A bill that one Democrat attorney claims would allow “state-sanctioned kidnapping” continues to make its way through the California Legislature.
Assembly Bill 665, authored by Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo and state Sen. Scott Wiener, is being promoted by supporters as a means to provide equitable access to mental health care among California minors aged 12 to 17.
The bill largely modifies existing law, but one of the most controversial aspects of the bill is its removal of qualifications required for minors to join state funded group homes without parental permission or knowledge.
Existing law in California allows for a minor who is 12 years of age or older to consent to residential shelter services, but only if “the minor (A) would present a danger of serious physical or mental harm to self or to others without the mental health treatment or counseling or residential shelter services, or (B) is the alleged victim of incest or child abuse.”
The proposed amendment removes those qualifications.
The bill also expands the definition of “professional person” to include “a registered psychologist, a registered psychological assistant, a psychological trainee, an associate clinical social worker, a social work intern, a clinical counselor trainee working under the supervision of a licensed professional, and a board-certified psychiatrist.”
Erin Friday, a California attorney and Democrat, said the bill amounts to kidnapping.
“It’s state-sanctioned kidnapping,” Friday said during a March interview with California Family Council. “Because the child can be taken from the parent’s home without any due process, any allegation of abuse.”
Friday added that California “continues to trample” on parental rights.
“In California, it really seems like…we get to parent our kids until they are 12, and then that’s it,” Friday said. “Then the state takes over.”
An article published Wednesday by The Federalist and co-written by Friday and Nicole Pearson describes the bill as removing existing guardrails within the California Family Code.
“In sum, AB665 proposes striking from the Family Code the four guardrails currently in place as criteria for a minor to leave his home, and would permit 12-year-olds to leave their families and go to a residential shelter without any notice to their parents and without claim – let alone proof – of harm (abuse, incest, danger),” Friday and Pearson wrote.
Friday and Pearson’s article was written in response to an April AP News “fact-checking” piece written by Karena Phan. In that piece, Phan claims that the bill “contains no language that would allow school mental health professionals to remove children from the custody of their parents or guardians.”
Friday and Pearson contend that the proposed bill would, in fact, make it easier for minors to be removed from parental custody.
“A plain reading of the Family and Health and Safety Code sections shows that the only time a minor between 12 and 17 years of age can ‘self-consent’ into a residential shelter is when that minor is found by a professional person to be (1) mature enough and (2) in a dangerous situation,” Friday and Pearson wrote. “In the current text of AB665, however, these guardrails are physically crossed out.”
