Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo recently (commentary, Aug. 26) praised Assembly Bill 495, the Family Preparedness Plan Act, as if it were a perfect fix. It isn’t.
Some critics, especially in the faith community, have gone too far by calling AB 495 a “trafficking bill” or saying it legalizes kidnapping. That’s not true. The caregiver’s affidavit this bill expands has been around for decades. It doesn’t hand over custody, and parents still hold the final say.
There are also safeguards people forget:
The child must already be living with the caregiver. A trafficker wouldn’t usually have a child in their home long enough to use this.
Schools and doctors still check ID and records. Caregivers don’t get a free pass, and staff are still mandated reporters if something seems wrong.
Custody isn’t transferred. If a parent shows up and objects, the parent’s authority overrides the affidavit.
(See the current form here: courts.ca.gov/documents/caregiver.pdf.)
What AB 495 actually changes is who can sign the affidavit. It expands eligibility to “extended family” or close connections living with the child. But even then, it doesn’t transfer legal custody.
The problem is the affidavit still requires no parent signature, no notarization and no tracking. That lack of oversight makes it easy for people to imagine the worst — and in practice, it can leave schools and hospitals stuck in the middle when adults disagree.
AB 495 would be stronger with a few common-sense fixes: Notify parents when an affidavit is signed, shorten its duration unless renewed, define “extended family” more clearly, and create a simple registry so there’s a paper trail.
Keeping kids safe in difficult situations is a goal worth supporting. But calling this bill perfect, as Schiavo does, is just as misleading as the fear-driven attacks from its opponents.
Nancy Fairbanks
Valencia
