BILL NUMBER: AB 2315 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 26, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 3, 2000
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Mazzoni
FEBRUARY 24, 2000
An act to add Section 1203.15 to the Penal Code, and to add
Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 16575) to Part 4 of Division 9 of
the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to children of
incarcerated parents.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2315, as amended, Mazzoni. Children of incarcerated parents.
Existing law provides various services for the care of children,
including foster care placement, child welfare services, services for
children who are exposed to alcohol or drugs or who are HIV
positive.
This bill would require the Attorney General and the Secretary of
the Health and Human Services Agency to convene a study group within
2 months of enactment of this act to include representatives of state
and local law enforcement, child welfare and mental health agencies,
and the courts for the purpose of developing a model protocol that
addresses how best to ensure the temporary and long-term safety,
security, and care of children at the time of their parent's arrest.
The bill would require the arresting officer to inquire at
the time of an arrest whether the arrested individual has dependent
children and where they are located. In any case in which the
arresting officer suspects that the children of an arrestee may not
have any provision for care and supervision, this information would
be required to be shared with child protective service agencies and
the courts. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would also require the report filed by the probation
officer with the court prior to sentencing to include a discussion of
whether or not a defendant over 18 years of age has children, and
what arrangements exist for the care of the children if the defendant
is to be incarcerated. The court would be required to inquire at
the time of sentencing a defendant to incarceration if there is an
appropriate arrangement for child care. If there is not an
appropriate arrangement the court would be authorized to refer the
matter of the children's care and custody to the family or probate
court, or to the child protective services agency for assessment,
review, and appropriate disposition. By increasing the duties of
local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
Additionally, the bill would require the Secretary of the Health
and Human Services Agency and the Secretary of the Adult and Youth
Correctional Agency to convene the Advisory Committee on the Children
of Incarcerated Parents. The committee would be comprised of
representatives from the Department of Education, the Judicial
Council, visitor center providers, researchers, and local law
enforcement and child welfare agencies. The committee would be
required to develop recommendations on how to provide and target
state and local services to children of incarcerated parents and
caregivers. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
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, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund
to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide
and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed
$1,000,000.
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. Section 1203.15 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
1203.15. (a) The report filed by the probation officer with the
court prior to sentencing pursuant to Section 1203 shall include a
discussion of whether or not a defendant over 18 years of age has
children, and what arrangements exist for the care of a defendant's
children if the defendant is to be incarcerated. When a sentence
includes incarceration, the court shall inquire at the time of
sentencing of any defendant who has children whether there is an
appropriate arrangement to provide care for the defendant's children
if incarcerated. If the court believes that an adequate care
arrangement for the defendant's children does not exist, the court
may directly refer the matter of the children's care and custody to
the family or probate court for appropriate orders, or to the County
Child Protective Services Agency for assessment, review, and
appropriate disposition.
(b) The Judicial Council shall adopt rules and forms to implement
this section.
SEC. 2. Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 16575) is added to Part
4 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
CHAPTER 6. CHILDREN OF INCARCERATED PARENTS
16575. This article shall be known and may be cited as the
Children of Incarcerated Parents Act of 2000.
16576. The Legislature declares as follows:
(a) An estimated 80 percent of the 11,600 women in state youth and
adult correctional facilities, and the approximately 10,000 women in
county jails, are parents. Most of these women are single parents
who have an average of two children. Approximately three-fourths of
these women had custody of their children at the time of their
arrest.
(b) About one in five children are present at the time of their
parent's arrest, and many of these children are between the ages of
three and six years old.
(c) The children of incarcerated parents may suffer from
separation anxiety, fear, and guilt, and may act out by withdrawing
or by aggressive behavior. Repeated separations due to their parent'
s recidivism may aggravate these problems.
(d) The children of incarcerated parents are at risk for poor
outcomes in school, mental health and social problems, and juvenile
delinquency. There is increasing evidence of intergenerational
incarceration.
(e) Most jurisdictions do not request or collect family
information from arrested persons, nor do they have protocols in
place to define official roles and responsibilities for addressing
the needs of the children of prisoners at the time of arrest or at
sentencing.
16577. (a) The Attorney General and the Secretary of the Health
and Human Services Agency shall jointly convene a study group within
two months of enactment of this chapter, to include representatives
of state and local law enforcement, child welfare and mental health
agencies, and the courts. The study group shall develop a model
protocol within six months of its first meeting that addresses how
best to ensure the temporary and long-term safety, security, and care
of children at the time of their parent's arrest. This
would include having the arresting officer inquire at the time of
arrest whether the arrestees have dependent children and where those
children are located. In any case in which the arresting officer
suspects that the children of an arrestee may not have any provision
for care and supervision, information about the children and their
whereabouts shall be shared with child protective service agencies
and the courts as soon as possible, in a manner specified by the
model protocol.
(b) The study group shall disseminate the model protocol to county
boards of supervisors and city councils, and to local law
enforcement, judicial, child welfare, and mental health agencies.
(c) Upon enactment of this chapter, counties shall ensure that
they have in place standard operating procedures for identifying,
locating, and providing appropriate arrangements to ensure the
safety, security, and well-being of the minor child of an arrestee.
Upon receiving the model protocol developed by the state study group,
counties shall again review the standard operating procedures and
incorporate any elements of the model protocol that may be missing
from those standard operating procedures.
(c) Upon receiving the model protocol, counties shall review their
operating procedures for identifying, locating, and providing
appropriate arrangements to ensure the safety, security, and
well-being of the minor child of an arrestee, and incorporate any
elements of the model protocol that may be missing from those
operating procedures.
16578. (a) The Secretary of the Health and Human Services Agency
and the Secretary of the Adult and Youth Correctional Agency shall
jointly convene the Advisory Committee on the Children of
Incarcerated Parents. The advisory committee shall include agency
officials and representatives from the Department of Education, the
Judicial Council, visitor center providers, researchers, and local
law enforcement and child welfare agencies, as appointed by the
secretaries.
(b) The advisory committee shall develop recommendations within
six months on how to best provide and target state and local services
to the children of incarcerated parents and caregivers. The
committee shall suggest how to develop a data base that will track
the needs and outcomes of these children while ensuring
confidentiality of the data. The committee shall also consider how
to facilitate visitation with the incarcerated parent when in the
best interest of the child.
SEC. 3. Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, 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. If the statewide cost of the claim for
reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000),
reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.