BILL NUMBER: AB 198	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Beall

                        JANUARY 27, 2011

   An act relating to adoption.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 198, as introduced, Beall. Adoption: fingerprinting of adoptive
parents.
   Existing law requires a criminal records check and fingerprint
clearance of applicants for a license, special permit, or certificate
of approval for a foster family home or certified family home.
Existing law requires the court or county social worker, when a child
is placed in the home or a relative or a prospective guardian who is
not a licensed or certified foster parent, to cause a criminal
records check and fingerprint clearance to be conducted on that
person. Existing law also requires the State Department of Social
Services or licensed adoption agency to require each person filing an
application for adoption to be fingerprinted and to secure the
person's full criminal record, if any.
   This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation to eliminate or reduce any unnecessary duplication of
fingerprint clearances for prospective adoptive parents, and would
make related findings.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) It is the expressed intent of the Legislature that the goal
for dependent children is to expedite legal permanency with relative
caregivers or through adoption when reunification with the child's
parents is unsuccessful.
   (b) Currently, California laws and regulations require a foster
parent who wishes to adopt a child in his or her care to submit
duplicate fingerprint images, leading to additional costs,
inefficiencies, and delays in achieving the stated goal of permanency
for dependent children.
   (c) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to
eliminate or reduce any unnecessary duplication of fingerprint
clearances for prospective adoptive parents, provided that the safety
and well-being of adoptive children is ensured.