California Welfare and Institutions Code

§ 319

WIC § 319 Effective Jan 1, 2026Div. 2 · Part 1 · Ch. 2 · Art. 7

Statute text

(a)At the initial petition hearing, the court shall review the report described in subdivision (b) and examine the child’s parents, guardians, Indian custodian, or other persons having relevant knowledge and hear the relevant evidence as the child, the child’s parents or guardians, the child’s Indian custodian, the petitioner, the Indian child’s tribe, or their counsel desires to present. The court may examine the child, as provided in Section 350.

(b)The social worker shall report to the court on the reasons why the child has been removed from the parent’s, guardian’s, or Indian custodian’s physical custody, the need, if any, for continued detention, the available services and the referral methods to those services that could facilitate the return of the child to the custody of the child’s parents, guardians, or Indian custodian, and whether there are any relatives who are able and willing to take temporary physical custody of the child. The report shall also include information regarding any short-term or long-term harms, or both short-term and long-term harms, to the child that may result from their removal from the custody of their parent, guardian, or Indian custodian, including, but not limited to, the information specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c), the placement options, including an assessment of the least disruptive alternatives to returning the child to the custody of their parent, guardian, or Indian custodian, including compliance with the placement preferences set forth in Section 361.31 in the case of an Indian child, and measures that may be available to alleviate disruption and minimize the harms of removal. If it is known or there is reason to know the child is an Indian child, the report shall also include all of the following:

(1)A statement of the risk of imminent physical damage or harm to the Indian child and any evidence that the emergency removal or placement continues to be necessary to prevent the imminent physical damage or harm to the child.

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Legislative history

Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 200, Sec. 27. (AB 1521) Effective January 1, 2026.