California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2001

Introduced by Assembly Member Ammiano

February 20, 2014

An act to amend Section 300 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to juveniles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2001, as introduced, Ammiano. Homeless youth: dependency proceedings.

Existing law provides that a child may come within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court and become a dependent child of the court in certain cases, including when the child is abused, a parent or guardian fails to adequately supervise or protect the child, as specified, or a parent or guardian fails to provide the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical treatment.

This bill would additionally provide that a child comes within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court when he or she is chronically homeless and the parent or guardian is unwilling or unable to assist the child. By expanding the jurisdiction of the juvenile court to include these children, the bill would impose new duties on county child welfare service employees, thereby creating a state-mandated local program.

Existing law creates the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care program, under which a combination of state, county, and federal funds, including funds provided under Title IV-E of the federal Social Security Act, are used to provide reimbursement to families and facilities providing foster care to eligible children.

This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to provide a path for homeless youth to receive independent living skills services from homeless youth shelters and group homes that specialize in providing services to homeless children and youth, and to secure federal funding for the provision of these services under Title IV-E of the federal Social Security Act.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

It is the intent of the Legislature to provide a path
for homeless youth to receive independent living skill services
from homeless youth shelters and group homes that specialize in
providing services to homeless children and youth, and to secure
federal funding for the provision of these services under Title IV-E
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 671 et seq.).

SEC. 2.  

Section 300 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:

300.  

Any child who comes within any of the following
descriptions is within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court which
may adjudge that person to be a dependent child of the court:

(a) The child has suffered, or there is a substantial risk that the
child will suffer, serious physical harm inflicted nonaccidentally
upon the child by the child’s parent or guardian. For the purposes
of this subdivision, a court may find there is a substantial risk of
serious future injury based on the manner in which a less serious
injury was inflicted, a history of repeated inflictions of injuries on
the child or the child’s siblings, or a combination of these and other
actions by the parent or guardian which indicate the child is at risk
of serious physical harm. For purposes of this subdivision, “serious
physical harm” does not include reasonable and age-appropriate
spanking to the buttocks where there is no evidence of serious
physical injury.

(b) The child has suffered, or there is a substantial risk that the
child will suffer, serious physical harm or illness, as a result of the
failure or inability of his or her parent or guardian to adequately
supervise or protect the child, or the willful or negligent failure of
the child’s parent or guardian to adequately supervise or protect
the child from the conduct of the custodian with whom the child
has been left, or by the willful or negligent failure of the parent or
guardian to provide the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter,
or medical treatment, or by the inability of the parent or guardian
to provide regular care for the child due to the parent’s or
guardian’s mental illness, developmental disability, or substance
abuse. No child shall be found to be a person described by this
subdivision solely due to the lack of an emergency shelter for the
family. Whenever it is alleged that a child comes within the
jurisdiction of the court on the basis of the parent’s or guardian’s
willful failure to provide adequate medical treatment or specific
decision to provide spiritual treatment through prayer, the court
shall give deference to the parent’s or guardian’s medical treatment,
nontreatment, or spiritual treatment through prayer alone in
accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church
or religious denomination, by an accredited practitioner thereof,
and shall not assume jurisdiction unless necessary to protect the
child from suffering serious physical harm or illness. In making
its determination, the court shall consider (1) the nature of the
treatment proposed by the parent or guardian, (2) the risks to the
child posed by the course of treatment or nontreatment proposed
by the parent or guardian, (3) the risk, if any, of the course of
treatment being proposed by the petitioning agency, and (4) the
likely success of the courses of treatment or nontreatment proposed
by the parent or guardian and agency. The child shall continue to
be a dependent child pursuant to this subdivision only so long as
is necessary to protect the child from risk of suffering serious
physical harm or illness.

(c) The child is suffering serious emotional damage, or is at
substantial risk of suffering serious emotional damage, evidenced
by severe anxiety, depression, withdrawal, or untoward aggressive
behavior toward self or others, as a result of the conduct of the
parent or guardian or who has no parent or guardian capable of
providing appropriate care. No child shall be found to be a person
described by this subdivision if the willful failure of the parent or
guardian to provide adequate mental health treatment is based on
a sincerely held religious belief and if a less intrusive judicial
intervention is available.

(d) The child has been sexually abused, or there is a substantial
risk that the child will be sexually abused, as defined in Section
11165.1 of the Penal Code, by his or her parent or guardian or a
member of his or her household, or the parent or guardian has
failed to adequately protect the child from sexual abuse when the
parent or guardian knew or reasonably should have known that
the child was in danger of sexual abuse.

(e) The child is under the age of five years and has suffered
severe physical abuse by a parent, or by any person known by the
parent, if the parent knew or reasonably should have known that
the person was physically abusing the child. For the purposes of
this subdivision, “severe physical abuse” means any of the
following: any single act of abuse which causes physical trauma
of sufficient severity that, if left untreated, would cause permanent
physical disfigurement, permanent physical disability, or death;
any single act of sexual abuse which causes significant bleeding,
deep bruising, or significant external or internal swelling; or more
than one act of physical abuse, each of which causes bleeding,
deep bruising, significant external or internal swelling, bone
fracture, or unconsciousness; or the willful, prolonged failure to
provide adequate food. A child may not be removed from the
physical custody of his or her parent or guardian on the basis of a
finding of severe physical abuse unless the social worker has made
an allegation of severe physical abuse pursuant to Section 332.

(f) The child’s parent or guardian caused the death of another
child through abuse or neglect.

(g) The child has been left without any provision for support;
physical custody of the child has been voluntarily surrendered
pursuant to Section 1255.7 of the Health and Safety Code and the
child has not been reclaimed within the 14-day period specified
in subdivision (e) of that section; the child’s parent has been
incarcerated or institutionalized and cannot arrange for the care of
the child; or a relative or other adult custodian with whom the child
resides or has been left is unwilling or unable to provide care or
support for the child, the whereabouts of the parent are unknown,
and reasonable efforts to locate the parent have been unsuccessful.

(h) The child has been freed for adoption by one or both parents
for 12 months by either relinquishment or termination of parental
rights or an adoption petition has not been granted.

(i) The child has been subjected to an act or acts of cruelty by
the parent or guardian or a member of his or her household, or the
parent or guardian has failed to adequately protect the child from
an act or acts of cruelty when the parent or guardian knew or
reasonably should have known that the child was in danger of
being subjected to an act or acts of cruelty.

(j) The child’s sibling has been abused or neglected, as defined
in subdivision (a), (b), (d), (e), or (i), and there is a substantial risk
that the child will be abused or neglected, as defined in those
subdivisions. The court shall consider the circumstances
surrounding the abuse or neglect of the sibling, the age and gender
of each child, the nature of the abuse or neglect of the sibling, the
mental condition of the parent or guardian, and any other factors
the court considers probative in determining whether there is a
substantial risk to the child.

begin insert

(k) The child is chronically homeless and the parent or guardian
is unwilling or unable to assist the child.

end insert

It is the intent of the Legislature that nothing in this section
disrupt the family unnecessarily or intrude inappropriately into
family life, prohibit the use of reasonable methods of parental
discipline, or prescribe a particular method of parenting. Further,
nothing in this section is intended to limit the offering of voluntary
services to those families in need of assistance but who do not
come within the descriptions of this section. To the extent that
savings accrue to the state from child welfare services funding
obtained as a result of the enactment of the act that enacted this
section, those savings shall be used to promote services which
support family maintenance and family reunification plans, such
as client transportation, out-of-home respite care, parenting
training, and the provision of temporary or emergency in-home
caretakers and persons teaching and demonstrating homemaking
skills. The Legislature further declares that a physical disability,
such as blindness or deafness, is no bar to the raising of happy and
well-adjusted children and that a court’s determination pursuant
to this section shall center upon whether a parent’s disability
prevents him or her from exercising care and control. The
Legislature further declares that a child whose parent has been
adjudged a dependent child of the court pursuant to this section
shall not be considered to be at risk of abuse or neglect solely
because of the age, dependent status, or foster care status of the
parent.

As used in this section, “guardian” means the legal guardian of
the child.

SEC. 3.  

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.