AB 665 is the state’s newest attempt to deprive California parents of their God-given parental rights. AB 665 will change current law by allowing a professional person to place a child 12 yrs. and older in a residential shelter for any reason. This radical change to California law is clearly government overreach and a gross violation of basic parental rights.

California law states that a minor 12 yrs. and older can consent to receive mental health treatment and consent to being placed in a residential shelter without parental notification or permission if 3 requirements are met:

1. The professional person believes the minor is mature enough to intelligently participate in the conversation,

2. The minor is capable of self-harm or bringing harm to others

3. The minor is the alleged victim of incest or abuse.

AB 665 will remove these 3 requirements and allow a minor 12 yrs. and older to consent to mental health treatment and/or being placed in a residential shelter if the mental health professional believes the minor is "mature enough to participate intelligently" in the mental health treatment or residential services.

Here are 2 excerpts from AB 665:

“A professional person offering residential shelter services...shall make their best efforts to notify the parent or guardian of the provision of services.”

“The mental health treatment or counseling of a minor… shall include the involvement of the minor’s parent or guardian unless the professional person who is treating or counseling the minor, after consulting with the minor, determines that the involvement would be inappropriate. The professional person who is treating or counseling the minor shall state in the client record whether and when the person attempted to contact the minor’s parent or guardian, and whether the attempt to contact was successful or unsuccessful, or the reason why, in the professional person’s opinion, it would be inappropriate to contact the minor’s parent or guardian.” (Emphasis added)

Making the "best efforts" to notify the parent or guardian, and only if the professional and the minor consider it appropriate to do so, is not mandatory parental notification or consent. This is why AB 665 has been dubbed the State-Sanctioned Kidnapping bill.

In July 2024, AB 665 will change the meaning of who is considered a “professional person.” The new definition of a “professional person” will include psychiatrists, social workers, psychologists, marriage and family counselors, school psychologists, clinical psychologists, licensed professional clinical counselors, and associate professional clinical counselors.

AB 665 also defines a trainee as a “professional person.” They include registered psychologist assistants, assistant psychology trainees, social work interns, and marriage and family therapist trainees, while working under the supervision of a licensed professional.

The terms “residential shelter” and “residential shelter services” are used throughout AB 665. The bill defines “residential shelter services” as support services to minors “by a governmental agency, a person or agency having a contract with a governmental agency to provide these services, an agency that receives funding from community funds, or a licensed community care facility or crisis resolution center.”

The author of the bill, Assembly Member Wendy Carrillo and her co-author, Senator Scott Wiener, assert that the bill is merely extending mental health to kids on Medi-Cal, but don’t be fooled. In reality, the bill will legally permit mental health providers to send minors 12 yrs. and older to residential shelters for any reason, without consent or notification of the parents.

Mental health services are easily accessible by children of all ages in California. The California Health and Human Services Agency has a Mental Health Resources for Youth page that lists the phone numbers of various groups, including a LGBT Youth TalkLine and a Trans LifeLine. Many California schools have also turned into hosts of “school-based health centers” that offer mental health and medical services to children and teens. For example, Adelanto Elementary School District has a “Virtual Wellness Center” where students can fill out a referral form and a counselor will contact them on their phone or by email. This can all be done without the parent or guardian’s knowledge.

Every minor and family in the State of California will be vulnerable to this law.

ARTICLES AND RESOURCES

"Fact-Checker" Ignores Scary Truth of California Mental Health Bill (CLICK HERE TO READ)

In California, Parents May Soon Effectively Lose Custody of Kids 12 and Older (CLICK HERE TO READ)

California Senate weighs bill to give mental health officials ability to remove 12-year-olds from families with no history of abuse or neglect (CLICK HERE TO READ)

California Bill to Exclude Parents from Children's Mental Health Care (CLICK HERE TO READ)

Democrat warns California moving toward 'state-sanctioned kidnapping' with mental health bill for minors (CLICK HERE TO READ)

CA Dems Further Erode Parental Rights With Children’s Mental Health Bill (CLICK HERE TO READ)

'State-sanctioned kidnapping': California bill would give therapists power to take children over 12 from parents 'without accusation, evidence, or trial' (CLICK HERE TO READ)

California Bill Favors School Counselors Over Parents (CLICK HERE TO READ)