BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2723
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
2723 (Chávez)
As Amended March 18, 2016
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Human Services |6-0 |Bonilla, Grove, | |
| | |Lopez, Maienschein, | |
| | |Mark Stone, Thurmond | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Judiciary |10-0 |Mark Stone, Wagner, | |
| | |Alejo, Chau, Chiu, | |
| | |Gallagher, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Cristina Garcia, | |
| | |Holden, Maienschein, | |
| | |Ting | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Makes Legislative findings and declarations stating
that a child who has loitered with the intent to commit
AB 2723
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prostitution or who has solicited, agreed to engage, or engaged
in prostitution, as specified, and whose parent or guardian
failed to, or was unable to, protect the child, falls under the
definition of "commercially sexually exploited children" and may
be adjudged a dependent child of the juvenile court.
EXISTING LAW:
1)States that the purpose of foster care law is to provide
maximum safety and protection for children who are being
physically, sexually or emotionally abused, neglected, or
exploited and to ensure the safety, protection, and physical
and emotional well-being of children at risk of such harm.
(Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 300.2)
2)Defines "commercial sex act" as "sexual conduct on account of
which anything of value is given or received by any person."
(Penal Code (PEN) Section 236.1 (h)(2))
3)Defines commercially sexually exploited children as a child
who is sexually trafficked or receives food or shelter in
exchange for the performance of certain sexual acts, as
specified. (WIC Section 300)
4)States that any person who solicits or agrees to engage in or
who engages in any act of prostitution, as specified, is
guilty of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor. (PEN Section
647)
5)States that it is unlawful for any person to loiter in any
public place with the intent to commit prostitution, as
specified. (PEN Section 653.22)
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6)Establishes the federal Preventing Sex Trafficking and
Strengthening Families Act, which places a number of
requirements on states, including a number of improvements to
the child welfare system aimed at improving outcomes for
children and youth in foster care. (Public Law 113-183)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS:
Child Welfare Services: The purpose of California's Child
Welfare Services (CWS) system is to protect children from abuse
and neglect and provide for their health and safety. When
children are identified as being at risk of abuse, neglect or
abandonment, county juvenile courts hold legal dependency
jurisdiction; these children are served by the CWS system
through the appointment of a social worker. Through this
juvenile dependency system, there are multiple opportunities for
the custody of the child, or his or her placement outside of the
home, to be evaluated, reviewed and determined by the judicial
system, in consultation with the child's social worker, to help
provide the best possible services to the child. The CWS system
seeks to help children who have been removed from their homes
reunify with their parents or guardians, whenever appropriate.
However, the court may determine that an alternate permanent
placement is more fitting; the court must give preference to
potential placements in this order: relatives, nonrelative
extended family members, or family foster homes. Placement in
group homes or other intensive treatment placement settings are
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considered only in more challenging situations where a child may
need stabilization services in order to transition to a less
restrictive placement, such as with a relative or foster
caregiver. There are currently close to 63,000 children and
youth in California's CWS system.
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC): Commercial
sexual exploitation of children is defined as the sexual
exploitation of children entirely, or at least primarily, for
financial or other economic reasons. Under this definition, the
economic exchanges may be either monetary or non-monetary (i.e.,
for food, shelter, drugs). Sex trafficking of minors is defined
as the "recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or
obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act"
where the person is a United States citizen or lawful permanent
resident under the age of 18 years.
According to Department of Social Services, approximately
800,000 victims annually are trafficked across international
borders worldwide, and between 14,500-17,500 of those victims
are trafficked into the United States. Nearly 95% of CSEC
victims in the United States are female, and it is estimated
that between 50-80% of child victims of commercial sexual
exploitation have been involved with the child welfare system,
according to the National Center for Youth Law. According to
the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, it is
estimated that one in six endangered runaways were likely sex
trafficking victims in 2014. Many experts believe, however,
that these statistics are underestimated; challenges arise when
identifying victims, collecting and cross-referencing data, and
deciding on common definitions in order to collect accurate
statistics. Many youth also do not identify as victims or may
be reluctant to admit to victimization due to fears of
retaliation from traffickers, deportation, or incarceration by
law enforcement.
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Need for this bill: According to the author's office, "We need
to make sure we are protecting our children and looking out for
them every step of the way. If we want the children of
California to thrive, we have to set them up to succeed and
protect them from a range of potential dangers like sexual
predators to neglectful guardians."
Analysis Prepared by:
Kelsy Castillo / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089 FN:
0002849