Governor Gavin Newsom on Sunday signed a bill allowing a broad range of relatives to step in as children's caregivers if their parents are deported.
Assembly Bill 495 will also bar daycare providers from collecting immigration information about a child or their parents. It will also allow parents to nominate a temporary legal guardian for their child in family court.
In a press release, Newsom said California is "putting on record that we stand by our families and their right to keep their private information safe, maintain parental rights and help families prepare in case of emergencies."
CalMatters reports the Governor had left AB 495 undecided for weeks.
The most controversial aspect of the bill concerns an obscure, decades-old form called a caregiver's authorization affidavit. Relatives of a child whose parents are temporarily unavailable, and with whom the child is living, can attest to being the child's caregiver.
The designation allows the adult to enroll the child in school, take them to the doctor and consent to medical and dental care.
