Skip to main content
US Criminal Defense.org
Menu

California legal term

family finding in California Criminal Law

Current through 2026 California legislative session

In California criminal law, “family finding” is a term defined by statute rather than by its everyday meaning. Its statutory definition — quoted verbatim below — controls how the term is applied throughout the California criminal code.

What does “family finding” mean in California criminal law?

“family finding” means conducting an investigation, including, but not limited to, through a computer-based search engine, to identify relatives and kin and to connect a child or youth, who may be disconnected from their parents, with those relatives and kin in an effort to provide family support and possible placement. (Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 628)

Statutes defining or using this term

Related terms in the same statutes

This reference is informational and is not legal advice.