BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2129| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ 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 AB 2129 Page 2 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 AB 2129 Page 3 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 AB 2129 Page 4 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: AB 2129 Page 5 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. AB 2129 Page 6 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 **** END ****