BILL NUMBER: SB 1040 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 8, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 26, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 28, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Hill
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Mullin)
FEBRUARY 12, 2016
An act to add Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 9220)
9221) to Part 2 of Division 13 of the Family
Code, and to add Section 272.5 to the Penal Code,
relating to children.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1040, as amended, Hill. Adoptions: rehoming.
Existing
(1) Existing law regulates
adoption services by the State Department of Social Services, county
adoption agencies, licensed adoption agencies, and other adoption
service providers and requires the department to adopt regulations
pertaining to those services.
The bill would authorize an adoptive parent, individual, or entity
having custody of an adopted minor to rehome, as defined, that minor
if specified requirements are met. The
This bill would require the State Department of Social
Services, in consultation with specified individuals and entities, to
establish a working group to review the challenges facing families
with adopted and special needs children, to identify resources within
the community that will assist families with these challenges, and
to make recommendations to the Legislature as to the services that
may be helpful to these families. The bill would require the working
group to meet no later than June 1, 2017, and would require the
working group's recommendations to be submitted in a report to the
appropriate policy committees of the Legislature on or before June 1,
2018.
(2) Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for a parent of a minor to
willfully omit, without lawful excuse, to furnish necessary
clothing, food, shelter, or medical attendance, or other remedial
care for his or her child.
This bill would make it a crime to solicit to rehome, as defined,
a minor under 14 years of age and to subsequently rehome the minor
without initiating a lawful guardianship proceeding or adoption
proceeding within 90 days of taking physical custody of the minor. By
creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 9220)
9221) is added to Part 2 of Division 13 of the
Family Code, to read:
CHAPTER 9. REHOMING
9220. (a) For purposes of this chapter, "rehome" or "rehoming"
means an action taken to provide a new, permanent home for an adopted
minor with a person or persons other than the adoptive parents,
except as provided in subdivision (c).
(b) An adoptive parent, individual, or entity having custody of an
adopted minor may rehome that minor only if both of the following
requirements are met:
(1) The adoptive parent, individual, or entity having custody of
the minor and the prospective parent or guardian both obtain
independent counsel within 60 days of placing the minor in the
physical custody of the prospective parent or guardian.
(2) The adoptive parent, individual, or entity having custody of
the minor initiates a lawful guardianship or adoption proceeding
within 90 days of placing the minor in the physical custody of the
prospective parent or guardian, consistent with the requirements of
Division 4 (commencing with Section 1400) of the Probate Code or
Division 13 (commencing with Section 8500) of the Family Code.
(c) This section does not apply to either of the following:
(1) A child placed with a relative, as defined by paragraph (2) of
subdivision (c) of Section 361.3 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code.
(2) Temporary placement of a minor by a parent, individual, or
entity for a designated short-term period with a specified intent and
time period for return of the minor, if the temporary placement is
due to a vacation or a school-sponsored function or activity or the
incarceration, military service, medical treatment, or incapacity of
a parent or guardian.
9221. (a) The Legislature acknowledges that adoptive families
often face special challenges. This is particularly true in the case
of international adoptions, adoptions of special needs children, and
adoptions of dependent children who often have experienced abuse,
neglect, and multiple placements. The Legislature finds and declares
that it is the public policy of the State of California to assist
adoptive families and adopted children, and intends this section to
ensure that these families receive the support needed to maintain the
family unit, and when necessary, find new, permanent homes for
youth.
(b) (1) In order to address and prevent the circumstances in which
an adoptive parent, individual, or entity having custody of an
adopted minor seeks to rehome the minor, the State Department of
Social Services shall, in consultation with child advocacy
organizations, attorneys specializing in adoption and guardianships,
the Judicial Council, foster caregiver organizations, and individuals
with expertise in the area of positive youth development, establish
a working group to review the challenges facing families with adopted
and special needs children, to identify resources within the
community that will assist families with these challenges, and to
make recommendations to the Legislature as to the services that may
be helpful to these families.
(2) In developing the recommendations, the working group shall
consider all of the following:
(A) The specific challenges facing the following families:
families with special needs children, families with children adopted
through the foster care system, and families with internationally
adopted children.
(B) The distinct resources that are available to the different
types of families specified in subparagraph (A), and whether any of
the resources available to one type of family would also be
beneficial to another type.
(C) The training and education that is necessary to equip mental
health professionals with the tools necessary to provide the families
specified in subparagraph (A) with services tailored to their unique
needs.
(D) How to effectively recruit more prospective adoptive families
that are able to provide new, permanent, and loving homes to children
coming out of disrupted adoptions.
(E) The feasibility of creating a clearinghouse of persons and
entities that are knowledgeable in addressing the needs of, and
finding subsequent placements for, children at risk of being rehomed,
including adoption agencies, social workers, attorneys, mental
health professionals, and prospective adoptive parents.
(c) (1) The working group shall meet no later than June 1, 2017.
The recommendations developed pursuant to this section shall be
submitted in a report to the appropriate policy committees of the
Legislature on or before June 1, 2018.
(2) A report to be submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(3) The requirement for submitting a report pursuant to this
subdivision is inoperative on June 1, 2022, pursuant to Section
10231.5 of the Government Code.
SEC. 2. Section 272.5 is added to the
Penal Code , to read:
272.5. (a) It is unlawful for a person to solicit by any means,
including, but not limited to, electronic communication via the
Internet, to rehome a minor under 14 years of age and to subsequently
rehome the minor without initiating a lawful guardianship proceeding
or adoption proceeding within 90 days of taking physical custody of
the minor consistent with the requirements of Division 4 (commencing
with Section 1400) of the Probate Code or Division 13 (commencing
with Section 8500) of the Family Code. A violation of this section is
punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section
1170, in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine not
exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and
imprisonment.
(b) For purposes of this section, "rehome" means an action taken
to provide a new, permanent home for a minor with a person or persons
other than the minors parents, except as provided in subdivision
(c).
(c) This section does not apply to either of the following:
(1) A minor placed with a relative, as defined by paragraph (2) of
subdivision (c) of Section 361.3 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code.
(2) Temporary placement of a minor by a parent, individual, or
entity for a designated short-term period with a specified intent and
time period for return of the minor, if the temporary placement is
due to a vacation or a school-sponsored function or activity or the
incarceration, military service, medical treatment, or incapacity of
a parent or guardian.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a
new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or
changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of
Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a
crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.