BILL ANALYSIS AB 295 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 29, 2009 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Kevin De Leon, Chair AB 295 (Ammiano) - As Amended: March 9, 2009 Policy Committee: Human ServicesVote:6 - 0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill removes all references to a pilot project from the wrap-around services program established as a pilot in 1996. In addition, the bill extends the timeline for expending the current funding in the pre-adoption and post-adoption services pilot project from December 31, 2009, until June 30, 2010. FISCAL EFFECT Estimates suggest that at as of December 31, 2009, $1.3 million in General Fund will remain unspent in the adoption services pilot project. Without the extension of the project those funds could be returned to the General Fund. COMMENTS 1)Rationale . This bill is intended to clean up the wrap-around services statute by removing any references to the original implementing pilot project. In addition, the bill extends the adoptive services pilot project for 6 months in order to make up for an initial delay in distributing the funds for the project. According to the author, county projects were implemented six to nine months later than originally expected because the state was unable to immediately distribute the money. In addition, there were some initial questions as to whether or not certain types of funding and activities could be used in the project, as a result counties ended up ramping up their projects more slowly than they initially anticipated. 2)Pre-adoption and Post-adoption Services Pilot . The three-year AB 295 Page 2 pilot project was created by AB 1808 (Committee on Budget; Chapter 75, Statutes of 2006), the budget trailer bill related to human services. $4 million in General Fund was included in the 2006-07 budget for project. In total, the three-year project received over $11 million in state GF. The focus of the pilot is support for adoptions of foster children ages nine and older who have been in foster care at least 18 months and live with foster families who are not related to them or in group homes. The participating counties are San Francisco, Los Angeles, Alameda and Kern, along with the department's Adoptions District Office in Sacramento. 3)Wrap-around Services . Wrap-around refers to a program that provides comprehensive social and other services that are wrapped around a child and family. California's program was developed to support the placement of children in family-based settings, rather than group homes or institutional settings. Children are eligible for a period determined by an individualized services plan if they have been adjudicated as dependents or wards and would be placed in a group home with a Rate Classification Level (RCL) of 10 or higher, or if they would be voluntarily placed in out-of-home care through the special education system. There are at least 39 counties currently participating in the program. According to DSS, most counties' programs are led by community-based agencies. Based on county reports to DSS, there were about 3,000 children statewide served by wrap-around (with nearly half in Los Angeles) in July, 2008. Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916) 319-2081