Juveniles: incarcerated parent: visitation.

Assembly Member Quirk-Silva's legislation establishes new requirements for maintaining contact between incarcerated parents and their children in foster care when courts have ordered family reunification services. The bill requires county jails to facilitate in-person visits between parents and their dependent children unless a court determines such contact would be detrimental to the child's well-being.

The measure creates specific obligations for both child welfare agencies and county jails to coordinate visitation schedules and document all planned visits, including any cancellations or delays. When in-person visits are deemed inappropriate by the court, or when elected by the child in consultation with their attorney or social worker, videoconferencing and phone calls may serve as alternatives. Child welfare agencies must notify incarcerated parents in writing of their visitation rights and procedures for participating in dependency proceedings.

Community organizations, county agencies with licensed providers, and resource families may assist in facilitating scheduled visits between incarcerated parents and their children, unless prohibited by court order. The bill requires child welfare agencies to include summaries of visitation activities, coordination efforts with jails, and any identified barriers in their regular court reports. These provisions apply specifically to parents held in county jails, with the state providing funding for associated local costs up to specified levels.