Bill Text: CA SB945 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended

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

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Bill Title: Juvenile court jurisdiction: services and benefits.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2010-09-30 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 631, Statutes of 2010. [SB945 Detail]

Download: California-2009-SB945-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 945	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 8, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Liu
    (   Principal coauthor:   Assembly Member
  Jones   ) 

                        FEBRUARY 3, 2010

    An act to amend Section 18961.5 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, relating to child abuse and neglect. 
 An act to add Section 607.5 to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, relating to children. 



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 945, as amended, Liu.  Child abuse and neglect:
information: computerized database.   Juvenile court
jurisdiction: services and benefits.  
   Existing law provides that a minor may be adjudged a dependent
child or a ward of the juvenile court under specified circumstances.
Existing law authorizes the court to place a minor who has been
removed from the custody of his or her parent or guardian in foster
care among other placements, as specified. Existing law provides for
the termination of the juvenile court jurisdiction when the minor
reaches a specified age.  
   This bill would require a probation officer or parole officer,
whenever the juvenile court terminates jurisdiction over a ward, or
upon release of a ward from a facility that is not a foster care
facility, to provide to the person a written notice stating that the
person is a former foster child and may be eligible for the services
and benefits that are available to a former foster child through
public and private programs, and information that informs the person
of the availability of, and assistance to enable the ward to apply
for, and gain acceptance into, federal and state programs that
provide independent living services and benefits to former foster
children for which the person is or may be eligible. The bill would
make related findings and declarations.  
   By imposing additional duties upon probation officers, this bill
would create 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.  
   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.  
   Existing law authorizes a county to establish a computerized data
base system within the county to allow designated provider agencies,
as defined, to share identifying information regarding families at
risk for child abuse or neglect, for the purpose of forming
multidisciplinary personnel teams.  
   This bill would revise the list of provider agencies authorized to
share information regarding families at risk for child abuse or
neglect, including adding specified courts and the Department of
Justice sex offender database. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program:  no   yes  .


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

   SECTION 1.    The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:  
   (a) "Dual status" children are children who are simultaneously
designated as dependents and wards of the juvenile court.  
   (b) There are instances where these children remain in juvenile
justice confinement beyond their sentence because there is no
available foster care housing or placement for them.  
   (c) As a result, dual status children are sometimes released from
the juvenile justice system instead of the dependency system when
they age out at 18 years of age.  
   (d) In order to prevent dual status children from committing
criminal offenses as adults and to encourage their academic success,
it is incumbent upon the Legislature to remove barriers that deter
achievement.  
   (e) A significant barrier to the success of former dual status
children is that they are often not properly informed of their
eligibility for existing independent living programs, coupled with
the difficulty of proving that they are former foster children in
order to qualify for these programs. 
   SEC. 2.    Section 607.5 is added to the  
Welfare and Institutions Code   , to read:  
   607.5.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, whenever
the juvenile court terminates jurisdiction over a ward, or upon
release of a ward from a facility that is not a foster care facility,
a probation officer or parole officer shall provide the person with
both of the following:
   (1) A written notice stating that the person is a former foster
child and may be eligible for the services and benefits that are
available to a former foster child through public and private
programs, including, but not limited to, any independent living
program for former foster children.
   (2) Information that informs the person of the availability of,
and assistance to enable the person to apply for, and gain acceptance
into, federal and state programs that provide independent living
services and benefits to former foster children, including, but not
limited to, financial assistance, housing, and educational resources,
for which he or she is or may be eligible.
   (b) This section shall apply to any ward who was previously
adjudged a dependent child of the court pursuant to Section 300 or a
child who at any time has been placed in foster care pursuant to
Section 727. 
   SEC. 3.    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.  
  SECTION 1.    Section 18961.5 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code is amended to read:
   18961.5.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county
may establish a computerized data base system within the county to
allow provider agencies, as defined in subdivision (h), to share
identifying information, as specified in subdivision (c), regarding
families at risk for child abuse or neglect, for the purpose of
forming multidisciplinary personnel teams, as defined in subdivision
(d) of Section 18951, for the prevention, identification, management,
or treatment of child abuse or neglect.
   (b) Each county shall develop its own standards for defining "at
risk" before joining this system. Only information about children or
the families of children at risk for child abuse or neglect may be
entered into a computerized data base system established pursuant to
this section.
   (c) With regard to a case in which a child or family has been
identified as at risk for child abuse or neglect under this section,
only the following information shall be entered into the system:
   (1) The name, address, telephone number, and date and place of
birth of family members.
   (2) The number assigned to the case by each provider agency.
   (3) The name and telephone number of each employee assigned to the
case from each provider agency.
   (4) The date or dates of contact between each provider agency and
a family member or family members.
   (d) The information may only be entered into the system by, or
disclosed to, provider agency employees designated by the director of
each participating provider agency. Members of the multidisciplinary
personnel teams shall be drawn from these designated employees, or
other persons, as specified in Section 18961. The heads of provider
agencies shall establish a system by which unauthorized personnel
cannot access the data contained in the system.
   (e) The information obtained pursuant to this section shall be
kept confidential and shall be used solely for the prevention,
identification, management, or treatment of child abuse, child
neglect, or both.
   (f) This section shall not supplant any duties required by the
Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (Article 2.5 (commencing with
Section 11164) of Chapter 2 of Title 1 of Part 3 of the Penal Code).
   (g)  An employee of a provider agency that serves children and
their families shall not be civilly or criminally liable for
furnishing or sharing information as authorized by this section.
   (h) For the purposes of this section, "provider agency" means any
governmental or other agency that has as one of its purposes the
prevention, identification, management, or treatment of child abuse
or neglect. The provider agencies serving children and their families
that may share information under this section shall include, but not
be limited to, the following entities or service agencies:
   (1) Social services.
   (2) Children's services.
   (3) Health services.
   (4) Mental health services.
   (5) Probation, including all child-related data.
   (6) Law enforcement.
   (7) Schools.
   (8) Children's courts.
   (9) Juvenile courts.
   (10) Delinquency courts.
   (11) Dependency courts.
   (12) Family courts.
   (13) Department of Justice sex offender database.