BILL NUMBER: AB 2315 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 25, 2000
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 7, 2000
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 28, 2000
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 12, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 26, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 3, 2000
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Mazzoni and Strom-Martin
(Coauthors: Senators Escutia, Polanco, Solis, and Vasconcellos)
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 6 months of enactment of this act to
include representatives of state and local law enforcement, child
welfare and mental health agencies, parents who have been
incarcerated, individuals who were minors during periods when a
parent was incarcerated, and the courts for the purpose of
developing, by March 2002, 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, including the role and
responsibilities of the arresting officer to make appropriate
inquiries and referrals.
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
report shall include , and the location of the
children and their caretakers and . At the
option of county boards of supervisors, the report would be
referred to the County Child Protective Services Agency for
assessment, review, and appropriate disposition , as specified
. 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, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of
the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency to convene the Advisory
Committee on the Children of Incarcerated Parents. The committee
would be comprised of officials from those agencies, as well as
representatives from the Department of Education, the Department of
Justice, the Judicial Council, visitor center providers, researchers,
parents who have been incarcerated, individuals who were minors
during periods when a parent was incarcerated, and local law
enforcement and child welfare agencies. The committee would be
required to develop, within one year, 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
. The report shall include , and the location
of the children and their caretakers. This section of the
presentencing report shall be referred to the County Child Protective
Services Agency for assessment, review, and appropriate disposition.
(b) At the option of county boards of supervisors, this section of
the presentencing report shall be referred to the County Child
Protective Services Agency for assessment, review, and appropriate
disposition to ensure the safety, protection, and physical and
emotional well-being of children who are at risk of harm, as
authorized by Section 16504 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
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 More than two-thirds 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 shall
convene a study group within six months of enactment of this
chapter, to include representatives of state and local law
enforcement, child welfare and mental health agencies, parents who
have been incarcerated, individuals who were minors during periods
when a parent was incarcerated, and the courts. The study group
shall develop a model protocol by March 2002 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, including the role and
responsibilities of the arresting officer to make appropriate
inquiries and referrals.
(b) The study group Department of Justice
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 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,
the Attorney General, and the Secretary of the Youth and Adult
Correctional Agency shall jointly convene the Advisory Committee on
the Children of Incarcerated Parents. The advisory committee shall
include officials from those agencies and the Department of Justice,
as well as representatives from the Department of Education, the
Judicial Council, visitor center providers, researchers, parents who
have been incarcerated, individuals who were minors during periods
when a parent was incarcerated, and local law enforcement and child
welfare agencies, as appointed by the secretaries of those agencies
and the Attorney General.
(b) The advisory committee shall develop recommendations within
one year 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.