Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez
The California Family Preparedness Plan Act allows parents—many in Latino and immigrant communities—to designate caregivers and limits ICE cooperation in schools.
A new law allowing parents to designate someone to care for their child in the event they are detained or deported by federal immigration authorities will soon take effect in California.
Starting Jan. 1, the Family Preparedness Plan Act expands the type of relative who can qualify as a “caretaker” and creates a process by which a parent can nominate a caretaker to be a “temporary joint guardian” through probate court.
The new law also prohibits licensed child daycare facilities and state preschool programs from collecting information about the citizenship or immigration status of students or their family members and limits employees at these sites from cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The new law stipulates that a caretaker must be at least 18 years old and be related to the child by blood, adoption or “affinity within the fifth degree of kinship,” such as a step-parent, grandparent, great-aunt or great-great-grandparent. The child must also live with the caretaker.
Eleven signs what’s known as a “caregiver’s authorization affidavit” and self-attests that they are the caregiver, that person will have the authority to enroll a child in school and make certain school-related medical decisions for them, such as immunizations or physical exams for someone. In some cases, the caretaker will also be able to make other medical or dental care decisions, including ones related to mental health treatment.
The caregiver’s affidavit takes effect once it’s signed by the caregiver, although a school may request additional information to confirm who the caregiver is.
To help schools verify if someone is a designated caretaker, a parent may, in advance, create a family preparedness plan and inform the school of the plan, said Jenilee Fermin, legislative director for Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez, D-San Fernando, who authored the bill.
“The family preparedness plan should state who the chosen caregivers are in the event they are separated,” Fermin wrote in an email. “Typically, a caregiver’s authorization affidavit is completed and used when necessary.”
Millions of American children live under the threat of their parents’ deportation
