Newsom Signs AB 495, the Family Preparedness Plan Act, Helping California Parents Plan Care for Their Children
On October 12, 2025, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 495 (AB 495), the Family Preparedness Plan Act of 2025, in Sacramento, allowing parents to lawfully arrange in advance for a trusted relative to care for their children in case an emergency such as immigration enforcement separates them. The law takes effect on January 1, 2026.
The bill was authored by Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez of San Fernando. With federal immigration enforcement stepped up, many families fear that if a parent is detained, no one will be there to pick up their children from school or care for them day to day. The law is meant to let families put care arrangements in place on paper ahead of time.
The law first expands who may sign a Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit: any adult related to the child by blood, adoption or affinity within the fifth degree of kinship — such as a great-aunt or a cousin — may serve as a caregiver. With the affidavit, a caregiver can enroll a child in school and consent to ordinary medical and other care for the child.
The law also creates a temporary joint guardianship: a probate court may, on the nomination of a custodial parent, appoint that parent and another adult as temporary joint guardians of a child, for situations in which a parent is temporarily unable to provide care, including because of immigration proceedings. The Governor's office emphasized that without a court order, the law does not change who can be a child's caregiver, legal custodian, guardian or parent.
For schools and childcare, the law requires local educational agencies to give parents the Attorney General's "Know Your Educational Rights" guide, requires the Attorney General to issue model policies on how childcare facilities interact with immigration enforcement, and bars childcare providers from collecting immigration information about children or their parents, except as required by law.
In his signing statement, Newsom said: "We are 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."
Rodriguez said the point of the legislation is that children should not have to wonder what will happen to them if their parents are not able to pick them up from school. The bill was backed by children's advocacy organizations including the Alliance for Children's Rights and First 5 California; it also drew strong criticism from conservative activists before and after the signing.
Source: Office of the Governor of California
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：萨克拉门托加州议会大厦（资料照片）。Andre m 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons 与四级固定图库加州包。 / Photo: The California State Capitol in Sacramento (file photo). By Andre m, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons and the GSM California asset library.
