BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2315
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2315 (Mazzoni)
As Amended August 25, 2000
Majority vote
ASSEMBLY: 64-13 (May 31, 2000)
SENATE: 23-12 (August 28, 2000)
Original Committee Reference: HUM. S.
SUMMARY : Establishes the Children of Incarcerated Parents Act
of 2000 to ensure the temporary and long-term safety of the
children of incarcerated adults.
The Senate amendments :
1)Delete the requirement that criminal court judges inquire at
the time of sentencing whether a defendant with children has
made arrangements for the care of his or her children.
2)Delete the authority of criminal court judges to refer cases
to the family court, probate court, or local child protective
services agency when no adequate plan for the care of a
defendant's children exists, and instead authorize counties to
require that pre-sentencing reports be referred to county
child protective services agencies.
3)Delete the requirement that the Judicial Council adopt rules
and forms to implement pre-sentencing reporting and case
referral requirements.
4)Delete the requirement that counties update local protocols to
incorporate elements of the model state protocol addressing
the needs of children of incarcerated adults.
5)Delete the requirement that the Secretary of the Health and
Human Services Agency (HHSA) participate in the convening of a
study group.
6)Delete the requirement that the HHSA Secretary, the Attorney
General (AG), and the Secretary of the Youth and Adult
Correctional Agency jointly convene the Advisory Committee on
the Children Of Incarcerated Parents to develop
recommendations for targeting state and local services to
AB 2315
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children of incarcerated parents.
7)Require that the location of children and their caretakers be
included in the pre-sentencing report that probation officers
are required to file.
8)Require that parents who have been incarcerated and
individuals that were minors when their parent was
incarcerated be included in the study group required to
develop a model protocol.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes a law enforcement officer to take a child into
custody if the child is without any provision of support, and
authorizes the officer to transfer custody of the child to a
county child welfare worker if the child's parent or guardian
cannot be located.
2)Provides that any child who has been left without an
arrangement for support is within the jurisdiction of the
juvenile court and may be adjudged a dependent of the court.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Required that when a defendant is to be incarcerated, the
sentencing report include a discussion of the arrangements for
the care of a defendant's children and that criminal court
judges inquire whether a defendant has made arrangements for
the care of his or her children.
2)Authorized a criminal court judge to refer to the family or
probate court, or the county child protective services agency,
any case involving an adult defendant who has children in
which the judge believes that an adequate plan for the care of
the defendant's children does not exist.
3)Required the AG and the HSSA Secretary to jointly convene a
study group to develop and disseminate a model protocol for
the care of children at the time of their parent's arrest.
4)Required counties to review local operating procedures for
ensuring the provision of care for the minor children of
arrestees, and to incorporate into these procedures any
AB 2315
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elements of the model state protocol that are not included in
the county's operating procedures.
5)Required the HSSA Secretary and the Secretary of the Adult and
Youth Correctional Agency to jointly convene an Advisory
Committee on the Children of Incarcerated Parents to develop
recommendations for targeting state and local services to
children of incarcerated parents.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee,
the bill would result in costs potentially exceeding $150,000 to
county probation departments to include information in
sentencing reports, and minor absorbable costs to the state to
conduct a study.
COMMENTS : According to the author, approximately 856,000
children in California-nearly 9% of all children in the
state-have a parent currently involved in the criminal justice
system. In addition, 80% of female prisoners are parents with,
on average, two children.
Under existing law, there is no requirement that an arresting
officer or judge inquire of arrestees or defendants whether they
have any children who may need care and supervision in their
absence. When a person is arrested outside the presence of
their children, without any process for inquiring about
children, law enforcement officers may have no idea whether an
arrestee's children will be left unsupervised while the arrestee
is detained or incarcerated.
Analysis Prepared by : Andy Shaw / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2247
FN: 0006773