BILL ANALYSIS
SB 352
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 30, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Jim Beall, Jr., Chair
SB 352 (Dutton) - As Amended: May 28, 2009
SENATE VOTE : 39-0
SUBJECT : Juvenile offenders: health facilities
SUMMARY : Makes clarifying statutory changes related to sharing
information about delinquent wards of the juvenile court placed
in licensed community facilities when placed out of county.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the probation officer making the out-of-county
placement to notify the probation officer of the other county
at least 24 hours prior to the ward's transfer to the
out-of-county facility, instead of within 24 hours of the
transfer.
2)Further requires the probation officer making an out-of-county
placement to also notify the community care facility at which
the ward is being placed.
3)Provides that no licensed community care facility may receive
a ward of the juvenile court, as specified, until the
probation officer of the county in which the community care
facility is located has received notice of the placement, in
writing, by fax, or electronically transmitted.
4)Adds that the notice shall include specified information,
including known prior offenses or gang affiliation. Requires
the licensed community care facility to maintain a copy of
this notice as evidence of compliance with this section.
5)Clarifies the incidents that must be reported by a placement
agency to the appropriate licensing agency to include sexual
abuse, situations in which residents are inadequately
supervised, and runaway incidents.
6)Clarifies that runaway incidents are included in "all
incidents involving a response by local law enforcement,"
which must be reported by the licensee of any group home
facility, as specified.
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7)Clarifies that known gang affiliation is included in
"dangerous behavior" for the purposes of creating a case plan,
determining supervision, and notifying care facilities, as
specified.
8)Requires, in specified cases in which the sending county
maintains responsibility for supervision and visitation of the
ward, the sending county shall document information regarding
known or suspected gang affiliation or dangerous behavior of
the ward that indicates that the ward may pose a safety
concern in the receiving county.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes various residential settings licensed by the State
Department of Social Services (DSS) for wards of the juvenile
court.
2)Gives authority to various placement agencies, including
county probation departments, county welfare and social
services departments, and county mental health departments,
among others, to place wards of the juvenile courts in these
licensed facilities.
3)Requires placement agencies to notify DSS of known or
suspected incidents that jeopardize the health and safety of
residents in a licensed facility, including incidents of
physical abuse.
4)Requires a licensed group home, not less than 30 days prior to
the anniversary of the effective date of its license, if
requested, to transmit to the county in which the facility is
located a copy of all incident reports, that involved a
response from local law enforcement or emergency services,
prepared by the facility for a placement agency in a county
other than the county in which the facility is located.
5)Requires that a probation officer in a county making a
placement of a ward in a licensed facility in another county
to send that county a notice of the impending placement,
including the name of the ward, his or her juvenile record,
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known prior offenses, and the ward's county of residence.
6)Makes the same notification requirement of a parole officer of
the Youth Authority if a ward is being placed in a county
other than the county of his or her residence.
7)Requires that the placing county shall develop a plan of
supervision and visitation activities for the ward.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author, juvenile offenders are being
placed in out-of-county community care facilities without proper
and adequate notification of local law enforcement. This lack
of communication creates significant challenges for law
enforcement and can endanger residents in the county of
placement. This bill seeks to improve communication between
counties and to strengthen oversight of juvenile offenders
placed in out-of-county community care facilities.
According to DSS, there are 8,200 California children and youth
who are under the supervision of county probation officers.
These wards of the juvenile court are generally placed in foster
group homes, licensed by DSS.
Of the 8,200 wards, about 4,500 (55%) are in facilities located
in the ward's county of residence; 3,500 (43%) are placed in
other counties. The remaining two percent are placed out of
state.
Los Angeles and Fresno counties find placements in-county for
more than 70% of the wards they supervise. Three other counties
place at least half of the wards from their county within the
county boundaries: Calaveras, Modoc, and San Bernardino. The
other 53 counties place a majority of the wards they supervise
in other counties.
Presently, there is no statewide database that tells us in which
counties the 3,500 wards live who are not in their home
counties.
There are several reasons why wards may be placed in counties
other than their county of residence. Some rural and mountain
counties may have no licensed group home appropriate for the
ward in question. In many cases, according to the author,
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out-of-county placements are necessary to take a ward some
distance from a gang with which he or she has an affiliation.
Given the 3,500 out-of-county placements, there is a clear need
for timely communication between county agencies. These
communications should include critical details about gang
affiliation, incidents involving runaways from the licensed
facilities, and these communiqu?s should arrive in the receiving
county before the ward does. The provisions of this bill make
those changes in current law.
SECOND COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE . This bill was previously heard
in the Assembly Public Safety Committee on June 23, 2009 and was
approved on a 7-0 vote.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
County of San Bernardino (Sponsor)
Chief Probation Officers of California
Rod Pacheco, District Attorney, County of Riverside
San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department
San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Frances Chacon / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089