BILL NUMBER: AB 499 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 9, 2008
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 7, 2008
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Swanson
FEBRUARY 20, 2007
An act to amend Sections 647, 653.22, 653.23, 679.01,
679.04, 11165.1, 11166.3, 13828, and 13828.1 of the Penal Code, and
to amend Sections 300 and 313 of, to add Sections 307.6 and 626.1 to,
and to add Chapter 4.3 (commencing with Section 18259) to Part 6 of
Division 9 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to
sexually exploited minors. An act to add and repeal
Chapter 4.3 (commencing with Section 18259) of Part 6 of Division 9
of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to sexually exploited
minors.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 499, as amended, Swanson. Sexually exploited minors.
(1) Existing law provides that a minor under the jurisdiction of
the juvenile court who is in need of protective services shall
receive care, treatment, and guidance consistent with his or her best
interest and the best interest of the public. Existing law provides
that a minor under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court as a
consequence of delinquent conduct shall, in conformity with the
interests of public safety and protection, receive care, treatment,
and guidance that is consistent with his or her best interest, that
holds the minor accountable for his or her behavior, and that is
appropriate for his or her circumstances.
Under existing law, it is a misdemeanor to solicit or engage in
lewd or dissolute conduct in any public place, to solicit or engage
in any act of prostitution, to loiter in any public place with the
intent to commit prostitution, or to supervise or otherwise aid a
prostitute.
This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature that minors
arrested for prostitution should be treated as victims, and taken to
a secure detention center or safe house and processed the same as a
person who is a victim of sexual abuse or domestic violence. The bill
would require a peace officer, if a person under 14 years of age has
violated any of the prostitution-related provisions described above,
to place the person in civil protective custody on a safety hold as
a sexually exploited minor and to take the person to a secure
protective facility, as specified. The bill would provide that a
person under 14 years of age who has been placed in civil protective
custody on a safety hold as a sexually exploited minor shall not
thereafter be subject to any criminal prosecution or juvenile court
proceeding based on the facts giving rise to that placement. The bill
would require a peace officer to similarly place a detained or
arrested sexually exploited minor who is 14 to 17 years of age,
inclusive, in a secure detention center, the local juvenile justice
center, or a secure safe house, and would defer prosecution or
provide for a deferred entry of judgment of that minor during
participation in a program for sexually exploited minors, as
specified. Upon completion of that program, the bill would require
the dismissal of charges against the minor. By imposing new duties on
local law enforcement authorities, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
(2) Existing law establishes statutory rights of victims and
witnesses of crime, as specified, and authorizes a law enforcement
officer to provide a victim's rights card to the victim of a crime.
Existing law provides that a victim of sexual assault has the right
to have victim advocates and a support person of the victim's
choosing present at any interview by law enforcement authorities,
district attorneys, or defense attorneys. Existing law defines
"victim" for purposes of these provisions as a person against whom a
crime has been committed.
This bill would include a sexually exploited minor, as described
in paragraph (1) above, within the definition of "victim" for
purposes of these provisions. The bill would also give sexually
exploited minors the right to have victim advocates and a support
person of the victim's choosing present at any interview by law
enforcement authorities, district attorneys, or defense attorneys. By
imposing new duties on local law enforcement and criminal justice
authorities, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3) Existing law establishes the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting
Act, which requires specified persons who have knowledge of or
observe a child in their professional capacity or within the scope of
their employment, whom the person knows or reasonably suspects has
been the victim of child abuse or neglect to make a report to a child
protective agency, as defined. Existing law defines "sexual abuse"
to include sexual assault or sexual exploitation, as specified, for
purposes of these provisions.
This bill would clarify that a sexually exploited minor, as
described in paragraph (1) above, is a form of sexual exploitation
within the definition of "sexual abuse" for purposes of these
provisions.
(4) Existing law, part of the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting
Act, states the Legislature's intent that in each county the law
enforcement agencies and the county welfare or probation department
shall develop and implement cooperative arrangements in order to
coordinate existing duties in connection with the investigation of
suspected child abuse or neglect cases.
This bill, instead, would require the law enforcement agencies
and county welfare or probation department in each county to develop
and implement a joint policy with cooperative arrangements in order
to coordinate existing duties in connection with the investigation of
suspected child abuse or neglect cases, including the appropriate
handling of sexually exploited minors, as described in paragraph (1)
above. By imposing new duties on local authorities, the bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.
(5) Existing law declares the findings of the Legislature that
there is a need to develop and provide training programs regarding
the handling of judicial proceedings involving the victims of child
sexual abuse, and the intent of the Legislature to provide training
programs to ensure that children who are victims of sexual abuse
shall be treated with consideration during judicial and
administrative hearings.
This bill would extend those findings to sexually exploited
minors.
(6) Existing law requires the Judicial Council to establish an
ongoing program to provide training for the judicial branch of
government relating to the handling of child sexual abuse cases from
funds appropriated for that purpose.
This bill would extend that program of training to include cases
of sexual exploitation of minors.
(7) Existing law provides that a child who has been abused or
neglected, as described, is within the jurisdiction of the juvenile
court and may be adjudged a dependent child of the juvenile court.
This provision applies, among other things, if the child has been
sexually abused, or there is a substantial risk that the child will
be sexually abused, as defined in the Child Abuse and Neglect
Reporting Act, 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.
This bill would clarify that a sexually exploited minor may be
found within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court and adjudged a
dependent child of the juvenile court.
(8) Existing law authorizes a peace officer to take a minor that
the officer has reasonable cause to believe is within the
jurisdiction of the juvenile court, either as a dependent child or as
a ward of the court, into temporary custody without a warrant, as
specified. Existing law provides procedures for processing the minor
thereafter.
This bill would require an officer who takes a sexually exploited
minor into temporary custody pursuant to specified provisions to take
the minor to a secure detention center, the local juvenile justice
center, or a secure protective facility designated by the county that
offers victim services to establish a safety plan and secure
appropriate placement for the minor. The bill would require each
detained minor to undergo a specified assessment. The bill would
require the receiving organization to take immediate steps to notify
the minor's parent, guardian, or a responsible relative of the place
to which the minor was taken, and would require the officer to make a
report of suspected child abuse or neglect. By imposing new duties
on local law enforcement, the bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.
(9) Existing law requires the release within 48 hours of a minor
who is taken into temporary custody by a peace officer or probation
officer for suspected abuse or neglect, unless a petition to declare
him or her a dependent child has been filed.
This bill would authorize a sexually exploited minor who is taken
into temporary custody by a peace officer or probation officer to be
held in custody in excess of 48 hours in order to establish a safety
plan and secure appropriate placement for the minor, and as specified
for a minor under 14 years of age.
(10) Existing
Existing law declares the findings of the Legislature
that there is a need to develop programs to ameliorate, reduce, and
ultimately eliminate the trauma of child sexual abuse, and that, for
the purposes of developing and providing these programs and services,
and for the training of, and providing information to, city and
county personnel throughout the state, it is necessary to expand
specified services.
This bill would create a pilot project , to remain in effect
until January 1, 2012, within the County of Alameda for the
purposes of creating, implementing, and delivering a standardized
training curricula curriculum that will
provide training for certain county employees on the sexual
exploitation of minors in Alameda County, including state
certification of sexually exploited minor crisis counselors, upon
appropriation, and as specified. By adding to the duties of county
employees, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(11) The
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: 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 4.3 (commencing with Section
18259) is added to Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code , to read:
CHAPTER 4.3. SEXUALLY EXPLOITED MINORS PILOT PROJECT
18259. (a) There is hereby created a pilot project in the County
of Alameda for the purposes of creating, implementing, and delivering
a standardized training curriculum that will provide training on the
sexual exploitation of minors in Alameda County, and in accordance
with current law, the district attorney shall establish a Section 654
program for sexually exploited minors who are otherwise eligible
under Section 654. The standardized training curriculum shall
include, but not be limited to, advocacy or case planning, including
advocacy from the point of detainment, court advocacy, advocacy and
joint case planning with probation officers, developing and
understanding case studies, and intensive case management and
advocacy throughout any legal process involving the district attorney'
s office and law enforcement, deprogramming, empowerment, including
surviving child sexual exploitation workshop series, self-sufficiency
workshop series, and self-discovery and self-esteem-based workshop
series, intensive case management, including working with a child
welfare worker or parents and probation officers on placement
options, educational options, employment options, engagement
activities, and other services recommended for the minor or requested
by the minor commencing with the custody process and continuing
through and after release.
(b) The pilot project in the County of Alameda shall design and
create a training curriculum for advocates and case managers
consisting of a 40-hour sexually exploited minor crisis counseling
training. The training shall be administered by a nonprofit
organization that is established specifically to serve sexually
exploited children and will include the state certification of
sexually exploited minor crisis counselors upon completion of the
40-hour training. The 40-hour sexually exploited minor crisis
counseling training shall include, but not be limited to,
understanding child sexual exploitation or commercial child sexual
exploitation, the impact of child sexual exploitation or commercial
child sexual exploitation, understanding childhood sexual abuse,
overview of sexual assault or rape, suicide prevention, sexually
exploited minors interfacing with law enforcement and the child
welfare and juvenile justice systems, domestic violence and sexually
exploited minors, sexually exploited minors with disabilities, crisis
intervention, substance abuse and sexually exploited children,
overview of post-traumatic stress disorder, survivors of childhood
sexual abuse, lesbian, gay, questioning, bisexual, and transgendered
sexually exploited children, sexually exploited children from
immigrant families, and mandated reporting.
(c) The standardized training shall be designed for law
enforcement, in cooperation with police officer standards training,
for prosecutors and public defenders, in cooperation with the
California District Attorneys Association and the Prosecutors and
Public Defenders Education and Training Program created under Title
1.5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 4 of the Penal Code, for
the judiciary, in cooperation with the Judicial Council and the
Administrative Office of the Courts, for social service providers and
probation officers, in cooperation with the California Probation,
Parole and Correctional Association, and for advocates, in
cooperation with local rape crisis centers and domestic violence
service providers.
(d) Implementation of this chapter is contingent upon existing
resources or the enactment of another statute that provides
sufficient funding for the pilot project.
18259.3. For purpose of this chapter, "sexually exploited minor"
means a person under 18 years of age who has been detained for a
violation of the law or placed in civil protective custody on a
safety hold based only on a violation of subdivision (a) or (b) of
Section 647, subdivision (a) of Section 653.22, or subdivision (a) of
Section 653.23 of the Penal Code.
18259.5. This chapter shall be in effect only until January 1,
2012, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, enacted on or before January 1, 2012, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 2. 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. All matter
omitted in this version of the bill appears in the bill as amended in
Assembly, January 7, 2008. (JR11)
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