California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2580

Introduced by Assembly Member Olsen

February 19, 2016

An act to amend Section 300 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to juveniles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2580, as introduced, Olsen. Homeless youth: dependency proceedings.

Existing law provides that a child may come within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court and become a dependent child of the court in certain cases, including when the child is abused, a parent or guardian fails to adequately supervise or protect the child, as specified, or a parent or guardian fails to provide the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical treatment.

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 300 of the Welfare and Institutions Code
is amended to read:

300.  

A child who comes within any of the following
descriptions is within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court which
may adjudge that person to be a dependent child of the court:

(a) The child has suffered, or there is a substantial risk that the
child will suffer, serious physical harm inflicted nonaccidentally
upon the child by the child’s parent or guardian. For purposes of
this subdivision, a court may find there is a substantial risk of
serious future injury based on the manner in which a less serious
injury was inflicted, a history of repeated inflictions of injuries on
the child or the child’s siblings, or a combination of these and other
actions by the parent or guardian that indicate the child is at risk
of serious physical harm. For purposes of this subdivision, “serious
physical harm” does not include reasonable and age-appropriate
spanking to the buttocks if there is no evidence of serious physical
injury.

(b) (1) The child has suffered, or there is a substantial risk that
the child will suffer, serious physical harm or illness, as a result
of the failure or inability of his or her parent or guardian to
adequately supervise or protect the child, or the willful or negligent
failure of the child’s parent or guardian to adequately supervise
or protect the child from the conduct of the custodian with whom
the child has been left, or by the willful or negligent failure of the
parent or guardian to provide the child with adequate food,
clothing, shelter, or medical treatment, or by the inability of the
parent or guardian to provide regular care for the child due to the
parent’s or guardian’s mental illness, developmental disability, or
substance abuse. A child shall not be found to be a person described
by this subdivision solely due to the lack of an emergency shelter
for the family. Whenever it is alleged that a child comes within
the jurisdiction of the court on the basis of the parent’s or
guardian’s willful failure to provide adequate medical treatment
or specific decision to provide spiritual treatment through prayer,
the court shall give deference to the parent’s or guardian’s medical
treatment, nontreatment, or spiritual treatment through prayer alone
in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church
or religious denomination, by an accredited practitioner thereof,
and shall not assume jurisdiction unless necessary to protect the
child from suffering serious physical harm or illness. In making
its determination, the court shall consider (1) the nature of the
treatment proposed by the parent or guardian, (2) the risks to the
child posed by the course of treatment or nontreatment proposed
by the parent or guardian, (3) the risk, if any, of the course of
treatment being proposed by the petitioning agency, and (4) the
likely success of the courses of treatment or nontreatment proposed
by the parent or guardian and agency. The child shall continue to
be a dependent child pursuant to this subdivision only so long as
is necessary to protect the child from risk of suffering serious
physical harm or illness.

(2) The Legislature finds and declares that a child who is
sexually trafficked, as described in Section 236.1 of the Penal
Code, or who receives food or shelter in exchange for, or who is
paid to perform, sexual acts described in Section 236.1 or 11165.1
of the Penal Code, and whose parent or guardian failed to, or was
unable to, protect the child, is within the description of this
subdivision, and that this finding is declaratory of existing law.
These children shall be known as commercially sexually exploited
children.

(c) The child is suffering serious emotional damage, or is at
substantial risk of suffering serious emotional damage, evidenced
by severe anxiety, depression, withdrawal, or untoward aggressive
behavior toward self or others, as a result of the conduct of the
parent or guardian or who has no parent or guardian capable of
providing appropriate care. A child shall not be found to be a
person described by this subdivision if the willful failure of the
parent or guardian to provide adequate mental health treatment is
based on a sincerely held religious belief and if a less intrusive
judicial intervention is available.

(d) The child has been sexually abused, or there is a substantial
risk that the child will be sexually abused, as defined in Section
11165.1 of the Penal Code, by his or her parent or guardian or a
member of his or her household, or the parent or guardian has
failed to adequately protect the child from sexual abuse when the
parent or guardian knew or reasonably should have known that
the child was in danger of sexual abuse.

(e)  begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert The child is under the age of five years and has suffered
severe physical abuse by a parent, or by begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert person known by
the parent, if the parent knew or reasonably should have known
that the person was physically abusing the child. For the purposes
of this subdivision, “severe physical abuse” means any of the
following: begin delete any end delete

begin insert (A) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert A end insert single act of abuse which causes physical trauma of
sufficient severity that, if left untreated, would cause permanent
physical disfigurement, permanent physical disability, or begin delete death;
any end delete begin insert death. end insert

begin insert (B) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert A end insert single act of sexual abuse which causes significant
bleeding, deep bruising, or significant external or internal begin delete swelling;
or more end delete begin insert swelling. end insert

begin insert (C) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert More end insert than one act of physical abuse, each of which causes
bleeding, deep bruising, significant external or internal swelling,
bone fracture, or begin delete unconsciousness; or the. end delete begin insert unconsciousness. end insert

begin insert (D) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The end insert willful, prolonged failure to provide adequate food. begin delete A end delete

begin insert (2) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert A end insert child shall not be removed from the physical custody of
his or her parent or guardian on the basis of a finding of severe
physical abuse unless the social worker has made an allegation of
severe physical abuse pursuant to Section 332.

(f) The child’s parent or guardian caused the death of another
child through abuse or neglect.

(g) The child has been left without any provision for support;
physical custody of the child has been voluntarily surrendered
pursuant to Section 1255.7 of the Health and Safety Code and the
child has not been reclaimed within the 14-day period specified
in subdivision (g) of that section; the child’s parent has been
incarcerated or institutionalized and cannot arrange for the care of
the child; or a relative or other adult custodian with whom the child
resides or has been left is unwilling or unable to provide care or
support for the child, the whereabouts of the parent are unknown,
and reasonable efforts to locate the parent have been unsuccessful.

(h) The child has been freed for adoption by one or both parents
for 12 months by either relinquishment or termination of parental
rights or an adoption petition has not been granted.

(i) The child has been subjected to an act or acts of cruelty by
the parent or guardian or a member of his or her household, or the
parent or guardian has failed to adequately protect the child from
an act or acts of cruelty when the parent or guardian knew or
reasonably should have known that the child was in danger of
being subjected to an act or acts of cruelty.

(j) The child’s sibling has been abused or neglected, as defined
in subdivision (a), (b), (d), (e), or (i), and there is a substantial risk
that the child will be abused or neglected, as defined in those
subdivisions. The court shall consider the circumstances
surrounding the abuse or neglect of the sibling, the age and gender
of each child, the nature of the abuse or neglect of the sibling, the
mental condition of the parent or guardian, and any other factors
the court considers probative in determining whether there is a
substantial risk to the child.

It is the intent of the Legislature that this section not disrupt the
family unnecessarily or intrude inappropriately into family life,
prohibit the use of reasonable methods of parental discipline, or
prescribe a particular method of parenting. Further, this section is
not intended to limit the offering of voluntary services to those
families in need of assistance but who do not come within the
descriptions of this section. To the extent that savings accrue to
the state from child welfare services funding obtained as a result
of the enactment of the act that enacted this section, those savings
shall be used to promote services which support family
maintenance and family reunification plans, such as client
transportation, out-of-home respite care, parenting training, and
the provision of temporary or emergency in-home caretakers and
persons teaching and demonstrating homemaking skills. The
Legislature further declares that a physical disability, such as
blindness or deafness, is no bar to the raising of happy and
well-adjusted children and that a court’s determination pursuant
to this section shall center upon whether a parent’s disability
prevents him or her from exercising care and control. The
Legislature further declares that a child whose parent has been
adjudged a dependent child of the court pursuant to this section
shall not be considered to be at risk of abuse or neglect solely
because of the age, dependent status, or foster care status of the
parent.

As used in this section, “guardian” means the legal guardian of
the child.