Section 3420 Of Chapter 4. Community Treatment Programs From California Penal Code >> Title 2. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 4.
3420
. (a) Within five days after the receipt of an inmate by the
Department of Corrections who has already applied for admission to a
program, or of her application for admission to a program, whichever
is later, the department shall give notice of her application to the
child's current caretaker or guardian, if any, and if it has not
already been notified pursuant to Section 3415, the appropriate local
social services agency that conducts investigations for child
neglect and dependency hearings.
(b) The department and the individuals and agencies notified shall
have five days from the date of notice to decide whether or not to
challenge the appropriateness of the applicant's entry into the
program. Lack of a petition filed by that time shall result in a
presumption that the individuals and agencies notified do not
challenge the appropriateness of the applicant's entry into the
program.
(c) The local agency which has been notified pursuant to Section
3415 shall not initiate the process of considering whether or not to
file until after the sentencing court has sentenced the applicant.
(d) The appropriate local agency that conducts investigations for
child neglect and dependency hearings, the Department of Corrections,
and the current guardian or caretaker of the child, shall have the
authority to file for a fitness proceeding against the mother after
the mother has applied in writing to participate in the program.
(e) The determination of whether or not to file shall be based in
part on the likelihood of the mother being a fit parent for the child
in question both during the program and afterwards. Program content
shall be taken into account in this determination. There shall be a
presumption affecting the burden of producing evidence in favor of
filing for a fitness proceeding under the following circumstances:
(1) The applicant was convicted of one or more of the following
violent felonies:
(A) Murder.
(B) Mayhem.
(C) Aggravated mayhem.
(D) Kidnapping as defined in Section 207 or 209.
(E) Lewd acts on a child under 14 as defined in Section 288.
(F) Any felony in which the defendant inflicts great bodily injury
on a person other than accomplices which has been alleged and
proven.
(G) Forcible rape in violation of subdivision (2), (3), or (4) of
Section 261.
(H) Sodomy by force, violence, duress, menace, or threat of great
bodily injury.
(I) Oral copulation by force, violence, duress, menace, or threat
of great bodily injury.
(2) The applicant was convicted of child abuse in the current or
any proceeding.
(f) Fitness petitions shall be resolved in the court of first
instance as soon as possible for purposes of this section. Given the
need to place the child as soon as possible, the first determination
by the court as to the applicant's fitness as a mother shall
determine her eligibility for the program for the current
application. Outcomes of appeals shall not affect eligibility.