What AB 495 changes—and why it matters now
AB 495 amends multiple codes to broaden and normalize nonparent decision-making in crisis scenarios. First, it expands the caregiver’s authorization affidavit to include a “nonrelative extended family member”—defined as an adult with an established familial or mentoring relationship with the child, such as a teacher, clergy member, neighbor, or family friend. A completed affidavit allows school enrollment and school-related medical care; if the caregiver is a relative or qualifies as a nonrelative extended family member, it authorizes broader medical and dental care, including certain mental-health treatment under existing limits. The statute also retools the form itself. LegiScan
Second, it creates a court pathway for short-term joint guardianship, allowing a judge to appoint a custodial parent and a parent-nominated adult when the parent will be temporarily unavailable—explicitly including immigration-related administrative action alongside serious illness, military service, or incarceration. Those guardianship records are confidential by default. LegiScan
