Parents Cut Out — Who Gets Your Kid?

California Governor Gavin Newsom just signed a law that lets near-strangers make medical and school decisions for your child — no background check required — and parents across the state are furious.

Story Snapshot

Newsom signed Assembly Bill 495 in October 2025, letting a wide range of adults act as caregivers for children whose parents are deported or detained.
Critics warn the law’s language is so broad that neighbors, church volunteers, or distant acquaintances could enroll kids in school and approve medical procedures with little oversight.
The law also bars daycare providers from collecting immigration information about children or their parents — shielding that data from authorities.
Supporters say parents can cancel the caregiver designation at any time and that no custody changes happen without a court order.

What the New Law Actually Does

Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 495 on October 12, 2025. The law expands who can sign a caregiver affidavit for a child whose parents are deported or detained. Under the old rules, only close relatives qualified. Now, any adult “related to the child by blood, adoption, or affinity within the fifth degree of kinship” — think great aunts, cousins, or family friends — can step in. That caregiver can then enroll the child in school and approve medical, dental, and mental health care.^[5]

The law also creates a new court process. A judge can name a custodial parent and a second adult chosen by that parent as joint guardians when the parent is expected to be temporarily unavailable — including during immigration proceedings. On top of that, the law bars daycare providers from collecting immigration status information about children or their families.^[3]

Why Parents and Critics Are Alarmed

Critics say the bill’s language opens dangerous doors. Attorney and California mother of four Elizabeth Barcohana told Fox News, “It basically means any adult can self-attest to their own authorization to take guardianship over any minor child — without parental notification, consent, background check, any guardrails.”^[1] Under the law, a person can claim caregiver status simply by checking a box saying they were “unable to contact” the child’s parents — no proof of detention required.^[14]

Hundreds of protesters rallied at the state capitol before the bill passed. Some called it “nothing more than a human trafficker’s dream.”^[17] Republican lawmakers and parental rights groups argued the bill puts every child at risk — not just children of immigrants. They warned that schools could release a child to someone not on the emergency contact list, with no call to the parents, as long as that person signed the government form.^[2]

What Supporters and Newsom’s Office Say

Supporters argue the fears are overblown. Newsom’s office stated clearly that the bill “does not make any changes to who can be a child’s caregiver, legal custodian, guardian or parent, without a court order.”^[4] Bill author Assemblywoman Celeste Rodriguez said she wrote the bill “so children do not have to wonder what will happen to them if their parents are not able to pick them up from school.”^[5] Supporters also note that parents can cancel the caregiver designation at any time and that it does not transfer custody.

The real tension here is about trust — and verification. California already had existing tools for short-term caregiving, including caregiver affidavits and parental powers of attorney. The question is not whether parents need a backup plan. The question is whether the state should make it easier for loosely connected adults to activate that plan with no background check, no parental call, and court records that can be sealed from public view. For parents who believe their rights are sacred and government oversight should protect — not replace — family bonds, that answer should be a hard no.