BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Elaine K. Alquist, Chair A
2005-2006 Regular Session B
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AB 862 (Bass)
As Amended May 19, 2005
Hearing date: June 21, 2005
Penal Code
AA:br
INMATES :
PARENTAL RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITY INFORMATION
HISTORY
Source: Author
Prior Legislation: None
Support: California Commission on the Status of Women; Friends
Committee on Legislation of
California; Legal Services for Prisoners with Children; Voters
Corrections Reform Coalition; National Center on Youth Law
Opposition:None known
Assembly Floor Vote: Ayes 42 - Noes 32
KEY ISSUE
should the Department of Corrections be required to provide inmates
WHO ARE PARENTS OF MINOR CHILDREN with the following information:
1) A Department of Child Support Services Child Support Handbook; 2)
A pamphlet entitled "Child Support Information for the Parent in
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AB 862 (Bass)
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Jail or Prison"; and 3) Any other material developed by the
Department of Child Support Services that will provide the necessary
information regarding child support processes and procedures?
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to require the Department of
Corrections ("CDC") to provide inmates with the following
information: 1) a Department of Child Support Services Child
Support Handbook; 2) a pamphlet entitled "Child Support
Information for the Parent in Jail or Prison"; and 3) any other
material developed by the Department of Child Support Services
that will provide the necessary information regarding child
support processes and procedures.
Current law provides that the father and mother of a minor child
have an equal responsibility to support their child in the
manner suitable to the child's circumstances. (Family Code
3900.)
Current law provides that if a parent of a minor child willfully
omits, without lawful excuse, to furnish necessary clothing,
food, shelter or medical attendance, or other remedial care for
his or her child, he or she is guilty of a misdemeanor
punishable by a fine not exceeding $2000, or by imprisonment in
the county jail not exceeding one year, or by both such fine and
imprisonment. (Penal Code 270.)
Current law creates the Department of Child Support Services
to administer all services and perform all functions necessary
to establish, collect and distribute child support. (Family
Code 17200.)
Current law states that payment of child support ordered by
the court shall be made by the person owing the support
payment before payment of any debts owed to creditors.
(Family Code 4011.)
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Current law provides that if child support is owed and unpaid
for 30 days, the support obligee may file a motion to obtain a
judgment for the amount owed, which shall be enforceable in any
manner provided by law for the enforcement of judgments.
(Family Code 4725.)
Current law requires each superior court to maintain an office
of the family law facilitator to deal with various matters,
including child support. (Family Code 10004.)
This bill would provide that every "inmate who is remanded to
the custody of the Department of Corrections and who is a parent
of a minor child shall receive, upon reception, information on
child support modification as developed by the Department of
Child Support Services, which information shall include, but is
not limited to, all of the following:
(a) A Department of Child Support Services Child Support
Handbook.
(b) A pamphlet entitled "Child Support Information for the
Parent in Jail or Prison."
(c) Any other material developed by the Department of Child
Support Services that will provide the necessary information
regarding child support processes and procedures."
This bill would provide that the act it would enact would be
known as the Sheran Rallanson Act.
COMMENTS
1. Stated Need for This Bill
The author states in part:
The purpose of this measure is to create a uniform
notification process in California state prisons
to ensure incarcerated non-custodial parents have
appropriate information about their
responsibilities relating to the process and
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procedures for modification of child support
orders.
In 2003, the federal Office of Child Support
Enforcement estimated that accumulated unpaid
child support was approaching $100 billion for the
nation as a whole and more than $18 billion for
California (source: Bureau of State Audit Summary
3/05). A great deal of this debt can be
attributed to incarcerated non -custodial parents.
There are a large number of men and women
entering state prison unaware of the existing
child support orders against them. For those
individuals and others who become aware of the
support order, many are unaware of their
responsibility to notify the court of their change
in circumstance.
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When parents go to prison, their legal
responsibility to comply with their child support
order remain. On an average, incarcerated parents
owe more than $20,000 when they are released from
prison (source: Re-Entry Policy Council, 1/05).
Unless modified, accumulated child support debt
can undermine an individual's effort to obtain and
maintain regular employment when released -
resulting in their inability to pay child support
and to reunite with their family.
Out of the 32 prisons in this state, very few have
a process available for prisoners to access
information and seek further help. For those
prisons that provide minimal outreach, it usually
takes place at the pre or post release interviews
- after they might have been incarcerated for
years. By this time, support arrears have grown
to a substantial amount because intervention is
happening at the end of the inmates stay. At a
minimum, newly incarcerated inmates should receive
this information at all institutions upon
reception to begin the process at intake - when
they are first incarcerated. (emphasis in
original)
2. What This Bill Would Do
As explained above, this bill would require the Department of
Corrections ("CDC") to provide inmates with the following
information:
A Department of Child Support Services Child Support
Handbook;
A pamphlet entitled "Child Support Information for the
Parent in Jail or Prison; and
Any other material developed by the Department of Child
Support Services that will provide the necessary
information regarding child support processes and
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procedures.
These materials are currently available and would not have to be
developed by CDC.
SHOULD CDC BE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE INMATES WHO ARE PARENTS THESE
MATERIALS?
3. Technical Amendment
Under the reorganization of GRP 1 and SB 737 (Romero), the
Department of Corrections is being folded into the new
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on July 1, 2005.
The author may wish to amend this bill to reflect this
reorganization.
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