BILL NUMBER: AB 2495	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 18, 2006

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Bass
    (   Coauthors:   Assembly Members 
 Chan,   Cohn,   Evans,   Leno, 
 Mullin,   and Pavley   ) 

                        FEBRUARY 23, 2006

   An act to amend Section 11375 of, and to add Section 11364.5 to,
the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social
services, and making an appropriation therefor.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2495, as amended, Bass  Kin-GAP.
   Existing federal law provides for allocation of federal funds
through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
block grant program to eligible states. Existing law provides for the
California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs)
program for the allocation of federal funds received through the TANF
program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other
benefits to qualified low-income families.
   This state, under the CalWORKs program, through the Kinship
Guardianship Assistance Payment Program, provides aid on behalf of
eligible children who are placed in the home of a relative caretaker,
and limits the application of the program to children who have been
adjudged a dependent child of the juvenile court and whose dependency
has been dismissed on or after January 1, 2000, concurrently or
subsequent to the establishment of the kinship guardianship. The
program is funded by state and county funding and available federal
funds.
   Existing law continuously appropriates state funds from the
General Fund for allocation to each county for 50% of the nonfederal
share of the cost of Kin-Gap payments.
   Existing law establishes the Aid to Families with Dependent
Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, under which counties provide
payments to foster care providers, including group homes, on behalf
of qualified children in foster care. The program is funded by a
combination of federal, state, and county funds, with money from the
General Fund being continuously appropriated to pay for the state's
share of AFDC-FC costs. Under existing law, rates paid on behalf of
foster children in the AFDC-FC program may include approved amounts,
paid with state participation, on behalf of an AFDC-FC child
requiring specialized care, or for the provision of clothing for an
AFDC-FC child.
   This bill would augment the amount of an aid payment under the
Kin-GAP program by amounts equal to the amount of a specialized care
increment or clothing  allowance   allowances
 to which the child would be entitled under the AFDC-FC program.

   Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to
develop statewide standards for the Independent Living Program for
emancipated foster youth established pursuant to federal law. Under
existing law, a child in receipt of Kin-GAP benefits is entitled to
request and receive these independent living services.
   This bill would require the county to provide information
regarding the availability of Independent Living Program Services to
a child in receipt of Kin-GAP benefits, or his or her kinship
guardian, when the child is approaching his or her 16th birthday.
   By requiring the provision of additional aid under the Kin-Gap
Program, this bill would result in an appropriation.  By increasing
the duties of counties administering the Kin-Gap Program, the bill
would create a state-mandated local program.
  The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
   Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 11364.5 is added to the Welfare and
Institutions Code, to read:
   11364.5.  In addition to the aid amount provided for in Section
11364, the rate paid for a child eligible for a Kin-GAP payment shall
be increased by both of the following:
   (a) An amount equal to the amount of a specialized care increment,
as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section 11461, to
which the child would be entitled under the AFDC-FC program.
   (b) An amount equal to the amount of the clothing 
allowance   allowances  , as  defined in
paragraph (1) of   set forth in  subdivision (f) of
Section 11461, to which the child would be entitled under AFDC-FC
program.
  SEC. 2.  Section 11375 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
   11375.  The following shall apply to any child in receipt of
Kin-GAP benefits:
   (a) He or she is eligible to receive independent living services
pursuant to Section 10609.3. When a child in receipt of Kin-GAP
benefits is approaching his or her 16th birthday, the county shall
provide the child and his or her kinship guardian with information
regarding the availability of these services.
   (b) He or she may retain cash savings, not to exceed ten thousand
dollars ($10,000), including interest, in addition to any other
property accumulated pursuant to Section 11257 or 11257.5.
  SEC. 3.  If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.