BILL ANALYSIS
AB 12
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Date of Hearing: May 20, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 12 (Beall and Bass) - As Amended: April 29, 2009
Policy Committee: Human
ServicesVote:5 - 0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill replaces California's CalWORKs Kinship Guardianship
Assistance Program (KinGAP) with a new federal KinGAP program.
In addition, the bill extends foster care, KinGAP, and the
Adoptions Assistance Program (AAP) to age 21 for certain youth.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Removes KinGAP from the CalWORKs program and creates a new
federal/state/county funded KinGAP program.
2)Makes conforming changes to existing statutes governing
California's Kin-GAP program in order to create the new
federally funded Kin-GAP program
3)Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to exercise
its option under federal law to enter into kinship
guardianship assistance agreements with relative guardians of
children who exit foster care.
4)Requires county child welfare departments to conduct the
required negotiations with the guardians of existing KinGAP
cases, in order to establish their new KinGAP agreements
during their annual redetermination discussions taking place
between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010.
5)Establishes a state-funded Kin-GAP program to continue to
provide benefits on behalf of children who are not eligible
for the federally funded Kin-GAP program described above.
Makes many, but not all, of the same changes, additions or
revisions to existing statutes governing California's Kin-GAP
program in order to create this state-funded Kin-GAP.
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6)As of October 1, 2010, allows youth to remain in foster care
as nonminor dependents of the court until the age of 21 if
they meet one of the following criteria established by the
federal Fostering Connections Act:
a) The nonminor is completing secondary education or an
equivalent credential;
b) Is enrolled in a postsecondary or vocational education
institution;
c) Is participating in a program designed to promote, or
remove barriers to, employment;
d) Is employed for at least 80 hours per month; or
e) Is incapable of doing one of the above due to a medical
condition and that incapability is supported by regularly
updated case plan information.
7)As of October 1, 2010, changes eligibility for adoption
assistance program (AAP) and Kin-GAP assistance to also
include otherwise eligible youth between the ages of 18 and 21
for whom an adoption assistance agreement was entered into or
Kin-GAP aid began after the age of 16 and who meet one of the
above-described 5 conditions.
8)Requires county social workers to develop a transitional
independent living plan that includes a plan for the child to
meet one of the criteria for eligibility as a nonminor
dependent for foster youth turning 18 that decide to remain in
foster care. Requires that the case plans for nonminor
dependents be developed with, and signed by, the nonminor and
include other specified information.
9)Establishes a process to allow former foster youth who have
opted out of the extended foster care program to opt back in
at any point before their 21st birthday.
10)Requires that the status of a nonminor dependent be reviewed
periodically. Establishes the frequency of review as
determined by the court, but at least every 6 months, until
dependency jurisdiction is terminated. Specifies that courts
shall not order hearings to terminate parental rights of a
nonminor dependent's parent(s). Requires the court to hold a
specified hearing before terminating dependency jurisdiction
for a nonminor dependent.
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11)Requires the department, by specified dates, to revise or
adopt specified regulations to implement the above provisions.
In some instances, directs the department to prepare for this
implementation by releasing instructions to apply for set
periods prior to the adoption of regulations. Authorizes
implementation of regulatory changes via emergency
regulations.
12)Requires DSS to convene a workgroup comprised of stakeholders
in order to develop new licensing standards for foster family
homes and other facilities serving nonminor dependents.
FISCAL EFFECT
Extending Foster Care, KinGAP and AAP to age 21:
1)Depending on the number of foster care, AAP and KinGAP
nonminors who elect to stay in care until the age to age 21,
first-year costs for extending foster care, KinGAP and AAP
would likely be $40 and $60 million ($30 and $40 million GF),
not including licensing and automation costs.
By the third year, the program should be fully ramped up and
total annual program costs would range between $100 million
and $155 million per year ($65 million to $100 million GF).
Specifically, annual costs would likely be:
a) Grant costs could range from $75 to $115 million ($50 to
$75 million GF).
b) Administrative costs could be between $5 and $7 million
($3 and $4.5 million GF).
c) Child Welfare Services costs for the nonminors in the
foster care program would be between $20 million and $35
million ($10 and $20 million GF).
d) Court costs for the nonminors in foster care would be
between $4 million and $7 million GF.
2)Unknown on-going licensing costs likely in the range of
several hundred thousand dollars per year due to the increased
workload associated with certifying or licensing foster care
placements for nonminor dependents.
3)One-time automation costs, likely in excess of $1 million for
the changes associated with updating the Child Welfare
Services Case Management System (CWS/CMS) to include nonminor
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dependents.
4)Workload costs associated with DSS convening a workgroup and
other state administrative tasks associated with extending
care are likely to exceed $500,000 GF.
Creating a federal KinGAP program:
1)KinGAP is currently funded entirely with TANF maintenance of
effort (MOE) funding. The overall impact on TANF/MOE will be
an annual reduction in MOE expenditures of approximately $185
million. That funding would be replaced by a combination of
Title IV-E federal funds, state GF, and county funding, as
outlined below.
Of the $185 million annual costs for the new federal KinGAP
program, approximately $80 million will be funded by drawing
down new federal Title IV-E dollars. Of the remaining $100
million, it is likely that $83 million will be state GF and
$22 million county funding.
2)As described in detail below, the federal government has
recently created a TANF emergency contingency fund (ECF) in
order to allow states to draw down additional TANF funding to
help offset the increased costs in their welfare programs due
to the dramatic downturn in the economy. States will be able
to offset 80% of their increased costs by drawing down
additional TANF funding. The 2009-2010 budget assumes
California will receive approximately $237 million in TANF ECF
funds for that year. Because KinGAP is part of the state's
CalWORKs program and therefore part of the base expenditures
used to calculate state spending in TANF/MOE assistance
programs, shifting it out of CalWORKs will likely cause
California to lose approximately $130 million in ECF.
3)One-time costs between $5 and 12 million GF for the
administrative workload associated with shifting cases to the
new federal KinGAP program and conducting the required
negotiations with guardians over appropriate grant levels.
4)At the request of this committee, the Legislative Analyst's
Office (LAO) has conducted a fiscal analysis of this
legislation. Their findings are consistent with the fiscal
analysis done by this committee. In their analysis they note,
"Under AB 12, although Kin-GAP would cost less than under
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existing law, we also face losing a significant portion of the
ARRA federal funds because we could no longer count the
program in the CalWORKs claim for ARRA funds. Therefore, the
net General Fund cost of implementing Kin-GAP with Title IV-E
FFP would be $73 million in 2009-10 (this net cost results
from the loss of ARRA funds). There would be savings of $17
million in 2010-11 and $64 million in 2011-12 as the ARRA
federal fiscal relief phases out."
As to the net effect of this legislation beyond 2009-2010, the
LAO finds, "While there would initially be increased costs to
implementing AB 12, we estimate that by full program
implementation (in 2011-12 and beyond) the net cost of the
program would be in the range of $5 million to $41 million. We
note that the cost of AB 12 would be significantly less in
2009-10 if the date of shifting Kin-GAP to a Title IV-E
program was delayed until the ARRA federal fiscal relief
period ends on September 30, 2010."
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . In October 2008, President Bush signed H.R. 6893 (P.
L. 110 - 351), the Fostering Connections to Success and
Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. Along with multiple new
requirements for states, the federal Fostering Connections Act
offered states the opportunity to opt-in to new federal
funding streams if they choose to provide kinship-guardianship
benefits to relative guardians. In addition, the law allows
states to extend foster care, KinGAP, and AAP to 18 to
21-year-old youth who meet certain requirements. AB 12, the
California Fostering Connections Act, would enable the state
to exercise both of these options. With regard to
kinship-guardianship benefits, this bill would allow
California to draw down federal Title IV-E funding for the
program.
2)Foster Youth Outcomes . A recent study by the Casey Family
Program and the Harvard Medical School involving more than 600
case records and interviews with 500 former foster youth found
that a majority of these young people face major mental
health, education, and employment challenges. One-third of the
young people in the study had incomes at or below the poverty
level, one third had no health insurance, and nearly a quarter
had been homeless after foster care. In addition, the study
found that the rate of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
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in this young population was more than twice as high as US war
veterans.
Other studies over the years have shown that ong-range
outcomes for youth who emancipate from California's foster
care system are, by any measure, disheartening. In FY
2000-01, approximately 4,355 youth emancipated from the
system. DSS reports that 65% of these youth needed safe and
affordable housing at the time of emancipation. Moreover, a
2007 report from the Children's Advocacy Institute at U.C. San
Diego highlighted the following findings:
a) Less than three percent go to college.
b) 51% are unemployed.
c) Emancipated females are 4 times more likely to receive
public assistance than the general population.
d) In any given year, foster children comprise less than
0.3% of the state's population, and yet 40% of persons
living in homeless shelters are former foster children.
e) A similarly disproportionate percentage of the nation's
prison population is comprised of former foster youth.
3)Kinship-Guardianship in California . California's
Kinship-Guardianship (Kin-GAP) program created by SB 1901
(McPherson; Chapter 1055, Statutes of 1998), is part of the
state's CalWORKs program. KinGAP's goal is to enhance
stability for foster children by supporting their long-term
placements with relatives who become their legal guardians.
Although the juvenile court retains some form of jurisdiction
over children served by Kin-GAP, the children no longer
receive foster care services and supports. In 2007-8, the
Kin-GAP program assisted 14,000 former foster children living
with relative guardians. That number is projected to grow to
over 15,000 by the end of 2008-09 and almost 19,000 by
2009-10.
Since its inception, KinGAP has been funded primarily using
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant
funding or TANF Maintenance of Effort (MOE) state and county
funding. The 2009-2010 budget includes over $176 million for
funding the KinGAP program.
4)Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Block Grant . Each year
California receives $3.7 billion in federal TANF block grant
funds. In addition to the federal funding, California is
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required to spend $2.9 billion in state GF to meet the
maintenance of effort (MOE) requirement. The majority of these
funds are used for the California Work Opportunity
Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, including KinGAP.
However, federal law permits the expenditure of TANF funds on
a variety of programs and activities.
5)TANF Contingency Fund and KinGAP . On February 17, 2009, the
President signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 (ARRA), which establishes the Emergency Contingency Fund
for State TANF Programs (ECF) as section 403(c) of the Social
Security Act. This legislation provides up to $5 billion to
help States, Territories, and Tribes in federal fiscal years
2009 and 2010 that have an increase in assistance caseloads or
in certain types of expenditures.
ARRA emergency contingency funds will be awarded to qualifying
states in FFY 2009 (October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009) and
FFY 2010 (October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010). States can
request quarterly grants from this fund if they meet any of
the following eligibility requirements:
a) Caseload increases and increased expenditure on basic
assistance.
b) Increased expenditures related to non-recurrent,
short-term benefits.
c) Increased expenditures for subsidized employment.
States will receive 80% federal funding for any expenditures
that meet the ECF criteria.
According to the United States Department of Health and Human
Services, California is eligible for up to $1.8 billion in
TANF emergency contingency funds over the next two years,
should our increased expenditures justify the funding. DOF
currently estimates that California will be able to claim
approximately $500 million in ECF funding over the two fiscal
years.
Since the KinGAP expenditures and caseload are included in the
state's TANF and MOE calculations, shifting those cases out of
that program and into a new program would likely need to be
netted against any other caseload and expenditure growth in
CalWORKs when calculating the state's portion of the emergency
fund. As currently written, this legislation would require the
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state to transfer all KinGAP cases to the new program between
January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010. The timing of the shift
would mean that California loses over $130 million in TANF
emergency contingency funds, unless a waiver is granted to
California by the US Health and Human Services Secretary.
6)Governor's May Revision . In his recently released May Revision
to the 2009-2010 budget the governor rejects all TANF ECF
funding from the federal government by proposing policies that
would reduce the state's caseload increases in CalWORKs,
essentially by removing entire families from CalWORKs and
dismantling the state's safety net. Among those proposals is
the shift of the KinGAP program from CalWORKs to a new
federally funded program (similar to this legislation). The
budget assumes $31 million in GF savings for 2009-10 based on
this shift.
7)Related Legislation . Several bills introduced this session
include provisions to implement various sections of the
federal Fostering Connections Act, including AB 154 (Evans),
AB 938 (Committee on Judiciary), AB 1067 (Brownley), AB 500
(Conway), AB 770 (Torres) AB 1402 (Bass), AB 743 (Portantino)
and SB 597 (Liu).
Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)
319-2081