BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 2129|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 2129
          Author:   Bass (D)
          Amended:  8/2/10 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE  :  4-1, 6/22/10
          AYES:  Liu, Emmerson, Romero, Yee
          NOES:  Runner

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  7-4, 8/12/10
          AYES:  Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Leno, Price, Wolk, Yee
          NOES:  Ashburn, Emmerson, Walters, Wyland

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  74-0, 4/22/10 (Consent) - See last page  
            for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Foster care:  residentially based services

           SOURCE  :     California Alliance of Child and Family  
          Services


           DIGEST  :    This bill extends to July 1, 2014, the deadline  
          for the Department of Social Services (DSS) to develop a  
          plan to transform the current statewide system of group  
          homes into a system of residentially based services, and  
          requires DSS to conduct a review of the county  
          residentially based services program, as specified, and  
          allows DSS to terminate the county's participation n the  
          residentially based services reform project for specified  
          reasons.  This bill provides that voluntary agreements  
                                                           CONTINUED





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          between counties and private nonprofit agencies to test  
          alternative program design and funding models for  
          transforming individual group home programs into  
          residentially based services programs terminate on or  
          before January 1, 2015.

           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.  
             Includes services related to foster care placement of  
             dependent children.

          2. Requires children removed from their parents for abuse  
             or neglect to be placed in one of various placements,  
             including a licensed group home.  Provides for the  
             licensing and regulation of community care facilities,  
             including group homes, by DSS.

          3. Provides for the Aid to Families with Dependent  
             Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, which provides  
             for the funding of foster care placements through a  
             combination of federal, state, and county funds.   
             Establishes rates of care for children placed in  
             licensed or approved family homes and group homes.

          4. Requires DSS to convene a workgroup of designated public  
             and private stakeholders to develop a plan for  
             transforming the current system of group care for foster  
             children or youth, and for children with serious  
             emotional disorders into a system of residentially based  
             services, as defined.  Requires DSS, by January 1, 2011,  
             to provide a copy of the plan developed by the workgroup  
             to the Legislature.

          5. Requires DSS to encourage counties and private nonprofit  
             agencies to develop voluntary agreements to test  
             alternative program design and funding models to achieve  
             specified objectives.  Authorizes voluntary agreements  
             between counties and nonprofit agencies to transfer all  
             or part of an existing group home program into a  







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             residentially based services program, if specified  
             conditions are met, and provides that such agreements  
             are valid for a period not to exceed five years, from  
             January 1, 2008.

          6. Authorizes DSS to waive otherwise applicable regulatory  
             provisions and approve alternative funding models, in  
             order to facilitate implementation of these agreements.   
             Requires the waiver and alternative funding model to be  
             cost neutral to the General Fund for payments under the  
             AFDC-FC program, measured on an annual basis.  Permits  
             higher AFDC-FC payments to be made when children or  
             youth are initially placed in a residentially based  
             services program, with savings to be offset through  
             shorter lengths of stay in foster care or reduction of  
             reentries into foster care, through pre-discharge and  
             post-discharge support.

          This bill:

          1. Extends from January 1, 2011, to July 1, 2014, the  
             deadline for DSS to develop a plan to transform the  
             current statewide system of group homes into a system of  
             residentially based services.

          2. Provides that voluntary agreements between counties and  
             private nonprofit agencies to test alternative program  
             design and funding models for transforming individual  
             group home programs into residentially based services  
             programs terminate on or before January 1, 2015.

          3. Requires any upfront costs for the project to be offset  
             by other program savings identified by DSS to ensure  
             that there are no net General Fund costs in each fiscal  
             year, and clarifies that the authority to make higher  
             AFDC-FC payments for children and youth enrolled in a  
             residentially based services program is not affected by  
             changes made to payments to group homes under current  
             law.

          4. Requires DSS to conduct a review of the county  
             residentially based services program no sooner than 18  
             months after the first child is enrolled in the program,  
             to determine whether children are moving from  







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             residentially based services group residential care  
             facilities into lower levels of care or exiting from  
             foster care to permanent families in a timely manner, as  
             described in the county's approved residentially based  
             services plan.

          5. Allows DSS to terminate the county's participation in  
             the residentially based services reform project with 60  
             days advance notice to the county, if DSS determines,  
             based on its review, that the county is not achieving  
             timely movement into lower levels of care, or exits from  
             foster care to permanent families with associated  
             savings.

          6. Allows the State Department of Social Services to fund  
             various child welfare-related activities by means of  
             grants from the fund, rather than by contract, and  
             allows certain grants to be renewed.

           Comment
           
          The author's office states that this bill amends provisions  
          of AB 1453 (Soto), Chapter 466, Statutes of 2007, which was  
          intended to begin the reform of the role of group homes in  
          California's foster care system, beginning with the  
          development of demonstration projects for residentially  
          based services (RBS) in four counties.  The author's office  
          believes that it is necessary to update the deadlines and  
          other provisions of the original 2007 legislation, in order  
          to allow this reform effort to continue to move forward and  
          to facilitate the implementation of the RBS demonstration  
          projects.

          The author's office notes there was a delay in DSS  
          developing the proper mechanism for receipt of private  
          funding, resulting in the delay in starting the project and  
          the need for additional time to accomplish the project's  
          goals.

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

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis:








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                          Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions                2010-11     2011-12     
           2012-13   Fund
           
          Extends pilots                up to $185Potentially  
          significant costs    General
                              potentially substantial long term  
                         savings*  General
                                                                       
                                                                       
                                                                       
                                     Federal/
                                                                       
                                                                       
                                                                       
                                     Local
          Extends workgroup deadline         Likely minor        
          General
                                                                     
          Private
          *Potential offsetting savings from pilot projects after  
          first year of implementation.

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/16/10)

          California Alliance of Child and Family Services (source)
          American Federation of State, County and Municipal  
          Employees
          Aspiranet
          County Welfare Directors Association of California
          Los Angeles County Office of Education


           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT :    The California Alliance of Child  
          and Family Services, the sponsor of this bill, states that  
          the timeframes in AB 1453, which developed the RBS  
          demonstration project, were overly optimistic, but the  
          implementation is now moving ahead rapidly.  The County  
          Welfare Directors Association of California states that  
          progress is being made on this issue, and it is reasonable  
          to provide DSS with extra time to ensure a comprehensive  
          plan is submitted.








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          The Los Angeles County Office of Education writes, "the  
          bill would give the RBS demonstration projects adequate  
          time to operate and to provide knowledge and experience  
          upon which to develop an operational plan for the statewide  
          implementation of these programs.  The American Federation  
          of State, County and Municipal Employees states that the  
          measure is a step in the right direction, as the state  
          should begin moving away from placing children in group  
          homes and emphasize a new vision of care that will focus on  
          the therapeutic nature of a family-based living  
          environment."

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


          CTW:do  8/16/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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