BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair S
2011-2012 Regular Session B
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SB 913 (Pavley)
As Amended March 29, 2011
Hearing date: April 5, 2011
Welfare and Institutions Code
AA:mc
JUVENILE JUSTICE:
MEDICAL CARE
HISTORY
Source: Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Prior Legislation: None
Support: Unknown
Opposition:None known
KEY ISSUES
SHOULD PROBATION OFFICERS HAVE THE STATUTORY AUTHORITY TO ORDER A
MEDICAL EXAM FOR AN ARRESTED MINOR, AS SPECIFIED?
SHOULD PROBATION OFFICERS HAVE THE STATUTORY AUTHORITY TO ORDER
MEDICAL, SURGICAL, DENTAL OR OTHER REMEDIAL CARE RECOMMENDED BY AN
ATTENDING HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL FOR AN ARRESTED MINOR WHERE THE
OFFICER HAS MADE REASONABLE EFFORTS TO NOTIFY AND OBTAIN THE CONSENT
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OF A PARENT OR GUARDIAN, AND THE PARENT OR GUARDIAN DOES NOT OBJECT,
AS SPECIFIED?
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to provide probation officers with
the statutory authority to 1) order a medical exam for an
arrested minor, as specified; and 2) order medical, surgical,
dental or other remedial care recommended by an attending health
care professional for an arrested minor where the officer has
made reasonable efforts to notify and obtain the consent of a
parent or guardian, and the parent or guardian does not object,
as specified.
Current law generally authorizes a peace officer to take a minor
into temporary custody without a warrant where the officer has
reasonable cause to believe the minor is delinquent, a ward of
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the court, or in need of medical care, as specified.<1>
(Welfare and Institutions Code ("WIC") � 625.)
Current law generally provides statutory authority for how
minors who have been taken into temporary custody can receive
medical, surgical, dental or other remedial care. (WIC � 739.)
Current law specifically provides that the "probation officer
shall notify the parent, guardian, or person standing in loco
parentis of the person, if any, of the care found to be needed
before the care is provided, and if the parent, guardian, or
person standing in loco parentis objects, the care shall be
given only upon order of the court in the exercise of its
discretion." If there is no parent or other person capable or
willing to authorize treatment, current law authorizes the court
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<1> Specifically, WIC section 625 provides that a "peace
officer may, without a warrant, take into temporary custody a
minor: (a) Who is under the age of 18 years when such officer
has reasonable cause for believing that such minor is a person
described in Section 601 or 602, or (b) Who is a ward of the
juvenile court or concerning whom an order has been made under
Section 636 or 702, when such officer has reasonable cause for
believing that person has violated an order of the juvenile
court or has escaped from any commitment ordered by the juvenile
court, or (c) Who is under the age of 18 years and who is found
in any street or public place suffering from any sickness or
injury which requires care, medical treatment, hospitalization,
or other remedial care. In any case where a minor is taken into
temporary custody on the ground that there is reasonable cause
for believing that such minor is a person described in Section
601 or 602, or that he has violated an order of the juvenile
court or escaped from any commitment ordered by the juvenile
court, the officer shall advise such minor that anything he says
can be used against him and shall advise him of his
constitutional rights, including his right to remain silent, his
right to have counsel present during any interrogation, and his
right to have counsel appointed if he is unable to afford
counsel.
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to make an order for the performance of the necessary care, as
specified. (Id.)
This bill would provide statutory authority for the probation
officer to authorize a medical exam that complies with the
regulations promulgated by the Corrections Standards Authority.
This bill would authorize probation officers to authorize any
follow-up treatment recommended by the physician as a result of
the medical exam, if the minor remains in the temporary custody
of the probation officer.
This bill further would provide that if the person is in need of
medical care, as specified, the probation officer would be
authorized to order the care if the officer makes "reasonable
efforts to notify and obtain the consent" of a parent or
guardian, as specified. The bill retains existing law which
provides that if the parent or guardian, as specified, objects,
the care shall be given only upon order of the court.
This bill would provide that nothing in the section this bill is
amending "shall be construed to interfere with a minor's right
to make medical decisions pursuant to existing law."
RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION
For the last several years, severe overcrowding in California's
prisons has been the focus of evolving and expensive litigation.
As these cases have progressed, prison conditions have
continued to be assailed, and the scrutiny of the federal courts
over California's prisons has intensified.
On June 30, 2005, in a class action lawsuit filed four years
earlier, the United States District Court for the Northern
District of California established a Receivership to take
control of the delivery of medical services to all California
state prisoners confined by the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation ("CDCR"). In December of 2006,
plaintiffs in two federal lawsuits against CDCR sought a
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court-ordered limit on the prison population pursuant to the
federal Prison Litigation Reform Act. On January 12, 2010, a
three-judge federal panel issued an order requiring California
to reduce its inmate population to 137.5 percent of design
capacity -- a reduction at that time of roughly 40,000 inmates
-- within two years. The court stayed implementation of its
ruling pending the state's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
On Monday, June 14, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear
the state's appeal of this order and, on Tuesday, November 30,
2010, the Court heard oral arguments. A decision is expected as
early as this spring.
In response to the unresolved prison capacity crisis, in early
2007 the Senate Committee on Public Safety began holding
legislative proposals which could further exacerbate prison
overcrowding through new or expanded felony prosecutions.
This bill does not appear to aggravate the prison overcrowding
crisis described above.
COMMENTS
1. Stated Need for This Bill
The author states:
State regulations require a routine physical
examination of all minors within 96-hours of being
taken into custody and detained in juvenile halls.
The routine physical examination includes, but is not
limited to, blood tests and other lab work,
immunizations, administration of medication, x-rays,
all of which requires the consent of a parent or legal
guardian. In most cases, the parent or legal guardian
cannot be found or does not respond to requests for
consent, which could leave the minor, as well as other
juvenile detainees, at risk for undetected medical
conditions. It is critical that statutory authority
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be given to County Probation Officers to provide
consent for routine medical examinations if the parent
or legal guardian cannot be found or does not respond
to requests for consent. A minor's health could be
jeopardized without receiving prompt medical attention
once detained, as well as the health of the other
detainees and the staff of the Probation Department.
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State law mandates that consent from a parent or legal
guardian be obtained in order to perform or administer
blood tests and other lab work, immunizations,
medications, and x-rays on a minor. There are many
cases when a minor's medical care is delayed because
medical consent cannot be obtained from a parent or
legal guardian. Delay in treatment may ultimately
land the child in the emergency room, thus aggravating
overcrowded ERs and exacerbating costs.
2. What This Bill Would Do
This bill would amend existing statutory language regarding
medical care for minors who have been taken into temporary
custody. Specifically, this bill would provide clear statutory
authority for probation officers to order a medical exam for a
minor who has been taken into temporary custody. As noted by
the author, current regulations applicable to local juvenile
facilities require that minors who are detained in local
juvenile facilities, like juvenile halls, require a health
appraisal/medical examination within 96 hours of admission.
(CCR Title 15, � 1432.) This bill would clarify the statutory
authority to conduct these initial assessment exams. This bill
also would provide that a probation officer may also authorize
any followup treatment recommended by the physician as a result
of the medical exam, if the minor remains in the temporary
custody of the probation officer.
Existing regulations similarly address consent for health care.
(CCR Title 15 � 1434 et seq.) This bill would allow probation
officers to authorize medical, surgical, dental or other
remedial care recommended by an attending health care
professional for an arrested minor where the officer has made
reasonable efforts to notify and obtain the consent of a parent
or guardian, and the parent or guardian does not object.
3. Suggested Technical Amendments
The author and/or the Committee may wish to consider whether the
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language in the bill as now drafted might be revised to make its
provisions more clear. The following suggestions are reflected
in strikeout and underlining; the amendments now in the bill are
reflected in italics:
. . . If the person is in need of medical, surgical,
dental, or other remedial care and the , provided the
probation officer has made a reasonable but
unsuccessful effort to notify the parent, guardian, or
person standing in loco parentis of the person, first
makes a reasonable effort, the probation officer may,
upon the recommendation of the attending physician and
surgeon or, if the person needs dental care and there
is an attending dentist, the attending dentist,
authorize the performance of that medical, surgical,
dental, or other remedial care. The probation officer
may also authorize any followup treatment recommended
by the physician as a result of the medical exam, if
the minor remains in the temporary custody of the
probation officer. The probation officer also may
authorize any additional treatment necessary for the
health of the minor and recommended by the physician
as a result of the medical exam, provided that the
minor remains in the temporary custody of the
probation officer. The probation officer shall make
reasonable efforts to notify and obtain the consent of
the parent, guardian, or person standing in loco
parentis of the person, if any, of the care found to
be needed before the care is provided, and if the
parent, guardian, or person standing in loco parentis
objects, the care shall be given only upon order of
the court in the exercise of its discretion.
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