Amended  IN  Senate  March 10, 2021

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 537

Introduced by Senator Rubio
(Coauthor: Senator Eggman)

February 17, 2021

An act relating to domestic violence. An act to amend Section 300 of, and to add Sections 16515 and 16515.1 to, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to child welfare.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 537, as amended, Rubio. Domestic violence: child welfare. Child welfare: domestic violence.
Existing law establishes the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge a child to be a dependent of the court under certain circumstances, including when the child suffered, or there is a substantial risk that the child will suffer, serious physical harm or illness as a result of the failure or inability of their parent or guardian to adequately supervise or protect the child, or a parent willfully or negligently fails to provide the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical treatment. Existing law prohibits a child from being found to be a child so described solely due to the lack of an emergency shelter for the family.
This bill would also prohibit a child from being found to be a child as described above solely due to the parent or guardian being a victim of domestic violence.
Existing law governs the provision of child welfare services, which is defined to mean public social services that are directed toward the accomplishment of specified purposes, including protecting and promoting the welfare of all children, preventing the unnecessary separation of children from their families, and restoring to their families children who have been removed. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to select and award a grant to a private nonprofit or public entity for the purpose of establishing a statewide multipurpose child welfare training program designed to provide practice-relevant training to county child protective services social workers who screen referrals for child abuse or neglect and for all workers assigned to provide emergency response, family maintenance, family reunification, and permanent placement services. Existing law requires the training to include, among other topics, information regarding the dynamics and effects of domestic violence upon families and children.
This bill would require each county child welfare agency to coordinate and communicate with domestic violence agencies in order to ensure various things, including that a county child welfare agency knows where and how to access expertise and resources to most effectively intervene in cases invoking child abuse or neglect and involving domestic violence. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services to collect and analyze specified data relating to reports of child abuse or neglect in which domestic violence is involved in a report to be annually submitted to the Legislature, and would require a county child welfare services agency to provide that specified data regarding its county to the department. By imposing duties on local officials, the 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.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law, the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, requires a mandated reporter, as defined, to report whenever they, in their professional capacity or within the scope of their employment, have knowledge of or observed a child whom the mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse or neglect. Existing law makes it a crime to endanger, neglect, or abandon a child, as specified. Existing law permits a court to adjudge a person a dependant child of the court upon finding that a child has suffered, or there is a substantial risk that the child will suffer serious physical harm or illness as a result of the failure to inability of the parent or guardian of the child to adequately supervise or protect the child, or by the willful neglect failure of the parent or guardian to provide the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical treatment, as specified. Existing law makes it a crime to endanger, neglect, or abandon a child, as specified.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation relating to the assessment and identification of domestic violence in relation to child welfare investigations.

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NOYES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 300 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:

300.
 A child who comes within any of the following descriptions is within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court which may adjudge that person to be a dependent child of the court:
(a) The child has suffered, or there is a substantial risk that the child will suffer, serious physical harm inflicted nonaccidentally upon the child by the child’s parent or guardian. For purposes of this subdivision, a court may find there is a substantial risk of serious future injury based on the manner in which a less serious injury was inflicted, a history of repeated inflictions of injuries on the child or the child’s siblings, or a combination of these and other actions by the parent or guardian that indicate the child is at risk of serious physical harm. For purposes of this subdivision, “serious physical harm” does not include reasonable and age-appropriate spanking to the buttocks if there is no evidence of serious physical injury.
(b)  (1)  The child has suffered, or there is a substantial risk that the child will suffer, serious physical harm or illness, as a result of the failure or inability of his or her the child’s parent or guardian to adequately supervise or protect the child, or the willful or negligent failure of the child’s parent or guardian to adequately supervise or protect the child from the conduct of the custodian with whom the child has been left, or by the willful or negligent failure of the parent or guardian to provide the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical treatment, or by the inability of the parent or guardian to provide regular care for the child due to the parent’s or guardian’s mental illness, developmental disability, or substance abuse. A child shall not be found to be a person described by this subdivision solely due to the lack of an emergency shelter for the family. A child shall not be found to be a person described by this subdivision solely due to the parent or guardian being a victim of domestic violence. Whenever it is alleged that a child comes within the jurisdiction of the court on the basis of the parent’s or guardian’s willful failure to provide adequate medical treatment or specific decision to provide spiritual treatment through prayer, the court shall give deference to the parent’s or guardian’s medical treatment, nontreatment, or spiritual treatment through prayer alone in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious denomination, by an accredited practitioner thereof, and shall not assume jurisdiction unless necessary to protect the child from suffering serious physical harm or illness. In making its determination, the court shall consider (1) the nature of the treatment proposed by the parent or guardian, (2) the risks to the child posed by the course of treatment or nontreatment proposed by the parent or guardian, (3) the risk, if any, of the course of treatment being proposed by the petitioning agency, and (4) the likely success of the courses of treatment or nontreatment proposed by the parent or guardian and agency. The child shall continue to be a dependent child pursuant to this subdivision only so long as is necessary to protect the child from risk of suffering serious physical harm or illness.
(2) The Legislature finds and declares that a child who is sexually trafficked, as described in Section 236.1 of the Penal Code, or who receives food or shelter in exchange for, or who is paid to perform, sexual acts described in Section 236.1 or 11165.1 of the Penal Code, and whose parent or guardian failed to, or was unable to, protect the child, is within the description of this subdivision, and that this finding is declaratory of existing law. These children shall be known as commercially sexually exploited children.
(c) The child is suffering serious emotional damage, or is at substantial risk of suffering serious emotional damage, evidenced by severe anxiety, depression, withdrawal, or untoward aggressive behavior toward self or others, as a result of the conduct of the parent or guardian or who has no parent or guardian capable of providing appropriate care. A child shall not be found to be a person described by this subdivision if the willful failure of the parent or guardian to provide adequate mental health treatment is based on a sincerely held religious belief and if a less intrusive judicial intervention is available.
(d) The child has been sexually abused, or there is a substantial risk that the child will be sexually abused, as defined in Section 11165.1 of the Penal Code, by his or her the child’s parent or guardian or a member of his or her the child’s household, or the parent or guardian has failed to adequately protect the child from sexual abuse when the parent or guardian knew or reasonably should have known that the child was in danger of sexual abuse.
(e) The child is under the age of five years and has suffered severe physical abuse by a parent, or by any person known by the parent, if the parent knew or reasonably should have known that the person was physically abusing the child. For the purposes of this subdivision, “severe physical abuse” means any of the following: any single act of abuse which causes physical trauma of sufficient severity that, if left untreated, would cause permanent physical disfigurement, permanent physical disability, or death; any single act of sexual abuse which causes significant bleeding, deep bruising, or significant external or internal swelling; or more than one act of physical abuse, each of which causes bleeding, deep bruising, significant external or internal swelling, bone fracture, or unconsciousness; or the willful, prolonged failure to provide adequate food. A child shall not be removed from the physical custody of his or her the child’s parent or guardian on the basis of a finding of severe physical abuse unless the social worker has made an allegation of severe physical abuse pursuant to Section 332.
(f) The child’s parent or guardian caused the death of another child through abuse or neglect.
(g) The child has been left without any provision for support; physical custody of the child has been voluntarily surrendered pursuant to Section 1255.7 of the Health and Safety Code and the child has not been reclaimed within the 14-day period specified in subdivision (g) of that section; the child’s parent has been incarcerated or institutionalized and cannot arrange for the care of the child; or a relative or other adult custodian with whom the child resides or has been left is unwilling or unable to provide care or support for the child, the whereabouts of the parent are unknown, and reasonable efforts to locate the parent have been unsuccessful.
(h) The child has been freed for adoption by one or both parents for 12 months by either relinquishment or termination of parental rights or an adoption petition has not been granted.
(i) The child has been subjected to an act or acts of cruelty by the parent or guardian or a member of his or her the child’s household, or the parent or guardian has failed to adequately protect the child from an act or acts of cruelty when the parent or guardian knew or reasonably should have known that the child was in danger of being subjected to an act or acts of cruelty.
(j) The child’s sibling has been abused or neglected, as defined in subdivision (a), (b), (d), (e), or (i), and there is a substantial risk that the child will be abused or neglected, as defined in those subdivisions. The court shall consider the circumstances surrounding the abuse or neglect of the sibling, the age and gender of each child, the nature of the abuse or neglect of the sibling, the mental condition of the parent or guardian, and any other factors the court considers probative in determining whether there is a substantial risk to the child.
It is the intent of the Legislature that this section not disrupt the family unnecessarily or intrude inappropriately into family life, prohibit the use of reasonable methods of parental discipline, or prescribe a particular method of parenting. Further, this section is not intended to limit the offering of voluntary services to those families in need of assistance but who do not come within the descriptions of this section. To the extent that savings accrue to the state from child welfare services funding obtained as a result of the enactment of the act that enacted this section, those savings shall be used to promote services which support family maintenance and family reunification plans, such as client transportation, out-of-home respite care, parenting training, and the provision of temporary or emergency in-home caretakers and persons teaching and demonstrating homemaking skills. The Legislature further declares that a physical disability, such as blindness or deafness, is no bar to the raising of happy and well-adjusted children and that a court’s determination pursuant to this section shall center upon whether a parent’s disability prevents him or her the parent from exercising care and control. The Legislature further declares that a child whose parent has been adjudged a dependent child of the court pursuant to this section shall not be considered to be at risk of abuse or neglect solely because of the age, dependent status, or foster care status of the parent.
As used in this section, “guardian” means the legal guardian of the child.

SEC. 2.

 Section 16515 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

16515.
 Each county child welfare agency shall coordinate and communicate with domestic violence agencies in order to ensure all of the following:
(a) The county child welfare agency knows where and how to access expertise and resources in order to most effectively intervene in cases invoking child abuse or neglect and involving domestic violence.
(b) Improvement of communication and coordination practices between a county child welfare agency and domestic violence agencies in order to address child maltreatment practice and to improve the immediate response to mental health services for children and families experiencing domestic violence.
(c) In order to support and improve communication and practices, engagement with domestic violence agencies in an ongoing relationship-building process that places the needs of the abused individual and their children at the forefront of the discussion.

SEC. 3.

 Section 16515.1 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

16515.1.
 (a) The department shall collect and analyze all of the following data, disaggregated by age, race, and ethnicity, in a report to be annually submitted to the Legislature:
(1) The number of reports of child abuse or neglect received in which domestic violence is involved.
(2) The number of reports described in paragraph (1) that were investigated.
(3) The number of reports described in paragraph (1) that led to the opening of a child welfare case in which services were provided to the family.
(4) The number of families in which a child was not removed from the home following a report described in paragraph (1).
(5) The number of families in which a child was removed from the home following a report described in paragraph (1).
(6) The number of families reunified after a child was removed from the home, as described in paragraph (5).
(7) The number of families in which parental rights have been terminated after a child was removed from the home, as described in paragraph (5).
(b) Each county child welfare services agency shall provide the data specified in subdivision (a) from its county to the department.
(c) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

SEC. 4.

 To the extent that this act has an overall effect of increasing the costs already borne by a local agency for programs or levels of service mandated by the 2011 Realignment Legislation within the meaning of Section 36 of Article XIII of the California Constitution, it shall apply to local agencies only to the extent that the state provides annual funding for the cost increase. Any new program or higher level of service provided by a local agency pursuant to this act above the level for which funding has been provided shall not require a subvention of funds by the state or otherwise be subject to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.
SECTION 1.

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation relating to the assessment and identification of domestic violence in relation to child welfare investigations.