BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 597|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 597
Author: Liu (D)
Amended: 9/3/09
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 3-0, 4/14/09
AYES: Liu, Alquist, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Maldonado, Runner
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-0, 5/28/09
AYES: Kehoe, Cox, Corbett, DeSaulnier, Hancock, Leno,
Oropeza, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Denham, Runner, Walters, Wolk, Wyland
SENATE FLOOR : 36-1, 6/1/09
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Benoit, Calderon,
Cedillo, Cogdill, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Denham,
DeSaulnier, Ducheny, Dutton, Florez, Hancock, Harman,
Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal, Maldonado, Negrete McLeod,
Oropeza, Padilla, Pavley, Romero, Runner, Simitian,
Steinberg, Strickland, Wiggins, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NOES: Hollingsworth
NO VOTE RECORDED: Huff, Walters
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 9/8/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Child welfare services, foster care services
and adoption
assistance
SOURCE : Author
CONTINUED
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DIGEST : This bill makes changes in state law relative to
child welfare services to conform to Public Law 110-351,
the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing
Adoptions Act of 2008, and modifies foster family agency
staffing ratios and foster care group home payment rates
and levels.
Assembly Amendments delete the expanded definition of "care
and supervision," and add provisions to the bill which:
(1) extend the sunset date for staffing flexibility for
community treatment facilities, (2) allow a reduction in
social worker supervisor to social worker ratios, and (3)
revise, until June 30, 2010, the foster care group home
rate classification levels.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Establishes the Aid to Families with Dependent
Children-Foster Care program (AFDC-FC), under which
counties provide payments to foster care providers on
behalf of qualified children in foster care.
2.Requires counties to pay foster care providers a per
child per month rate in return for the care of
supervision of a child in the AFDC-FC program and defines
the term "care and supervision" for the purpose of these
payments.
3.Requires a case plan for each child in foster care and
prescribes the components of the case plan, which include
a summary of the health and education information or
records of the child.
4.Establishes a child welfare council, which is co-chaired
by the secretary of the Health and Human Services Agency
and the chief justice of the state Supreme Court.
5.Establishes the adoption assistance program, which, among
other requirements, requires the Department of Social
Services (DSS) and licensed adoption agencies to provide
designated information to prospective adoptive families.
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6.Requires DSS to award a grant for a statewide child
welfare training program for child welfare personnel, to
provide funding for foster parent training programs in
community colleges, and to provide a basic foster parent
training program.
This bill:
1.Makes the following federal conformity changes:
A. Extends the sunset date for staffing
flexibility for community treatment facilities from
January 1, 2010, until January 1, 2013;
B. Requires DSS to develop a plan for the ongoing
oversight and coordination of health care services
for a child in foster care, and to do so in
consultation with pediatricians, health care
experts, experts in and recipients of child welfare
services;
C. Requires DSS and licensed adoptive agencies to
provide information regarding the federal adoption
tax credit to any individual adopting or considering
adopting a child in foster care; and, d) Makes
various conforming changes to the law governing the
Adoptions Assistance Program.
2.Allows a reduction in social worker supervisor to social
worker ratios at foster family agencies that provide
treatment of children in foster families until January 1,
2011.
3.Revises, temporarily until June 30, 2010, the foster care
group home rate classification levels.
4.Makes a clean-up change to dependent and parent status
review hearings in regards to children under three years
of age where the court would now be required to take into
account any particular barriers to a parent's ability to
maintain contact with those children due to the parent's
incarceration or institutionalization, as specified.
5.Includes chaptering out and renumbering amendments to
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avoid code section conflict with SB 118 (Liu) and AB 154
(Evans).
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11
2011-12 Fund
Additional DSS minor and
absorbable General
workload
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/9/09)
Academy of California Adoption Lawyers
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees
California Alliance of Child and Family Services
County Welfare Directors Association
Judicial Council
Junior Leagues of California
State Bar of California, Family Law Section
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,
Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning,
Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel
Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson,
Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Furutani, Vacancy
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CTW:JA:nl 9/9/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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