BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1214|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1214
Author: Wolk (D)
Amended: 8/25/10
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 4-0, 3/23/10
AYES: Liu, Romero, Runner, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Maldonado
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 33-0, 6/1/10
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Calderon, Cedillo,
Cogdill, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Denham, DeSaulnier,
Ducheny, Dutton, Florez, Hancock, Harman, Huff, Kehoe,
Leno, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Pavley, Price,
Romero, Runner, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Wolk,
Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hollingsworth, Oropeza, Padilla,
Walters, Wiggins, Vacancy, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available
SUBJECT : Crisis nurseries
SOURCE : California Alliance of Child and Family
Services
DIGEST : This bill extends the sunset of the Department
of Social Services licensing provisions for crisis
CONTINUED
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nurseries for voluntary placements until January 1, 2014,
and allows county child welfare services 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 prohibits the use of crisis nurseries
as an emergency placement for foster children.
Assembly Amendments clarify the definition of "voluntary
placement" and state that the definition does not apply to
children placed in foster care, and prohibit children
placed in crises nurseries from receiving Aid to Families
with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC)
reimbursement, commencing July 1, 2012, and add chaptering
amendments regarding AB 12 (Beall).
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to
establish a separate category for community care
licensing for crisis nurseries, which provide short term
temporary emergency shelter, as defined.
2. Defines "crisis nurseries" as short term, 24-hour
non-medical residential care and supervision for
children under six years of age, who are either
voluntarily placed for temporary care by a parent or
guardian, for up to 30 days or who are temporarily
placed by a county child welfare service agency for no
more than 14 days.
3. Sets the licensed capacity for crisis nurseries programs
at 14 children.
4. Permits the use of fully trained and qualified
volunteers to be included in the staff-to child ratio
subject to specified education and training
requirements.
5. Establishes that the staff-to-child ratio to be at least
one employed staff or volunteer caregiver for each group
of three children, during the hours from 7 a.m. to 7
p.m. and at least one to paid caregiver or volunteer for
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every group of four children, during the hours from 7
p.m. to 7 a.m.
6. Appropriates moneys from the General Fund to pay for a
share of the cost of AFDC-FC payments.
7. Sunsets all provisions related to crisis nurseries on
January 1, 2011.
This bill:
1. Clarifies that the definition of "voluntary placement,"
for the purposes of crisis nursery licensing, does not
apply to children placed in foster care.
2. Sunsets provisions allowing for child welfare services
direct placement of foster children in crisis nurseries
as of July 1, 2012.
3. Effective July 1, 2012:
A. Defines a "crisis nursery" as a DSS-licensed
facility that provides short-term, 24-hour
non-medical residential care and supervision for
children under the age of six voluntarily placed by a
parent or legal guardian during a family crisis or
stressful situation for a maximum of 30 days.
B. Defines a "voluntary placement" as the voluntary
placement of a child in temporary emergency care by a
parent or legal guardian who retains physical custody
of and remains responsible for the care of his/her
child.
C. Specifies that a voluntary placement does not
apply to children placed in foster care.
D. Limits the capacity for a crisis nursery at 14
licensed beds with specified exceptions.
E. Requires crisis nurseries to collect and maintain
information on the total number and ages of children
placed in the program, reasons for placement in a
crisis nursery and the length of stay, to be made
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available to DSS upon request.
F. Provides that a crisis nursery may provide child
day care services to children under the age of six at
the same site for up to 30 calendar days in a
six-month period, unless granted an exception by DSS.
G. Sunsets provisions allowing for parents and legal
guardians to voluntarily place a child in a crisis
nursery effective January 1, 2014.
Background
Crisis nurseries were created to meet the need for
temporary emergency care for young children under the age
of six, who need a safe place to live for a few days, and
which would prevent the parent from having to give up
custody of their children to the child welfare system.
Crisis nurseries are designed to provide short-term,
24-hour non-medical residential care and supervision for
children under six years of age, who are either voluntarily
placed for temporary care by a parent or guardian due to
family crisis for no more than 30 days, or who are
temporarily placed by a county child welfare agency for no
more than 14 days.
This separate community care licensing category was
established for crisis nurseries with the enactment of SB
855 (Machado), Chapter 664, Statutes of 2004. Prior to
2005, crisis nurseries were licensed as group homes. Group
homes are residential facilities used by the courts and
child welfare services for foster children and youth who
have needs that cannot be met in less restrictive settings
of foster homes, foster families agencies, and the home of
relatives.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
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
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nursery each year, extending the use of crisis nurseries
as an emergency placement for foster children could cost
approximately $175,000 ($150,000 TANF [Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families]) 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.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/27/10)
California Alliance of Child and Family Services (source)
Bay Area Crisis Nursery
California State Association of Counties
Child Abuse Prevention Center
County of Sacramento
EMQ Families First
Foster and Kinship Care Education Program
Friends of the Yolo Crisis Nursery
Junior League of Sacramento
Junior Leagues of California SPAC
KARE Crisis Nursery
La Familia Counseling Center
Sacramento Children's Home
Yolo County Foster Family Association
Yolo Crisis Nursery
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Supporters state that due to the
unnecessary and burdensome restrictions and costs imposed
by group home regulations, without the flexibility provided
by current law, crisis nurseries might be forced to close.
In response to the opposition's arguments, the author's
office states:
"SB 855 (Machado) was enacted in 2004 to allow crisis
nurseries to operate under regulations that better serve
the children they care for. Unlike foster care
placements, crisis nurseries are voluntary, short term
placements designed to help families in crisis, prevent
child abuse, and keep children out of the child welfare
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system. Occasionally, a crisis nursery will take an
emergency county foster placement at the request of the
county in order to remove a child from immediate harm. A
sunset was placed in the original bill so that the
program would get a second look in order to ensure that
it was operating as smoothly as anticipated. The
original sunset was extended because the regulations,
having taken longer than expected, had only been in place
a short while and more time was needed to evaluate the
program. The argument put forth by the opposition that
the sunset was to allow counties time to find alternative
placements is simply false. That argument is not
documented in any of the analyses of the original bills
nor is it documented or recalled by any of the
Legislators or staff involved at the time.
"Further, it is not the case that the crisis nurseries
sought out foster placements in order to enhance revenues
as claimed by the opposition. All crisis nurseries grew
out of grass roots efforts as non profit organizations.
Each had a mission of child abuse prevention. Some were
later approached by their county for emergency
placements. If a child is placed, the nursery receives a
pro-rated payment appropriate for the care they provide.
Only one crisis nursery - Yolo - takes foster placements
with any frequency. They have only one bed licensed to
do so. The vast majority of their placements are
voluntary and virtually 100% of all other crisis nursery
placements are voluntary - not foster placements.
"Crisis nurseries are licensed, regulated and, unlike
both foster homes and group homes, have no history of
abuse or misconduct toward the children they serve. On
the contrary, crisis nurseries are highly regarded by not
only families and communities they serve, but also local
law enforcement, local health care providers, child
advocates, county and city staff, and local elected
officials. They are successful and an important resource
in their communities. No one system of foster placement
works equally well in every county. For emergency foster
placements, counties use a combination of emergency
foster family placements, emergency shelters - a form of
group home, and crisis nurseries. The mix depends on the
needs, resources, and support of each individual county.
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No one form of placement is superior to the others in all
cases."
CTW:mw 8/30/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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