AB 926

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 authorizes the court to make orders regarding visitation between a child and parent or legal guardian, subject to specified conditions. Existing law prohibits a visitation from jeopardizing the safety of a child. This bill would require, at the initial petition hearing, the court to make an order regarding visitation between the child and the parent or legal guardian, setting forth the frequency and duration most conducive to quality family time, and whether the visitation must be supervised. The bill would require the court to order contact between the parent and child commencing within 72 hours. The bill would remove the above-described prohibition prohibiting a visitation from jeopardizing the safety of a child. This bill would require a court to order unsupervised visitation between a parent or legal guardian and a child or children, unless unsupervised visitation is contrary to the child’s welfare and there is a substantial danger to the physical health of the child or the child is suffering severe emotional damage and the child’s physical or emotional health cannot reasonably be protected without supervised visitation, or there is substantial evidence that the parent or legal guardian may flee the jurisdiction with the child. The bill would require, if the court orders supervised visitation, the court to specify the factual basis for its order and order the agency to assess persons proposed by a parent or guardian to supervise the visitation. The bill would also require social workers or their designee to supervise visits in specified circumstances when an alternate individual has not been approved to supervise visits. The bill would require the court to order that the agency has discretion to liberalize the visitation to unsupervised unless the court finds granting this discretion would be contrary to the child’s safety. Existing law requires social workers to create reports and recommendations to be reviewed by the court as part of a permanency 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 county social workers, 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.