BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2315
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Date of Hearing: May 24, 2000
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Carole Migden, Chairwoman
AB 2315 (Mazzoni) - As Amended: May 3, 2000
Policy Committee: Human
ServicesVote:6-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the Children of Incarcerated Parents Act
of 2000 to ensure the safety of children whose parents are
arrested or incarcerated. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires county probation officers to include information
about children of arrestees in pre-sentencing reports and make
arrangements for their care if the defendant is to be
incarcerated. Requires the court at sentencing to make
similar inquiries and, if care arrangements are deemed
inadequate, to make referrals to family court or child
protective services.
2)Requires the Secretary of the Health and Human Services Agency
(HHSA) and the Attorney General (AG) to convene a study group
within specified time frames to develop a model protocol for
use by state and local agencies to ensure safety of these
children. The model protocol must include having the
arresting officer inquire at the time of arrest whether the
arrestee has children, and to make appropriate referrals to
child protective services and the courts if their care appears
inadequate. Upon development, the model protocol must be
distributed to specified local agencies, including law
enforcement.
3)Requires counties to develop standard operating procedures to
ensure care of children of arrestees, and, upon receipt of the
model protocol, incorporate any elements of the model protocol
missing from their standard procedures.
4)Requires the HHSA Secretary and the Adult and Youth
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Correctional Agency Secretary to convene an advisory committee
to develop recommendations on providing and targeting services
to children of incarcerated parents and facilitating
visitation between children and their parents when
appropriate.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Major state-reimbursable local costs, likely over $3 million
annually, for local agencies to develop and implement standard
operating procedures and protocols for arresting officers.
2)Minor absorbable costs to county probation departments to
include information in pre-sentencing reports.
3)Minor absorbable state costs for the study group and advisory
committee.
COMMENTS
1)Background . According to the author, approximately 856,000
children in California have a parent currently involved in the
criminal justice system. Further, 80% of female prisoners are
parents with, on average, two children. Current law and
practice do not require the arresting officer to inquire of
arrestees if they have children who may need care and
supervision in their absence. When a person is arrested
without his or her children present, there is no way of
ascertaining whether the children will need supervision while
their parent is detained or incarcerated.
This bill establishes procedures at the local level to ensure
that children do not "fall through the cracks" when their
parents are arrested or incarcerated. It requires county
probation officers, judges, and arresting officers to inquire
at different points in the criminal justice process about the
presence of children and evaluate the need for supervision.
Counties must establish standard operating procedures to
ensure care of children when their parents are arrested.
Concurrently, a model protocol will be developed by a
state-level working group. Counties must then incorporate
that protocol into their existing procedures.
2)Related Legislation. The author is also carrying AB 2316,
passed by this committee and currently in the Senate Public
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Safety Committee, to require the California Research Bureau to
conduct a study of children whose parents are incarcerated in
California's prisons.
Analysis Prepared by : Joyce Iseri / APPR. / (319) 319-2081