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AB-1449 • 2026

Children: temporary custody.

Children: temporary custody.

Children Healthcare
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Celeste Rodriguez
Last action
Official status
Assembly - Died - Human Services
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The effective date is not provided in the official metadata or text excerpts, so it cannot be confirmed when this change begins.

AB-1449: Changing Time Limits for Adoption Court Filings

This law shortens the deadline for prospective adoptive parents to file an adoption request with a court after signing an agreement when a child is taken into temporary custody from a hospital.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the time limit for filing an adoption request from 10 working days to 7 working days after signing an adoption placement agreement.
  • Keeps the rule that requires parents to file either an adoption request or a guardianship petition, whichever deadline comes first.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Prospective adoptive parents in independent adoptions involving children taken into temporary custody from hospitals.
  • Courts receiving these filing requests and petitions.

Terms To Know

Temporary custody
When a peace officer takes care of a child for a short time because releasing them to an adoptive parent poses immediate danger at a hospital.
Adoption placement agreement
A signed document that starts the process, after which parents must file court papers within 7 working days.
Guardianship petition
A formal request to a court asking for legal responsibility over a child instead of adoption, due within 30 calendar days of hospital discharge.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The official text does not state when this law will officially take effect.
  • The source describes the change in time limits but does not explain why the deadline was shortened.

Bill History

  1. California Legislative Information

    Assembly - Died - Human Services

Official Summary Text

Children: temporary custody.