BILL ANALYSIS
AB 743
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 21, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Mike Feuer, Chair
AB 743 (Portantino) - As Amended: April 14, 2009
SUBJECT : DEPENDENT CHILDREN: SIBLING PLACEMENT
KEY ISSUE : GIVEN THE IMPORTANCE OF SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS FOR
CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE, SHOULD ADDITIONAL EFFORTS BE MADE TO
PLACE AND KEEP SIBLINGS TOGETHER WHILE THEY ARE IN FOSTER CARE?
FISCAL EFFECT : As currently in print this bill is keyed
fiscal.
SYNOPSIS
This bill, sponsored by the Children's Law Center of Los
Angeles, seeks to keep siblings together once they have been
removed from their parents because of abuse or neglect and
placed in foster care. This bill does so, first, by requiring
that when children are originally taken into custody, the
social worker must make reasonable efforts to place siblings
together. If that is not possible, the social worker must
explain to the court either his or her continuing efforts to
place the siblings together or why a joint placement would be
contrary to the safety or well-being of one of the siblings.
This provision helps ensure that California is in compliance
with last year's federal Fostering Connections to Success and
Increasing Adoptions Act (the Fostering Connections Act, HR
6893, Pub. L. 110-351, 2008). Second, the bill requires early
notice to the children's attorneys if siblings who have been
placed together are to be separated, which, in turn and if
necessary, will allow the attorney to intervene early to
protect the siblings' relationships. There is no known
opposition.
SUMMARY : Expands the rights of dependent children to be placed
with and remain with their siblings. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires social workers to make reasonable efforts to place
siblings together when they have been removed from their
parents or guardian because of abuse or neglect. Requires
the social worker, if unable to place siblings together, to
report to the court why a joint placement would be contrary
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to the safety or well-being of any of the siblings.
2)Requires, absent exigent circumstances, the placing agency to
notify the child's attorney and the child's siblings'
attorneys as soon as the agency that placed the child becomes
aware of a need for a change of placement of a dependent
child. Requires, except in the event of an emergency, at
least 10 days notice of the planned change of placement if
the change will result in separation of siblings. Allows the
child's attorney to object to the change by filing an ex
parte notice of hearing. Defines sibling to include
half-siblings and adoptive siblings.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires, a social worker, where possible and appropriate, to
place a child, who has been removed from his or her parents
or guardian because of abuse or neglect, together with his or
her siblings or half-siblings also being removed, or to
describe continuing efforts to place them together if they
are not initially placed together, or to explain why placing
them together is inappropriate. (Welfare & Institutions Code
Section 306.5. Unless otherwise stated, all further
statutory references are to that code.)
2)Requires, when the court has ordered the removal of a child
from his or her parents, to consider whether there are
siblings also under the court's jurisdiction, the nature of
the relationships between the siblings and the
appropriateness of developing or maintaining those
relationships, and the impact of those relationships on
placement and permanency planning. (Section 361.2(i))
3)Requires the status review reports from the social worker to
the court to contain information on the nature of the
relationships between the siblings, and the appropriateness
of developing or maintaining those relationships, if the
siblings are not placed together an explanation of why not
and the frequency and nature of visits between the siblings,
and the impact of the relationships on placement and
permanency planning. Requires the court to consider this
information at the status hearing. (Sections 366.1(f);
366.3(e)(9).)
4)Recognizes the importance of sibling relationships and
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requires the responsible local agency to maintain sibling
togetherness and contact, whenever possible. Requires the
responsible local agency to make diligent effort in all
out-of-home placements of dependent children to develop and
maintain sibling relationships. Requires that, if siblings
are not placed together in the same home, the social worker
must explain why, what efforts are being exerted to place
them together in the same home, or why those efforts are not
appropriate. (Section 16002.)
5)Requires a placing agency to notify the child's attorney as
soon as possible after the agency makes a decision regarding
a placement or a change of placement for the child. (Section
16010.6.)
6)Requires the dependency court to appoint counsel for a
dependent child unless the court affirmatively finds that the
child would not benefit from such appointment. (Section
317.)
COMMENTS : This bill seeks to strengthen the relationships of
siblings when they are in foster care.
According to the author:
Maintaining sibling relationships is critical to
foster children's emotional stability, yet many
children in foster care in California are separated
from one or more of their siblings either from the
outset of the dependency case or as the case moves
forward. For many foster children already suffering
the trauma of the circumstances that brought their
family into the child welfare system, along with the
additional trauma of being removed from their homes,
being placed with siblings is a critical lifeline that
provides emotional support. In keeping with our
state's promise to 'parent' these vulnerable children,
our obligation goes beyond their physical safety; we
must do everything we can to nurture their emotional
well-being and give them every available opportunity
to be connected to the people they love and are
closest to. As the child's advocate, the child's
attorney is uniquely positioned to work with all
parties involved to ensure that wherever possible and
appropriate the siblings are able to stay together.
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The Children's Law Center of Los Angeles (CLC), the bill's
sponsor, believes the bill is necessary not just to place
foster children together with their siblings initially, but
to keep them together. CLC reports that they often see a
sibling group initially placed together, but, after a
while, the foster parent may struggle with one of the
siblings who is having difficulties or behavioral issues.
Many times the social worker's remedy is to remove that
child from the foster home, thus separating the siblings.
CLC believes that often in situations like this, the
child's attorney may be able to intervene before removal of
the sibling, help address the underlying behavioral issues,
and avoid the separation entirely.
California law has long recognized the importance of
maintaining sibling relationships . California law has
repeatedly recognized the importance of maintaining and
developing sibling relationships for children in foster care.
Key legislation in this area includes AB 705 (Steinberg), Chap.
747, Stats. 2001, which ensured that sibling relationships are
considered at all appropriate hearings and siblings are placed
together when appropriate; AB 1987 (Steinberg), Chap. 909,
Stats. 2000, which recognized the importance of sibling
relationships and required the court to consider the existence,
nature and impact of a dependent child's sibling relationships
on the child's placement and planning for legal permanence; and
AB 740 (Steinberg), Chap. 805, Stats. 1999, which expedited the
procedure for permanent placement of a sibling group.
Despite legal recognition of the importance of sibling
placement, California's foster care system continues to
separate siblings in too many cases . Recent data provided by
the author reveal that children in foster care are often not
placed with all their siblings. As of October 1, 2008, foster
children in California are placed together with all their
siblings in only about half of all cases. Moreover, in
approximately 29 percent of cases, foster youth have been
separated from all of their siblings. (Needell, B., Webster,
D., Armijo, M., Lee, S., Dawson, W., Magruder, J., Exel, M.,
Glasser, T., Williams, D., Zimmerman, K., Simon, V.,
Putnam-Hornstein, E., Frerer, K., Ataie, Y., Winn, A., &
Cuccaro-Alamin, S., Child Welfare Services Reports for
California (2008). Retrieved April 15, 2009 from University of
California at Berkeley Center for Social Services Research
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website. URL: http://cssr.berkeley.edu/CWSCMSreports/.)
Federal Legislation : Last year, the federal Fostering
Connections Act was enacted with bipartisan support to improve
the lives of children in foster care, provide greater
assistance to relative caregivers and improve incentives for
adoption. Key provisions of the legislation allow for kinship
guardianship assistance, similar to California's Kin-Gap
program, and extension of assistance to foster children up to
age 21. Of particular relevance to this bill, the federal
legislation requires that states use "reasonable efforts" to
place siblings together unless that is contrary to their safety
or well-being. If siblings are not placed together, visitation
between the siblings must happen frequently unless it is
contrary to their safety or well-being. (42 USC Section
671(a).)
This bill seeks to keep siblings together and, when they are to
be separated, provides a method to challenge that separation .
This bill seeks to keep siblings together in two ways. First,
it provides that social workers must, when children are first
taken into custody, make reasonable efforts to place siblings
together. If not, the social worker must explain to the court
either his or her continuing efforts to place the siblings
together or why a joint placement would be contrary to the
safety or well-being of one of the siblings. This provision
ensures that California is in compliance with the Fostering
Connections Act.
Second, the bill establishes a procedure to allow for
intervention if siblings who have been placed together are to
be separated. Existing law requires notice to a dependent
child's attorney when a decision is made about the child's
placement or change of placement. This bill requires that,
absent an emergency, a child's attorney and the attorneys for
all the child's siblings, be notified at least 10 days before a
proposed separation of siblings that have been placed together.
This time period will allow the children's attorneys to
investigate the circumstances of the proposed separation. In
the event that one of the children's attorneys objects to the
separation, the bill allows the attorney to file an ex parte
notice of hearing to have the court resolve the issue. This
should help prevent siblings from being unnecessarily separated
and then later, after much disruption in their lives, being
reunited.
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : In support of the bill, California Youth
Connection writes:
For children in foster care, being placed with
siblings provides a tremendous source of emotional
support. During a time when these children are
already suffering the trauma of the circumstances that
led to their placement in foster care in the first
place, it is critical that they have as much
connection to loved ones as possible. Being placed
with siblings can bring great comfort to these youth,
and is often the only consistent connection to their
family they have in such a tumultuous time.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Children's Law Center of Los Angeles (sponsor)
California Youth Connection
John Burton Foundation for Children Without Homes
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Leora Gershenzon / JUD. / (916)
319-2334