Bill Allowing Children to be Put in Group Homes Without Parental Consent

Last week, California lawmakers advanced a radical new bill, AB 665, that would allow children as young as 12-years-old to consent to being placed into state funded group homes without parental permission or knowledge. Critics are rightfully equating this to “state-sanctioned kidnapping.”

The state’s Assembly Judiciary Committee passed the bill, allowing mental health professionals to place children in residential facilities upon a minor’s request, even if the children are not experiencing abuse or neglect at home. The bill also lets professionals decide whether or not to inform a child’s parents “after consulting with the minor.” The bill’s authors claim it will help decrease suicidality among “youth, particularly Black and Latinx youth.”

“For LGBTQ+ youth, the rejection from parents, harassment in school, and the overall LGBTQ negativity present in society can lead to depression, anxiety, drug and alcohol use, and other negative outcomes. Over one-half of surveyed LGBTQ+ youth reported that not being able to get permission from their parents or guardians was sometimes or always a barrier to accessing mental health services,” the bill reads.

During the hearing, witnesses in opposition told lawmakers that the law would enable school counselors to send children straight to a group home if the children say their parents aren’t supportive of their “gender identities.” (Excerpt from California Family Council.)