BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1064
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Date of Hearing: June 26, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Jim Beall Jr., Chair
SB 1064 (De Leon) - As Amended: April 16, 2012
SENATE VOTE : 28-7
SUBJECT : Immigration: Child Custody and Child Welfare Services
SUMMARY : Prohibits the use of a person's immigration status
from being taken into account when reunification services are
provided to parents or relatives of children who have been
removed from the home when the parent has been detained or
deported by federal immigration authorities. Establishes a
process by which documents from a person's country of origin may
be used for purposes of a background check. It also requires
the Department of Social Services (DSS) to provide counties
guidance and technical assistance in the identification and
provision of services for children in the child welfare system
whose parents have been detained or deported by federal
immigration authorities. Specifically, this bill :
1)Allows a parent, legal guardian, or relative, regardless of
immigration status to be granted custody, as long as it is in
the best interest of the child.
2)Allows a relative to file a petition for appointment or be
appointed as a guardian regardless of their immigration
status.
3)Allows a social worker to release a child into the temporary
custody of the child's parent, guardian or relative,
regardless of immigration status.
4)Allows a relative's foreign passport or identification card
from a foreign consulate to be considered a valid form of
identification to conduct a criminal background check for the
purposes of determining the lawful and appropriate temporary
custody placement of a child.
5)Allows a social worker, by order of the court, to place a
child with a parent regardless of their immigration status,
when the child has been deemed a ward or dependent of the
court.
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6)Includes for purposes of preferential placement consideration
the child's relative regardless of the relative's immigration
status, when the child has been deemed a ward or dependent of
the court.
7)Allows a relative or guardian's foreign passport or
identification card from a foreign consulate to be considered
a valid form of identification to conduct a criminal
background check for the purposes of determining the lawful
and appropriate placement of a child.
8)Allows a court to extend by six months, from 12 to 18, the
amount of time that reunification services can be provided if
it is found that the parent has been detained or deported by
the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
9)Exempts a parent detained or deported by DHS from being
required to participate in court ordered counseling or other
treatment services for the purposes of facilitating
reunification with the child.
10)Directs the court, to the extent possible, to make reasonable
efforts to assist parents who have been deported to contact
child welfare authorities in their country of origin, to
identify any available services that would substantially
comply with case plan requirements, to document the parents'
participation in those services, and to accept reports from
local child welfare authorities as to the parents' living
situation, progress, and participation in services.
11)Requires the child's supervising agency or the overseeing
adoption agency to provide information to the caregiver,
regardless of their immigration status, information regarding
the permanency options of guardianship and adoption, including
the long-term benefits and consequences of each option, prior
to establishing legal guardianship or pursuing adoption.
12)Allows the court to extend by six months the permanency
review hearing, held 12 months after the disposition of the
child, if the parent has been detained or deported by DHS and
the court determines that either the parent has made
reasonable efforts to regain custody of the child or that
termination of parental rights would be detrimental to the
child, as specified.
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13)Requires the court to take into consideration whether to hold
a permanency hearing for a child who was under three years of
age at the time of removal from the home or is a member of a
sibling group, as defined, if the parent's detention by DHS
would present a barrier to their inability to maintain contact
with his or her child.
14)Requires the court to continue a subsequent permanency review
hearing by six months, provided that the hearing occurs within
24 months of the child being removed from the home, if the
court finds it substantially probable that the child will be
returned to the custody of their parents and the parents are
discharged from DHS detention or return to the United States
following their deportation to their country of origin.
15)Requires information, to the extent possible, to be included
in a child's child welfare case plan if reunification services
were being provided during the parent's detention or prior to
their deportation to their country of origin.
16)Requires DSS to provide guidance to counties and
municipalities on the establishment of a memoranda of
understanding with the appropriate foreign consulates for
child custody cases in which a parent has been arrested and
issued an immigration hold, has been detained by the United
States Department of Homeland Security, or has been deported
to his or her country of origin, no later than July 1, 2013,
as specified.
17)Requires DSS to provide guidance to counties and
municipalities detailing procedures for social workers to
assist children in child custody and dependency cases to apply
for special immigrant juvenile status under federal law before
they turn 21 years of age or get married.
EXISTING LAW
1)States that the purpose of foster care law is to provide
maximum safety and protection for children who are currently
being physically, sexually, emotionally abused, neglected, or
exploited, and to ensure the safety, protection, and physical
and emotional well-being of children who are at risk of harm.
2)States the intent of the Legislature to preserve and
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strengthen a child's family ties whenever possible and to
reunify a foster youth with their biological family whenever
possible, or to provide a permanent placement alternative,
such as adoption or guardianship.
3)Allows a juvenile court to adjudge a child a ward or a
dependent of the court for specified reasons, including but
not limited to if the child has been left without any
provision for support, as specified.
4)Establishes a state and local system of child welfare
services, including foster care, for children who have been
adjudged by the court to be at risk or have been abused or
neglected, as specified.
5)Establishes a process for the identification and placement of
a ward or dependent of the court with a parent, relative or
extended relative or other form of guardianship.
6)Requires all adults caring for or living with a foster youth
to undergo a criminal background check and precludes the
Director of DSS from allowing any foster youth to be placed
with individuals convicted of certain crimes, as specified.
7)Places eligibility conditions upon individuals who may serve
as a guardian over a ward or dependent of the court.
8)Requires the courts to conduct review and permanency hearings
for youth in the child welfare system and to take into
consideration the reasons for the child's circumstances for
removal, the parents' efforts to reunify with the child, and
other related conditions when determining whether to allow the
child to reunite with their biological family or be placed in
an alternative permanency placement.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Need for the bill:
According to the author, "parents in immigration detainment are
frequently unable to access services and meet requirements set
out by dependency courts to regain custody of their children.
Many have lost custody of their children, their parental rights
terminated, and their children given up for adoption-not because
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they were incompetent parents but simply because of their
immigration status. It is unacceptable for families to be
separated in this way."
Senate Bill 1064 is a comprehensive attempt to eliminate family
reunification barriers in the child welfare system for parents
who have been detained or deported by providing the courts and
social workers the tools necessary to determine what is in the
best interest of the child."
Child Welfare System
The purpose of California's Child Welfare System (CWS) is to
provide for the protection and the health and safety of
children. Within this purpose, the desired outcome is to reunite
children with their biological parents, when appropriate, to
help preserve and strengthen families. However, if reunification
with the biological family is not appropriate, children are
placed in the best environment possible, whether that is with a
relative, guardianship or adoption.
In the case of children who are at risk of abuse, neglect or
abandonment, county juvenile courts hold legal jurisdiction and
children are served by the CWS through the appointment of a
social worker. Through this system, there are multiple stages
where the custody of the child or their placement are evaluated,
reviewed and determined by the judicial system, in consultation
with the child's social worker to help provide the best possible
services to the child.
At the time a child is identified as needing child welfare
services and is in the temporary custody of a social worker, the
social worker is required to identify whether there is a
relative or guardian to whom a child may be released, unless the
social worker believes that the child would be at risk of abuse,
neglect or abandonment if placed with that relative or guardian.
(Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 306 and 309)
The Welfare and Institutions Code also lays out the conditions
under which a court may deem a child a dependent or ward of the
court, including when the parent has been incarcerated or
institutionalized and is unable to arrange for care for the
child, such as placement with a known relative. If the child is
deemed a dependent or ward of the court, the court will maintain
the child in their home, remove the child from the home but with
the goal of reunifying them with their family, or identify
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another form of permanent placement. Unless the child is not
able to be placed with the parent, the court is required to give
preference to a relative of the child in order to preserve the
child's association with his or her family. Associated with the
placement, the assigned social worker shall develop a case plan
for the child, which outlines the placement for the child, sets
forth services necessary for the child, and outlines the
provision of reunification services, if necessary and
appropriate.
Reunification Services
When children are removed from the home, but the court
determines, in consultation with a child's social worker, that
the child would ultimately benefit from being returned to the
family, the court may order reunification services for the
parents. Reunification services are generally developed on a
case-by-case basis to accommodate and respond to the needs of
the child and the parents to better facilitate the child's
reunification with his or her parent(s).
Reunifications services can include family therapy, parenting
classes, drug and alcohol abuse treatment, respite care, parent
support groups, home visiting programs, and other coordinated
and tailored services necessary to assist the child and the
family with reunification. Under current law, for children under
the age of three, reunification services are offered for six
months and 12 months for children over the age of three.
Shattered Families
In November, 2011 the Applied Research Center (ARC) released a
report titled "Shattered Families: The Perilous Intersection of
Immigration Enforcement and the Child Welfare System." According
to the ARC, this report is the first of its kind in the nation
to assess and detail the number of children and the
circumstances under which they are placed in the child welfare
system due to their parent(s) being detained or deported by
federal immigration authorities.
Through this report, the ARC "conservatively estimates that
there are at least 5,100 children currently living in foster
care whose parents have been either detained or deported."
Based upon extensive surveys of child welfare case workers and
juvenile dependency attorneys, most of these children are United
States citizens. It also states further that if this trend
continues, "in the next five years, at least 15,000 more
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children will face these threats to reunification with their
detained and deported mothers and fathers."
According to a report by the Public Policy Institute of
California, over half of the children who enter foster care for
the first time are reunified with their birth parents. However,
the author states that:
?given the nature of the immigration system, this outcome
is less likely for immigrant families. Many counties, such
as Los Angeles and Fresno, have policies in place that make
family reunification or relative placement feasible for
these families, including alternative ways of identifying
relatives for background checks and partnerships with
foreign consulates.
However, some child welfare departments may lack the tools
necessary to keep families united when parents are detained
or deported. Systemic policies that specifically address
these conditions are necessary to ensure that children are
placed in stable environments. Additionally, given
California's fiscal woes, promoting relative placement and
family reunification for immigrant families has the
potential to decrease costs in the child welfare system, as
fewer children will be placed into care in the first place
and fewer will be kept in foster care unnecessarily.
AB 2070 (Bass), Chapter 482, Statutes of 2008
In 2008 California adopted AB 2070, which provided courts the
authority to extend the period of time reunification services
may be available to parents whose children are dependents of the
court in consideration of barriers faced by parents who are
incarcerated, institutionalized, or accessing residential
substance abuse treatment services. The intent of this measure
was to address the difficult circumstances incarceration
presents when a parent is required to meet limited reunification
time periods afforded under law. In some cases, parents were
having their parental rights terminated due to their
incarceration or efforts to seek substance abuse treatment that
may not have otherwise jeopardized their fitness as parents.
This measure seeks to add the detention or deportation of
parents as another allowable reason the court can take into
consideration when determining whether to extend the
reunification time period. According to the author, "even
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though a parent accused of a non-serious crime would normally be
released and able to follow through with the family
reunification process, non-citizen parents are frequently unable
to access services and meet requirements set out by dependency
courts to regain custody of their children. This is further
complicated by a parent's deportation because of the difficulty
in making arrangements in the country of origin."
Recognizing the challenges a parent may face when detained or
deported, which includes indeterminate periods of detention and
uncertainty, providing additional time by which reunification
services can be provided could help to avert the child having to
be permanently removed from their family unnecessarily.
Maintaining the Family
Historically, it has been the stated policy of California that
whenever possible and appropriate a child who is removed from
the home, first preference should be given to placing the child
with his or her relatives. This has helped to preserve and
strengthen the social bedrock of our society, by keeping
families together and reducing society's reliance on its social
welfare system.
However, according a number of reports conducted on the impact
immigration enforcement has on the child welfare system, many
child welfare agencies struggle to place children with relatives
who are undocumented. Although it is unclear whether this lack
of placement is due to bias, the reluctance of undocumented
relatives to come forward to care for the child for fear of
being detained or deported themselves, or other reasons, placing
children with their relatives, regardless of the relative's
immigration status is in the best interest of the child, the
family and society.
According to the author, "relatives can provide stable and
nurturing environments, and can help ease trauma of family
separation... The reality is that even if relatives are
undocumented, they can provide much stability and, in contrast
to foster care, they increase the chances of family
reunification because child welfare departments are not required
to petition for the termination of parental rights when a child
lives with their own family."
Guidance for County Welfare Agencies
This bill also requires DSS to provide guidance to counties, no
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later than July 1, 2013, to establish MOUs with appropriate
foreign consulates for cases in which a parent has been detained
or deported by DHS. The MOU must include, among other things,
procedures for contacting a foreign consulate at the onset of a
child custody case, locating a detained parent, facilitating
family reunification once a parent has been deported, aiding the
safe transfer of a child to the parent's country of origin, and
communicating with relevant departments and services in that
country.
According to the author, "consulates can often facilitate
communication with a parent's country of origin and their child
welfare agency, locate a detained parent, and access documents
for children and parents. With consulate involvement at the
onset of a case, social workers and the courts will have an
important tool at their disposal to expedite family
reunification."
It would also require DSS, prior to July 1, 2013, to provide
guidelines to counties and municipalities detailing procedures
for social workers to assist children in child custody and
dependency cases who are eligible for relief available under
immigration laws.
According to the author, "frequently, though children may be
eligible for this protective status, but social workers are not
aware of it, or do not know how to apply or locate the necessary
documents. As a result, children age out eligibility and are
left with the challenges of being undocumented." Undocumented,
dependent children who are unable to be reunified with one or
more of the parents because of abuse, neglect or abandonment,
are eligible to obtain legal status under a federal immigration
law known as Special Juvenile Immigrant Status. Other children
may achieve legal status under the Battered Immigrant Women
Protection Act of 2000.
SECOND COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE . This bill was previously heard
in the Assembly Judiciary Committee on June 19, 2012 and was
approved on an 8-0 vote.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
All Saints Church Foster Care Project
Alternative Family Services
American Civil Liberties Union of California
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
Applied Research Center
Asian Americans for Civil Rights & Equality
Asian Law Alliance
ASISTA Immigration Assistance
California Catholic Conference, Inc.
California Immigrant Policy Center
California Latinas for Reproductive Justice
California Partnership
California Partnership to end Domestic Violence (the
Partnership)
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
California United for a Responsible Budget
California Youth Connection
Center for Community Alternatives
Central American Resource Center (CARECEN)
Children's Defense Fund-California (CDF-CA)
Children's Law Center of California
Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, Los Angeles
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST)
Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross
First Focus Campaign for Children
Franciscan Action Network
Guam Communications Network (GCN)
Iglesia de la Comunidad, Presbyterian Church USA
Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Immigration Task Force of the United Methodist Church
Immigration Legal Resource Center
Justice Now
Latino Policy Coalition
Legal Services for Children
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Los Angeles Dependency Lawyers, Inc.
Lutheran Office of Public Policy California
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
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MomsRising.org
Mujeres Unidas y Activas
National Association of Social Workers
Public Counsel
Restoration Project, Tucson
Safe Passages
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Services, Immigrant Rights & Education Network
Street Level Health Project
The Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights
Tongan Community Service Center
Tucson Samaritans
9to5 National Association of Working Women
8 individuals
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Chris Reefe / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089