Bill Text: CA SB134 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Juveniles: communications with children.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-02-01 - Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [SB134 Detail]

Download: California-2009-SB134-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 134	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Liu
   (Coauthor: Senator Yee)

                        FEBRUARY 10, 2009

   An act to amend Section 1712.1 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, relating to juveniles.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 134, as introduced, Liu. Juveniles: communications with
children.
   Existing law provides that a ward confined in a facility of the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile
Facilities, is encouraged to communicate with family members, clergy,
and others, and to participate in programs that will facilitate his
or her education, rehabilitation, and accountability to victims, and
that may help the ward become a law-abiding and productive member of
society.
   This bill would, if the ward has a child, authorize the ward to
communicate, both over the phone and in writing, with specified
persons, including the ward's child, in order to aid in the
attachment and involvement of the ward in his or her child's life, to
increase the ward's ability to parent the child, and to reduce the
detrimental impact on the ward's child as a result of having an
incarcerated parent.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) Due to a lack of concrete policies that protect the rights of
adolescents to parent their children, many incarcerated adolescent
parents face long periods of time where they have little or no
contact with their children.
   (b) A national survey completed in 2003 found that, of
incarcerated girls, 11 percent 15 years of age and under, 10 percent
16 years of age, 8 percent 17 years of age, and 13 percent 18 years
of age, were pregnant.
   (c) The same survey found that, of incarcerated boys, 13 percent
15 years of age, 15 percent 16 years of age, 17 percent 17 years of
age, and 21 percent 18 years of age, were parents.
   (d) The trauma of an arrest event and the resulting parent-child
separation can have profound effects on the child's development,
lasting well into adulthood.
   (e) The results of parental incarceration on the child may include
difficulty sleeping, poor school performance, truancy, use of
alcohol or drugs, delinquency, and an increased likelihood of
becoming an inmate later in life; thus perpetuating intergenerational
incarceration.
   (f) Communication improves the parent-child bond, which is
critical for child development. It may also reduce the child's
feelings of loneliness, fear, sadness, anxiety, and emotional
withdrawal.
   (g) Programs created to promote positive contact between
incarcerated parents and their children have been shown to decrease
the negative impact of the parent's imprisonment on the child.
   (h) Empirical studies have found that increased contact between
inmates and their families can contribute to the reintegration of the
inmates into the community after release. Successful reintegration
can reduce recidivism.
   (i) Encouraging communication between incarcerated adolescents and
their children will benefit the state by contributing to decreased
recidivism rates among incarcerated adolescent parents, decreasing
the likelihood that their children will one day be involved with the
criminal justice system, and allowing for better reintegration of
incarcerated adolescents into their families and communities upon
their release.
   (j) It is imperative to intervene into this cycle of
incarceration, and this act targets the children that are most at
risk for later involvement with the criminal justice system -- the
children of incarcerated adolescent parents.
  SEC. 2.  Section 1712.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
   1712.1.  (a) A ward confined in a facility of the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities,
shall be encouraged to communicate with family members, clergy, and
others, and to participate in programs that will facilitate his or
her education, rehabilitation, and accountability to victims, and
that may help the ward become a law-abiding and productive member of
society. If the division or a facility requires a ward to provide a
list of allowed visitors, calls, or correspondents, that list shall
be transferable from facility to facility, so that the transfer of
the ward does not unduly interrupt family and community
communication. 
   (b) If the ward has a child, the ward may communicate, both over
the phone and in writing, with all of the following persons in order
to aid in the attachment and involvement of the ward in his or her
child's life, to increase the ward's ability to parent the child, and
to reduce the detrimental impact on the ward's child as a result of
having an incarcerated parent:  
   (1) The ward's child.  
   (2) The other parent of the child.  
   (3) Any caregiver, social worker, teacher, or physician of the
child.  
   (4) Any other person involved with the upbringing and caretaking
of the ward's child.  
   (b) 
    (c)    A ward shall be allowed a minimum of
four telephone calls to his or her family per month. A restriction or
reduction of the minimum amount of telephone calls allowed to a ward
shall not be imposed as a disciplinary measure. If calls conflict
with institutional operations, supervision, or security, telephone
usage may be temporarily restricted to the extent reasonably
necessary for the continued operation and security of the facility.
When speaking by telephone with a family member, clergy, or counsel,
a ward may use his or her native language or the native language of
the person to whom he or she is speaking. 
   (c) 
    (d)  (1) If a ward's visitation rights are suspended,
division or facility staff shall be prepared to inform one or more
persons on the list of those persons allowed to visit the ward, if
any of those persons should call to ask.
   (2) The division or facility shall maintain a toll-free telephone
number that families and others may call to confirm visiting times,
and to provide timely updates on interruptions and rescheduling of
visiting days, times, and conditions.
   (3) (A) The division shall encourage correspondence with family or
clergy by providing blank paper, envelopes, pencils, and postage.
Materials shall be provided in a manner that protects institutional
and public safety.
   (B) When corresponding with a family member, clergy, or counsel in
writing, the ward may use his or her native language or the native
language of the person to whom he or she is writing.
   (C) Blank paper, envelopes, and pencils shall not be deemed
contraband nor seized except in cases where the staff determines that
these items would likely be used to cause bodily harm, injury, or
death to the ward or other persons, or, based on specific history of
property damage by the individual ward, would likely be used to cause
destruction of state property. If the staff asserts that it is
necessary to seize materials normally used for correspondence, the
reasons for the seizure shall be entered in writing in the ward's
file or records.