BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
BILL NO: AB 1147
A
AUTHOR: Yamada
B
VERSION: April 4, 2011
HEARING DATE: June 28, 2011
1
FISCAL: Judiciary and Appropriations
1
4
CONSULTANT:
7
Brown
SUBJECT
Dependent children: status reports
SUMMARY
Requires social workers to document the services provided
to allow a minor parent in foster care to provide a safe
home for his or her child and provides for reimbursement by
the state, if appropriate.
ABSTRACT
Current law
1) Establishes a system of child welfare services for
abused and neglected children.
2) Requires a court to review the status of a
dependent child no less than once every six months,
and requires the county welfare department or social
worker to file a supplemental report documenting
services provided and considered for each child and/or
their parents.
Continued---
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1147 (Yamada) Page
2
3) Provides that the child of a dependent minor in
foster care cannot be involuntarily separated from his
or her parent unless the court orders dependency of
the child and orders removal.
4) Establishes the state's intent to keep parenting
teens in foster care together with their children by
providing specific services and supports, requires
social workers to identify, develop and use "whole
family placement" settings and encourages state and
local child welfare officials to collect data on the
number of minor parents in placement and to aggregate
that data annually.
This bill
1) Requires the county welfare department or social
worker to include in the supplemental report
documentation of the age and developmentally
appropriate services that were provided to a minor
parent to allow him or her to provide a safe home,
consistent with the definition in the Teen Parents in
Foster Care Act of 2004.
2) Requires the state to pay for costs related to this
requirement, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines there is a cost that is eligible for
reimbursement.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Assembly Appropriations Committee estimates that costs
will be "minor and absorbable." Data on the number of teen
parents in foster care is limited.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Purpose
The author states AB 1147 will close a loophole in the Teen
Parents in Foster Care Act of 2004 which requires social
workers to provide specific services to teen parents in
foster care, but provides no oversight mechanism to ensure
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1147 (Yamada) Page
3
this has been done. The bill requires social workers to
document the services and supports considered and provided
to the minor parent in a twice yearly report to the child's
dependency court official. The goal is to minimize the
number of minor teens whose children are removed and placed
separately into foster care by making the information
available to be reviewed and discussed at the minor
parent's dependency hearings.
Related legislation
SB 1178 (Kuehl) Chapter 841, Statutes of 2004 established
the Teen Parents in Foster Care Act, which states
California's intent to support teen parents in foster care
in their efforts to remain a family unit with their
children. It required services and support for these
youth.
SB 500 (Kuehl) Chapter 630, Statutes of 2005 created the
"whole family foster home," placement for foster youth and
their children by pairing them with foster parents who are
specifically recruited and trained to teach the skills
necessary so the foster youth can provide a safe, stable,
and permanent home for their own children.
Votes in the Assembly:
Human Services: 6-0
Appropriations: 17-0
Floor: 78-0
Arguments in support
The Conference of California Bar Associations writes that a
goal of the Teen Parents in Foster Care Act was to ensure
that minor parents be given adequate resources, support,
and guidance to be able to parent their children. This
bill utilizes an existing reporting mechanism to monitor
the allocation of those resources. In this way, the bill
provides for the collection of necessary and valuable
information with a minimal investment of time, energy or
money.
COMMENTS
Code reference: suggested amendment
Rather than referring to the Teen Parents in Foster Care
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1147 (Yamada) Page
4
Act throughout the bill, staff recommends that the bill be
amended to cite the appropriate Welfare and Institutions
Code Sections (16002.5 for the Teen Parents in Foster Care
Act and 16004.6 for the whole family foster home statute)
for ease of reference.
POSITIONS
Support: Conference of California Bar Associations
(sponsor)
Women Lawyers of Sacramento (sponsor)
California Women Lawyers
Children's Advocacy Institute
Children's Law Center of Los Angeles
Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of
the State Bar of
California
First 5 LA
National Association of Social Workers -
California Chapter
Sacramento County Bar Association
Wiley W. Manual Bar Association
Oppose:None received
-- END --