Children's Rights

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Bonta today announced 41-year-old Christopher Campbell was sentenced to 14 years in prison for possession of child pornography after he was arrested during an undercover operation to combat child sexual predators within Sacramento County. On February 27, 2023, the California Department of Justice (DOJ) Human Trafficking and Sexual Predator Apprehension Team (HT/SPAT), along with Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, assisted the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force in the joint operation. The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California prosecuted the case.

“Let this conviction serve as a warning to those who harm children: You will be held accountable,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Our office is fighting on behalf of the most vulnerable Californians in the field and in the courtroom. I am thankful for the hard work of our Special Agents during this operation and all our partners who work collaboratively with our regional Human Trafficking and Sexual Predator Apprehension teams throughout the state. When we work together, we get results.”

During the operation, Campbell contacted an undercover HT/SPAT agent to engage in sexual misconduct. It was discovered that Campbell was a registered sex offender, and a search warrant revealed that Campbell had approximately 517 images and 45 videos of child pornography on his iPad and cellphone. Law enforcement also searched Campbell’s cloud storage account, which contained approximately 169 videos of child pornography, including depictions of toddlers and other minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. On April 9, 2024, Campbell was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography. Campbell was subject to an enhanced statutory penalty for possession of child pornography because he had a prior conviction relating to sexual abuse involving a minor.

The mission of the HT/SPAT program is to disrupt and dismantle violent human trafficking and child exploitation organizations through a comprehensive, collaborative, and statewide response. This program is committed to using a victim-centered approach to aggressively investigate, identify, and recover victims of the brutal crime of forced labor and sexual exploitation for profit or gain by human traffickers and sexual predators. The HT/SPAT program works closely with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to identify emerging human trafficking trends in order to dismantle domestic and transnational criminal organizations. This program educates communities by providing tools on how to identify human trafficking and works with non-governmental organizations to provide resources and services to victims and survivors.

Updates to COPPA need to go further to protect children’s online data 

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, in response to the Federal Trade Comission's (FTC) notice of proposed rulemaking, joined a bipartisan multistate letter to the FTC proposing updates to regulations implementing the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). In the letter, the attorneys general express support for updates to COPPA and advocate for further clarity and specification for proposed rules.

“The Federal Trade Commission’s proposed rule would strengthen our ability to enforce restrictions on companies selling children’s data and protect consumers who seek to manage what information websites can collect from kids,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Together with a broad bipartisan coalition from across the country, I support this effort and look forward to working collaboratively with the FTC to keep protecting children’s privacy.”

COPPA requires operators of websites and online services that are either directed to children under 13, or that have actual knowledge that they are collecting personal information from children under 13, to provide notice to parents and obtain parental consent before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children. 

The proposed rule would update COPPA by:

• Requiring separate “opt-in” consent for targeted advertising: The proposed new rule would require separate notice and parental consent before an operator can disclose children’s information to third parties, including third-party advertisers.
• Clarifying the “mixed audience” category:  There currently is ambiguity about when child-directed websites must provide COPPA protections to all users and when they may screen users for age and only provide COPPA protections to users who self-identify as under 13 years old. The FTC proposes to clarify this distinction by providing a new definition of “mixed audience."
• Adding “biometric identifiers” to the definition of “personal information”: The FTC proposes to expand the definition of “personal information” under COPPA to include biometric identifiers, like fingerprints or handprints, retina and iris patterns, genetic data, or data derived from voice, gait, or facial data.
• Limits on the “support for the internal operations” exception: Operators may currently collect persistent identifiers without first obtaining parental consent under an exception that permits “support for the internal operations of the website or online service.” The FTC proposes adding new requirements and disclosures for operators who rely on this exception.
• New limits on nudging kids to stay online: The FTC proposes adding new limitations on operators’ use of personal information to prompt or encourage children to use their service more.
• COPPA and schools: The FTC seeks to permit schools and school districts to provide consent for the collection, use, and disclosure of children’s personal information, but limit that consent to use for educational rather than commercial purposes.
• Data security, retention, and deletion: The FTC proposes strengthening data security, retention, and deletion requirements. For example, the FTC proposes requiring disclosure of data retention policies, and prohibiting operators from using retained information for any secondary purpose.

In the letter, the attorneys general support proposed updates to the COPPA Rule and respond to certain issues raised by the FTC, including how to define “personal information” as it relates to children and how to obtain parental consent to use children’s personal information in connection with advertising. The letter also advocates for limiting potential exemptions being considered by the FTC and addresses proposals regarding limitations on the use of personal information in ways that could be harmful to children, such as nudging kids to stay online longer.

Attorney General Bonta is committed to protecting children online. In October 2023, Attorney General Bonta co-led a bipartisan coalition of 33 attorneys general in filing a federal lawsuit against Meta Platforms, alleging that Meta, among other things, designed and deployed harmful features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children and teens to their mental and physical detriment. In November 2023, Attorney General Bonta announced the public release of a largely unredacted copy of the federal complaint against Meta. The removal of the redactions provides additional context for the misconduct that the attorneys general allege.

In March 2023, Attorney General Bonta as part of a bipartisan multistate coalition, filed an amicus brief supporting efforts to compel TikTok to produce subpoenaed materials and evidence as part of ongoing nationwide investigations into the company’s role in the growing youth mental health crisis. In December 2023, Attorney General Bonta joined a multistate amicus brief in Murthy v. Missouri supporting the right of the federal government to communicate with social media companies about matters of public concern. In January 2024, Attorney General Rob Bonta, Senator Nancy Skinner, and Assemblymember Buffy Wicks introduced the Protecting Youth from Social Media Addiction Act (SB 976), and the California Children’s Data Privacy Act (AB 1949), landmark legislation seeking to protect youth online.

In submitting today’s letter, Attorney General Bonta is joined by the attorneys general of Oregon, Illinois, Mississippi, Tennessee, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

A copy of the multistate letter is available here.

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined a bipartisan coalition of 54 states and territories in sending a letter to Congressional leaders calling for the creation of an expert commission to study how artificial intelligence (AI) can and is being used to exploit children through child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The coalition asks that the expert commission propose legislation to protect children from those abuses. As the U.S. Department of Justice notes, “The production of CSAM creates a permanent record of the child’s victimization.”

“Artificial intelligence is ushering extraordinary advances in healthcare and other sectors throughout the world. But it is also a tool that poses risks — risks that we need to tackle head-on. Among other concerns, AI can be used to threaten the safety and well-being of our children. I won’t stand for that,” said Attorney General Bonta. “As a father, and as the People’s Attorney, I’m proud to join this nationwide, bipartisan coalition in calling on Congress to do more to protect our kids. We have zero tolerance for child sexual abuse of any sort.”  

The attorneys general write that:

• AI can be used to exploit children, including by identifying their location and mimicking their voices. For example, with only a short recording of a person’s voice, AI tools can clone the voice and use it to say things the person never actually said. Indeed, scammers have even been able to use AI to aid in fake kidnappings.  
• Most troublingly, AI tools can create “deepfakes” of children. Deepfakes are fake images or videos that seem real. Among other things, AI can be used to study real photographs of abused children and generate new images showing those children in sexual positions, or to overlay photographs of otherwise unvictimized children on the internet with photographs of abused children to create new abusive content involving both children.
• While Congress is aware of the threats posed by AI generally, the safety of children should not fall through the cracks. 

Attorney General Rob Bonta is committed to protecting the safety and well-being of children, and to ensuring that AI tools are responsibly developed and regulated. In August 2023, he announced 22 arrests as part of “Operation Bad Barbie” in Kern County, which targeted adults seeking to sexually exploit children by using undercover agents and detectives posing as minors offering sex for pay on online websites commonly used by victims of sex trafficking. In June 2023, he joined a bipartisan coalition in submitting a comment letter to call for AI transparency and accountability. In June 2021, he formally launched the Human Trafficking and Sexual Predator Apprehension Teams (HT/SPAT) within the California Department of Justice to take action against human trafficking.

In sending today’s letter to Congressional leaders, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia. Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

A copy of the letter is available here.

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a statement urging the Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) to prioritize protecting student privacy. In an urgent letter sent to Superintendent Norman Enfield and the Board of Education, Attorney General Bonta expressed serious concern over the proposed Parental Notification policy, emphasizing the potential infringements on students' privacy rights and educational opportunities. The Attorney General's office is committed to protecting the rights and well-being of students in California schools.

"The protection of every student’s privacy and safety is of utmost importance, and that includes protecting their right to choose when, how, and with whom they share their gender identity. That is a personal decision for them, and them alone,” said Attorney General Bonta. “By allowing for the disclosure of a student’s gender identity without their consent, Chino Valley Unified School District’s suggested Parental Notification policy would strip them of their freedom, violate their autonomy, and potentially put them in a harmful situation. Our schools should be protecting the rights of all students, especially those who are most vulnerable, and should be safeguarding students’ rights to fully participate in all educational and extracurricular opportunities. I strongly encourage CVUSD to prioritize the rights and privacy of all their students.” 

The proposed policy is up for consideration tonight at the CVUSD Board of Education meeting. If approved, it would require schools to inform parents, without exception, if a student wants to use a name or pronoun different from what's on their birth certificate or official records. It would also require notification if a student wants to use facilities or participate in programs that don't match their gender on official records or if a student wants to change any information in their school records.

In the letter, Attorney General Bonta calls on CVUSD to fulfill its weighty responsibility as educators to create an inclusive and safe environment for all students. Additionally, the letter underlines that decisions about gender identity are deeply personal and should be handled with sensitivity, allowing students to make their own choices regarding when and how to disclose their identities to their parents. Furthermore, this proposed mandate demonstrates a reckless disregard for the real-world dangers some children may face at home. Any child harmed following such a mandatory parental notification could lead to potential liability for the school district. 

A copy of the letter can be found here.

The Los Angeles County Probation Department’s non-compliance with stipulated judgment—which includes failing to improve conditions and provide adequate staffing—endangers youth 

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced today that the California Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a motion to enforce specific provisions of the 2021 stipulated judgment requiring Los Angeles County to remedy illegal and unsafe conditions of confinement at its two juvenile halls. DOJ seeks an order that the county complies with the judgment, submits periodic status reports on efforts towards compliance, and, should it fail to come into compliance within 120 days, face possible sanctions. The judgment mandates specific improvements at the county’s juvenile halls — including the maintenance of adequate staffing levels and the consistent and timely transport of youth to school. After over two years, the county has failed to voluntarily comply with the terms of the judgment. Due to the county’s non-compliance, staff routinely fail to transport youth to school or to critical medical appointments, and youth are frequently deprived of their right to time outdoors.    

“The conditions within the juvenile detention centers in Los Angeles County are appalling. Every child in our state is entitled to a safe, homelike environment,” said Attorney General Bonta. “For justice-involved youth in particular, it is imperative that our institutions give them every opportunity for rehabilitation, growth, and healing. We are responsible for protecting justice-involved youth and ensuring they receive educational, health, and supportive services necessary to stop the cycle of incarceration.”

Due in part to a staffing crisis plaguing the juvenile halls, the county has not just failed to make forward progress towards compliance with the judgment: It has actually regressed away from complying with the most basic and fundamental provisions that ensure youth and staff safety and well-being. Recently, public reports have revealed that illicit narcotic substances such as fentanyl have entered the halls, requiring the use of Narcan on two youths. And as a result of low staffing levels, youth have been forced to urinate and defecate in their cells overnight. So critical is the staffing situation at the juvenile halls that the county's probation department regularly requires staff to work more than 24-hour-long shifts and also has relied on temporarily reassigned field officers who are not trained to work with youth — all of which threatens youth safety and well-being.

The enforcement motion filed today seeks to enforce judgment provisions requiring Los Angeles County to:

• Provide timely transport of youth from their units in the juvenile halls to school daily;
• Deliver compensatory education services to youth who are entitled to those services;
• Ensure that youth have access to daily outdoor recreation;
• Timely and accurately document and review all use-of-force incidents, following procedures outlined in the judgment;
• Install video cameras throughout Barry J. Nidorf juvenile hall; and
• Implement a positive behavior management plan.

The Department of Justice hopes that Los Angeles County will act with urgency to come into full compliance before it becomes necessary for the court to take action.

Attorney General Bonta is committed to protecting the rights of youth in California and across the country. The Attorney General encourages those with information regarding suspected practices violating state or federal law involving children to report them to the DOJ’s Bureau of Children’s Justice through the online complaint form located at https://oag.ca.gov/bcj/complaint.

A copy of the motion to enforce the judgment can be found here.

SAN FRANCISCO – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Children’s Justice (BCJ), the California Department of Education (CDE), and the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) have jointly developed statewide guidelines for school districts, county offices of education, and child welfare agencies to better assist them in the secure sharing of data and information that is critical to the success of students in foster care.

“Too many foster children in California are falling through the cracks, not meeting their full potential, and ending up in the criminal justice system. Schools and child welfare agencies must communicate effectively in order to provide children the services they need,” said Attorney General Harris. “This collaborative effort between the Bureau of Children’s Justice and the California Departments of Education and Social Services is a positive step toward improving the ways we support vulnerable children, particularly foster youth.”

Under the law, foster youth are entitled to a range of services, including enhanced academic counseling regarding graduation eligibility requirements and mental health counseling.  But many eligible youth are not receiving the services they need because schools don’t know which students should be receiving additional support.  This guidance makes clear that schools and child welfare agencies can share information to keep children on track.

The guidance will help local educational and county welfare agencies by providing clarity on the scope of information which can be shared under the law, including critical information that school districts, local county offices of education, and caregivers need to identify and coordinate supports and services for foster youth.  In addition to providing clarity on the state of the law, the guidance encourages local educational and child welfare agencies to collaborate with each other to create joint data systems for the continued sharing of information regarding foster youth between and within their respective agencies.

“Providing clear statewide guidance is vital for strengthening the relationship between foster children, caregivers and educators,” said Will Lightbourne, Director of the California Department of Social Services. “This allows the focus to shift away from administrative hurdles and directly to the educational needs of each foster child.”

"Foster youth are some of our most vulnerable students," said Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson.  "I believe this will help better serve their needs. At the California Department of Education, we know that better data collection can help students and shed light on ways to improve our services to them.”

“I deeply appreciate the joint effort by the state social services and education agencies, and the Bureau of Children's Justice, to create this guidance,” said Martha Matthews, Directing Attorney of the Children's Rights Project at Public Counsel. “It will help school districts and county child welfare agencies here in Los Angeles County and statewide to share information and work together to support foster youths' educational success, while respecting their dignity and privacy.”

“The only way we can significantly improve education outcomes for children in foster care is through strong collaboration between schools and child welfare agencies, and that can only occur when they have the ability to share essential information,” said Molly Dunn, Senior Policy Attorney at Alliance for Children’s Justice.  “The joint guidance cuts through a labyrinth of federal and state laws to provide a clear path for the communication and collaboration necessary between agencies to support the education success of children in foster care.”

“The release of this guidance is huge step forward in California's efforts to close the achievement gap for students in foster care. It answers important questions about what data may and must be shared, who should be permitted to see what information and for what purpose,” said Michelle Francois Traiman, Director of FosterEd at the National Center for Youth Law. “Effective, thoughtful sharing of information across systems is critical to ensuring that the adults that are charged to support young people collaborate meaningfully, work as a team, and put the needs of each young person at the forefront of their practices and policies so they can succeed in school.”

In February 2015, Attorney General Harris formed the Bureau of Children’s Justice, a unit within the California Department of Justice that works to support and protect children and ensure they are on track to meet their full potential. The Bureau works to enforce California’s civil and criminal laws with respect to California’s foster care, adoption, and juvenile justice systems; discrimination and inequities in education; California’s elementary school truancy crisis; human trafficking of vulnerable youth; and childhood trauma and exposure to violence.

Earlier this year, the Bureau made public its active civil rights investigations on issues related to juvenile justice, the child welfare system, and education across the state.  More information is available at http://oag.ca.gov/bcj/investigations.

Attorney General Harris’s office is leading the California Defending Childhood State Policy Initiative—a collaboration of state agencies including CDE and CDSS—in its work to address the impacts of violence and trauma on children across the state, including enhancing the secure sharing of data to inform supports and services. Under Attorney General Harris’s leadership, California was one of three states nationwide selected by the U.S. Department of Justice to be a part of its national Defending Childhood Initiative.

Attorney General Harris has pioneered the use of data to inform public policy and pushed for greater transparency and more effective collaboration and data-sharing between state agencies in order to better serve the public. She announced OpenJustice, a first-of-its-kind open data criminal justice initiative, in September 2015.  Since its launch, OpenJustice has published additional analysis and plans to release new juvenile justice data in the coming weeks.  Her office also is collaborating with the Children’s Data Network at the University of Southern California to link the administrative records of youth involved in the justice system in order to better understand their early experiences, trajectories through systems, and factors that may increase the of risk involvement, all with an eye toward preventing involvement altogether.

SACRAMENTO – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced her support for Senate Bill 1143, legislation authored by Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) that would significantly limit the practice of isolating juveniles in room confinement. 

“Subjecting young people to prolonged periods of isolated confinement is cruel, inhumane and counterproductive to rehabilitation. This unnecessary and punitive practice undermines the goal of helping this vulnerable young population become healthy and productive members of our society.  Through this legislation and other reforms, California will lead the nation in providing standards that improve the safety and welfare of both youth and staff at juvenile facilities,” said Attorney General Harris. “I applaud Senator Leno for his leadership on this issue.  I am proud to support common-sense, ‘smart on crime’ legislation that helps those currently and formerly incarcerated overcome obstacles to get their lives back on track, and meet their full potential. ”

SB 1143 would restrict the use of juvenile room confinement in facilities throughout the state. SB 1143 would limit the amount of time a minor may be placed in a locked sleeping room or cell without contact from others, aside from attorneys or facility staff. The bill expressly bans punitive, coercive, retaliatory confinement, as well as confinement used purely for convenience. It also expressly states that confinement shall not be used to the extent that the mental and physical health of the minor would be compromised. The bill then sets reasonable baselines for how long a minor may be confined prior to steps being taken to reintegrate them into the general population.

“The extensive support of SB 1143 is a testament to the harmful effects of prolonged confinement and isolation on the troubled youth in our care,” said Senator Leno. “This bill will help ensure detained young people receive the rehabilitative opportunities they need to safely reintegrate into the community. I am grateful for Attorney General Harris’s commitment to protecting vulnerable children in our state.”

Attorney General Harris created the Bureau of Children’s Justice in 2015, a first-of-its-kind bureau within the California Department of Justice to enforce children’s civil rights in education, foster care, and juvenile justice; hold those who prey on children accountable; and work with policymakers to craft and implement policies that improve outcomes for children.

In this legislative session, Attorney General Harris’s Bureau of Children’s Justice (BCJ) is also supporting a range of bills that would support foster youth and other at-risk and high-needs children. Along with SB 1143, BCJ supports the following bills related to children and youth:

• AB 1067 (Assemblymember Mike Gipson, D-Carson)

Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to convene a working group to make recommendations for the Foster Youth Bill of Rights.

• AB 1580 (Assemblymembers Mike Gatto, D-Glendale and Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks)

Creates a process for the placement or removal of a security freeze for a protected consumer, a particularly helpful tool for vulnerable children such as foster youth who have an increased risk of identity theft.

• AB 1840 (Assemblymember Mike Gipson, D-Carson)

Requires that state agencies give preference to homeless youth and formerly incarcerated youth when hiring interns and student assistants.

• AB 1843 (Assemblymember Mark Stone, D-Scotts Valley)

Protects young people from being subjected to inquiry during the hiring process about arrests or detentions that did not lead to juvenile adjudications, arrests for which juveniles have completed probation programs, or records that a court has either ordered sealed or have been sealed automatically.

• AB 2390 (Assemblymember Cheryl Brown, D-San Bernardino)

Provides a legislative fix to 2010 legislation that inadvertently removed a mechanism for juvenile offenders with good records on supervised probation to obtain honorable discharge status.

• AB 2815 (Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell, D-Long Beach)

Promotes a culture of attendance by giving district attendance supervisors new ways to address the root causes of chronic school absenteeism.

• SB 884 (Senator Jim Beall, D-San Jose)

Requires school districts, special education local plan areas, and the California Department of Education to document the mental health and special education services and funding provided to special education students, including data to monitor their effectiveness.

• SB 1466 (Senator Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles)

Requires screening services under the children’s Medi-Cal Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) program to include screening for trauma.

Attorney General Harris has a longstanding commitment to protecting and supporting children, holding accountable those who exploit or harm children, and pursuing innovative legal and policy solutions to combat crime by investing in children from a young age.

In addition to launching the Bureau of Children’s Justice in 2015, under Attorney General Harris’s leadership, the California Department of Justice was one of just three state agencies accepted by the U.S. Department of Justice to be part of its national Defending Childhood State Policy Initiative. Led by the Office of the Attorney General, the California Defending Childhood State Policy Initiative brings together a cross-sector team of state agency leaders to develop shared priorities to prevent and address children’s exposure to violence.

Attorney General Harris served two terms as District Attorney of San Francisco, where she created a child sexual assault unit. She also led the San Francisco City Attorney’s Division on Children and Families and specialized in prosecuting child sexual assault cases at the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.

LOS ANGELES - Today, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris joined Washington Attorney General Robert W. Ferguson in filing a friend-of-the-court brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case J.E.F.M v, Lynch, to ensure that every unaccompanied minor placed in immigration proceedings is guaranteed a right to counsel.

“Children are some of the most vulnerable members of our society. A child forced to navigate our complicated immigration system should be provided with due process,” said Attorney General Harris. “For these children, adequate legal representation can mean the difference between life and death. We must live up to our nation’s principles of justice, equality, and fairness, and guarantee the right to due process for children seeking safety within our borders.”

The brief argues that children are unfairly hindered by age and lack the personal and financial resources to navigate the federal immigration laws and represent themselves in adversarial removal proceedings. Given the complex nature of immigration proceedings, failure to secure counsel can effectively deny an unaccompanied minor her day in court.

According to the American Bar Association (ABA), which issued a report in July 2015 on this issue, “[t]hese children, many of whom entered the United States during the unprecedented ‘surge’ in 2014, are now facing adversarial removal proceedings opposed by experienced government attorneys, with only about 32% represented by counsel.” The ABA also emphasizes that it is extremely unlikely for an unrepresented child to prevail in immigration court without representation, citing a study which found that children represented by an attorney have a 73% success rate in immigration court, compared to only 15% among unrepresented children.

Facing deportation without adequate legal representation can easily condemn a defenseless child to prolonged detention or forced return to a dangerous country. In fact, as the brief acknowledges: “At least eighty-three deportees from the U.S. have been reported murdered upon their return to Central America since January 2014. One teenager was murdered in 2004 only seventeen days after being deported.” Such grave consequences weigh heavily in favor of mandating government-appointed counsel in cases such as these.

In 2014, tens of thousands of children fled violence and poverty in Mexico and Central America in pursuit of a better life in the United States. In response to the crisis, Attorney General Harris secured millions of dollars and over 10,000 hours in pro bono work to close the legal services gap for unaccompanied children across California. She later supported legislation signed by Governor Brown that allocated $3 million to qualified non-profits to provide legal services for unaccompanied minors. In May 2015, Kids in Need of Defense’s (KIND) awarded Attorney General Harris with the 2015 Vision Award for her work to ensure that unaccompanied minors fleeing violence and entering the U.S. are provided legal representation in immigration proceedings.

Since 2014, Attorney General Harris has convened several roundtables with immigrant rights’ advocates, legal service providers, major international law firms, and other stakeholders to discuss the ongoing need for resources and legal aid for children fleeing violence and seeking refuge in the United States. The most recent convening took place in Los Angeles in December 2015 to discuss the ongoing struggle to meet the legal and social service needs of unaccompanied children and families in California, and across the U.S.

In February 2015, Attorney General Harris created the Bureau of Children’s Justice to enforce criminal and civil laws to hold those who prey on children accountable; work with local, state, and national stakeholders to increase support for vulnerable children; and identify and pursue improvements to policies impacting children.  One of the Bureau’s core priorities is human trafficking of vulnerable youth, including foster children.

SACRAMENTO – Today, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced her sponsorship of legislation to combat human trafficking, Assembly Bill 1731 by Assembly Speaker Emeritus Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego).  The bill creates the Statewide Interagency Human Trafficking Task Force, which would be a permanent collaborative entity led by the California Department of Justice in partnership with other government agencies.

“Human trafficking is one of the world’s most heinous and profitable criminal enterprises,” said Attorney General Harris.  “This legislation will help combat human trafficking by ensuring coordination between a wide range of agencies and partners.  I applaud Speaker Emeritus Atkins for fighting this abhorrent crime.”

The task force created through AB 1731 is a successor to the California Alliance to Combat Trafficking and Slavery (CA ACTS), a temporary entity established by AB 22 (Lieber) in 2006.  That bill, which was sponsored by Attorney General Harris while she served as San Francisco District Attorney, made human trafficking a crime in the state, provided restitution to trafficking victims, and directed the CA ACTS to produce the first comprehensive report on human trafficking in California.

In 2012, Attorney General Harris temporarily reconstituted a Human Trafficking Work Group to publish a second report.  Both reports dramatically expanded the state’s understanding of the scope and nature of modern day slavery, and the Attorney General has since sponsored previous legislation based on their findings.

As a sponsor of AB 1731, Attorney General Harris will assist Speaker Emeritus Atkins in developing a new task force that builds on the success of California’s previous collaborative models.  This permanent entity demonstrates a long-term commitment from California to ending both sex and labor trafficking within the state.  The task force’s initial priorities will be to identify data-driven solutions to combatting slavery, improving interagency cooperation, and increasing public awareness.

“Human trafficking is modern day slavery, and it will take vigilance, collaboration, and hard work among many different sectors to end it,” said Speaker Emeritus Atkins. “Attorney General Harris’ backing of this legislation will go a long way in ensuring California develops the kind of taskforce we need to effectively battle human trafficking in our state.”

In addition to her sponsorship of AB 1731, Attorney General Harris also announced her support for AB 1730 by Speaker Emeritus Atkins, a bill to establish housing programs that provide trauma-informed mental health services for child sex trafficking victims.  Both bills unanimously passed out of Assembly Public Safety Committee last week.

Attorney General Harris has made fighting human trafficking a priority for the California Department of Justice.  Last year, the Office of the Attorney General released a Resource Guide to help companies comply with the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, a law requiring large retailers and manufacturers in California to post their supply chain policies online.  In 2014, Attorney General Harris released Gangs Beyond Borders, a report that highlighted the growing role of transnational criminal organizations in the human trafficking underground economy.

In February 2015, Attorney General Harris created the Bureau of Children’s Justice to enforce criminal and civil laws to hold those who prey on children accountable; work with local, state, and national stakeholders to increase support for vulnerable children; and identify and pursue improvements to policies impacting children.  One of the Bureau’s core priorities is human trafficking of vulnerable youth, including foster children.

For more information on the Attorney General’s work on human trafficking, visit oag.ca.gov/human-trafficking.

Toolkit Available Online at oag.ca.gov/truancy/toolkit; Includes New Resources for Parents, Teachers, and Community Leaders to Boost Elementary School Attendance

SAN FRANCISCO – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today unveiled an online toolkit designed to help local leaders address California’s elementary school truancy crisis. The toolkit, created in collaboration with the Ad Council and with the support of The California Endowment, provides school, community, and government leaders with resources to work with parents on their children’s elementary school absences and the long-term impact that chronic absence and truancy have on academic performance.  Educators can use these tools to engage parents – including via text message – about their child’s attendance and how to reduce absences. 

“Nearly a quarter of a million California elementary school students were chronically absent in the 2014-2015 school year, with sweeping implications for our state’s future,” said Attorney General Harris. “If we want to effectively address this crisis, we need to communicate to parents and teachers about how critical early attendance is to a child’s development. This toolkit will help teachers and community leaders discuss truancy with parents and help them to ensure their children are in class every day.”

The toolkit is the culmination of a statewide study conducted with parents of elementary school students and education experts to understand barriers to attendance and how best to address them. It includes data compiled from interviews in which parents discussed their perceptions of early-grade absences and what messaging would have the greatest impact on them. It also includes tips for school and community leaders on how to communicate the impact of early school absences to parents, as well as a letter that school and district administrators can send to teachers to help them improve communication with parents of students in their classrooms.

The study found that while parents have ambitious long-term dreams for their children, such as college admission, they often do not connect early-grade attendance to later achievement. Combined with barriers to attendance such as lack of transportation or health issues, these misunderstandings can lead to children missing too many days of school and falling behind as early as kindergarten.  The study also found that parents’ most trusted sources of information are teachers, who can best help them understand what is happening in the classroom and what resources are available to help families resolve barriers to attendance.  The study found that texting is most parents’ preferred form of communication with their children’s school.

In September, Attorney General Harris issued her third annual report on elementary school truancy and chronic absenteeism in California, In School + On Track 2015. The report found that California still faces a crisis in elementary school attendance: 230,000 California elementary school students are chronically absent – missing more than 10% of the school year – and more than 1 in 5 are truant, having three or more unexcused absences. Low-income students and students of color face even lower attendance rates.

The report also outlines significant progress made in the past year in increasing awareness of the importance of attendance within school districts, tracking attendance year over year, and rethinking discipline policies that remove students from the classroom. The report is available in its entirety online at: https://oag.ca.gov/truancy/2015.

In 2013, Attorney General Harris issued the first statewide statistics on California’s elementary school truancy crisis and directly linked public education to public safety and the economy. Students who are not reading at grade level by the end of third grade are statistically more likely to drop out of high school. Annually, dropouts cost California taxpayers an estimated $46.4 billion in incarceration, lost productivity and lost taxes.  The 2014 report released updated statewide data.

In February 2015, Attorney General Harris unveiled the Bureau of Children’s Justice, a unit within the California Department of Justice that works to ensure all of California’s children are on track to meet their full potential. The Bureau enforces criminal and civil laws to hold those who prey on children accountable; works with a range of local, state, and national stakeholders to increase support and improve outcomes for vulnerable children; and identifies and pursues improvements to policies impacting children.

Attorney General Harris has worked to combat truancy since she was District Attorney of San Francisco.  In the course of investigating factors contributing to the city’s violent crime rate, she found that 94% of San Francisco homicide victims under age 25 were high school dropouts. Then-District Attorney Harris formed a partnership with the school district to inform parents about their legal duty to ensure that their children attended school, provide parents of chronically truant students with wrap-around services and school-based mediation, and prosecute parents in the most severe cases where other interventions did not work.

In addition to the Ad Council and The California Endowment, organizations that partnered with the Attorney General’s office on the attendance toolkit include the California Department of Education, California Department of Public Health, California Teachers Association, California Federation of Teachers, California Alliance of African American Educators, Association of California School Administrators, California African American Administrators and Superintendents Association, California Association of Latino Superintendents and Administrators, California County Superintendents Education Services Association, California School Boards Association, California Charter Schools Association, California School Employees Association, California School Nurses Organization, California Association of School Counselors, LA Chamber of Commerce, Bay Area Council, Children Now, Fight Crime, Invest in Kids CA, La Opinion, School-Based Health Alliance, Campaign for Grade Level Reading, Keeping Kids in School and Out of Court Initiative, Partnership for Children and Youth, California Coalition for Youth, Communities in Schools-LA, LA Urban League, Youth Policy Institute, Community Coalition, Foster Ed-California, Parent Institute for Quality Education, Alliance for Children's Rights, Inter-Tribal Council of California, Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, California Family Resource Association, First 5 California, Los Angeles Education Partnership, Parent Advocate League, Children's Defense Fund, National Council of La Raza, and CDE Foundation.