Bill Text: CA SB331 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Child custody: child abuse and safety.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-3)

Status: (Passed) 2023-10-13 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 865, Statutes of 2023. [SB331 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB331-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Assembly  July 12, 2023

Amended  IN  Senate  April 27, 2023

Amended  IN  Senate  March 22, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 331

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Introduced by Senator Rubio
(Coauthors: Senators Caballero, Min, Portantino, and Roth)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bains, Essayli, Gipson, Hoover, Lackey, McCarty, and Blanca Rubio)

February 07, 2023

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An act to amend Section 3190 of, and to add Sections 3033 and 3040.5 to, the Family Code, and to repeal and add Section 68555 of the Government Code, relating to child custody.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 331, as amended, Rubio. Child custody: child abuse and safety.

Existing law governs the determination of child custody and visitation in contested proceedings. Existing law requires the court, for purposes of deciding custody, to determine the best interests of the child based on certain factors, including the nature and amount of contact with both parents and, consistent with specified findings, requires the court’s primary concern to be the health, safety, and welfare of the child. Existing law prohibits the ordering of family reunification services as part of a child custody or visitation rights proceeding.

This bill, Piqui’s Law, the Safe Child Act, Children Safe from Family Violence Act, would provide that a person is qualified to testify as an expert in a child custody proceeding in which a parent has been alleged to have committed domestic violence or child abuse, as specified, if the person shows by any otherwise admissible evidence that the person has sufficient special knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education relating to the subject of the person’s testimony. abuse if the court finds that the witness possesses special knowledge or demonstrated expertise or experience in working directly with victims of domestic violence or child abuse. This bill would require a judge judicial officer assigned to family law matters involving child custody proceedings and individual courts to submit the number of hours of continuing instruction in domestic violence completed to the Judicial Council. completed, as specified. The bill would require the Judicial Council to submit a report to the Legislature and the relevant policy committees on the trainings for judges across all counties, as specified. judges, as specified.

Existing law authorizes the court, upon making certain findings, to require the parent or parents, or any other party involved in a custody or visitation dispute, and the minor child to participate in outpatient counseling, as specified.

This bill would prohibit the court from ordering family reunification treatment, as defined. counseling, programs, or services to remediate the resistance of a child to connect with, or to improve a deficient relationship with, the parent seeking custody or visitation under specified circumstances. The bill would require court-ordered counseling, as specified, to primarily address counseling to comply with various requirements, including, among others, that the counseling primarily addresses the behavior of, or contribution to the resistance of the child by by, the parent seeking custody or visitation before ordering the primary custodial parent to take steps to improve the child’s relationship with the parent seeking custody or visitation. This bill would require the court to state all of its reasons for ordering counseling, and the evidence it relied on, in a written order on the record. The bill would require the court to make findings that remediation is in the best interest of the child and that the parent seeking custody or visitation has shown they are willing to meaningfully participate in the counseling.

Existing law requires the Judicial Council to establish judicial training programs for individuals who perform duties in domestic violence matters. Existing law requires the training programs to include a domestic violence session in any orientation session for newly appointed or elected judges and an annual training session in domestic violence. Existing law requires the training programs to include instruction in all aspects of domestic violence, including, but not limited to, the detriment to children of residing with a person who perpetrates domestic violence.

This bill would repeal those provisions and instead require the Judicial Council to establish judicial training programs for individuals, including judges and judges pro tem, judicial officers and referees, who perform duties in family law matters, including, among other topics, child sexual abuse and coercive control, as specified.

Digest Key

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

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Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 This act shall be known, and may be cited, as Piqui’s Law, the Safe Child Act. Children Safe from Family Violence Act.

SEC. 2.

 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) Approximately 1 in 15 children in the United States is exposed to domestic violence each year.

(2) Most child abuse in America is perpetrated in the family and by a parent, and intimate partner violence and child abuse overlap in the same families at rates between 30 and 60 percent. A child’s risk of abuse increases after a perpetrator of intimate partner violence separates from a domestic partner, even when the perpetrator has not previously directly abused the child. Children in the United States who have witnessed intimate partner violence are approximately four times more likely to experience direct child maltreatment than children who have not witnessed intimate partner violence.

(3) More than 75 percent of child sexual abuse in America is perpetrated by a family member or a person known to the child. Data from the United States Department of Justice shows that family members are 49 percent, or almost one-half, of the perpetrators of crimes against child sex assault victims younger than six years of age.

(4) Federal scientific research Research suggests that a child’s exposure to an abuser is among the strongest indicators of risk of incest victimization. One national study found that female children with fathers who are abusers of their mothers were six and one-half times more likely to experience father-daughter incest than female children who do not have abusive fathers.

(5) Child abuse is a major public health issue in the United States. Total lifetime financial costs associated with just one year of confirmed cases of child maltreatment, including child physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect, result in $124 billion in annual costs to the economy of the United States, or approximately 1 percent of the gross domestic product of the United States.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to do all of the following:

(1) Increase the priority given to child safety in any state court divorce, separation, visitation, paternity, child support, civil protection order, or family custody court proceeding affecting the custody and care of children, excluding child protective, abuse, or neglect proceedings and juvenile justice proceedings.

(2) Ensure that professional personnel involved in cases containing domestic violence or child abuse allegations receive trauma-informed and culturally appropriate training on the dynamics, signs, and impact of domestic violence and child abuse, including child sexual abuse.

(3) Ensure trainings are designed to improve the ability of judges, judges pro tem, referees, commissioners, mediators, child custody recommending counselors, minors counsel, evaluators, and others who are deemed appropriate and who perform duties in family law matters to recognize and respond to child abuse, domestic violence, and trauma in family victims.

(4) Ensure trainings are designed to improve the ability of judges, judges pro tem, referees, commissioners, mediators, child custody recommending counselors, minors counsel, evaluators, and others who are deemed appropriate and who perform duties in family law matters to prioritize children and to make appropriate custody decisions in the best interest of child safety and well-being that are culturally responsive and appropriate for diverse communities.

(5) Make California Ensure that California becomes eligible for additional grant funding through the United States Department of Justice’s STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program, as appropriated for states that meet the requirements of the federal Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022 (Division W of Public Law 117-103).

SEC. 3.Section 3033 is added to the Family Code, to read:

3033.

(a)(1)A person is qualified to testify as an expert in a child custody proceeding in which a parent has been alleged to have committed domestic violence or child abuse, including child sexual abuse, if the person has special knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education sufficient to qualify them as an expert on the subject to which their testimony relates.

(2)Against the objection of a party, the special knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education shall be shown before the witness may testify as an expert.

(b)A witness’ special knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education may be shown by otherwise admissible evidence, including their own testimony.

SEC. 3.

 Section 3033 is added to the Family Code, to read:

3033.

 For purposes of Article 1 (commencing with Section 720) of Chapter 3 of Division 6 of the Evidence Code, a witness is qualified to testify as an expert in a child custody proceeding in which a parent has been alleged to have committed domestic violence or child abuse, including child sexual abuse, if the court finds that the witness possesses special knowledge or demonstrated expertise or experience in working directly with victims of domestic violence or child abuse, including child sexual abuse.

SEC. 4.

 Section 3040.5 is added to the Family Code, to read:

3040.5.

 (a) A judge judicial officer assigned to family law matters involving child custody proceedings shall report to the Judicial Council court the number of hours in a program of continuing instruction in domestic violence, including, but not limited to, coercive control and child sexual abuse.

(b) Each individual court shall submit the hours of completed training to the Judicial Council.

(c) (1)The Judicial Council shall report to the Legislature and the relevant policy committees, on or before January 1, 2025, and each January thereafter, on the trainings for judges across all counties. provided pursuant to Section 68555 of the Government Code.

(2)The report submitted to the Legislature pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be submitted in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

SEC. 5.

 Section 3190 of the Family Code is amended to read:

3190.

 (a) (1) The court may require parents, or another party involved in a custody or visitation dispute, and the minor child to participate in outpatient counseling with a licensed mental health professional, or through other community programs and services that provide appropriate counseling, including, but not limited to, mental health or substance abuse services, for not more than one year, provided that the program selected has counseling available for the designated period of time, does not violate the prohibition in paragraph (2) and complies with the requirements of paragraph (3), if the court finds both of the following:

(A) The dispute between the parents, between the parent or parents and the child, between the parent or parents and another party seeking custody or visitation rights with the child, or between a party seeking custody or visitation rights and the child, poses a substantial danger to the best interest of the child.

(B) The counseling is in the best interest of the child.

(2)(A)A court shall not order family reunification treatment.

(B)(i)Family reunification treatment is any counseling, treatment, program, or service, including reunification or reconnection therapy, workshops, classes, and camps, intended to reunite, reestablish, or repair a relationship between a child and the parent seeking custody or visitation that is predicated on cutting the child off from, or restricting the contact with, the primary custodial parent, provided that the primary custodial parent is not physically or sexually abusive or neglectful of the child to a degree that places the child at substantial risk of serious harm.

(ii)Neglect does not include circumstances due solely to the parent’s indigence or other financial difficulty.

(2) A court shall not order counseling programs or services to remediate the resistance of a child to connect with the parent seeking custody or visitation, or to improve a deficient relationship with the parent seeking custody or visitation, that occurs under any of the following circumstances:

(A) In a nonclinical setting or out-of-state facility. A nonclinical setting includes, but is not limited to, a parent’s residence, camp, overnight hotel or motel, or vacation home.

(B) For any period that exceeds the generally accepted, age-appropriate length of time according to professional consensus.

(C) The child is transported to the premises where the counseling occurs against their will or by force, threat of force, or physical obstruction.

(D) The child is not given a reasonable opportunity to communicate with the other parent or a relative, except during a scheduled counseling session. For purposes of this subparagraph, “relative” has the same meaning as in paragraph (2) of subdivision (h) of Section 319 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(E) The counseling involves the use of threat, coercion, verbal abuse, intimidation, isolation from sources of support, or other acutely distressing circumstances to compel a child to participate against their will.

(3) (A) If a court orders counseling to remediate the resistance of a child to connect with the parent seeking custody or visitation, or to improve a deficient relationship with the parent seeking custody or visitation, the counseling shall primarily address the behavior of that parent or that parent’s contribution to the resistance of the child before ordering the primary custodial parent to take steps to potentially improve the child’s relationship with the parent seeking custody or visitation. comply with all of the following:

(i) The counseling will primarily address the behavior of that parent or that parent’s contribution to the resistance of the child before ordering the other parent to take steps to potentially improve the child’s relationship with the parent seeking custody or visitation.

(ii) The counseling does not include any of the circumstances described in paragraph (2).

(iii) The counseling provider has been informed of the prohibitions set forth in paragraph (2).

(iv) The provider is a licensed behavioral health care professional in good standing with their licensing board.

(B) This paragraph shall not apply when the resistance is the result of separation due to military service, illness, or other circumstances beyond the parent’s control.

(B)A

(C) The court shall not order counseling under this paragraph unless there is generally accepted and scientifically valid proof of professional consensus on the safety, effectiveness, and therapeutic value of the counseling.

(b) In determining whether a dispute, as described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), poses a substantial danger to the best interest of the child, the court shall consider, in addition to any other factors the court determines relevant, a history of domestic violence, as defined in Section 6211, within the past five years between the parents, between the parent or parents and the child, between the parent or parents and another party seeking custody or visitation rights with the child, or between a party seeking custody or visitation rights and the child.

(c) Subject to Section 3192, if the court finds that the financial burden created by the order for counseling does not otherwise jeopardize a party’s other financial obligations, the court shall fix the cost and shall order the entire cost of the services to be borne by the parties in the proportions the court deems reasonable.

(d) The court shall state all of its reasons for ordering counseling, and the evidence relied on, in a written order or on the record, including all of the following:

(1) The dispute poses a substantial danger to the best interest of the child, and the counseling is in the best interest of the child.

(2) The financial burden created by the court order for counseling does not otherwise jeopardize a party’s other financial obligations.

(3) If the court is ordering counseling to remediate the resistance of the child to connect with the parent seeking custody or visitation, or to improve a deficient relationship with the parent seeking custody or visitation, the basis for determining that remediation is in the best interest of the child and that the parent seeking custody or visitation has shown that they are willing to meaningfully participate in the counseling.

(e) The court shall not order the parties to return to court upon the completion of counseling. A party may file a new order to show cause or motion after counseling has been completed, and the court may again order counseling consistent with this chapter.

SEC. 6.

 Section 68555 of the Government Code is repealed.

SEC. 7.

 Section 68555 is added to the Government Code, to read:

68555.

 (a) The Judicial Council shall establish judicial training programs for individuals who perform duties in family law matters, including, but not limited to, judges, judges pro tem, referees, commissioners, mediators, judicial officers, referees, commissioners, guardians ad litem, custody evaluators, mediators, and others who are deemed appropriate by the Judicial Council.

(b) (1) The training program described in this section shall be an ongoing training and education program designed to improve the ability of courts to recognize and respond to child physical abuse, child sexual abuse, domestic violence, and trauma in family victims, particularly children, and to make appropriate custody decisions that prioritize child safety and well-being and are culturally sensitive and appropriate for diverse communities.

(2) The training program shall include instruction in the following topics: described in this section shall include a domestic violence session in any orientation session conducted for newly appointed or elected judges, an annual training session in domestic violence, and periodic updates in all aspects of domestic violence, including, but not limited to:

(A) Child sexual abuse.

(B) Physical abuse.

(C) Emotional abuse.

(D) Coercive control.

(E) Implicit and explicit bias, including biases relating to parents with disabilities. bias related to parties involved in domestic violence cases.

(F) Trauma.

(G) Long- and short-term impacts of domestic violence and child abuse on children.

(H) The detriment to children of residing with a person who perpetrates domestic violence.

(I) That domestic violence can occur without a party seeking or obtaining a restraining order, without a substantiated child protective services finding, and without other documented evidence of abuse.

(H)

(J) Victim and perpetrator behavioral patterns and relationship dynamics within the cycle of violence.