BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1064
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Date of Hearing: August 8, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 1064 (De León) - As Amended: April 16, 2012
Policy Committee: JudiciaryVote:8-0
Human Services 4-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill provides a variety of protections for children of
immigrant families in family law proceedings. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Allows a relative to file for guardianship of a child
regardless of immigration status, and provides that
immigration status of the relative alone shall not constitute
unsuitability.
2)Ensures equal treatment of relatives seeking custody of a
child regardless of the relatives' immigration status, through
a variety of measures. For example:
a) Specifies that a relative caregiver shall be given
information regarding the permanency options of
guardianship and adoption regardless of his or her
immigration status.
b) Provides that a relative's identification card from a
foreign consulate or a foreign passport shall be considered
valid forms of identification when a social worker is
deciding where to place a child.
3)Authorizes an extension of reunification services for parents
who have been arrested and issued an immigration hold,
detained by DHS, or deported to their country of origin.
4)Instructs family law courts to direct parents who have been
deported to child welfare services in their country of origin,
document parents' participation in those services, and accept
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reports from local child welfare authorities as to the
parents' living situation and participation in services.
5)Requires The Department of Social Services (DSS), prior to
July 1, 2013, to provide guidance to counties and
municipalities to establish memoranda of understanding (MOUs)
with foreign consulates in custody cases in which a parent has
been arrested and issued an immigration hold, detained, or
deported, including specified procedures relating to family
reunification.
6)Requires DSS, prior to July 1, 2013, to provide guidelines to
counties and municipalities detailing procedures for social
workers to assist eligible children in child custody and
dependency cases to take advantage of special immigrant
juvenile status and any other form of relief available under
immigration law.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Potential one-time costs in excess of $150,000 (GF) for
increased DSS staffing workload for development of specified
guidelines to counties.
2)Annual ongoing state-mandated costs in the range of $200,000
(GF) for specified extension of reunification services for
impacted youth.
Roughly 700 foster children in California have a detained or
deported parent. If the court determines that 50 % of these
cases warrant an extension under this bill's provisions, and
the state provides these children with an average of four
additional months of reunification services, at approximately
$1,167 per four months of extra social worker expenses, the
state would incur costs of approximately $410,000 ($205,000
GF) annually.
3)Annual ongoing costs in the range of $150,000 (GF) for
increased workload to the Department of Justice (DOJ) Foreign
Prosecutions and Law Enforcement Unit, to assist child
services agencies and district attorneys in their interactions
with the Mexican government.
4)Minor increased cost pressure on social worker workload to
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include information in case plans about parents' detention or
deportation.
5)Potentially significant future cost savings in foster care and
adoption systems if this bill results in an increased number
of children reunified with their parents or relatives, due to
decreased need for foster care services or Adoption Assistance
payments (AAP).
COMMENTS
1)Background and Purpose . This bill seeks to eliminate family
reunification barriers in the child welfare system faced by
immigrant families. This bill grants an extension in the
family reunification process when parents are detained or
deported. Where reunification is not immediately available,
this bill seeks to ensure that children can be placed with
relatives, regardless of their immigration status.
A November 2011 report prepared by the Applied Research Center
estimated that 5,100 children living in foster care nationwide
have parents who have been detained or deported. The report
predicted that the number of children in foster care with
deported or detained parents could grow by another 15,000 in
the next five years. Extrapolating from the report's
nationwide numbers, supporters estimate that 700 children
currently in the California foster care system have detained
or deported parents.
2)State Mandate for Local MOUs with Foreign Governments . This
bill requires DSS to provide guidance to counties to establish
MOUs with foreign consulates to smooth the handling of family
law cases in which a parent has been deported. The MOU must
include, among other things, procedures for contacting a
foreign consulate at the onset of a child custody case,
locating a detained parent, facilitating family reunification
once a parent has been deported, aiding the safe transfer of a
child to the parent's country of origin, and communicating
with relevant departments and services in that country. Los
Angeles, San Francisco and several other counties have MOUs
with their local Mexican consulates that define
responsibilities for each entity and ensure confidentiality of
information exchanged.
DSS states that when providing guidance to local governments
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on this issue, their implementation options vary and thus the
costs resulting from this provision are difficult to predict.
On the low end, costs may be minor and absorbable. On the high
end, DSS may need several new staff positions to handle
workload.
3)Support . This bill is supported by a lengthy list of civil
rights groups, immigration groups, children's rights groups,
religious organizations, and other entities. There is no known
opposition.
Analysis Prepared by : Jonathan Stein / APPR. / (916) 319-2081