Legislative Updates

Seneca’s advocacy work is grounded in our mission and fundamental promise to provide Unconditional Care to children and families. It reflects the expertise and perspectives of our staff, youth, and families. This year, we are proud to engage with the following legislation that advances our Policy Priorities:

SUPPORT

AB 49 (Muratsuchi): Requires local education agencies to limit Immigration Customs and Enforcement’s (ICE) access to areas where children and students are not present.

AB 73 (Jackson): Creates a specialty certification for Community Health Workers for Black Mental Health Navigators.

AB 276 (Bennett): Allows Short Term Residential Therapeutic Programs (STRTPs) to hire staff waiting for their out-of-state background check to clear so long as they have passed the Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau Investigations (FBI), and California Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) checks. Staff who are waiting for their out-of-state background check to clear may not be left alone with youth.

AB 495 (C. Rodriguez): Creates the Family Preparedness Plan Act of 2025, which protects children in immigrant and mixed-status families by ensuring emergency contact information and plans for family safety are up to date in the event immigration enforcement impacts children at schools and licensed childcare facilities. It also strengthens Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavits, Guardianship Nominations, and Short-Term Guardianships to provide families with clear, legally recognized options.

AB 601 (Jackson): Requires CDSS to develop a standardized curriculum for mandated reporters and requires all mandated reporters to receive that training within the first 3 months of employment. CDSS will also be required to analyze the disparities in the child welfare system. It also establishes the Mandated Reporter Advisory Committee under the Child Welfare Council (a recommendation from a task force within the CWC).

AB 618 (Krell): Requires Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans, county Specialty Mental Health plans, Drug Medi-Cal, and Drug Medi-Cal-Organized Delivery System programs to provide data for members to support member care electronically.

AB 898 (Bryan): Expands Family Urgent Response System (FURS) services to youth receiving family preservation/maintenance services and allows FURS teams to respond to local calls.

AB 926 (Gipson): Makes unsupervised visitation the default in child welfare cases.

AB 970 (McKinnor): Establishes a pilot program in LA County to test a new model for mandated reporting. In this program, mandated reporters will be shielded from civil liability and criminal penalty if they complete the comprehensive mandated reporter training and utilize a decision support tool.

AB 1195 (Quirk-Silva): Entitles an incarcerated parent (in county jail) to regularly scheduled, in-person visitation in child welfare cases. It requires the county jail to ensure the parent is made available for the visit and requires the child welfare agency and county jail to document all scheduled visits and submit the documentation to the court at each hearing.

AB 1201 (Jackson): Prohibits a court from refusing reunification services from a parent with a violent felony unless the violent felony involved harm to the child or the parent poses a current and documented risk to the child.

AB 1230 (Bonta): Improves expulsion rehabilitation plans by strengthening requirements to ensure that expelled students receive the support they need to return to their home school successfully.

SB 48 (Gonzalez): Requires local education agencies (LEAs) to request a valid warrant, identification, and a written statement of purpose from an immigration authority before entering a school site. LEAs must also retain copies of all the documents. The bill also requires the Attorney General to publish model policies to assist k-12 schools in responding to immigration issues.

SB 324 (Menjivar): Requires Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans to give preference to contracting with community providers for Enhanced Care Management (ECM)/Community Supports. It also requires the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to annually update rate guidance as a benchmark for ECM/Community Supports.

SB 497 (Wiener): Prohibits a health care provider/commercial insurance plan from releasing medical information related to a person seeking/obtaining gender-affirming health or mental health care.

SB 531 (Rubio): Ensures all students in grades 1-12 receive a mental health education at least once in elementary, middle, and high school.

SB 552 (Cortese): Requires a probation department to develop an individualized case plan for every youth on probation. The plan will outline specific goals and services and assign responsibilities to support a minor’s rehabilitation and accountability with input from the minor and their family. It will include timelines for objectives, confirmation of family involvement, and evaluations of provided services and their effectiveness.

OPPOSE

AB 68 (Gallagher): Requires schools to have one armed school resource officer to be present when students are present.

Seneca centers our legislative engagement in our Policy Priorities and staff voice. If you have any questions about our policy work or legislative efforts, please reach out to our Policy Advocate, Esperanza, at [email protected]

Seneca & Current LGBTQ+ Policies

Seneca is continuing to monitor current legislative efforts that seek to impact the LGBTQ+ community negatively.

In recent months, several California school districts have adopted Parental Notification policies that will require staff to notify parents and caregivers when their student is exploring their gender identity, ask to use a name or pronoun different than what was assigned at birth, and/or engage in activities or use spaces designed for the opposite sex.

While some school districts have made their Parental Notification policy explicitly about gender and gender identity, other school districts have made Parental Notification about mental health along with the argument that Gender Dysphoria is a diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5^th edition and therefore a student’s gender identity and exploration can be disclosed under Parental Notification policies centered on mental health.

As a result, Seneca has ramped up their local advocacy efforts and is advocating for Parental Notification policies to contain explicit protections for LGBTQ+ students.

Check out our advocacy tool kit to learn more about how you can get involved in this issue.

Legislative Resources

To learn more about California’s legislative and budget cycle, check out the California Budget and Policy Center. You can also look up your California State representatives here. In Washington, you can submit a comment of support for or opposition to a bill by searching the bill number on the Washington State Legislature site; you can also find your state representative there.