BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 2474|
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                                    CONSENT


          Bill No:  AB 2474
          Author:   Beall (D) & Blakeslee (R)
          Amended:  4/8/10 in Assembly
          Vote:     21

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

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  74-0, 5/6/10 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Community care facilities:  foster family  
          agencies

           SOURCE  :     California Alliance for Child and Family  
          Services


           DIGEST  :    This bill extends by one year, to January1,  
          2012, the sunset provision on the requirement for certain  
          foster family agencies to employ one full-time social work  
          supervisor for every eight social workers.

           ANALYSIS  :    

           Existing law
           
          1. Establishes a system of community care facilities  
             licensing, administered by the Department of Social  
             Services (DSS), to license and approve out-of-home  
             placements for abused and neglected children.
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          2. Establishes foster family agencies (FFAs) as nonprofit  
             organizations that recruit, train, certify, and provide  
             support for foster parents who care for children with  
             intensive care needs as an alternative to group home  
             placement.  

          3. Provides for the licensure and regulation of FFAs by  
             DSS, and applies social worker personnel requirements.

          4. Reduces the FFA rate effective October 1, 2009 by 10  
             percent, and allows FFAs flexibility in applying the  
             reduction, provided the amount paid to foster families  
             providing care to foster children was not reduced more  
             than 10 percent.  

          5. Requires treatment FFAs to employ at least one full-time  
             social work supervisor for every eight social workers in  
             the agency, and sunsets this provision January 1, 2011.

          This bill extends by one year, to January1, 2012, the  
          sunset provision on the requirement for certain foster  
          family agencies to employ one full-time social work  
          supervisor for every eight social workers.

           Background
           
          Established in 1985 as an alternative to group home  
          placements, FFAs are not-for-profit agencies that train,  
          recruit and certify foster parents.  Statewide, there are  
          an estimated 250 FFAs providing care and treatment to  
          approximately 18,500 foster children.  Initially intended  
          as an alternative to group home placement for children with  
          higher service needs, FFAs now provide placements to almost  
          half of all foster children in nonrelative placements in  
          California.  

          DSS distinguishes between two types of FFAs for the  
          purposes of rate setting and regulations.  "Treatment  
          foster care", also referred to as "therapeutic foster care"  
          provides a higher level of care to children with needs that  
          cannot be met in foster family homes, and who would  
          otherwise require a group home placement.  FFAs may also  
          certify a family home seeking to adopt a foster child as a  

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          "nontreatment foster care" placement.  

          FFA and other foster care provider rates were cut by 10% as  
          part of the state budget passed last year, effective  
          October 1, 2009.  While the group home rate cut was stayed  
          and group home rates were ordered increased by 32% as part  
          of a lawsuit already pending prior to the budget  
          reductions,  California Alliance of Child and Family  
          Services v. John Wagner, et al  ., FFAs were not represented  
          in the group homes lawsuit and, as such, are still subject  
          to the rate decrease.

          Acknowledging the impact of the 10% FFA rate cut, last  
          year, the Legislature approved, and the Governor signed SB  
          597 (Liu), Chapter 339, Statutes of 2009, which included a  
          provision allowing treatment FFAs to adjust the ratio of  
          social work supervisors to social workers to the current  
          1:8 ratio.  The ratio change will expire, however, on  
          January 1, 2011.

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

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/14/10)

          California Alliance for Child and Family Services (source)
          Aldea Children & Family Services
          Alternative Family Services
          Association of Community Human Service Agencies
          County Welfare Directors Association of CA (CWDA)
          Crittenton Services for Children and Families
          David & Margaret Youth and Family Services
          Family Care Network
          Five Acres - Boys' & Girls' Aid Society of Los Angeles
          Innte Circle Foster Family Agency
          Kinship Center
          Lillliput Children's Services
          President/CEO, Hathaway-Sycamores Child & Family Services
          Rebekah Children's Services
          Rosemary Children's Services
          Transitions Children's Services
          Valley Teen Ranch
          Victor Youth Services
          Youth For Change

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           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    The sponsor of this bill, the  
          California Alliance for Child and Family Services, writes,  
          "In budget year 2009-10, FFA rates were cut by 10% and  
          prior to that cut, FFA rates had been frozen for 14 out of  
          the past 19 years.  As a result, the FFA rates to cover the  
          cost of care and social work for foster children has  
          declined to just 63% of what it originally was in 1990.  In  
          order to absorb the 10% rate cut, many FFAs were forced to  
          lay off social workers, are borrowing money to keep  
          operating, are spending down their savings, are fundraising  
          in an increasingly competitive environment or have shut  
          down their programs.

          "In order to absorb some small measure of relief from the  
          10% cut, the Legislature approved and the Governor signed  
          SB 597 (Liu) in 2009 allowing FFAs to use a one-to-eight  
          ratio for social worker supervisors to social workers,  
          rather than the one-to-six ratio.  This provision was only  
          approved for one year and it expires on January 1, 2011.   
          Savings incurred to FFAs from increasing this ratio is  
          estimated to be 1% of their total budget.

          "In light of the dire budget constraints of the State,  
          [this bill]will extend the deadline allowing the ratio of  
          Foster Family Agency social workers to go from a 1:6 ratio  
          to a 1:8 ratio by one more year, until January 1, 2012.  At  
          a minimum, the FFAs need some flexibility within the  
          rate-setting and community care licensing systems."


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill  
            Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Blumenfield,  
            Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles  
            Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De  
            Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,  
            Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani,  
            Garrick, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,  
            Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue,  
            Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,  
            Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,  
            Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,  

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            Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico,  
            Tran, Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez
          NO VOTE RECORDED: Bass, Block, De La Torre, Gilmore,  
            Mendoza, Vacancy


          CTW:do  6/14/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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