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On Oct. 12, 2025, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that he signed Assembly Bill 495, also known as the Family Preparedness Plan Act, into law. In the months leading up to its passage, the bill drew significant controversy online amid claims it could facilitate child exploitation. Those claims persisted after Newsom signed AB 495, with some people on social media calling it the “legalized kidnapping” bill.
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AB 495 is aimed at helping California families make caregiving arrangements during situations like a deportation, incarceration or illness, among others.
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The bill references an official form known as a caregiver’s authorization affidavit and expands who can fully use it by broadening the definition of eligible relatives.
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Our review found several popular claims about AB 495, including that it allows someone who isn’t related to a child to “take custody” of them, were false or lacking important context.
On Oct. 12, 2025, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that he had signed Assembly Bill 495, also known as the Family Preparedness Plan Act, into law.
In the months leading up to its passage, the bill drew significant controversy online due to claims it could facilitate child exploitation In California. Those claims persisted after Newsom signed AB 495, with some people on social media calling it the “legalized kidnapping” bill.
“This bill DESTROYS parents rights and allows non-relatives to fill out a 1 page form to pick up your kid without your consent,” one X user wrote (archived).
Before the bill became law, conservative commentator David J. Harris Jr. shared a Facebook post (archived) claiming AB 495 allowed people to take a student out of school without parental notification by filling out a form naming the child. He also alleged that the bill lacked safeguards such as background checks, ID requirements and school verification before releasing a child.
Similarly, a California pastor posted a video (archived) on Facebook warning about the alleged dangers of AB 495, claiming it “strips parents of their parental rights.” In the video’s caption, he wrote, in part:
California’s AB 495 is the most dangerous bill we’ve ever seen — and it’s being pushed right now by lawmakers in Sacramento.
This bill would allow any non-related adult, a neighbor, teacher, ex-relative, or even a complete stranger, to take custody of your child without your knowledge or consent. No background check. No court order. No parent’s signature. Just a piece of paper.
Similar claims about AB 495 circulated on X. Multiple Snopes readers also searched our website for information about the bill. Below is a breakdown of what we know about the bill and an analysis of whether critics’ claims are accurate:
What is AB 495?
Democratic California Assemblywoman Celeste Rodriguez introduced AB 495 in February 2025. The legislation is intended to help families facing separation make caregiving arrangements, Rodriguez said in a statement on Aug. 8.
While the bill is primarily aimed at addressing family separations due to immigration enforcement, it also applies more broadly to other situations where children are already living apart from their parents and need temporary care.
These include cases of deportation, incarceration, military service or illness, among others, Sharon Balmer Cartagena, the directing attorney of Public Counsel’s Child Youth and Family Advocacy Project, told Snopes via email. Public Counsel, a nonprofit California law firm, is a sponsor of the bill and assisted with its writing.
In her email to Snopes, Balmer Cartagena added:
In our day-to-day experience representing parents, we have seen cases where parents were forced to fully suspend their rights via a legal process called ‘guardianship’ in order to ensure that the person who was temporarily caring for their child had the ability to consent to school enrollment and routine medical care during a short term absence. In several cases, parents and children were never reunited, despite the fact that there were no allegations that they weren’t fit parents.
According to Balmer Cartagena and Rodriguez’s office, the legislation includes several key provisions:
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It requires schools to implement the state attorney general’s updated immigration-related policies to ensure family preparedness.
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It directs the state attorney general to extend protections to day cares and preschools to limit immigration enforcement actions.
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It creates a new joint guardianship option that allows parents facing long-term separations to designate a trusted guardian without forfeiting their parental rights.
What did critics say about the bill?
The California Family Council, a conservative advocacy group, was among the vocal critics of AB 495 prior to its passage, claiming that the bill opened the door to child exploitation and eroded safeguards for parents.
In a post published July 23, 2025, the group took issue with bill’s proposed expansion of who qualifies as a “caregiver” to include “nonrelative extended family members,” saying the category is “broad and loosely defined.”
The group also claimed that a “nonrelative extended family member” could “assume control over a child through a one-page affidavit” without a court review, notarization or parental consent.
Erin Friday, an attorney and president of an advocacy group called Our Duty-USA, reportedly called AB 495 “a child trafficker’s and kidnapper’s dream bill,” according to the California Family Council.
Additionally, Friday argued that the bill’s language grants “temporary legal rights” to people with no blood relation to a child, the California Family Council said.
Critics also expressed concerns that the bill would allow someone who isn’t related to children to enroll them in school, and authorize medical, dental and mental health treatments for them.
What is a caregiver’s authorization affidavit?
A caregiver’s authorization affidavit, which is referenced in AB 495, is one example of a less-formal option than guardianship that allows someone to take care of another person’s child, an official California Courts website explains.
In California, someone with whom a child is already living can sign the affidavit allowing the person to enroll the child in school and consent to school-related medical care, including vaccinations and physical exams, the California Courts website says.
Before AB 495 passed, any adult caring for a child could sign a caregiver’s authorization affidavit, but nonrelatives faced restrictions on how they could use one. According to the California Courts website, relatives who signed the affidavit could make decisions on medical care “outside of the school context,” while nonrelatives could consent only to school-related medical care.
What rights do ‘nonrelative extended family members’ have?
AB 495 initially proposed expanding who could sign a caregiver’s authorization affidavit to include a “nonrelative extended family member,” according to an earlier version of the bill text. This language drew criticism as the bill moved through the state legislature.
The bill defined such people as “any adult caregiver who has an established familial or mentoring relationship with the child or who has an established familial relationship with a relative of the child.”
However, that language was later removed from the bill through an amendment to “address concerns raised by the opposition that the bill was too broad,” Balmer Cartagena confirmed to Snopes.
That means nonrelatives, including second cousins, godparents and close family friends, will continue to have only limited authority under the caregiver’s authorization affidavit, she said.
Even with those changes, AB 495 still expands who can fully use the affidavit, Balmer Cartagena and Jenilee Fermin, legislative director for Rodriguez, told Snopes.
The law broadens the previously narrower definition of “relative” to include adults who are related to a child “by blood, adoption, or affinity within the fifth degree of kinship” – covering stepparents, stepsiblings and relatives with “great,” “great-great” and “grand” prefixes, Fermin said. First cousins also are considered relatives under this definition, according to Balmer Cartagena.
People who aren’t related to a child could ‘take custody’ of them?
Hibbs and other critics of AB 495 also suggested the bill would allow people who aren’t related to a child to “take custody” of them. But those claims have always been false.
The affidavit does not grant any caregiver legal custody of a child, as shown in the bill text and a copy of a caregiver’s authorization affidavit that’s viewable online. The affidavit itself says, “A Caregiver Authorization Affidavit DOES NOT give you legal custody.”
As the California Courts website explains, “only a court order, like a guardianship, can take legal custody from a parent and give it to another person.”
Rodriguez and Balmer Cartagena also rebutted critics’ claims that the bill would grant custody rights to anyone or that it would facilitate trafficking.
In her Aug. 8 statement, Rodriguez said, in part (emphasis hers):
Let me be clear, a caregiver’s authorization affidavit does not grant any level of legal custody, does not bypass child welfare protections, does not prevent authorities from investigating abuse or trafficking concerns, and does not supersede any parents’ rights. Any claim that the bill legalizes human trafficking and kidnapping is not only false, but harmful fearmongering that distracts from the actual goal of protecting vulnerable children in times of crisis.”
Balmer Cartagena shared a similar sentiment with Snopes, writing:
To be clear: AB 495 does not legalize child trafficking. Nor does it allow strangers to claim custody or guardianship over children simply by signing a piece of paper. These claims show a clear misunderstanding of both AB 495 and the legal framework around child custody in California.
The Sunita Jain Anti-Trafficking Initiative at Loyola Law School in California also issued the following statement in response to claims linking AB 495 to human trafficking, kidnapping and exploitation:
It is the Federal government’s unfounded and aggressive actions against immigrant families that is causing increased vulnerability for children. When primary caregivers or parents are detained or deported, children become prime targets for human trafficking, kidnapping, exploitation and other forms of abuse. Family separation and poverty are policies that put children at risk for commercial exploitation and California must do everything it can to support immigrant communities in this hostile climate.
No court review or notarization required?
Caregivers already can use a caregiver’s authorization affidavit without notarization or a court appearance. This provision isn’t a new one that would be implemented under AB 495, as some critics have suggested.
in August 2025 — before the bill became law — the California Courts website stated, “The Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavit does not get filed with the court. And it does not have to be notarized.”
Balmer Cartagena also pointed out at the time that this was “current law.”
“To require a court appearance would make it necessary to file a guardianship petition, which would suspend a parent’s rights, possibly permanently. Parents should not be forced to suspend their own rights in order to arrange for someone to temporarily care for their children,” Balmer Cartagena told Snopes.
She added that requiring notarization would mean that “the most vulnerable families who cannot afford a notary’s fees or navigate the process would be kept from enrolling a child they were caring for in school or from seeking medical care for that child.”
People could remove children from school without parent’s consent?
Balmer Cartagena refuted claims that AB 495 would allow a person to remove a child from school without a parent’s knowledge or consent.
“Generally, schools only release children from school to people listed as emergency contacts by the person who enrolled the child in school. A Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavit does not allow someone to bypass this process and remove a child from school,” she said.
Snopes found several California school district policies that stated schools would release students only to people designated as emergency contacts.
The caregiver’s authorization affidavit that’s viewable online also makes no mention of removing a child from school.
In sum …
While AB 495 is primarily aimed at addressing family separations due to immigration enforcement, it also applies more broadly to other situations where children need temporary care during a parent’s absence.
Our review also found that several popular claims about AB 495 were false or lacking important context. For instance, AB 495 does not allow a stranger to gain custody of a child simply by signing a piece of paper, as some have claimed.
Additionally, caregivers can use a caregiver’s authorization affidavit without notarization or a court appearance. But this isn’t a new provision that would be implemented under AB 495.
Sources:
“California AB495 | 2025-2026 | Regular Session.” LegiScan, legiscan.com/CA/text/AB495/id/3111922. Accessed 13 Aug. 2025.
“Children’s Advocates and Legal Experts Unite to Support Family Preparedness Plan Act | Official Website – Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez, California Assembly District 43.” Asmdc.org, 8 Aug. 2025, a43.asmdc.org/press-releases/20250808-childrens-advocates-and-legal-experts-unite-support-family-preparedness. Accessed 13 Aug. 2025.
“Assemblywoman Celeste Rodriguez Introduces Critical Legislation to Protect Immigrant & Mixed-Status Families from Separation | Official Website – Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez, California Assembly District 43.” Asmdc.org, 10 Feb. 2025, a43.asmdc.org/press-releases/20250210-assemblywoman-celeste-rodriguez-introduces-critical-legislation-protect. Accessed 13 Aug. 2025.
“Options Other than a Guardianship | California Courts | Self Help Guide.” Ca.gov, selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/guardianship/other-options. Accessed 13 Aug. 2025.
“California Code, Welfare and Institutions Code – WIC § 362.7 | FindLaw.” Findlaw, codes.findlaw.com/ca/welfare-and-institutions-code/wic-sect-362-7/. Accessed 13 Aug. 2025.
Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavit. selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/CAA-with-Instructions.pdf. Accessed 13 Aug. 2025.
