BILL ANALYSIS
SB 962
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Date of Hearing: June 15, 2010
Chief Counsel: Gregory Pagan
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
SB 962 (Liu) - As Amended: April 20, 2010
SUMMARY : Allows for the use of video or teleconference
technology in order for prisoners to participate in judicial
proceedings involving their parental rights or a dependency
petition for their child. Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that a prisoner who is a parent of a child involved
in a dependency hearing and who has either waived his or her
right to physical presence at the hearing, or has not been
ordered before the court may, at the court's discretion, in
order to facilitate the parent's participation, be given the
opportunity to participate in the hearing by videoconference,
if that technology is available, and if that participation
otherwise complies with the law. If video conferencing is not
available, teleconferencing may be utilized to facilitate
parental participation.
2)States that because of the significance of dependency court
hearings for parental rights and children's long-term care,
physical attendance by the parent at the hearing is preferred
to participation by videoconference or teleconference, and
provides that these provisions should not be construed as to
limit a prisoner's right to physically attend judicial
proceedings and does not authorize the use of videoconference
or teleconference to replace in- person family visits with
prisoners.
3)Provides that a prisoner shall not lose internal job placement
opportunities, be removed from a court-ordered course, or be
denied any earned privileges as a result of his or her
participation in person or by videoconference or
teleconference in dependency court hearings, unless the
prisoner is absent from the institution for more than 10 days.
4)Authorizes the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR) to establish a pilot project to
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facilitate the participation of incarcerated parents in
dependency court hearings regarding their children, and that
the costs of the pilot project shall be funded with private
funds and implemented only after a determination is made by
the Department of Finance that private donations, sufficient
to fully support the activities of the project, have been
deposited with the state.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that in any proceeding that seeks to terminate the
parental rights of any prisoner or any proceeding which seeks
to adjudicate the child of a prisoner a dependent child of the
court, the superior court of the county in which the
proceeding is pending, or a judge thereof, shall order notice
of any court proceedings transmitted to the prisoner, as
specified. [Penal Code Section 2625(b).]
2)Requires the temporary removal of a prisoner from an
institution for the prisoner's production before the court
where a prisoner has advised the court of his or her desire to
be present during court proceedings involving the prisoner's
child, as specified. No proceeding involving the termination
of parental rights or adjudication of a child as a dependent
child of the court may be held without the physical presence
of the prisoner or the prisoners attorney, unless the court
has before it a knowing waiver of the right of physical
presence signed by the prisoner or an affidavit signed by the
warden, superintendent, or other person in charge of the
institution, or his or her designated representative stating
that the prisoner has, by express statement or action,
indicated an intent not to appear at the proceeding. [Penal
Code Section 2625(d).]
3)Defines "prisoner" to include any individual in custody in a
state prison, California Rehabilitation Center, or a county
jail, or who is a ward of the Department of the Youth
Authority or who, upon a verdict or finding was insane at the
time of committing an offense, or mentally incompetent to be
tried or adjudged to punishment, is confined in a state
hospital for the care and treatment of the mentally
disordered, or in any other public or private treatment
facility. [Penal Code Section 2625(a).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
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COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "The Legislature
should remove barriers to participation in dependency hearings
in order to promote family reunification and decrease the
number of children in the child welfare system.
"This bill allows incarcerated parents to participate in a
child dependency hearing via video-conference, if the
technology is available, for any contested hearing or a
proceeding that could result in termination of parental
rights.
"This bill ensures a prisoner in custody shall not lose
internal job placement opportunities, be removed from a
court-ordered course, or be denied privileges earned in a
correctional institution due to participation in these
proceedings unless the inmate is absent from the institution
for longer than 10 days.
"Providing prisoners the option of participating in parental
rights hearings by video-conference improves their access to
the judicial process and to rehabilitation programs. The use
of this technology also increases the information available to
the court, and decreases continuances, security risks, and the
costs associated with transporting incarcerated parents to the
hearings.
"The Legislature should remove barriers to participation in
dependency hearings in order to promote family reunification
and decrease the number of children in the child welfare
system."
2)What This Bill Would Do : This bill allows for the use of
conferencing technology for prisoners to participate in
judicial proceedings involving their parental rights or a
dependency petition for their child under Welfare and
Institutions Code Section 300. Current law provides prisoners
with the right to attend these proceedings; this bill provides
additional conferencing technology options for how they could
participate, subject to availability, at the discretion of the
court, and if the participation otherwise complies with the
law.
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This bill also provides that prisoners shall not lose internal
job placement opportunities, be removed from a court-ordered
course, or be denied any earned privileges as a result of his
or her participation in these proceedings, whether in person
or by videoconference or teleconference, unless the prisoner
is absent from the institution for this purpose for more than
10 days.
Finally, this bill authorizes CDCR to establish a pilot project
to facilitate the participation of incarcerated parents in
dependency court hearings regarding their children, to be
funded privately, as specified.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Friends Outside (Sponsor)
Los Angeles Dependency Lawyers, Inc. (Sponsor)
California Commission on the Status of Women
California Public Defenders Association
Children's Law Center of Los Angeles
Family Law Section of the State Bar of California
Judicial Council of California
County Welfare Directors Association of California
Service Employees International Union, Local 1000
Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744