California Welfare and Institutions Code 331 – (a) If a person has applied to the social worker, pursuant to …
(a) If a person has applied to the social worker, pursuant to Section 329, to commence juvenile court proceedings and the social worker does not file a petition within three weeks after the application, the person may, within one month after making the application, apply to the juvenile court to review the decision of the social worker, and the court may either affirm the decision of the social worker or, if it finds that the child is, prima facie, described by Section 300, order the social worker to commence juvenile court proceedings.
(b) If the probate court has referred a matter to the child welfare agency pursuant to § 1513 of the Probate Code, and the agency does not file a petition to commence juvenile court proceedings within three weeks of the referral, the probate court or counsel appointed by the probate court pursuant to § 1470 of the Probate Code to represent the child may, within one month after the referral, request that the juvenile court review the decision of the social worker not to file a petition. The request shall contain the probate court referral made pursuant to subdivision (b) of § 1513 of the Probate Code and the social worker’s report, if available to the court, and need not contain any additional information. The juvenile court may either affirm the decision of the social worker or, if it finds that the child is, prima facie, described by Section 300, order the social worker to commence juvenile court proceedings.
Terms Used In California Welfare and Institutions Code 331
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Probate: Proving a will
- social worker: shall include the juvenile probation officer or the person who is both the juvenile probation officer and the adult probation officer, and any social worker in a county welfare department or any social worker in a California Indian tribe or any out-of-state Indian tribe that has reservation land that extends into the state that has authority, pursuant to an agreement with the department concerning child welfare services or foster care payments under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program when supervising dependent children of the juvenile court pursuant to Section 272 by order of the court under Section 300, and the term "department of probation" shall mean the department of juvenile probation or the department wherein the services of juvenile and adult probation are both performed. See California Welfare and Institutions Code 215
(1) Either the appointment of a temporary probate guardian or any delay attributable to the child welfare investigation shall not preclude the juvenile court from ordering the social worker to commence dependency proceedings or from hearing and determining a petition alleging that the child is described by Section 300.
(2) The juvenile court shall, within five days of completing its review, transmit its decision, in writing, to the probate court. The probate court shall file the decision in question in the guardianship proceeding and shall make it available only to persons entitled to receive reports pursuant to subdivision (d) of § 1513 of the Probate Code.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 578, Sec. 5. (AB 260) Effective January 1, 2022.)