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<ns0:Id>20250AB__156699INT</ns0:Id>
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<ns0:ActionText>INTRODUCED</ns0:ActionText>
<ns0:ActionDate>2026-01-12</ns0:ActionDate>
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<ns0:SessionYear>2025</ns0:SessionYear>
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<ns0:AuthorText authorType="LEAD_AUTHOR">Introduced by Assembly Member Jackson</ns0:AuthorText>
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<ns0:House>ASSEMBLY</ns0:House>
<ns0:Name>Jackson</ns0:Name>
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<ns0:Title> An act to amend Section 11165.2 of the Penal Code, relating to crimes. </ns0:Title>
<ns0:RelatingClause>crimes</ns0:RelatingClause>
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<ns0:Subject>Crimes: mandated reporters: severe neglect.</ns0:Subject>
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<html:p>Existing law, the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, makes certain persons, including teachers and social workers, mandated reporters. Under existing law, mandated reporters are required to report whenever the mandated reporter, in their professional capacity or within the scope of their 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. Failure by a mandated reporter to report an incident of known or reasonably suspected child abuse or neglect is a misdemeanor. Existing law, for the purposes of the act, defines “severe neglect” as the negligent failure of a person having the care or custody of a child to protect the child from severe malnutrition or medically diagnosed nonorganic failure to thrive, as well as those situations of neglect where any person having the care or custody of a
child willfully causes or permits the person or health of the child to be placed in a situation such that their person or health is endangered as proscribed by specified law, including the intentional failure to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical care.</html:p>
<html:p>Under existing law, prosecution of a misdemeanor must generally be commenced within one year of the commission of the offense, unless otherwise specified. Under existing law, if a mandated reporter intentionally conceals their failure to report an incident known by the mandated reporter to be abuse or severe neglect, it is a continuing offense until discovered by the appropriate law enforcement agency and may be prosecuted within one year of the discovery of the offense, but not later than 4 years after the commission of the offense.</html:p>
<html:p>This bill would recast the definition of “severe neglect” for the purposes described above.</html:p>
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<ns0:Preamble>The people of the State of California do enact as follows:</ns0:Preamble>
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<ns0:Num>SECTION 1.</ns0:Num>
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Section 11165.2 of the
<ns0:DocName>Penal Code</ns0:DocName>
is amended to read:
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<ns0:Num>11165.2.</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>As used in this article, “neglect” means the negligent treatment or the maltreatment of a child by a person responsible for the child’s welfare under circumstances indicating harm or threatened harm to the child’s health or welfare. The term includes both acts and omissions on the part of the responsible person.</html:p>
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(a)
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As used in this article, “severe neglect” means the negligent failure of a person having the care or custody of a child to protect the child from severe malnutrition or medically diagnosed nonorganic failure to thrive. “Severe neglect” also means if any person, having the care or custody of a child, willfully causes or permits serious illness or serious injury to the child, willfully causes or permits the death of the child, or causes the child to be placed at imminent risk of serious illness, serious injury, or death, including, but not limited to, the willful failure to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical care.
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(b)
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As used in this article, “general neglect” means the negligent failure of a person having the care or custody
of a child to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or supervision where no physical injury to the child has occurred but the child is at substantial risk of suffering serious physical harm or illness. “General neglect” does not include a parent’s economic disadvantage.
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<html:p>For the purposes of this
article, a child receiving treatment by spiritual means as provided in Section 16509.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code or not receiving specified medical treatment for religious reasons, shall not for that reason alone be considered a neglected child. An informed and appropriate medical decision made by parent or guardian after consultation with a physician who has examined the minor does not constitute neglect.</html:p>
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