it is the sole responsibility of probation to
determine the appropriate placement for the ward once the
court issues a placement order, as specified.
4)Provides that a court "shall not order the placement of a
minor in an out-of-state group home, unless the court finds,
in its order of placement, that all of the following
conditions have been met:
a) The out-of-state group home is licensed or certified for
the placement of minors by an agency of the state in which
the minor will be placed.
b) The out-of-state group home meets the requirements of
Section 7911.1 of the Family Code.
AB 2005
Page 3
c) In-state facilities or programs have been determined to
be unavailable or inadequate to meet the needs of the
minor. (WIC § 361.21(a).)
5)Requires that at least every six months, the court shall
review each out-of-state placement in order to determine
compliance with this section. (WIC § 361.21(b).)
6)Provides that a county shall not be entitled to receive or
expend any public funds for the placement of a minor in an
out-of-state group home unless these requirements are met.
(WIC § 361.21(c).)
7)Provides that "when the court orders the care, custody, and
control of the minor to be under the supervision of the
probation officer for foster care placement, . . . the
decision regarding choice of placement, . . . shall be based
upon selection of a safe setting that is the least restrictive
or most family like, and the most appropriate setting that
meets the individual needs of the minor and is available, in
proximity to the parent's home, consistent with the selection
of the environment best suited to meet the minor's special
needs and best interests. The selection shall consider, in
order of priority, placement with relatives, tribal members,
and foster family, group care, and residential treatment . . .
. " (WIC § 727.1(a).)
8)Provides that unless otherwise authorized by law, the court
may not order the placement of a delinquent minor "in a
private residential facility or program that provides 24-hour
supervision, outside of the state, unless the court finds, in
its order of placement, that all of the following conditions
are met:
a) In-state facilities or programs have been determined to
AB 2005
Page 4
be unavailable or inadequate to meet the needs of the
minor.
b) The State Department of Social Services or its designee
has performed initial and continuing inspection of the
out-of-state residential facility or program and has either
certified that the facility or program meets the greater of
all licensure standards required of group homes or of
short-term residential treatment centers operated in
California, or that the department has granted a waiver to
a specific licensing standard upon a finding that there
exists no adverse impact to health and safety," as
specified. (WIC § 727.1(b).)
c) The requirements of Section 7911.1 of the Family Code
are met.
This bill:
1)Requires the court to establish these conditions by "clear and
convincing evidence."
2)Revises these conditions to instead require the court to find
that the "case plan for the minor, developed in strict
accordance with Section 706.6, demonstrates that the
out-of-state placement is the most appropriate and is in the
best interests of the minor and that in-state facilities or
programs have been considered and are unavailable or
inadequate to meet the needs and best interests of the minor."
3)Makes additional changes consistent with these provisions.
4)Contains technical chaptering provisions.
AB 2005
Page 5
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/16/16)
Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (co-source)
Youth Law Center (co-source)
Aspiranet
California Alliance for Youth and Community Justice
California Catholic Conference
California Correctional Peace Officers Association
Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice
Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Fair Chance Project
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/16/16)
Chief Probation Officers of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The California Alliance for Youth and
Community Justice, which supports this bill, states in part:
"The proposed change in AB 2005 is essential to improve outcomes
for California youth impacted by the criminal justice system.
Our state must attempt, at all costs, to keep youth near family
and their support systems. Best practices speak to how important
retaining a connection to one's community is when returning from
detention. This bill allows young people to stay closer to their
networks of support. In turn, young people are able to defeat
the struggles our state faces with high levels of recidivism.
When youth are sent to out of state facilities they are far away
from family and community. This results in further isolation and
can lead to detrimental outcomes for youth. Support must be
gathered at all levels for young people to successfully reenter
AB 2005
Page 6
our communities. Not only is family a source of support, but so
are community-based organizations and other community resources
that creative a eco-system of support."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: The Chief Probation Officers of
California, which opposes this bill, states in part:
"While we appreciate the stated intent of the bill and share the
desire to place and work with kids locally, there are times that
out of state placements are most appropriate given the specific
factors involved with the minor. We are concerned that this bill
will further exacerbate placement challenges that could result
in the minor remaining in the juvenile hall longer, which is not
in the best interests of the minor.
"Based on the amendments taken May 31, our concerns center
around the new language relative to the legal criteria of clear
and convincing evidence which was added as well as the language
change in WIC 727.1(b)(1) which is redundant to what is already
included in WIC 706.6. Further, WIC Section 727.1 is not a
hearing; rather it is the criteria for placing a minor out of
State. Therefore, there is no need to add this section to WIC
727.4 as the bill now reads.
"We share (the author's) desire to make placement decisions that
are in the best interests of the safety and well-being of the
minor. We believe existing law takes into account the myriad of
factors involved in these decisions and already sets forth a
process with probation, the courts, minor and involved parties
in making these determinations."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 5/5/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier,
Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger
AB 2005
Page 7
Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey,
Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes,
McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte,
O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting,
Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Beth Gaines
Prepared by:Alison Anderson / PUB. S. /
8/16/16 17:38:49
**** END ****