Senator Cortese Introduces Bills with California Judges Association to Increase Family Finding Engagement and Access to Juvenile Justice Diversion

Senator Dave Cortese (SD-15, San Jose) has introduced two new bills - SB 383 and SB 384 - sponsored by the California Judges Association (CJA) that are designed to expand rehabilitation opportunities and support systems for our youth.

SB 383 - The Juvenile Justice Diversion Act

With an aim of shifting the focus of our justice system from incarceration to rehabilitation, Senator Cortese has introduced SB 383, The Juvenile Justice Diversion Act, which will increase access to diversion programs for youth that commit non-violent felonies.

Numerous peer-reviewed studies point to diversion as a more effective tool in reducing recidivism than conventional judicial interventions.

It has also been shown that factors exist to continually deny youth of color early diversion opportunities with a Brennan Center for Justice 2020 report indicating that justice system involvement leads to “profoundly unequal treatment” and “long-term economic disparity”.

SB 383 will also remove the procedural barriers that exist today restricting diversion services for youth who commit a crime in a county that is not their county of residence.

“We must change the paradigm of our juvenile justice system to a ‘care-first, jail-last’ model deeply rooted in restorative justice and geared toward ending the incarceration of our minors,” says Senator Cortese who created the first policy in the United States to end the incarceration of offenders under 13 years of age at juvenile hall. “More needs to be done to remove unnecessary barriers to diversion and rehabilitation programs for our youth as we move from a punitive to rehabilitative approach.”

“The California Judges Association thanks Senator Cortese for his leadership on this important legislation that will help our youth avoid incarceration and further the goal of rehabilitation in our juvenile justice system,” said Judge Thomas Delaney, President of CJA.

“The Association also appreciates the hard work of the Juvenile Court Judges of California, a section of CJA, which worked with Senator Cortese on the Juvenile Justice Diversion Act. CJA supports this legislation as a key piece of the ongoing process to improve California’s juvenile justice system.”

SB 384 - The Family Finding Act

Cortese has also introduced SB 384, The Family Finding Act, to require that counties implement family finding protocols, increasing the likelihood that a child removed from parental care, for instance as a result of parental neglect or abuse, be placed with relatives.

Family finding is considered a best practice and research demonstrates that a child placed with relatives will have better physical and emotional health outcomes long-term than a child placed in foster care or congregate care. A recent BMC Public Health study conducted over thirty years followed the lives of over 160,000 children who were placed in foster and congregate care and concluded that these children experienced worse health outcomes than children who grew up in a family environment.

Relative placement is in the best interest of a child for a variety of reasons, including increased stability for a child, preservation of cultural identity and connections to the community, and less school changes.

Cortese, who launched the first program in the nation to provide universal basic income to young adults transitioning out of foster care, says placing a child with a relative can ensure they receive a stable support system.

 “The Family Finding Act will provide more children a permanent home,” says Senator Cortese.

“The California Judges Association very much appreciates the efforts of Senator Cortese in sponsoring this legislation that is in the best interests of our children in the juvenile court, which is critical to achieving positive outcomes for our California families. Both CJA and its Juvenile Court Judges of California Section thank Senator Cortese for bringing forward The Family Finding Act. We look forward to working with our dedicated social workers and other stakeholders on this legislation.”