Plain English Breakdown
The official summary states reimbursement is not required for certain mandates but does not specify which ones, leaving that detail open until the Commission on State Mandates acts.
Visitation Rules for Children with Parents in County Jail
This law requires court orders for children placed in foster care to include specific visitation rules when a parent is held in a county jail.
What This Bill Does
- Requires court orders placing a child in foster care and ordering reunification services to specify that the incarcerated parent is entitled to regularly scheduled, in-person visits if they are in a county jail.
- Mandates that county jails ensure the incarcerated parent is made available for these regularly scheduled, in-person visits with their dependent child.
- Requires child welfare agencies and county jails to make a good faith reasonable effort to document visitation information and include a brief summary of this activity in reports submitted to the court at each status review hearing.
- Authorizes the use of videoconferencing or phone calls instead of in-person visits under specified conditions.
Who It Names or Affects
- Children placed in foster care whose parents are incarcerated in a county jail and for whom reunification services are ordered.
- Parents held in county jails who have children involved with the juvenile court system as dependents.
- County jails responsible for housing these parents and facilitating visits.
- Child welfare agencies managing cases involving these families.
Terms To Know
- Reunification services
- Reasonable services ordered by the court to help a child return safely to their parent's care, which may include visitation if appropriate and not detrimental.
- Status review hearing
- A court meeting where reports are submitted that must now include a brief summary of visitation activity between the child and incarcerated parent.
Limits and Unknowns
- The law applies only to parents in county jails, not those in state prisons or other institutions.
- Reimbursement for costs depends on whether the Commission on State Mandates determines that new expenses were created by this bill.
- In-person visits may be replaced with video or phone calls if specified conditions are met.