BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
BILL NO: AB 1856
A
AUTHOR: Ammiano
B
VERSION: February 22, 2012
HEARING DATE: July 2, 2012
1
FISCAL: Yes
8
5
CONSULTANT: Sara Rogers
6
SUBJECT
Foster care provider certification programs: cultural
competency
SUMMARY
Requires certification programs for foster care providers
to include instruction on cultural competency and
sensitivity related to lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender youth in out-of-home care.
ABSTRACT
Current law:
1.Enacts the California Community Care Facilities Act which
provides for the licensure and regulation by the State
Department of Social Services (DSS) of community care
facilities, as defined, including licensed foster family
Continued---
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1856 (Ammiano)
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homes, foster family agencies that certify foster family
homes, and group home facilities.
2.Requires DSS to develop curriculum for and to approve
certification programs for group home administrators that
must be completed by the group home administrator as a
condition of employment and facility licensure and
renewed every two years.
3.Requires licensed foster family agencies to provide a
program of training for their certified foster families,
which must be completed by every certified foster parent
as a condition of certification.
4.Requires licensed foster parents to complete a minimum of
12 hours of foster parent training, prior to placement of
the child, and to complete a minimum of 8 hours of foster
parent training annually.
5.Requires the initial pre-placement foster parent training
to include an overview of the child protective system,
the effects of child abuse and neglect on child
development, positive discipline and the importance of
self-esteem, health issues in foster care, accessing
education and health services available to foster
children, specified non-discrimination rights of a foster
child and school environment anti-harassment laws.
6.Requires post-placement annual training to include age
appropriate child development, health issues in foster
care, positive discipline, emancipation and independent
living skills, and specified non-discrimination rights of
a foster child.
7.Establishes as policy of the state that all children in
foster care shall have the right to fair and equal access
to all available services, placement, care, treatment and
to not be subjected to discrimination or harassment on
the basis of actual or perceived race, ethnic group
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1856 (Ammiano)
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identification, ancestry, national origin, color,
religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity,
mental or physical disability, or HIV status.
8.Requires community colleges that have foster care
education programs to make orientation and training
classes available to relative and non-relative extended
family member caregivers of foster children.
This bill:
1.Requires certification programs for group home
administrators include instruction on cultural competency
and sensitivity relating to and best practices for,
providing adequate care to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender youth in out- of-home care.
2.Requires foster parent pre-placement and post-placement
annual training programs to include instruction on
cultural competency and sensitivity relating to, and best
practices for, providing adequate care to lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender youth in out-of-home care.
3.Adds as a right of all children in foster care, a 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 lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender youth in out-of-home care.
4.Requires community college districts that have a foster
care education program to provide instruction on cultural
competency and sensitivity relating to, and best
practices for, providing adequate care to lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender youth in out-of-home care in
their orientation and training curriculum available to
relative and nonrelative extended family member
caregivers.
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1856 (Ammiano)
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FISCAL IMPACT
The Assembly Appropriations Committee states that costs
associated with this bill should be minor and absorbable
within existing resources.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
According to the author, existing training programs for
foster care providers do not prepare care providers with an
understanding of the wide range of issues and needs
specific to LGBT youth. The author states that staff
members are unprepared to appropriately respond to
instances of harassment or assault, frequently opting to
isolate or transfer affected youth to new placements
instead of addressing intolerance.
Equality California and the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center as
sponsors of this bill write that the lack of training has
led to unlawful discrimination against LGBT foster youth 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. The author cites 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.
The author states that this bill seeks to build greater
understanding between LGBT foster youth and their
caregivers by integrating the best practices for providing
care to LGBT youth into the existing training curriculum.
Harassment and assault against LGBT foster youth
Studies have shown that LGBT youth represent a
disproportionately high number of children in foster care
attributed in part to conflicts arising in the family of
origin and harassment in school. Additionally, once placed
in out of home care, as many as 78% of LGBT foster youth
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1856 (Ammiano)
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continue to experience harassment and abuse.<1>
The author cites a recent survey of LGBT homeless youth in
San Diego which found that 64% of the 400 youth surveyed
reported they ran away from at least one out-of-home
placement due to harassment or assault, including sexual
assault. Additionally, the author cites a New York joint
task force on Child Welfare Administration and Council of
Family and Childcare Agencies which reported that 70% of
the LGBT youth study participants experienced physical
violence in foster care and 56% said that they lived on the
streets at times because they felt it was safer than living
in group or foster homes.
Foster Care Provider Training Programs
Currently, all foster care providers, including licensed or
certified foster parents and group home administrators, are
required to receive appropriate training to ensure that
providers are capable of providing the care and services
for which a license or certificate is issued.
Group home facility administrators are required to be
certified through DSS developed and approved programs that
include 40 hours of classroom instruction. Group home
administrators are further required to renew their
certification every two years through 40 hours of classroom
or online instruction. The required curriculum includes
training in business operations; staff management and
supervision; psychosocial, educational and physical needs
of the facility residents; community and support services;
administration, storage, misuse and interaction of
medication used by facility residents; non-violent
emergency intervention and reporting requirements; basic
admission, retention and assessment procedures including
specified non-discrimination rights of a foster child; and
-------------------------
<1> National Center for Lesbian Rights. "LGBTQ Youth In The
Foster Care System". 2006.
http://www.nclrights.org/site/DocServer/LGBTQ_Youth_In_Foste
r_Care_System.pdf?docID=1341
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1856 (Ammiano)
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school environment anti-harassment laws.
Licensed or certified foster parents are required to
receive a minimum of 12 hours of foster parent training
prior to placement of a foster child in the home and are
required to complete a minimum of eight hours of
post-placement training annually. Some counties require
significantly more training as a condition of county
licensure. These trainings are generally provided by
California Community Colleges and in some counties by
California State Universities under the Foster and Kinship
Care Education Program initially established in 1984.
Opponents to this legislation write that there are
currently no training demands imposed on foster parents to
learn cultural competency about caring for children from
different ethnic, cultural or religious backgrounds of
children currently being served and that it is expected
that parents volunteering as foster parents will be
sensitive to the challenges and heritage of each and all
children in their care. Additionally, the opposition
writes that this bill is unnecessary as most potential
foster parents will never face the challenge of parenting a
teen with sexual identity issues and that requiring every
potential parent to have such training is an intrusion into
the private beliefs of generous citizens and creates added
expense to the training.
Prior Legislation
AB 3015 (Brownley, Chapter 557, Statutes of 2008) Required
training programs for group home administrators, licensed
foster parents and relative caretakers to include basic
instruction on the safety of foster youth at school and
school environment anti-harassment protections.
AB 2675 (Strickland, Chapter 421, Statutes of 2006)
Permitted no more than half of the required 40-hour
continuing education requirement to be satisfied through
online courses.
AB 458 (Chu, Chapter 331, Statutes of 2003) Established and
required provider training regarding the right of foster
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1856 (Ammiano)
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children to 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, mental or
physical disability, or HIV status.
AB 1694 (Committee on Human Services, Chapter 918, Statutes
of 2002) Required California Community Colleges that
provide foster parent training programs to make those
programs available to non-relative extended family members.
AB 2307 (Davis, Chapter 745, Statutes of 2000) Required
California Community Colleges that provide foster parent
training programs to make those programs available to
relative and kinship care providers.
AB 537 (Kuehl, Chapter 587, Statutes of 2000) Prohibited
discrimination in school programs and activities based on
sex, ethnic group identification, race, national origin,
religion, mental or physical disability, or any basis that
is included in the definition of a hate crime, which
includes many of these same actual or perceived
characteristics, as well as sexual orientation.
AB 3062 (Chapter 1016, Statutes of 1996) Mandated all
foster parents to obtain pre-placement and post-placement
training.
SB 2003 (Royce, Chapter 1597, Statutes of 1984) Established
the Foster Care Education Program under the office of the
Chancellor of the California Community Colleges.
PRIOR VOTES
Assembly Floor: 49 - 25
Assembly Appropriations:12 - 4
Assembly Human Services:4 - 1
POSITIONS
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1856 (Ammiano)
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Support: Equality California (Sponsor)
L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center (Sponsor)
Advancement Project
Alameda County Foster Youth Alliance
API-Equality Los Angeles
Aspiranet
California Alliance
California Communities United institute
California National Organization of Women
(CA NOW)
California Teachers Association
California Youth Connection
Children's Law Center
Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services
Homes for the Upwardly Mobile, Inc
John Burton Foundation for Children Without
Homes
Lambda Legal
Larkin Street Youth Services
Legal Advocates for Children & Youth
Penny Lane Centers
Public Counsel Law Center
The Village Family Services
Tom Torlakson, State Superintendent of
Public Education
Betty Yee, Member 1st District, State Board
of Equalization
Oppose: California Catholic Conference
California Right to Life Committee
Traditional Values Coalition
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