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Committee approves bill to place domestic violence consultants in child welfare offices (AB 779)
Summary
AB 779 passed the Assembly Human Services Committee. The bill would scale a pilot program that embeds domestic violence consultants inside child welfare offices to help social workers understand family dynamics and avoid penalizing survivors.
Assemblymember Lackey presented AB 779, a bill to scale a pilot that embeds domestic violence consultants in Department of Child and Family Services offices to advise social workers responding to cases involving domestic violence. The author said the pilot in the Antelope Valley yielded trauma-informed, family-centered outcomes and that the model helps keep families safely together.
Magali Zagal, representing the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, testified that survivors are sometimes penalized by the child welfare system and that closer collaboration between domestic violence service providers and child welfare agencies can improve outcomes. "No protective survivor parent should be penalized for having experienced domestic violence by being separated from their children," Zagal said.
No witnesses in opposition were recorded in committee testimony. The committee voted to pass AB 779 as amended and the committee chair recommended an "Aye" vote. The roll call recorded the measure passed and reported it out of committee.
Supporters framed the bill as preventive and focused on preserving family unity while ensuring child safety; proponents said the model equips social workers with trauma-informed advice and connections to resources at the point of decision. The author accepted committee amendments to allow counties that choose to participate to implement the model.
