BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 652
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 7, 2013
Counsel: Shaun Naidu
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 652 (Ammiano) - As Introduced: February 21, 2013
SUMMARY : States that for the purposes of the Child Abuse and
Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA), the fact that a child is homeless
or is classified as an unaccompanied minor, as defined, is not,
in and of itself, a sufficient basis for reporting child abuse
or neglect.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Defines "child" under CANRA to mean person under the age of 18
years. (Penal Code Section 11165.)
2)Defines "neglect" under CANRA to mean the negligent treatment
or the maltreatment of a child by a person responsible for the
child's welfare under circumstances indicating harm or
threatened harm to the child's health or welfare. The term
includes both acts and omissions on the part of the
responsible person. (Penal Code Section 11165.2.)
3)Defines "severe neglect" under CANRA to mean the negligent
failure of a person having the care or custody of a child to
protect the child from severe malnutrition or medically
diagnosed nonorganic failure to thrive. "Severe neglect" also
includes situations of neglect where any person having the
care or custody of a child willfully causes or permits the
person or health of the child to be placed in a situation such
that his or her person or health is endangered, as specified,
including the intentional failure to provide adequate food,
clothing, shelter, or medical care. [Penal Code Section
11165.2(a).]
4)Defines "general neglect" under CANRA to mean the negligent
failure of a person having the care or custody of a child to
provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or
supervision where no physical injury to the child has
occurred. [Penal Code Section 11165.2(b).]
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5)Defines "child abuse or neglect" under CANRA to include
physical injury or death inflicted by other than accidental
means upon a child by another person, sexual abuse as defined,
neglect as defined, the willful harming or injuring of a child
or the endangering of the person or health of a child as
defined, and unlawful corporal punishment or injury as
defined. "Child abuse or neglect" does not include a mutual
affray between minors or an injury caused by reasonable and
necessary force used by a peace officer acting within the
course and scope of his or her employment as a peace officer.
(Penal Code Section 11165.6.)
6)Defines "mandated reporter" under Child Abuse and Neglect
Reporting Act (CANRA) as any of the following: a teacher; an
instructional aide; a teacher's aide or teacher's assistant
employed by any public or private school; a classified
employee of any public school; an administrative officer or
supervisor of child welfare and attendance, or a certificated
pupil personnel employee of any public or private school; an
administrator of a public or private day camp; an
administrator or employee of a public or private youth center,
youth recreation program, or youth organization; an
administrator or employee of a public or private organization
whose duties require direct contact and supervision of
children; any employee of a county office of education or the
State Department of Education, whose duties bring the employee
into contact with children on a regular basis; a licensee, an
administrator, or an employee of a licensed community care or
child day care facility; a Head Start program teacher; a
licensing worker or licensing evaluator employed by a
licensing agency as defined; a public assistance worker; an
employee of a child care institution, including, but not
limited to, foster parents, group home personnel, and
personnel of residential care facilities; a social worker,
probation officer, or parole officer; an employee of a school
district police or security department; any person who is an
administrator or presenter of, or a counselor in, a child
abuse prevention program in any public or private school; a
district attorney investigator, inspector, or local child
support agency caseworker unless the investigator, inspector,
or caseworker is working with an attorney appointed to
represent a minor; a peace officer, as defined, who is not
otherwise described in this section; a firefighter, except for
volunteer firefighters; a physician and surgeon, psychiatrist,
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psychologist, dentist, resident, intern, podiatrist,
chiropractor, licensed nurse, dental hygienist, optometrist,
marriage and family therapist, clinical social worker,
professional clinical counselor, or any other person who is
currently licensed as a health care professional as specified;
any emergency medical technician I or II, paramedic, or other
person certified to provide emergency medical services; a
registered psychological assistant; a marriage and family
therapist trainee, as defined; a registered unlicensed
marriage and family therapist intern; a state or county public
health employee who treats a minor for venereal disease or any
other condition; a coroner; a medical examiner, or any other
person who performs autopsies; a commercial film and
photographic print processor, as defined; a child visitation
monitor, as defined; an animal control officer or humane
society officer, as defined; a clergy member, as defined; any
custodian of records of a clergy member, as specified; any
employee of any police department, county sheriff's
department, county probation department, or county welfare
department; an employee or volunteer of a Court Appointed
Special Advocate program, as defined; any custodial officer,
as defined; any person providing services to a minor child, as
specified; an alcohol and drug counselor, as defined; a
clinical counselor trainee, as defined; and a registered
clinical counselor intern. (Penal Code Section 11165.7(a).)
7)States that any mandated reporter who fails to report an
incident of known or reasonably suspected child abuse or
neglect is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by up to 6
months confinement in a county jail, by a fine of $1,000, or
by both that imprisonment and fine. States that if a mandated
reporter intentionally conceals his or her failure to report
an incident known by the mandated reporter to be abuse or
severe neglect, the failure to report is a continuing offense
until a specified agency discovers the offense. (Penal Code
Section 11166(c).)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "It is hard to
imagine a youth desiring to be taken into police custody or
returned by police to a home the youth has fled. Many of the
unaccompanied minors on the street are foster youth that have
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fled the child welfare system and feel the system has failed
them. Allowing mandated reporters to not report solely based
on homelessness allows the youth to access services and the
service providers that specialize in homeless youth services
to effectively do their jobs. Most importantly, the barrier
keeping many youth from seeking services is removed and we are
able to reduce the number of homeless youth on the streets
engaging in risky behavior."
2)Background : Youth most often contribute family conflict and
breakdown-commonly abuse or neglect, alcohol or drug addiction
of a family member, pregnancy, and rejection over sexual
orientation-as the major reason for their homelessness or
episodes of running away. (Adrienne L. Fernandes,
Congressional Research Service, Runaway and Homeless Youth:
Demographics, Programs, and Emerging Issues, (January 2007) p.
6.) Additionally, a sizeable portion of homeless youth
reported being physically or sexually abused at home in the
prior year or feared abuse upon returning home. (Id. at pp.
6-7.)
According to the author, "Studies have shown that only 1 in 12
unaccompanied youth seek services, like shelter, health care,
food, education, employment, etc., largely due to the fear of
being referred to law enforcement or child welfare."
3)State Estimates of Homeless Youth : As reported by the
California Homeless Youth Project, the size of the homeless
youth population in the state is not known as that data is not
reliably collected. The California Homeless Youth Project
states:
The total number of young people who are staying in
shelters, sleeping on their friends' couches and
floors, staying in abandoned buildings, camping in
parks or woods, and living on the streets in
California is not known. In addition, there is not a
reliable estimate based on state-level data. While
limited data on homeless youth is reported to one
department, the state has not collected information on
this population through periodic surveys and does not
have a comprehensive reporting system.
The John Burton Foundation for Children without Homes
and the California Coalition for Youth extrapolated
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the following state estimate from national data:
200,000 homeless youth ages 12 to17, along with
numerous 18 to 24 year-olds, are likely to be homeless
over the course of a year. In the absence of an
established and reliable statewide estimate of
homeless youth, this number has been widely adopted.
(Lisa K. Foster, MSW, MPA, California Homeless Youth
Project, Estimating California's Homeless Youth
Population (Oct. 2010) p. 4 (footnotes omitted).)
Overrepresented in the homeless population are lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth. According
to the California Homeless Youth Project, estimates range
from 7% of homeless youth receiving services to 39% of
street youth are LGBT. (California Homeless Youth
Project, Youth Homelessness in California: A Quick
Overview, p. 2.) Moreover, LGBT youth leave home more
frequently and are subject to greater victimization than
heterosexual homeless youth while on the street. (Ibid.)
4)Arguments in Support :
a) According to the National Association for the Education
of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) , "Educators and
youth service providers know that young people often do not
seek services for fear of being reported to child welfare.
Over the past six months, NAEHCY surveyed school district
homeless liaisons and homeless youth service providers in
San Diego and Sacramento about barriers to youth receiving
services. The number one barrier to homeless youth under
18 seeking services was: 'Youth are afraid to seek services
due to fears of being reported to police or CPS (foster
care).' A draft report from Massachusetts Appleseed Center
for Law and Justice shares similar results for a survey of
service providers in that state: Nearly 85% of the
providers agreed that fear of being reported to the state
prevents youth from coming forward to access needed
services." (Internal citations omitted.)
b) The California Teachers Association (CTA) states, "Child
abuse is a crime, while homelessness is simply a condition
we would like to change. CTA believes that the mere fact
of homelessness does not equate to abuse or neglect.
Children living in multi-family dwellings who are deemed
homeless certainly should not be considered neglected.
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Additionally, homeless but conscientious parents who
otherwise would reach out for assistance are intimidated in
doing so when a teacher is mandated to report them for
neglect because of their residential status."
5)Related Legislation :
a) AB 309 (Mitchell) clarifies requirements pertaining to
CalFresh applications submitted by unaccompanied homeless
children and youth. AB 309 is pending referral by the
Senate Rules Committee.
b) AB 951 (Medina) requires the local educational agency to
train its school administrators and certified and
classified staff at least once a year regarding the
educational rights of homeless children and youth. AB 951
is awaiting a hearing in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee.
c) SB 177 (Liu) requires the Department of Social Services
to convene a workgroup to develop policies and practices to
support homeless children and youths and to ensure that
child abuse and neglect reporting requirements do not
create barriers to the school enrollment and attendance.
SB 177 is awaiting a hearing in the Senate Appropriations
Committee.
6)Prior Legislation : SB 123 (Liu), of the 2011-12 Legislative
Session, would have required the California Emergency
Management Agency, in collaboration with specified entities,
to develop a statewide plan for runaway, homeless, and
exploited youth. SB 123 was held on the Senate Appropriations
Committee suspense file.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Coalition for Youth
California Teachers Association
National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and
Youth
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
Opposition
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None
Analysis Prepared by : Shaun Naidu / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744