A new state law cracks down on accountability for providers of parenting classes that are often court-ordered in child abuse and neglect cases but have gone unregulated and have failed to keep children out of danger.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 3145 on Sunday, which creates the Foster Care Justice through Meaningful Help for Parents Act and requires that parenting courses provided as part of “family preservation services” prove that those services are actually working. The bill also requires that the California Department of Social Services publish an annual report on the data for the first time.
Earlier this year, a Times investigation found that the state lacked oversight of court-ordered parenting classes routinely required by judges as part of case plans when parents seek to regain custody of their children after child protective services have intervened.
Although national research shows that some parenting classes can help prevent child abuse and keep deserving families together, in California they often amount to an over-prescribed bureaucratic remedy with no clear track record of success. Participation in them can sway custody rulings despite a lack of oversight and data, according to more than 20 child welfare experts who spoke to The Times, including social workers, attorneys, retired judges, parents and providers.
“A troubling investigative report published by The Los Angeles Times reveals that we have no factual basis for concluding that the millions of dollars we spend on services to help families reunify with their children actually help those families. Nor do we have any factual basis for concluding that when a parent successfully completes court-ordered services, it is predictably safe to return a child to the parent’s care,” Black Women Organized for Political Action, pointing out the disproportionate number of children of color in the foster care system, said in a statement in support of the bill.
In the case of Noah Cuatro, a 4-year-old who died in 2019, both of his parents completed weeks of classes meant to make them better guardians before a judge placed him back into their custody.
His mother attended “culturally relevant” classes held at a community resource center in Palmdale that was ranked as “unable to be rated” on a state clearinghouse meant to recommended appropriate programs. His father attended classes at a church led by a pastor not mentioned on California’s program clearinghouse at all.
They were later charged with his murder. An autopsy ruled that the boy died by suffocation, and numerous injuries, including rib fractures caused by “significant force” that were found on his small body. It was a month before his fifth birthday.
Court-ordered parenting classes were also part of family reunification plans in horrific Los Angeles County cases such as those of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez, who died in 2013, and 10-year-old Anthony Avalos, who died in 2018. In both cases, the boys were known to child protective services before their torture and murder, for which their guardians were sent to prison.
Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles), who was author of the bill, was once in the child welfare system and was adopted by foster parents as a baby.
“California’s courts rely on these services to determine whether a family can safely reunify. We need to be confident that they are effective and have lasting positive impacts on both parents and children,” he said Monday.