CA AB1201

Modifies conditions under which courts may deny family reunification services to parents/guardians convicted of violent felonies, requiring the conviction to have occurred within the past 5 years

Establishes that a violent felony conviction alone is insufficient to deny reunification services; courts must find by preponderance of evidence that: the parent personally used force or weapon against the child or another child, OR services would likely endanger or traumatize the child, OR the parent has multiple adult convictions in the past 5 years posing current safety risk

Requires courts to order reunification services if the conviction does not disqualify the parent, unless the court finds reunification is not in the child's best interest or another disqualifying reason exists

Removes the requirement for clear and convincing evidence standard for violent felony conviction-based denials from the list requiring that higher standard, effectively lowering the threshold for ordering reunification services in these cases

Designates the legislation as the "Reuniting Engaged Families through Understanding, Nurturing, Individualized Treatment, and Youth (ReUNITY) Act"