Amended in Assembly June 21, 2016

Amended in Assembly June 8, 2016

Amended in Senate April 26, 2016

Amended in Senate March 28, 2016

Senate Bill No. 1040

Introduced by Senator Hill

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Mullin)

February 12, 2016

An act to add Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 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: begin delete rehoming. end delete begin insert unlawful transfer of custody. end insert

(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.

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 begin delete and special needs end delete 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 begin delete June end delete begin insert April end insert 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 begin delete June end delete begin insert April end insert 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. begin insert Existing law makes it a crime for a parent of a child under 14 years of age, and a person to whom the child has been confided for nurture or education, to desert the child in any place with intent to abandon the child, as specified. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for a parent or organization, without holding a valid and unrevoked license to place children for adoption, to advertise in a public medium, as specified, that he, she, or it will place children for adoption, or accept, supply, provide, or obtain children for adoption, or to cause an advertisement to be published in or by a public medium soliciting, requesting, or asking for a child or children for adoption. end insert

This bill would make it a crime to solicit to begin delete rehome, as defined, a minor end delete begin insert take custody of a minor end insert under 14 years of age and to subsequently begin delete rehome the minor end delete begin insert take custody of the minor end insert 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: yes.

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

SECTION 1.  

Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 9221) is
added to Part 2 of Division 13 of the Family Code, to read:

 

Chapter  9. begin delete Rehoming end delete begin insert Unlawful Transfer of Custody end insert

 

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 begin delete often end delete have experienced
abuse, neglect, begin delete and end delete begin insert and, often, end insert 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 begin delete parent, individual, or entity having custody of
an adopted minor seeks to rehome the minor, end delete begin insert parent seeks to
engage in the unlawful transfer of the custody of a child, end insert the State
Department of Social Services shall, in consultation with child
advocacy organizations, attorneys specializing in adoption and
guardianships, begin insert counsel representing minors in dependency
proceedings, end insert the Judicial Council, foster caregiver organizations,
begin insert county welfare officials, end insert and individuals with expertise in the area
of positive youth development, establish a working group to review
the challenges facing families with adopted begin delete and special needs end delete
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:

begin insert

(A) Education and resources that would benefit prospective
adoptive families prior to an adoption, and whether certain services
and education should be required before an adoption can be
completed.

end insert begin delete

(A)

end delete

begin insert (B) end insert  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.

begin delete

(B)

end delete

begin insert (C) end insert  The distinct resources that are available to the different
types of families specified in subparagraph begin delete (A), end delete begin insert (B), end insert and whether
any of the resources available to one type of family would also be
beneficial to another type.

begin delete

(C)

end delete

begin insert (D) end insert  The training and education that is necessary to equip mental
health professionals with the tools necessary to provide the families
specified in subparagraph begin delete (A) end delete begin insert (B) end insert with services tailored to their
unique needs.

begin delete

(D)

end delete

begin insert (E) end insert  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.

begin delete

(E)

end delete

begin insert (F) end insert  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 begin delete being
rehomed, end delete begin insert having their custody unlawfully transferred, end insert including
adoption agencies, social workers, attorneys, mental health
professionals, and prospective adoptive parents.

(c) (1) The working group shall meet no later than begin delete June end delete begin insert April end insert
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 begin delete June end delete begin insert April end insert 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 begin delete rehome a minor end delete begin insert take custody of a minor end insert under 14 years
of age and to subsequently begin delete rehome the minor end delete begin insert take custody of the
minor end insert 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.

begin delete

(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)

end delete

begin insert (b) end insert  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.