BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 2813


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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING


          AB  
          2813 (Bloom)


          As Amended  April 5, 2016


          Majority vote


           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                  |Noes                |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Human Services  |6-1  |Bonilla, Calderon,    |Grove               |
          |                |     |Lopez, Maienschein,   |                    |
          |                |     |Mark Stone, Thurmond  |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Appropriations  |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow,    |                    |
          |                |     |Bloom, Bonilla,       |                    |
          |                |     |Bonta, Calderon,      |                    |
          |                |     |Chang, Daly, Eggman,  |                    |
          |                |     |Gallagher, Eduardo    |                    |
          |                |     |Garcia, McCarty,      |                    |
          |                |     |Holden, Jones,        |                    |
          |                |     |Obernolte, Quirk,     |                    |
          |                |     |Santiago, Wagner,     |                    |
          |                |     |Weber, Wood           |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
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                                                                    AB 2813


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          SUMMARY:  Narrows the circumstances under which a probation  
          officer may decide to detain a youth who is the subject of a  
          petition to declare him or her a dependent of the juvenile  
          court.  Specifically, this bill:


          1)Removes the following circumstances as conditions under which  
            a probation officer may detain a minor who has been taken into  
            temporary custody:


             a)   The minor is in need of proper and effective parental  
               care or control, as specified;


             b)   The minor is destitute or is not provided with the  
               necessities of life or is not provided with a home or  
               suitable place of abode; and


             c)   The minor is provided with a home which is an unfit  
               place for him or her, as specified. 


             d)   The minor is physically dangerous to the public because  
               of a mental or physical deficiency, disorder, or  
               abnormality.


          2)Prohibits a probation officer's decision to detain a minor who  
            is the subject of a petition to declare him or her a dependent  
            of the court, as specified, from being based on any of the  
            following:


             a)   The minor's status as a dependent of the juvenile court;


             b)   A determination that continuance in the minor's current  








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               placement is contrary to the minor's welfare; or


             c)   The child welfare services department's inability to  
               provide a placement for the minor. 


          3)Requires that a probation officer immediately release a minor  
            who is the subject of a petition to declare him or her a  
            dependent of the juvenile court to the custody of the child  
            welfare system or his or her current foster parent, unless it  
            is demonstrated that continued detention is a matter of  
            immediate necessity for the protection of the person or  
            another, as specified.  


          4)Affirms a probation officer's authority to refer a minor to  
            child welfare services.


          EXISTING LAW: 


          1)Requires county child welfare departments and county probation  
            departments to jointly develop a written protocol regarding  
            minors who appear to come within both dependency jurisdiction,  
            pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 300 et  
            seq., and delinquency jurisdiction, pursuant to WIC Section  
            600 et seq.  (WIC Section 241.1)


          2)Requires that, if a child is both a dependent and a  
            delinquent, the probation department and child welfare  
            services department must initially determine which status will  
            best serve the interests of the child and the protection of  
            society.  Requires that the recommendations of both  
            departments be presented to the juvenile court, which  
            determines which status is appropriate for the child.  A child  
            may not be designated simultaneously both a dependent child  








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            and a ward of the court, unless certain exceptions are met, as  
            specified.  (WIC Section 241.1.)


          3)Provides that a juvenile court has jurisdiction over a child  
            as a dependent child when that child is subject to abuse or  
            neglect.  (WIC Section 300)


          4)Provides that a juvenile court has jurisdiction over a child  
            when that child has committed acts that trigger delinquency  
            jurisdiction rendering the child a ward of the court.  (WIC  
            Sections 601 and 602)


          5)Requires a probation officer to investigate the circumstances  
            of a minor in temporary custody and to immediately release the  
            minor to the parent, legal guardian or responsible relative  
            unless it is demonstrated to the court that continuance in the  
            home is contrary to the minor's welfare based on a finding of  
            specified circumstances making the home unfit or unsafe for  
            the minor.  (WIC Section 628) 


          6)Allows a probation officer to detain a minor if certain  
            conditions are met, as specified.  (WIC Section 628)


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee this bill will have a negligible state fiscal impact.


          COMMENTS:


          Dual-status youth:  It has been acknowledged that youth involved  
          in the juvenile justice system and the child welfare system face  
          greater challenges and adversity as they move into adulthood.   
          They often face challenges that youth involved in only one of  








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          the systems or youth involved in neither of the systems face,  
          and their outcomes are often poorer and require greater supports  
          and services to address their needs, reduce recidivism and  
          foster rehabilitation.  The State of California has passed  
          legislation and authorized various pilot projects in an attempt  
          to address the needs of these youth, but a comprehensive  
          statewide approach to meet those needs and help youth  
          successfully transition to adulthood does not yet exist.


          Counties are enabled to adopt dual status protocols in order to  
          allow for better oversight and provision of services to youth  
          who are involved in both the child welfare and juvenile justice  
          systems.  Dual status for children who are both wards of the  
          court and dependent children allow for better oversight and  
          coordination between the child welfare services and probation  
          systems.  Counties that elect to participate in this voluntary  
          program are tasked with creating a dual status protocol to  
          permit a youth who meets specified criteria to be designated as  
          both a dependent child and a ward of the court simultaneously.


          However, according to the Judicial Council Web site, only 18 of  
          California's 58 counties have elected to develop these  
          protocols.  Still, the counties that have elected to participate  
          include:  Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Clara, Riverside, and  
          San Bernardino Counties, so that most youth involved with both  
          the dependency and delinquency systems in California today live  
          in dual-status jurisdictions.


          Need for this bill:  According to the author, "Foster youth do  
          not have the same statutory protection that other children in  
          our state have and are often needlessly arrested and detained in  
          juvenile halls.  Children who enter the juvenile justice system,  
          even briefly, are more likely to engage in deviant behavior and  
          more likely to get arrested as adults.  Therefore, it is  
          imperative that foster youth not be unfairly detained.  Existing  
          law requires minors to be released to their parent or guardian  








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          unless they are a public safety risk or flight risk and requires  
          that a court's decision to detain a minor not be based on their  
          status as a foster youth; however that same statutory protection  
          does not exist for the probation officer's decision to detain a  
          foster youth.  This bill will extend that statutory provision to  
          probation officers and will require that a probation officer's  
          decision to detain a foster youth not be based on their status  
          as a dependent of the court."


          Supporters of the bill assert that this previous legislation, AB  
          388 (Chesbro), Chapter 760, Statutes of 2014, addressed the  
          over-detention of foster youth at the detention hearing stage by  
          requiring that the court's decision to detain not be based on a  
          youth's status as a dependent, the bill did not apply to a  
          probation officer's initial decision to detain prior to the  
          court hearing.  This bill, according to those who support the  
          bill, will harmonize the criteria for detention probation with  
          those used by the court at the detention hearing, ensuring that  
          no foster youth is held in a juvenile hall because they are a  
          foster youth.  Detention can negatively impact a young person's  
          mental and physical well-being, their education, and their  
          employment opportunities.  Time spent in detention can increase  
          a youth's likelihood to recidivate and spend time in detention  
          as an adult. 


          There is no opposition on file.




          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Kelsy Castillo / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089  FN:  
          0002874












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