To view/share as a webpage, click here

Take Action TODAY to
Ensure California's Children are Not Put in Harm's Way!

Over the past decade, A Voice for Choice Advocacy (AVFCA) has built a strong and trusted presence at the California State Capitol. Week after week, our Legislative Team is there advocating for parental health rights, health choice, and informed consent. Behind the scenes, our team has held hundreds of legislative meetings, built meaningful relationships with legislators, and even sponsored bills. This long-term, consistent advocacy is what allows us to not only respond to new legislation but also shape it.

One bill AVFCA is currently following closely is AB 495, authored by Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez, and known as the Family Preparedness Act of 2025 (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB495).  It is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee this week, and if it passes will move to the Senate floor for a vote before going back to the Assembly for a final vote and the Governor's signature.  If you are aware of the bill, feel free to scroll down to the Action Items.

Background:  Under California’s current Caregiver Affidavit Law, certain close relatives such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, or adult siblings can submit a Caregiver Affidavit to a school if a parent is unable to care for a child. This affidavit allows the child to be enrolled in school and gives the caregiver authority to make necessary medical decisions on the parent's behalf.

AB 495 seeks to expand who can serve as a caregiver to any trusted adult, not just certain relatives, as long as they sign the affidavit under penalty of perjury. In other words, the person is legally swearing they are truthful about their relationship and intentions, but given these forms may be signed quickly and treated casually, their real legal weight may not be fully understood and result in someone lying on them to get access to the child.

The bill’s author has explained that the measure is intended to ensure that children have a safe and stable caregiver in situations where a parent is suddenly unable to provide care such as during immigration enforcement actions that could result in temporary separation.  While AVFCA appreciates the intent of AB 495, there are many unintended consequences that will come if this bill is passed with its current language and lack of safeguards in the caregiver affidavit process. Currently, there is no requirement to verify that a caregiver is trustworthy or legally allowed custody of the child.  

For example:  

- In cases where a custody order is in place, a non-custodial parent could potentially gain access to the child simply by submitting a caregiver affidavit.

- In other cases, a dangerous or untrustworthy adult could obtain custody without any background check or school verification.

AVFCA's legislative team recently had robust conversations with both the author’s staff and one of the bill’s sponsors to share these concerns. AVFCA suggested the following amendments to strengthen protections for children:

- Require schools to contact the child’s listed emergency contacts before granting caregiver authority, to someone other than one of those contacts.

- Require schools to check and verify that the person seeking caregiver authority is not legally prohibited from having access to the child (e.g., in a custody case where the court has restricted contact).

The author's office is considering these suggestions and AVFCA hopes will continue conversations with the author and sponsors to ensure guardrails are put in place, while ensuring children are cared for by an appropriate adult.  AVFCA asks you to take Action to help us do this. 

Action Alert!

MAKE THREE PHONE CALLS TODAY:
1) Call Asm Celeste Rodriguez's office urging her to amend the bill to ensure safety measures are put in place that the caregiver affidavit requires more checks and balances before allowing any adult signing the affidavit to pick up a child. 

Call Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez (916) 319-2043

2) Call BOTH your Senator and Assemblymember's offices urging them to contact Asm Celeste Rodriguez urging her to amend the bill to ensure safety measures are put in place that the caregiver affidavit requires more checks and balances before allowing any adult signing the affidavit to pick up a child. And if she does not agree to amend the bill to vote no when it comes to the floor vote.

To find your Senator and Assemblymember's contact information, put your address into this locator (https://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/).

Suggested Language (Feel free to put in your own words and include your own experience if you have one):  Hello, my name is [Your Name]. I’m calling about AB 495. I appreciate the goal of ensuring children have a safe caregiver when a parent can’t provide care, but I’m concerned about the lack of safeguards in the caregiver affidavit process.  My two main concerns are that a non-custodial parent could gain access to a child even if a court order restricts them or that an unsafe adult could get custody without any background check.  I ask (you to request) the bill be strengthened by amending it to require schools to first contact a child’s emergency contacts before approving the Caregiver's Affidavit and require schools to confirm the person isn’t legally prohibited from access.  Thank you for considering these protections.

Please forward this email to anyone in California, and ask them to do the same. 

If you found this information helpful and appreciate the work A Voice for Choice Advocacy is doing, please support us by making a donation today.

Together we can make change happen!

C

Christina Hildebrand
President/Founder
A Voice for Choice Advocacy, Inc.
[email protected]
www.AVoiceForChoiceAdvocacy.org