BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1712| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1712 Author: Beall (D) Amended: 8/22/12 in Senate Vote: 27 - Urgency SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 5-0, 6/26/12 AYES: Liu, Emmerson, Berryhill, Wright, Yee NO VOTE RECORDED: Hancock, Strickland SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 4-0, 7/3/12 AYES: Evans, Blakeslee, Corbett, Leno NO VOTE RECORDED: Harman SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-1, 8/16/12 AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Lieu, Price, Steinberg NOES: Dutton ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/30/12 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Minors and nonminor dependents: out-of-home placement SOURCE : California Alliance of Child and family Services County Welfare Directors Association of California DIGEST : This bill enacts numerous technical, clarifying, and federal conformity changes to the California Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2010. CONTINUED AB 1712 Page 2 ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1. Establishes the California Fostering Connections to Success Act (AB 12), which corresponds with the federal Fostering Connections to Success Act that optionally permitted states to receive federal financial participation for nonminor dependents of the juvenile court who satisfy certain conditions. 2. Defines "nonminor dependent" as a current or former foster youth who is between the ages of 18 and 21, is in foster care under responsibility of the county welfare department, county probation department, or Indian Tribe, and is participating in a transitional independent living plan. 3. Limits eligibility for extended foster care under Kin-GAP to placements made with a relative, as defined, and excludes non-relative extended family placements from eligibility for extended foster care under Kin-GAP. 4. Provides for the voluntary continuation or reentry into foster care for nonminor dependents who meet general AFDC foster care requirements and when the nonminor youth has signed a voluntary mutual agreement and meets one or more of the following requirements: A. The nonminor is completing a high school education or a program leading to an equivalent credential; B. The nonminor is enrolled in postsecondary or vocational education program; C. The nonminor is participating in a program or activity designed to promote, or remove barriers to, employment; D. The nonminor is employed at least 80 hours per month; CONTINUED AB 1712 Page 3 E. The nonminor is incapable of doing any of these activities due to a medical condition and the incapacity is supported by regularly updated information in the case plan of the nonminor dependent. 1. Phases in the effective date of eligibility for nonminor dependents as follows: A. Effective January 1, 2012 includes youth who turned 18 years of age while under an order of foster care placement by the juvenile court and are younger than 19; B. Effective January 1, 2013 incudes includes youth who turned 18 years of age while under an order of foster care placement by the juvenile court and are younger than 20 years of age; C. Effective January 1, 2014 includes youth who turned 18 years of age while under an order of foster care placement by the juvenile court and are younger than 21 years of age. 1. Defines "mutual agreement" as a written voluntary agreement of consent for continued placement and care in a supervised setting between a minor or a nonminor dependent and the placing agency, that documents a nonminor's willingness to remain in supervised out-of-home placement and documents the social worker's or probation officer's agreement to work together to facilitate implementation of the mutually developed supervised placement agreement and transitional independent living case plan. 2. Defines a "nonrelative extended family member" as any adult caregiver who has an established familial or mentoring relationship with the child as verified by the county welfare department through interviews with the child's community. 3. Provides for the licensure by the Department of Social Services of community care facilities participating in transitional housing placement programs for foster youth CONTINUED AB 1712 Page 4 age 16-18 years of age who are participating in an independent living program. 4. Excludes from licensure any supervised independent living setting for nonminor dependents and "Transitional Housing Placement Plus Foster Care" (THP-Plus FC) settings for nonminor dependents, as specified. 5. Provides for the certification by counties of transitional housing placement programs serving emancipated foster youth who are between ages 18-21, and for the certification by counties of THP-Plus FC providers serving nonminor dependents. This bill revises and expands the California Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2010, as follows: 1. Expands the definition of "relative" for purposes of both the federal- and age extended state-funded Kin-GAP programs to include guardians who are non-related extended family members, tribal kin, or current caregivers of foster children, as specified. 2. Provides for the provision of various services and eligibility to be extended to nonminor dependents including the court-appointed special advocate (CASA) program, continuation of family reunification (FR) services subject to specified conditions, the option of adult adoption or tribal customary adoption, and by extension, Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) benefits, the payment of nonrecurring expenses for AAP placement, the availability of Private Adoption Agency Reimbursement Program (PAARP) funds to assist in the completion of adoptions, and the provision of permanent placement services, to be defined as supportive transition services, for nonminor dependents. 3. Expands the duties of foster care public health nurses (PHNs) to include assisting nonminor dependents in accessing health and mental health care, coordinating the delivery of services, and advocating for the care that meets the needs of the nonminor dependent. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes CONTINUED AB 1712 Page 5 Local: Yes According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: Increased federal funding of approximately $1 million in 2012-13, assuming an October 1, 2012, effective date, increasing to over $12.5 million by 2016-17 due to the expanded definition of "relative", thereby increasing eligibility for the federal Kin-GAP program. A higher level of county cost savings (Local Revenue Fund 2011(LRF)) is assumed, as nonrelated legal guardianships would have otherwise been supported by realigned Foster Care funding for assistance and administrative costs at greater cost. Additionally, counties will realize ongoing significant county child welfare services (CWS) administrative cost savings for case management services potentially in the millions of dollars (LRF) for cases transferred to both federal Kin-GAP and the extended benefit program for nonrelated legal guardianships for nonminors. Increased local costs (LRF) for the extension and expansion of services to nonminor dependents, including FR and supportive transition services, AAP benefits, nonrecurring adoption expenses, PAARP payments for nonminor dependents, and expanded duties on PHNs. SUPPORT : (Verified 8/22/12) California Alliance of Child and family Services (co-source) County Welfare Directors Association of California (co-source) AFSCME (prior version) Aspiranet California Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry California Coalition for Youth California State Association of Counties County of San Bernardino Family Law Section of the State Bar Judicial Council of California Junior Leagues of California State Public Affairs Committee National Association of Social Workers Regional Council of Rural Counties CONTINUED AB 1712 Page 6 Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author 's office states that this bill is a technical clean-up bill to AB 12 and AB 212 and that despite two years of work by nine sponsoring organizations and two authors, technical and clarifying changes are necessary in order to implement it correctly. The author's office further states that this bill reflects a continued collaboration between the nine sponsor organizations. ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/30/12 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Donnelly, Fletcher, Knight, Valadao CTW:dm 8/22/12 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED