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Committee advances bill to let 18–21-year-old foster youth direct their appointed counsel
Summary
AB 373 clarifies that attorneys appointed for non-minor dependents (18–21) in dependency proceedings must advocate for their clients' expressed wishes unless the court determines otherwise; supporters called the change an empowerment step, while some senators warned about developmental decision-making capacities.
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved AB 373, a bill clarifying that attorneys appointed for non-minor dependents — foster youth aged 18 through 21 participating in extended foster care — must represent the expressed wishes of their clients rather than substitute the attorney’s own judgment.
Assemblymember Rubio presented the measure as restoring legal rights to non-minor dependents by aligning appointed counsel duties with the individuals’ adult legal status. The bill explicitly references extended foster care…
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