BILL NUMBER: SB 500 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Kuehl
FEBRUARY 18, 2005
An act to amend Sections 300 and 11401 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, relating to foster care, and making an
appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 500, as introduced, Kuehl. AFDC-FC: pregnant and parenting
foster youth.
Under existing law, a child may come within the jurisdiction of
the juvenile court and become a dependent child of the court,
including in cases of abuse or neglect, or failure of a parent or
guardian to adequately supervise or protect the child. Existing law
declares that a parent's or guardian's physical disability is only
relevant to a court's determination to the extent that the parent's
disability prevents him or her from exercising care or control.
This bill would additionally declare that a child whose parent has
been adjudged a dependent child of the court shall not be considered
to be at risk of abuse or neglect solely because of the age,
dependent status, or foster care status of the parent.
Existing law establishes the Aid to Families with Dependent
Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, under which counties provide
payments to foster care providers on behalf of qualified children in
foster care. The program is funded by a combination of federal,
state, and county funds, with moneys from the General Fund being
continuously appropriated to pay for the state's share of AFDC-FC
costs.
Under existing law, federal financial participation is available
for certain children who have been adjudged dependent children or
wards of the court, or who have been detained under a court order.
This bill would additionally authorize federal financial
participation for a dependent child of the court whose parent is also
a dependent child of the court who is receiving AFDC-FC benefits, if
the parent and child are placed in the same foster care facility and
are receiving reunification services, and the child is determined to
be eligible for federal financial participation. By creating a new
category for AFDC-FC eligibility, and thereby increasing county
administration duties for the AFDC-FC program, by expanding AFDC-FC
eligibility the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Because General Fund moneys are continuously appropriated for
purposes of the AFDC-FC program, by expanding AFDC-FC eligibility the
bill would constitute an appropriation.
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, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 300 of the Welfare and Institutions Code , as
amended by Section 3 of Chapter 824 of the Statutes of 2000, is
amended to read:
300. Any child who comes within any of the following descriptions
is within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court which may adjudge
that person to be a dependent child of the court:(a) The child has
suffered, or there is a substantial risk that the child will suffer,
serious physical harm inflicted nonaccidentally upon the child by the
child's parent or guardian. For the purposes of this subdivision, a
court may find there is a substantial risk of serious future injury
based on the manner in which a less serious injury was inflicted, a
history of repeated inflictions of injuries on the child or the child'
s siblings, or a combination of these and other actions by the parent
or guardian which indicate the child is at risk of serious physical
harm. For purposes of this subdivision, "serious physical harm" does
not include reasonable and age-appropriate spanking to the buttocks
where there is no evidence of serious physical injury.
(b) The child has suffered, or there is a substantial risk that
the child will suffer, serious physical harm or illness, as a result
of the failure or inability of his or her parent or guardian to
adequately supervise or protect the child, or the willful or
negligent failure of the child's parent or guardian to adequately
supervise or protect the child from the conduct of the custodian with
whom the child has been left, or by the willful or negligent failure
of the parent or guardian to provide the child with adequate food,
clothing, shelter, or medical treatment, or by the inability of the
parent or guardian to provide regular care for the child due to the
parent's or guardian's mental illness, developmental disability, or
substance abuse. No child shall be found to be a person described by
this subdivision solely due to the lack of an emergency shelter for
the family. Whenever it is alleged that a child comes within the
jurisdiction of the court on the basis of the parent's or guardian's
willful failure to provide adequate medical treatment or specific
decision to provide spiritual treatment through prayer, the court
shall give deference to the parent's or guardian's medical treatment,
nontreatment, or spiritual treatment through prayer alone in
accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or
religious denomination, by an accredited practitioner thereof, and
shall not assume jurisdiction unless necessary to protect the child
from suffering serious physical harm or illness. In making its
determination, the court shall consider (1) the nature of the
treatment proposed by the parent or guardian, (2) the risks to the
child posed by the course of treatment or nontreatment proposed by
the parent or guardian, (3) the risk, if any, of the course of
treatment being proposed by the petitioning agency, and (4) the
likely success of the courses of treatment or nontreatment proposed
by the parent or guardian and agency. The child shall continue to be
a dependent child pursuant to this subdivision only so long as is
necessary to protect the child from risk of suffering serious
physical harm or illness.
(c) The child is suffering serious emotional damage, or is at
substantial risk of suffering serious emotional damage, evidenced by
severe anxiety, depression, withdrawal, or untoward aggressive
behavior toward self or others, as a result of the conduct of the
parent or guardian or who has no parent or guardian capable of
providing appropriate care. No child shall be found to be a person
described by this subdivision if the willful failure of the parent or
guardian to provide adequate mental health treatment is based on a
sincerely held religious belief and if a less intrusive judicial
intervention is available.
(d) The child has been sexually abused, or there is a substantial
risk that the child will be sexually abused, as defined in Section
11165.1 of the Penal Code, by his or her parent or guardian or a
member of his or her household, or the parent or guardian has failed
to adequately protect the child from sexual abuse when the parent or
guardian knew or reasonably should have known that the child was in
danger of sexual abuse.
(e) The child is under the age of five and has suffered severe
physical abuse by a parent, or by any person known by the parent, if
the parent knew or reasonably should have known that the person was
physically abusing the child. For the purposes of this subdivision,
"severe physical abuse" means any of the following: any single act of
abuse which causes physical trauma of sufficient severity that, if
left untreated, would cause permanent physical disfigurement,
permanent physical disability, or death; any single act of sexual
abuse which causes significant bleeding, deep bruising, or
significant external or internal swelling; or more than one act of
physical abuse, each of which causes bleeding, deep bruising,
significant external or internal swelling, bone fracture, or
unconsciousness; or the willful, prolonged failure to provide
adequate food. A child may not be removed from the physical custody
of his or her parent or guardian on the basis of a finding of severe
physical abuse unless the social worker has made an allegation of
severe physical abuse pursuant to Section 332.
(f) The child's parent or guardian caused the death of another
child through abuse or neglect.
(g) The child has been left without any provision for support;
physical custody of the child has been voluntarily surrendered
pursuant to Section 1255.7 of the Health and Safety Code and the
child has not been reclaimed within the 14-day period specified in
subdivision (e) of that section; the child's parent has been
incarcerated or institutionalized and cannot arrange for the care of
the child; or a relative or other adult custodian with whom the child
resides or has been left is unwilling or unable to provide care or
support for the child, the whereabouts of the parent are unknown, and
reasonable efforts to locate the parent have been unsuccessful.
(h) The child has been freed for adoption by one or both parents
for 12 months by either relinquishment or termination of parental
rights or an adoption petition has not been granted.
(i) The child has been subjected to an act or acts of cruelty by
the parent or guardian or a member of his or her household, or the
parent or guardian has failed to adequately protect the child from an
act or acts of cruelty when the parent or guardian knew or
reasonably should have known that the child was in danger of being
subjected to an act or acts of cruelty.
(j) The child's sibling has been abused or neglected, as defined
in subdivision (a), (b), (d), (e), or (i), and there is a substantial
risk that the child will be abused or neglected, as defined in those
subdivisions. The court shall consider the circumstances surrounding
the abuse or neglect of the sibling, the age and gender of each
child, the nature of the abuse or neglect of the sibling, the mental
condition of the parent or guardian, and any other factors the court
considers probative in determining whether there is a substantial
risk to the child.
It is the intent of the Legislature that nothing in this section
disrupt the family unnecessarily or intrude inappropriately into
family life, prohibit the use of reasonable methods of parental
discipline, or prescribe a particular method of parenting. Further,
nothing in this section is intended to limit the offering of
voluntary services to those families in need of assistance but who do
not come within the descriptions of this section. To the extent that
savings accrue to the state from child welfare services funding
obtained as a result of the enactment of the act that enacted this
section, those savings shall be used to promote services which
support family maintenance and family reunification plans, such as
client transportation, out-of-home respite care, parenting training,
and the provision of temporary or emergency in-home caretakers and
persons teaching and demonstrating homemaking skills. The Legislature
further declares that a physical disability, such as blindness or
deafness, is no bar to the raising of happy and well-adjusted
children and that a court's determination pursuant to this section
shall center upon whether a parent's disability prevents him or her
from exercising care and control. The Legislature further
declares that a child whose parent has been adjudged a dependent
child of the court pursuant to this section shall not be considered
to be at risk of abuse or neglect solely because of the age,
dependent status, or foster care status of the parent.
As used in this section "guardian" means the legal guardian of the
child.
(k) This section shall be repealed on January 1, 2006, unless a
later enacted statute extends or deletes that date.
SEC. 2. Section 300 of the Welfare and Institutions Code , as
added by Section 3.5 of Chapter 824 of the Statutes of 2000, is
amended to read:
300. Any child who comes within any of the following descriptions
is within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court which may adjudge
that person to be a dependent child of the court:(a) The child has
suffered, or there is a substantial risk that the child will suffer,
serious physical harm inflicted nonaccidentally upon the child by the
child's parent or guardian. For the purposes of this subdivision, a
court may find there is a substantial risk of serious future injury
based on the manner in which a less serious injury was inflicted, a
history of repeated inflictions of injuries on the child or the child'
s siblings, or a combination of these and other actions by the parent
or guardian which indicate the child is at risk of serious physical
harm. For purposes of this subdivision, "serious physical harm" does
not include reasonable and age-appropriate spanking to the buttocks
where there is no evidence of serious physical injury.
(b) The child has suffered, or there is a substantial risk that
the child will suffer, serious physical harm or illness, as a result
of the failure or inability of his or her parent or guardian to
adequately supervise or protect the child, or the willful or
negligent failure of the child's parent or guardian to adequately
supervise or protect the child from the conduct of the custodian with
whom the child has been left, or by the willful or negligent failure
of the parent or guardian to provide the child with adequate food,
clothing, shelter, or medical treatment, or by the inability of the
parent or guardian to provide regular care for the child due to the
parent's or guardian's mental illness, developmental disability, or
substance abuse. No child shall be found to be a person described by
this subdivision solely due to the lack of an emergency shelter for
the family. Whenever it is alleged that a child comes within the
jurisdiction of the court on the basis of the parent's or guardian's
willful failure to provide adequate medical treatment or specific
decision to provide spiritual treatment through prayer, the court
shall give deference to the parent's or guardian's medical treatment,
nontreatment, or spiritual treatment through prayer alone in
accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or
religious denomination, by an accredited practitioner thereof, and
shall not assume jurisdiction unless necessary to protect the child
from suffering serious physical harm or illness. In making its
determination, the court shall consider (1) the nature of the
treatment proposed by the parent or guardian, (2) the risks to the
child posed by the course of treatment or nontreatment proposed by
the parent or guardian, (3) the risk, if any, of the course of
treatment being proposed by the petitioning agency, and (4) the
likely success of the courses of treatment or nontreatment proposed
by the parent or guardian and agency. The child shall continue to be
a dependent child pursuant to this subdivision only so long as is
necessary to protect the child from risk of suffering serious
physical harm or illness.
(c) The child is suffering serious emotional damage, or is at
substantial risk of suffering serious emotional damage, evidenced by
severe anxiety, depression, withdrawal, or untoward aggressive
behavior toward self or others, as a result of the conduct of the
parent or guardian or who has no parent or guardian capable of
providing appropriate care. No child shall be found to be a person
described by this subdivision if the willful failure of the parent or
guardian to provide adequate mental health treatment is based on a
sincerely held religious belief and if a less intrusive judicial
intervention is available.
(d) The child has been sexually abused, or there is a substantial
risk that the child will be sexually abused, as defined in Section
11165.1 of the Penal Code, by his or her parent or guardian or a
member of his or her household, or the parent or guardian has failed
to adequately protect the child from sexual abuse when the parent or
guardian knew or reasonably should have known that the child was in
danger of sexual abuse.
(e) The child is under the age of five and has suffered severe
physical abuse by a parent, or by any person known by the parent, if
the parent knew or reasonably should have known that the person was
physically abusing the child. For the purposes of this subdivision,
"severe physical abuse" means any of the following: any single act of
abuse which causes physical trauma of sufficient severity that, if
left untreated, would cause permanent physical disfigurement,
permanent physical disability, or death; any single act of sexual
abuse which causes significant bleeding, deep bruising, or
significant external or internal swelling; or more than one act of
physical abuse, each of which causes bleeding, deep bruising,
significant external or internal swelling, bone fracture, or
unconsciousness; or the willful, prolonged failure to provide
adequate food. A child may not be removed from the physical custody
of his or her parent or guardian on the basis of a finding of severe
physical abuse unless the social worker has made an allegation of
severe physical abuse pursuant to Section 332.
(f) The child's parent or guardian caused the death of another
child through abuse or neglect.
(g) The child has been left without any provision for support; the
child's parent has been incarcerated or institutionalized and cannot
arrange for the care of the child; or a relative or other adult
custodian with whom the child resides or has been left is unwilling
or unable to provide care or support for the child, the whereabouts
of the parent are unknown, and reasonable efforts to locate the
parent have been unsuccessful.
(h) The child has been freed for adoption by one or both parents
for 12 months by either relinquishment or termination of parental
rights or an adoption petition has not been granted.
(i) The child has been subjected to an act or acts of cruelty by
the parent or guardian or a member of his or her household, or the
parent or guardian has failed to adequately protect the child from an
act or acts of cruelty when the parent or guardian knew or
reasonably should have known that the child was in danger of being
subjected to an act or acts of cruelty.
(j) The child's sibling has been abused or neglected, as defined
in subdivision (a), (b), (d), (e), or (i), and there is a substantial
risk that the child will be abused or neglected, as defined in those
subdivisions. The court shall consider the circumstances surrounding
the abuse or neglect of the sibling, the age and gender of each
child, the nature of the abuse or neglect of the sibling, the mental
condition of the parent or guardian, and any other factors the court
considers probative in determining whether there is a substantial
risk to the child.
It is the intent of the Legislature that nothing in this section
disrupt the family unnecessarily or intrude inappropriately into
family life, prohibit the use of reasonable methods of parental
discipline, or prescribe a particular method of parenting. Further,
nothing in this section is intended to limit the offering of
voluntary services to those families in need of assistance but who do
not come within the descriptions of this section. To the extent that
savings accrue to the state from child welfare services funding
obtained as a result of the enactment of the act that enacted this
section, those savings shall be used to promote services which
support family maintenance and family reunification plans, such as
client transportation, out-of-home respite care, parenting training,
and the provision of temporary or emergency in-home caretakers and
persons teaching and demonstrating homemaking skills. The Legislature
further declares that a physical disability, such as blindness or
deafness, is no bar to the raising of happy and well-adjusted
children and that a court's determination pursuant to this section
shall center upon whether a parent's disability prevents him or her
from exercising care and control. The Legislature further
declares that a child whose parent has been adjudged a
dependent child of the court pursuant to this section shall not be
considered to be at risk of abuse or neglect solely because of the
age, dependent status, or foster care status of the parent.
As used in this section, "guardian" means the legal guardian of
the child.
SEC. 3. Section 11401 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
11401. Aid in the form of AFDC-FC shall be provided under this
chapter on behalf of any child under the age of 18 years, except as
provided in Section 11403, who meets the conditions of subdivision
(a), (b), (c), (d), (e), or (f) (f), or (g)
:(a) The child has been relinquished, for purposes of adoption,
to a licensed adoption agency, or the department, or the parental
rights of either or both of his or her parents have been terminated
after an action under the Family Code has been brought by a licensed
adoption agency or the department, provided that the licensed
adoption agency or the department, if responsible for placement and
care, provides to those children all services as required by the
department to children in foster care.
(b) The child has been removed from the physical custody of his or
her parent, relative, or guardian as a result of a voluntary
placement agreement or a judicial determination that continuance in
the home would be contrary to the child's welfare and that, if the
child was placed in foster care, reasonable efforts were made,
consistent with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 16500) of Part 4,
to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the child from his or
her home and to make it possible for the child to return to his or
her home, and any of the following applies:
(1) The child has been adjudged a dependent child of the court on
the grounds that he or she is a person described by Section 300.
(2) The child has been adjudged a ward of the court on the grounds
that he or she is a person described by Sections 601 and 602.
(3) The child has been detained under a court order, pursuant to
Section 319 or 636, that remains in effect.
(4) The child's dependency jurisdiction has resumed pursuant to
Section 387.
(c) The child has been voluntarily placed by his or her parent or
guardian pursuant to Section 11401.1.
(d) The child is living in the home of a nonrelated legal
guardian.
(e) The child has been placed in foster care under the federal
Indian Child Welfare Act. Sections 11402, 11404, and 11405 shall not
be construed as limiting payments to Indian children, as defined in
the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, placed in accordance with that
act.
(f) To be eligible for federal financial participation,
all either of the following conditions shall
exist be satisfied :
(1) (A) The child meets the conditions of
subdivision (b).
(2)
(B) The child has been deprived of parental
support or care for any of the reasons set forth in Section 11250.
(3)
(C) The child has been removed from the home
of a relative as defined in Section 233.90(c)(1) of Title 45 of the
Code of Federal Regulations, as amended.
(4)
(D) The requirements of Sections 671 and 672
of Title 42 of the United States Code, as amended, have been met.
(2) (A) The child meets the requirements of subdivision (g).
(B) The requirements of Sections 671 and 672 of Title 42 of the
United States Code, as amended, have been met.
(g) The child meets all of the following conditions:
(1) The child has been adjudged to be a ward of the court on the
ground that he or she is a person described in Section 300.
(2) The child's parent also has been adjudged to be a dependent
child of the court on the ground that he or she is a person described
by Section 300 and is receiving benefits under this chapter.
(3) The child is placed in the same licensed or approved foster
care facility in which his or her parent is placed and the child's
parent is receiving reunification services with respect to that
child.
SEC. 4.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act
contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies
and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part
7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Government Code.