AB 2752

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Existing law establishes a system of statewide child welfare services, administered by the State Department of Social Services and county child welfare agencies, with the intent that all children are entitled to be safe and free from abuse and neglect. 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 a parent fails to provide the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical treatment. Existing law establishes the grounds for removal of a dependent child from the custody of their parents or guardian, and establishes procedures to determine placement of a dependent child. Existing law establishes procedures for an initial petition hearing by the juvenile court if a child is being taken into temporary custody, and requires the court to review the status of every dependent child in foster care no less frequently than once every 6 months Existing law requires any order placing a child in foster care, and ordering reunification services, to provide for visitation between the parent or guardian and the child, but prohibits a visitation from jeopardizing the safety of a child. Existing law also requires the court to continue to permit the parent or legal guardian to visit the child pending status hearings unless it finds that visitation would be detrimental to the child. This bill would remove the above-described prohibition on visitations that jeopardize the safety of a child. The bill would, during the initial petition hearing, require the court to make an order regarding visitation between the child and the parent or guardian that sets forth a frequency and duration that is most conducive to quality family time and specifies whether the visitation shall be supervised. This bill would, with any order placing a child in foster care and ordering reunification services and during subsequent review hearings, require a court to order unsupervised visitation between a parent or legal guardian and a child or children, unless unsupervised visitation would present an identified present danger of harm to the child, and there are no reasonable means by which the child's physical or emotional health may be protected without having supervised visitation. The bill would define unsupervised visitation for these purposes. The bill would require a court, if the court orders supervised visitation, to specify the factual basis for its order and to order that the agency has discretion to liberalize the visitation to unsupervised unless the court finds that granting this discretion would be contrary to the child's safety. The bill would also require the county child welfare agency or their designee to supervise visits in specified circumstances when an alternate individual has not been approved to supervise visits. Existing law requires social workers to create reports and recommendations to be reviewed by the court as part of a review hearing. This bill would require social workers to specify why the return of the child would be detrimental to the child and, if visitation has not been liberalized, what efforts were put in place to liberalize the parent or legal guardian's visits and why liberalization was contrary to the child's welfare. By increasing the duties of counties, this 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.