BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 945
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   June 15, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
                                Jim Beall, Jr., Chair
                      SB 945 (Liu) - As Amended:  March 8, 2010

           SENATE VOTE  :  30-0
           
          SUBJECT  :  Juvenile court jurisdiction: services and benefits

           SUMMARY  :  Requires a probation or parole officer, depending on  
          jurisdiction, to provide wards formerly in foster care, or with  
          dependent status, with notification regarding their eligibility  
          for services and benefits provided to former foster youth when  
          the court terminates jurisdiction, or upon release of a ward  
          from a non-foster care facility.  Specifically,  this bill  :   

          1)Makes various findings and declarations regarding the barriers  
            to success for dual status children who age out of the  
            juvenile justice system.

          2)Requires that, whenever the juvenile court terminates  
            jurisdiction and releases a ward from any facility other than  
            a foster care facility, the probation or parole officer must  
            provide the youth with both:

             a)   A written notice stating the person's status as a former  
               foster youth, and that person's possible eligibility for  
               services and benefits provided by public and private  
               programs, including independent living program (ILP)  
               services, and,

             b)   Information regarding, and assistance with applying for  
               state and federal ILP services the person may be eligible  
               to receive.

          3)Specifies that this section applies to any ward previously  
            adjudged a dependent child pursuant to Welfare and  
            Institutions Code (WIC) Section 300, or a child placed in  
            foster care pursuant to WIC Section 727.

          4)Provides that should the Commission on State Mandates  
            determine costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local  
            agencies and school districts shall be made.








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           EXISTING LAW  

          1)Provides that the juvenile court may establish jurisdiction  
            over an abused or neglected child as a dependent of the  
            juvenile court.  WIC 300.

          2)Provides that the juvenile court may adjudge a child who has  
            committed criminal acts, or who is habitually disobedient or  
            truant, a ward of the court.  WIC 601, 602.

          3)Establishes a process whereby the juvenile court determines  
            the appropriate status designation for a child when he or she  
            appears to come within the description of both ward and  
            dependent status, with an agreed upon recommendation submitted  
            to the juvenile court by the county probation department and  
            child welfare services on which status will serve the best  
            interests of the child and the protection of society. WIC  
            241.1. 
          4)Authorizes the county probation department and child welfare  
            services department in consultation with the juvenile court,  
            to develop protocols for designating a child or youth who is  
            both a ward and dependent of the juvenile court a "dual  
            status" child.  WIC 241.1.

          5)Federal law establishes the Independent Living Program (ILP)  
            which allows states to apply for grants to provide assistance  
            to former foster youth 18 to 21 years of age with their  
            efforts to achieve self-sufficiency and to prepare them with  
            making a transition from adolescence to adulthood.  42 U.S.C.  
            677.

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

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis:

                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

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

          State mandate:                                         Likely  
          minor, potentially reimbursable                        General
            County probation  costs








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          Independent Living                           Likely very minor  
          cost pressure       General/Federal
            Program  (ILP)                                  

           COMMENTS  :   

           Need for this bill:   According to the author:

               Our state has created a number of new policies to  
               assist foster youth.  As a result, foster youth who  
               age out of the system at 18 can access a variety of  
               assistance and counseling programs.  These programs  
               help with housing, college planning and financing, and  
               job and financial counseling. 

               Unfortunately, a segment of the foster youth  
               population?are unable to access services because they  
               cannot prove their status as a former foster  
               youth?When these children emancipate from the juvenile  
               delinquency court status, rather than from dependency  
               court status, they are effectively denied access to  
               private and non-profit programs designed to assist  
               former foster youth?

               These youth fall between the cracks because foster  
               care programs identify transitional youth based on  
               their residency.  Young people who are wards of the  
               court (housed in juvenile court or treatment  
               facilities) do not reside in homes reserved  
               specifically for foster youth and therefore not able  
               to prove their status as a foster youth.  Although  
               probation officers who oversee wards for the court are  
               expected to advise and assist their wards with access  
               to transitional living services, there is no clear  
               process for the probation officers to follow to assist  
               this population.


          In fact, counties, including county probation officers, were  
          already directed to provide a foster youth "proof of  
          dependency/wardship document" to all emancipating foster youth  
          to assist them with applying for financial aid and other  
          resources.  The protocols were set forth in an All County Letter  








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          (ACL 05-32, November 2, 2005), which clearly outline the  
          responsibility to ensure this documentation is provided to all  
          dependents and wards upon termination of the court's  
          jurisdiction.

           This bill  would clarify that probation and parole officers are  
          required to provide wards exiting from a juvenile justice  
          detention facility with documentation of their status as former  
          foster youth, and to inform them about their eligibility for  
          services and benefits available to former foster youth to assist  
          them with their transition to adulthood.   

          The "dual status" designation for foster youth is not common in  
          California.  To date, 9 counties (Colusa, Inyo, Modoc, Placer,  
          Riverside, San Joaquin, Siskyou, Sonoma and Stanislaus) have  
          developed protocols to assign dual status designations to foster  
          youth with concurrent ward and dependent status.  The majority  
          of foster youth who fall under both are adjudged either  
          dependents or wards, based on a recommendation made to the  
          juvenile court by the county probation and child welfare  
          services departments.  This bill would specifically address that  
          population of youth adjudged wards who were at some point  
          dependents of the juvenile court.  Given the existing processes  
          for determining their status, wards likely are not aware that  
          they are considered former foster youth and entitled under  
          current law to a variety of public and private services and  
          supports.

          This bill would not change existing eligibility for ILP services  
          or other services provided to former foster youth.

           Support:   Public Counsel Law Center writes in support of this  
          bill:

               Under current law, emancipating foster youth are  
               entitled to transitional services and to assistance  
               from the youth's Probation Officers or County Social  
               Workers in obtaining access to such services.   
               Unfortunately, a segment of this population is  
               frequently forgotten.  More specifically, this segment  
               consists of former foster youth who enter the juvenile  
               delinquency system and either are placed in non-foster  
               care placements or remain in the juvenile halls until  
               they reach their 18th birthday.  As a consequence,  








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               these youth do not receive information and access to  
               transitional programs, which they are currently  
               entitled to receive and would have received had they  
               been properly identified as former foster youth.

          The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office notes that  
          providing foster or former foster youth with paperwork to assist  
          them in obtaining services upon termination of the juvenile  
          court jurisdiction over the ward will help with reducing adult  
          and juvenile recidivism.  

           Comments and Questions:
           The Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the State  
          Bar of California (FLEXCOM) recommends clarifying the proposed  
          language of this bill in their letter of support.  According to  
          FLEXCOM, the current language specifies that all wards formerly  
          adjudged dependent children would receive the letter, but not  
          all dependent children are "former foster children."  As such,  
          FLEXCOM proposes revising WIC Section 607.5(b) as follows to  
          avoid potential confusion:

               This section shall apply to any ward who was  
               previously adjudged a dependent child of the court  
               pursuant to Section 300  and placed in foster care  , or  
                any ward  who at any time has been placed in foster  
               care pursuant to Section 727.

          What is the status of the recommended amendment?

           Prior and related legislation:

           This bill is virtually identical to SB 921 (Jones) of 2009 which  
          passed through the Legislature unanimously, but was vetoed by  
          Governor Schwarzenegger with the following veto message:
           
                This bill would require county probation officers and  
               parole officers
               to ensure that minors under the jurisdiction of the  
               juvenile court
               be provided with written notification of services and  
               benefits they
               may be eligible for upon termination of court jurisdiction.  
                This
               bill also would require probation officers and parole  








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               officers to
               provide assistance in obtaining those services and  
               benefits.  This
               bill would create local mandated costs attributable to the
               requirement that county probation officers provide  
               specified
               information and assistance to juvenile wards of the court.

               Given the state's severe economic climate and the social  
               services
               reductions being implemented, it is not prudent to expand
               requirements imposed on state and local governmental  
               programs.
           
           AB 129 (Cohn) Chapter 468, Statutes of 2004 allowed counties to  
          establish "dual status" for children and youth under both the  
          child welfare and juvenile justice jurisdictions.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 

           Children's Advocacy Institute (sponsor)
          Aspiranet
          California State PTA
          Children's Law Center of Los Angeles
          Chief Probation Officers of CA
          Family Law Section of the State Bar
          Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
          Public Counsel Law Center
           
            Opposition 
           
          None on file.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Michelle Doty Cabrera / HUM. S. / (916)  
          319-2089