BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   AB 743|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                         |
          |1020 N Street, Suite 524          |                         |
          |(916) 651-1520         Fax: (916) |                         |
          |327-4478                          |                         |
           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
           
                                         
                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 743
          Author:   Portantino (D)
          Amended:  7/15/10 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE  :  3-0, 6/10/10
          AYES:  Liu, Runner, Yee
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Romero, Vacancy

           SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE  :  4-0, 6/29/10
          AYES:  Corbett, Harman, Hancock, Leno
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Walters

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  11-0, 8/12/10
          AYES:  Kehoe, Ashburn, Alquist, Corbett, Emmerson, Leno,  
            Price, Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee
           
          ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  67-0, 1/27/10 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Foster care:  sibling placement

           SOURCE  :     Childrens Law Center of Los Angeles


           DIGEST  :    This bill makes changes to the standards for  
          sibling visitation, interaction, and placement for children  
          who are placed out-of-home, in foster care, or adoption, to  
          conform with language in the federal Fostering Connections  
          Act, and requires placing agencies to notify a dependent  
          child's attorney of placements and changes in placement, as  
          specified.
                                                           CONTINUED





                                                                AB 743
                                                                Page  
          2


           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing law:

          1. Provides for the establishment and support of a  
             statewide child welfare system through the Department of  
             Social Services (DSS) and county welfare departments. 

          2. 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/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.

          3. Requires, when the court has ordered the removal of a  
             child from his/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.

          4. States the intent of the Legislature to ensure that  
             siblings who are removed from the home will be placed in  
             foster care together, unless the placement is not in the  
             best interest of one or more siblings.  Recognizes the  
             importance of sibling relationships and requires the  
             responsible local agency to develop and maintain sibling  
             relationships.  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.

          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  

                                                           CONTINUED





                                                                AB 743
                                                                Page  
          3

             child.

          6. Requires any order placing a child in foster care to  
             provide for visitation between a child and any siblings,  
             unless the court finds by clear and convincing evidence  
             that sibling interaction is detrimental to either child.  
              Requires a county adoption agency or DSS to take steps  
             to facilitate ongoing sibling contact for a dependent  
             child placed in adoption, except in cases where the  
             court determines by a preponderance of evidence that  
             sibling interaction is detrimental to the child.
          
          This bill:

          1. Requires a placing agency to notify a dependent child's  
             attorney and provide specified information no later than  
             the close of the following business day of a decision to  
             place, or change the placement of, the child (instead of  
             "as soon as possible" under current law).

          2. Requires, absent emergency circumstances, a placing  
             agency to notify the child's attorney and the child's  
             siblings' attorneys at least 10 calendar days prior to  
             the change in placement of a dependent child, if the  
             change will result in the separation of siblings.   
             Requires a lesser timeline for changes in placement that  
             are initiated by a foster family agency, group home, or  
             other foster care provider.  Requires, in an emergency,  
             a placing agency to provide notice as soon as possible,  
             but no later than the next business day following the  
             change of placement.

          3. Requires a notice that is given after the change in  
             placement to include information on the child's address,  
             telephone number, and caregiver.  Requires a notice that  
             is given prior to a change in placement to include this  
             same information to the extent that the information is  
             known.

          4. Makes changes to the standards for sibling visitation,  
             interaction, and placement for children who are placed  
             out-of-home, in foster care, or adoption, in order to  
             conform with federal law. Specifically, requires court  
             orders for foster care placement to provide for sibling  

                                                           CONTINUED





                                                                AB 743
                                                                Page  
          4

             visitation, unless the court finds by clear and  
             convincing evidence that sibling interaction is  
             "contrary to the safety or well-being" of either child.   
             Applies the same "contrary to the safety or well-being"  
             of either child standard to requirements to facilitate  
             sibling interaction in adoption cases, and to place  
             siblings together in out-of-home placements.  (Current  
             law sometimes specifies a "detrimental" or  
             "inappropriate" standard.)

          5. Requires a social worker, if siblings are not placed  
             togther, to explain why those efforts would be contrary  
             to the safety or well-being of any of the siblings, and  
             requires the social worker to make diligent efforts to  
             place siblings together in the same placement.

           Background  

           Data on sibling placement  .  As of October 1, 2009, foster  
          children in California are placed together with all their  
          siblings in only approximately half of all cases.  In  
          approximately 73 percent of cases, foster youth are placed  
          with all or some of their siblings, leaving about 27  
          percent of cases, where foster youth are separated from all  
          of their siblings.  (Needell, B., Webster, D., Armijo, M.,  
          Lee, S., Dawson, W., Magruder, J., Exel, M.,  
          Cuccaro-Alamin, S., Williams, D., Zimmerman, K., Simon, V.,  
          Hamilton, D., Putnam-Hornstein, E., Frerer, K., Lou, C.,  
          Peng, C. & Moore, M. (2010).  Child Welfare Services  
          Reports for California.  Retrieved from University of  
          California at Berkeley Center for Social Services  
          Research.)
            
           Fostering Connections Act  .  In October 2008, Congress  
          passed and President Bush signed the Fostering Connections  
          to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, which promotes  
          permanent families for children and youth in foster care by  
          providing greater assistance to relative caregivers and  
          improving incentives for adoption.  The Act also extends  
          assistance to foster children to age 21 and improves  
          education and health care for children and youth in foster  
          care.  Relative to this bill, the federal act requires  
          states to use "reasonable efforts" to place siblings  
          together, unless such placement is contrary to their safety  

                                                           CONTINUED





                                                                AB 743
                                                                Page  
          5

          or well-being.  If siblings are not placed together,  
          visitation between the siblings must occur frequently,  
          unless contrary to their safety or well-being.  (42 USC  
          Section 671(a).)

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  Yes

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

                          Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions          2010-11    2011-12    2012-13     Fund  

          Codifies federal compliance      Costs not attributable to  
          this bill               General

          Mandated notifications           $160*    $320**     
          $320**General
                                  $86      $172     $172      Federal

          * If the Commission on State Mandates determines that the  
            notification mandate is not reimbursable, the state cost  
            would be reduced to $112,000 General Fund, with a county  
            cost of $48,000.

          **If the Commission on State Mandates determines that the  
            notification mandate is not reimbursable, the state cost  
            would be reduced to $224,000 General Fund, with a county  
            cost of $96,000.          

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/13/10)

          Children's Law Center of Los Angeles (source)
          All Saints Church Foster Care Project
          American Federation of State, County and Municipal  
          Employees
          Aspiranet
          California Alliance of Child and Family Services
          California Youth Connection
          Child Abuse Prevention Council of Contra Costa County
          Children's Advocacy Institute
          County Welfare Directors Association of California
          Judicial Council of California

                                                           CONTINUED





                                                                AB 743
                                                                Page  
          6

          Junior Leagues of California
          Juvenile Court Judges of California (if amended)
          National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
          Public Counsel Law Center
          State Bar of California, Family Law Section

           OPPOSITION  :    (Verified  8/13/10)

          Department of Finance

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    The bill's sponsor, the Children's  
          Law Center of Los Angeles (CLC), reports that, often, a  
          sibling group is initially placed together, but one of the  
          children has difficulties or demonstrates behavioral issues  
          with which the caregiver struggles to handle.  Many times  
          the remedy sought by the social worker is to remove that  
          child from that foster home, thus separating the siblings.   
          CLC believes that with the intervention of the child's  
          attorney, who may have a different relationship with the  
          caregiver and/or different ideas for resources to address  
          the underlying issue, many of these anticipated separations  
          can be avoided.

          Judicial Council of California writes that this bill will  
          enhance the ability of the juvenile court to carry out its  
          responsibility to keep siblings placed together whenever  
          such placement is appropriate.  Judicial Council states  
          that by adopting the enhanced federal standard for sibling  
          placement, which will clarify that placement of siblings  
          together is appropriate in any case in which the placement  
          is not contrary to the safety or well-being of any sibling.

          The American Federation of State, County and Municipal  
          Employees writes that the bill extends a helping hand to  
          the children of California who have lost the most, and  
          provides an opportunity for recovery through protecting the  
          remaining bonds between siblings.

           ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION  :    The Department of Finance is  
          opposed to this bill unless it is amended to remove the  
          attorney notification  
           requirement that county social workers notify sibling  
          attorneys regarding a change in the placement that would  
          result in the separation of the siblings. Although the  

                                                           CONTINUED





                                                                AB 743
                                                                Page  
          7

          attorney notification requirement may have merit, the  
          state's current fiscal condition requires extreme fiscal  
          prudence.

           
           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :
          AYES:  Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill  
            Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,  
            Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles  
            Calderon, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, De La Torre,  
            Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes,  
            Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore,  
            Hagman, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,  
            Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal,  
            Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen,  
            John A. Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Silva, Skinner, Smyth,  
            Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torres, Torrico,  
            Tran, Villines, Yamada
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Carter, Davis, De Leon, DeVore, Hall,  
            Miller, V. Manuel Perez, Salas, Saldana, Torlakson, Bass


          CTW:mw  8/16/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

                                ****  END  ****


















                                                           CONTINUED