BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1214
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1214 (Wolk)
As Amended August 25, 2010
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :33-0
HUMAN SERVICES 6-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Beall, Tom Berryhill, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Conway, |
| |Ammiano, Hall, Logue, | |Bradford, Huffman, Coto, |
| |Portantino | |Davis, De Leon, Gatto, |
| | | |Hall, Harkey, Miller, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Skinner, |
| | | |Solorio, Torlakson, |
| | | |Torrico |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------
| | |
--------------------------------
SUMMARY : Extends the sunset of the California Department of
Social Services (DSS) licensing provisions for crisis nurseries
for voluntary placements until January 1, 2014, and allows
county child welfare services (CWS) departments to continue to
use crisis nurseries as an emergency placement for children in
the foster care system until July 1, 2012. After 2012, this
bill would prohibit the use of crisis nurseries as an emergency
placement for foster children.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)The average monthly caseload for the Emergency Assistance
program is 3,200 children. If 100 of those children spend an
average of seven days in a crisis nursery each year, extending
the use of crisis nurseries as an emergency placement for
foster children could cost approximately $175,000 ($150,000
TANF) for the additional year.
2)Absent the use of crisis nurseries for emergency placement,
counties would most likely place these children in temporary
foster homes with foster parents who are reimbursed at a
significantly lower rate.
SB 1214
Page 2
COMMENTS : Crisis nurseries provide short-term emergency
respite care for the infants, toddlers, or young children of
families in crisis without other options, such as trusted
friends or relatives to care for their children. Prior to 2004,
crisis nurseries had been licensed as group homes. Group homes
are residential facilities used by the courts and child welfare
agencies for foster children whose needs cannot be met in less
restrictive, more family-like settings such as relative
placements, foster family homes, or foster family agencies.
Crisis nurseries that served children under the age of six had
been held to the group home regulations for this cohort,
commonly referred to as the "under six" regulations, which
require educational standards for staff, defined staff to child
ratios, and supportive services.
In 2004, a separate, less stringent, licensing category was
created with the passage of SB 855 (Machado), Chapter 664,
Statutes of 2004. Changes brought about by the new licensure
category include a provision allowing crisis nurseries to use
trained volunteers instead of staff and allowing specified
volunteers to apply to staffing ratios. Currently, five
nonprofit agencies operate six crisis nursery facilities with a
total of 66 licensed beds in the counties of: Contra Costa,
Sacramento, Yolo, Stanislaus, and Nevada. The crisis nurseries
operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and rely mostly on
private funds, although some do receive funding through their
local First Five Commissions. In the past year, Yolo County has
been the only county to use a crisis nursery for CWS emergency
shelter placements. However, current law allows any county to
use a crisis nursery for CWS placements. Floor amendments avoid
chaptering conflicts with another bill, AB 12 (Beall & Bass).
Analysis Prepared by : Michelle Doty Cabrera / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089
FN: 0006765