Current Through February 2016

Physical Abuse

Citation: Welf. & Inst. Code § 300A child may be considered dependent (and subject to supervision by the Department of Social Services) when:

• The child has suffered, or there is a substantial risk that the child will suffer, serious physical harm inflicted nonaccidentally upon the child by the child’s parent or guardian. For the purposes of this subdivision, a court may find there is a substantial risk of serious future injury based on the manner in which a less serious injury was inflicted, a history of repeated inflictions of injuries on the child or the child’s siblings, or a combination of these and other actions by the parent or guardian that indicate the child is at risk of serious physical harm.
• The child is younger than age 5 and has suffered severe physical abuse by a parent or by any person known by the parent, if the parent knew or reasonably should have known that the person was physically abusing the child.
• The child’s parent or guardian caused the death of another child through abuse or neglect.
• The child has been subjected to an act or acts of cruelty by the parent or guardian or a member of his or her household, or the parent or guardian has failed to adequately protect the child from an act or acts of cruelty when the parent or guardian knew or reasonably should have known that the child was in danger of being subjected to an act or acts of cruelty.

For the purposes of this subdivision, ‘severe physical abuse‘ means:

• Any single act of abuse that causes physical trauma of sufficient severity that, if left untreated, would cause permanent physical disfigurement, permanent physical disability, or death
• Any single act of sexual abuse that causes significant bleeding, deep bruising, or significant external or internal swelling
• More than one act of physical abuse, each of which causes bleeding, deep bruising, significant external or internal swelling, bone fracture, or unconsciousness
• The willful, prolonged failure to provide adequate food

Neglect

Citation: Welf. & Inst. Code § 300A child may be considered dependent when:

• The child has suffered, or there is a substantial risk that the child will suffer, serious physical harm or illness as a result of:
  • The failure or inability of the parent or guardian to adequately supervise or protect the child
  • The willful or negligent failure of the parent or guardian to adequately supervise or protect the child from the conduct of the custodian with whom the child has been left
  • The willful or negligent failure of the parent or guardian to provide the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical treatment
  • The inability of the parent or guardian to provide regular care for the child due to the parent’s or guardian’s mental illness, developmental disability, or substance abuse
• The child’s sibling has been abused or neglected, and there is a substantial risk that the child will be abused or neglected. The court shall consider the circumstances surrounding the abuse or neglect of the sibling, the age and gender of each child, the nature of the abuse or neglect of the sibling, the mental condition of the parent or guardian, and any other factors the court considers probative in determining whether there is a substantial risk to the child.

Sexual Abuse/Exploitation

Citation: Welf. & Inst. Code § 300; Penal Code § 11165.1A child is considered dependent if he or she has been sexually abused; there is a substantial risk that the child will be sexually abused, as defined in § 11165.1 of the Penal Code, by his or her parent, guardian, or a household member; or the parent or guardian has failed to adequately protect the child from sexual abuse when the parent or guardian knew or reasonably should have known that the child was in danger of sexual abuse.

The Legislature finds and declares that a child who is sexually trafficked, as described in § 236.1 of the Penal Code, or who receives food or shelter in exchange for or who is paid to perform, sexual acts, and whose parent or guardian failed to, or was unable to, protect the child, is within the description of this subdivision, and that these children shall be known as commercially sexually exploited children.

‘Sexual abuse’ means sexual assault or sexual exploitation as defined below:

• ‘Sexual assault’ includes rape, incest, sodomy, lewd or lascivious acts upon a child, or child molestation.
• ‘Sexual exploitation’ refers to any of the following:
  • Depicting a minor engaged in obscene acts; preparing, selling, or distributing obscene matter that depicts minors; employing a minor to perform obscene acts
  • Knowingly permitting or encouraging a child to engage in, or assisting others to engage in, prostitution or a live performance involving obscene sexual conduct, or to either pose or model alone or with others for purposes of preparing a film, photograph, negative, slide, drawing, painting, or other pictorial depiction involving obscene sexual conduct
  • Depicting a child in, or knowingly developing, duplicating, printing, or exchanging any film, photograph, videotape, negative, or slide in which a child is engaged in an act of obscene sexual conduct

Emotional Abuse

Citation: Welf. & Inst. Code § 300A child is considered dependent if he or she is suffering serious emotional damage, or is at substantial risk of suffering serious emotional damage, as evidenced by severe anxiety, depression, withdrawal, or untoward aggressive behavior toward self or others; as a result of the conduct of the parent or guardian; or who has no parent or guardian capable of providing appropriate care.

No child shall be found to be a dependent person if the willful failure of the parent or guardian to provide adequate mental health treatment is based on a sincerely held religious belief and if a less intrusive judicial intervention is available.

Abandonment

Citation: Welf. & Inst. Code § 300
A child is considered dependent when:

• The child has been left without any provision for support.
• Physical custody of the child has been voluntarily surrendered pursuant to § 1255.7 of the Health and Safety Code, and the child has not been reclaimed within the 14-day period specified in subdivision (e) of that section.
• The child’s parent has been incarcerated or institutionalized and cannot arrange for the care of the child.
• A relative or other adult custodian with whom the child resides or has been left is unwilling or unable to provide care or support for the child, the whereabouts of the parent are unknown, and reasonable efforts to locate the parent have been unsuccessful.
• The child has been freed for adoption by one or both parents for 12 months by either relinquishment or termination of parental rights, or an adoption petition has not been granted.

Standards for Reporting

Citation: Penal Code § 11166
A mandatory reporter shall make a report whenever he or she, in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment, has knowledge of or observes a child whom the mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse or neglect.

The term ‘reasonable suspicion’ means that it is objectively reasonable for a person to entertain a suspicion, based upon facts that could cause a reasonable person in a like position, drawing, when appropriate, on his or her training and experience, to suspect child abuse or neglect. ‘Reasonable suspicion’ does not require certainty that child abuse or neglect has occurred nor does it require a specific medical indication of child abuse or neglect; any ‘reasonable suspicion’ is sufficient.

Persons Responsible for the Child

Citation: Welf. & Inst. Code § 300A person responsible for a child’s welfare includes the child’s parent or guardian. As used in this section, ‘guardian’ means the legal guardian of the child.

Exceptions

Citation: Welf. & Inst. Code §§ 300; 300.5Serious physical harm does not include reasonable and age-appropriate spanking to the buttocks where there is no evidence of serious physical injury.

No child shall be found to be dependent solely due to the lack of an emergency shelter for the family.

A physical disability, such as blindness or deafness, is not considered a bar to raising happy and well-adjusted children unless a parent’s disability prevents him or her from exercising care and control.

A child whose parent has been adjudged a dependent child shall not be considered to be at risk of abuse or neglect solely because of the age, dependent status, or foster care status of the parent.

In any case in which a child is alleged to be dependent on the basis that he or she is in need of medical care, the court, in making that finding, shall give consideration to any treatment being provided to the child by spiritual means through prayer alone in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious denomination by an accredited practitioner thereof.

Current Through August 2017

Defined in Domestic Violence Civil Laws

Citation: Fam. Code §§ 6203; 6320For purposes of this act, ‘abuse’ means any of the following:

• Intentionally or recklessly causing or attempting to cause bodily injury
• Sexual assault
• Placing a person in reasonable apprehension of imminent serious bodily injury to that person or to another
• Engaging in any behavior that has been or could be enjoined pursuant to § 6320

Abuse is not limited to the actual infliction of physical injury or assault.

The court may issue an ex parte order enjoining a party from molesting; attacking; striking; stalking; threatening; sexually assaulting; battering; harassing; telephoning, including, but not limited to, making annoying telephone calls as described in § 653m of the Penal Code; destroying personal property; contacting, either directly or indirectly, by mail or otherwise; coming within a specified distance of; or disturbing the peace of the other party; and, in the discretion of the court, on a showing of good cause, of other named family or household members.

Defined in Child Abuse Reporting and Child Protection Laws

Citation:This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.

Defined in Criminal Laws

Citation: Penal Code § 273.5Any person who willfully inflicts corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition upon a victim described in the section below is guilty of a felony.

As used in this section, the term ‘traumatic condition’ means a condition of the body, such as a wound or external or internal injury, including, but not limited to, injury as a result of strangulation or suffocation, whether of a minor or serious nature, caused by a physical force. For purposes of this section, ‘strangulation’ and ‘suffocation’ include impeding the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of a person by applying pressure on the throat or neck.

Persons Included in the Definition

Citation: Fam. Code § 6211; Penal Code § 273.5In civil law: ‘Domestic violence’ is abuse perpetrated against any of the following persons:

• A spouse or former spouse
• A cohabitant or former cohabitant, as defined in § 6209
• A person with whom the respondent is having or has had a dating or engagement relationship
• A person with whom the respondent has had a child, where the presumption applies that the male parent is the father of the child of the female parent under the Uniform Parentage Act
• A child of a party or a child who is the subject of an action under the Uniform Parentage Act, where the presumption applies that the male parent is the father of the child to be protected
• Any other person related by consanguinity or affinity within the second degree

In criminal law: Section 273.5(a) shall apply if the victim is or was one or more of the following:

• The offender’s spouse or former spouse
• The offender’s cohabitant or former cohabitant
• The person to whom the offender is engaged or someone with whom the offender has, or previously had, an engagement or dating relationship
• The mother or father of the offender’s child

Holding oneself out to be the spouse of the person with whom one is cohabiting is not necessary to constitute cohabitation as the term is used in this section.

Current Through April 2015

Citation: Penal Code § 11165.13A positive toxicology screen at the time of the delivery of an infant is not in and of itself a sufficient basis for reporting child abuse or neglect. However, any indication of maternal substance abuse shall lead to an assessment of the needs of the mother and child pursuant to law.

If other factors are present that indicate risk to a child, then a report shall be made. However, a report based on risk to a child that relates solely to the inability of the parent to provide the child with regular care due to the parent’s substance abuse shall be made only to a county welfare or probation department and not to a law enforcement agency.

Citation: Health & Safety Code § 11379.7Except as provided below, any person convicted of a violation of §11379.6(a) [manufacture of a controlled substance] or §11383 [possession of the chemicals or equipment used for such manufacture], or of an attempt to violate those sections, as those sections relate to methamphetamine or phencyclidine, when the commission or attempted commission of the crime occurs in a structure where any child under age 16 is present, shall, in addition and consecutive to the punishment prescribed for the felony of which he or she has been convicted, be punished by an additional term of 2 years in the State prison.

Any person convicted of a violation of § 11379.6(a) or § 11383, or of an attempt to violate those sections, as those sections relate to methamphetamine or phencyclidine, when the commission of the crime causes any child under age 16 to suffer great bodily injury, shall, in addition and consecutive to the punishment prescribed for the felony of which he or she has been convicted, be punished by an additional term of 5 years in the State prison.

As used in this section, ‘structure’ means any house, apartment building, shop, warehouse, barn, building, vessel, railroad car, cargo container, motor vehicle, housecar, trailer, trailer coach, camper, mine, floating home, or other enclosed structure capable of holding a child and manufacturing equipment.

Citation: Welf. & Inst. Code § 300Any child who comes within the following description is within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court which may adjudge that child to be a dependent child of the court: The child has suffered, or there is a substantial risk that the child will suffer, serious physical harm or illness, as a result of the inability of the parent or guardian to provide regular care for the child due to the parent’s or guardian’s mental illness, developmental disability, or substance abuse.