BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1856
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          Date of Hearing:   April 10, 2012

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
                                Jim Beall Jr., Chair
                AB 1856 (Ammiano) - As Introduced:  February 22, 2012
           
          SUBJECT  :  Foster care services:  cultural competency

           SUMMARY :  Requires foster care providers to receive instruction 
          on cultural competency and sensitivity with respect to lesbian, 
          gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth in out-of-home care. 
           Specifically,  this bill  :

          1)Requires that the Department of Social Services (DSS)-approved 
            certification program for group home administrators that must 
            be completed prior to employment include, within the 40 hours 
            of required classroom instruction, training on cultural 
            competency and sensitivity relating to, and best practices 
            for, providing adequate care to LGBT youth in out-of-home 
            care.

          2)Requires that the training provided by foster family agencies 
            to certified foster families include, within the 12 hours of 
            required pre-placement training and within the 8 hours of 
            required annual post-placement training, instruction on 
            cultural competency and sensitivity relating to, and best 
            practices for, providing adequate care to LGBT youth in 
            out-of-home care.

          3)Requires community college districts with a foster care 
            education program to include among the topics included in the 
            orientation and training provided to relative or nonrelative 
            extended family member caregivers into whose care the county 
            has placed a foster child, instruction on cultural competency 
            and sensitivity relating to, and best practices for, providing 
            adequate care to LGBT youth in out-of-home care.

          4)Adds to the delineated rights of all children in foster care 
            the right to have caregivers and child welfare personnel who 
            have received instruction on cultural competency and 
            sensitivity relating to, and best practices for, providing 
            adequate care to LGBT youth in out-of-home care.

           EXISTING LAW  









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          1)Provides, under the California Community Care Facilities Act, 
            for the licensing and regulation of community care facilities, 
            including group homes and foster family agencies, by DSS.

          2)Requires DSS to develop a certification program to ensure that 
            group home administrators have appropriate training to provide 
            appropriate care and services, including a minimum of 40 hours 
            of classroom instruction providing training on a uniform core 
            of knowledge in designated core areas.

          3)Requires foster family agencies to provide a program of 
            training for their certified foster families covering 
            designated topics, including a minimum of 12 hours before 
            placement of any foster children with the foster parent, and a 
            minimum of 8 hours of foster parent training annually.

          4)Requires community college districts with a foster care 
            education program to make available orientation and training 
            to relative or nonrelative extended family member caregivers 
            into whose care the county has placed a foster child, 
            including courses covering designated topics.

          5)Establishes state policy that all children in foster care have 
            delineated rights, including the right not to be subjected to 
            discrimination or harassment on the basis of actual or 
            perceived race, ethnic group identification, ancestry, 
            national origin, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, 
            gender identify, mental or physical disability, or HIV status.

          6)Requires training for licensed foster parents, both 
            pre-placement and post-placement of a foster child, relative 
            caregivers, group home administrators, and licensing personnel 
            in group homes and foster family agencies to include training 
            on the rights described in paragraph 5), above.

          FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown

           COMMENTS  :  Equality California (EQCA), the sponsor of this bill, 
          cites recent studies estimating that LGBT youth comprise between 
          5 and 10 percent of the total foster youth population.  As the 
          summary of one recent report notes, "LGBT youth in foster care 
          systems suffer from many problems because of prejudice against 
          their sexual orientation or their non-conformity to gender 
          stereotypes.  These problems include a complete lack of 
          recognition of their existence and needs by child welfare 








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          systems, insensitive and discriminatory treatment, and outright 
          harassment and violence by peers, foster parents, and child 
          welfare staff."  Youth in the Margins:  A Report on the Unmet 
          Needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Adolescents in 
          Foster Care, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund (2001). 

          The author of this bill reports that "LGBT youth are 
          disproportionately targeted for harassment and discrimination in 
          the foster care system.  This abuse is perpetrated not only by 
          youth peers, but in some cases by facility staff, foster 
          parents, and other service providers.  When the abuse is between 
          peers, the harassment is often condoned by facility staff or 
          goes unaddressed."  The author further notes that:

               Unlawful discrimination also occurs in the form of 
               confiscating LGBT supportive materials or refusing to 
               allow the youth to participate in LGBT supportive 
               services and events, such as youth groups, LGBT 
               centers, or gay prom.  There are also instances in 
               which caregivers or service providers refuse to use 
               the youth's requested name or pronoun, prohibit them 
               from wearing clothes consistent with their gender 
               identity, or actively try to change their sexual 
               orientation or gender identity with "reparative" or 
               conversion counseling.  Often, staff members choose to 
               isolate the youth from their peers in foster care or 
               transfer them to a new placement if there is 
               harassment or assault rather than resolving the 
               underlying prejudice and providing supportive 
               services. 

          As the author and sponsor point out, foster youth caregivers 
          must undergo training regarding foster youth rights and 
          protections as a part of their certification.  That includes 
          training on the right of children in foster care to not be 
          subjected to discrimination or harassment on the basis of sexual 
          orientation or gender identity.  Existing training does not, 
          however, provide foster youth caregivers with the information to 
          address the wide range of issues and needs specific to LGBT 
          youth.

           Suggested amendments
           This bill expands the curricula of existing trainings to include 
          instruction on cultural competency and sensitivity with respect 
          to LGBT youth in out-of-home care.  It does not, however, expand 








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          the required hours or provide for additional funding to 
          accommodate these subject areas.  It must be noted, therefore, 
          that the impact of this bill, to the extent it expands the 
          curricula of required trainings, will be that correspondingly 
          less time will be spent on the other required subject areas for 
          these trainings.  To the extent it creates a new subject are for 
          training, it may also have associated costs.

          As an alternative to adding a new training topic, and to avoid 
          any attendant costs, the author may wish to consider amending 
          this bill to, instead, clarify that existing statutory training 
          requirements-for example, on "the right of a foster child to 
          have fair and equal access to all available services, placement, 
          care, treatment, and benefits, and to not be subjected to 
          discrimination or harassment on the basis of actual or perceived 
          race, ethnic group identification, ancestry, national origin, 
          color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, 
          mental or physical disability, or HIV status"-include 
          instruction on cultural competency and sensitivity relating to, 
          and best practices for, providing adequate care to LGBT youth in 
          out-of-home care.

           Prior legislation  :

          AB 3015 (Brownley), Chapter 557, Statutes of 2008 - Requires 
          mandatory training programs for administrators, licensed foster 
          parents, and relative caregivers include basic instruction on 
          existing laws regarding the safety of foster youth at school.

          AB 458 (Chu), Chapter 331, Statutes of 2003 - Requires that 
          training programs for foster caregivers address rights of foster 
          youth to ensure that foster children are not subjected to 
          discrimination or harassment on the basis of actual or perceived 
          race, ethnic group identification, ancestry, national origin, 
          color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, 
          mental or physical disability, or HIV status.

          AB 899 (Liu), Chapter 683, Statutes of 2001 - Outlines rights of 
          foster youth and requires that social workers make these rights 
          known to foster youth.

          SB 916 (Vasconcellos), Chapter 542, Statutes of 1997 - Requires 
          the pre-placement training for foster youth caregivers to 
          include the importance of self-esteem, and requires the annual 
          training to include positive discipline and the importance of 








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          reinforcing self-esteem.

          AB 3062 (Goldsmith & Friedman), Chapter 1016, Statutes of 1996 - 
          Requires every licensed foster parent to complete a minimum of 
          12 hours of training as a condition to the placement of any 
          foster children with the foster parent, and an additional 
          minimum of 8 hours of training annually.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          Equality California (EQCA) (sponsor)
          L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center (sponsor)
          Advancement Project
          Alameda County Foster Youth Alliance
          Aspiranet
          California Communities United Institute
          California National Organization for Women
          California Teachers Association
          California Youth Connection
          Children's Law Center of California
          Children's Rights Project at Public Council
          Hathaway-Sycamores child and Family Services
          Larkin Street
          Legal Advocates for Children and Youth
          Penny Lane Centers
          The Honorable Betty Yee, First District Member, State Board of 
          Equalization
          The Village Family Services

           Opposition 
           
          California Right to Life
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Eric Gelber / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089