BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 595| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 595 Author: Adams (R) Amended: As introduced Vote: 27 - Urgency SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 5-0, 6/23/09 AYES: Liu, Maldonado, Alquist, Runner, Yee SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 12-0, 7/13/09 AYES: Kehoe, Cox, Corbett, Denham, Hancock, Leno, Price, Runner, Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 6/1/09 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Placement of children: criminal background checks SOURCE : Department of Social Services DIGEST : This bill conforms state law to federal law by requiring background checks and by prohibiting persons convicted of specified offenses from becoming foster or adoptive parents. ANALYSIS : Existing federal law: 1. Withholds approval of the state plan for foster care, CONTINUED AB 595 Page 2 unless it complies with federal law. 2. Requires as a condition of receipt of federal Title IV-E funding, that child abuse and neglect registries be checked in each state in which a prospective foster or adoptive parent has lived in the past five years and that states must refuse to approve any foster care provider if that applicant, or any other person in that home, has a felony conviction for either of the following set of offenses: A. Child abuse or neglect, spousal abuse, crimes against a child, including child pornography, or for a crime involving violence, including rape, sexual assault, or homicide, but not including other physical assault and battery. B. Physical assault, battery, or a drug-related offense, within the last five years. (Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006) Existing state law: 1. Requires a criminal background check for approval of foster family homes or certified family homes. 2. Requires that, if the applicant or other designated person has been convicted of particular crimes, an application be denied, unless the director of the Department of Social Services (DSS) grants an exemption. 3. Provides safeguards for children placed with a relative caregiver or other guardian who is not licensed or certified, including requiring a criminal background check. This bill: 1. Prohibits DSS or other approving authority from issuing a license or certificate of approval to any foster family home or certified family home applicant who has not obtained both a California and an FBI criminal record clearance or an authorized exemption. AB 595 Page 3 2. Provides that under no circumstances shall DSS grant an exemption issuing a license or certificate of approval for a foster care placement in any home where the foster family applicant or certified family home applicant, or any other person, as specified, in those homes has a felony conviction for either: A. Child abuse or neglect, spousal abuse, crimes against a child, including child pornography, or for a crime involving violence, as defined. B. Physical assault, battery, or a drug- or alcohol-related offense, occurring within the last five years. 3. Provides that the prohibition on exemptions described above does not apply to exemptions granted prior to the enactment of this bill and, further, that it shall remain in effect only to the extent required by federal law as a condition of receipt of federal funding under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act. 4. Provides that a licensee's failure to comply with the prohibition of employment, contact with clients, or presence in the facility, as required, shall result in a citation and an immediate assessment of civil penalties of $100 per violation per day. 5. Repeals the January 1, 2010 sunset date on provisions establishing safeguards for children placed in the home of a relative or any prospective guardian or other person who is not a licensed or certified foster parent - including pre-placement home visits, criminal records checks, and checks of the Child Abuse Central Index - and allowing DSS to delegate criminal background check exemption authority to counties so that they may continue to issue criminal records exemptions in accordance with state and federal law. 6. Provides that this bill is an urgency measure, to take effect immediately, in order to secure necessary federal funding for the care of children in California. Background AB 595 Page 4 Currently, in lieu of a foster care license, a county social worker must visit and approve the home of a relative or prospective guardian who is not a licensed or certified foster parent prior to placing the child in that home. The social worker must also initiate a state and federal criminal record check, and if the results indicate the person has no criminal record, the court and county social worker may consider the home of the relative or prospective guardian as a placement option for the child. Existing law allows the director of DSS to delegate authority on a county-by-county basis to allow a county welfare office to grant criminal records exemptions to relatives and prospective guardians. To do so, the county must evaluate individual criminal records in accordance with state and federal law. Existing law allows Indian tribes to request the DSS or a county to evaluate criminal background exemption requests to allow placement of an Indian child into an Indian home that the tribe has designated, pursuant to the federal Indian Child Welfare Act. Comments Under existing law, all of these provisions will sunset on January 1, 2010. If these provisions sunset, child safety safeguards in statute will lapse, Indian tribes will lose flexibility in placement options for children within their tribes, and all relative caregivers would need to be licensed by the state. DSS believes that it is vital that all of these child safety safeguards remain in place, and that California continues to have the statutory authority to approve relatives and to delegate the responsibility of criminal background checks for relatives to counties. This ensures that children can be placed with relatives during all hours of the day by county social workers rather than in a stranger's home or a shelter. It also allows the State to share the cost of the program with counties. According to the author's office, "if this provision sunsets, there will be no authority for the counties to assess the safety of relative homes for quick placement. The only alternative will be to go through the Foster Family Home licensing process, which takes longer and not all counties do. The requirement to be licensed will reduce the number of relative placement options, contrary AB 595 Page 5 to California's public policy to place children with related or known caregivers." FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: Fiscal Impact (in thousands) Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund Eliminates exemption$250* $250 $250 General Authority Avoids (1,600,000) (1,600,000(1,600,000)Federal Non-compliance Eliminate placement ***Substantial savings, likely more General Procedure sunset than $300,000 annually*** *DSS received an augmentation in its 2009-10 Budget to conform with the new federal Adam Walsh Protection Act, including implementing the provisions in this bill. SUPPORT : (Verified 7/15/09) Department of Social Services (source) County Welfare Directors Association of California Junior Leagues of California, State Public Affairs Committee OPPOSITION : (Verified 7/15/09) Legal Services for Prisoners with Children ASSEMBLY FLOOR : AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Blumenfield, AB 595 Page 6 Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, Bass NO VOTE RECORDED: Block CTW:do 7/15/09 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****