BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1089
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 8, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 1089 (Liu) - As Amended: August 6, 2012
Policy Committee: Human
ServicesVote:6 - 0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires the licensing of private nontraditional
alternative treatment facilities for youth. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Defines private nontraditional alternative treatment
facilities for youth as any residential or nonresidential
facility or program operated by an organization that provides
aggressive nontraditional punitive, retaliatory, aversive, or
military style behavioral treatment or intervention services
for youth.
2)Prohibits any person or organization from operating a private
nontraditional alternative treatment facility unless all
licensing requirements are met and the programs are accredited
by a nonprofit accrediting organization.
3)Prohibits the use of corporal punishment at these facilities.
4)Makes legislative findings and declarations, including
declaring that it is the role of the Legislature to ensure
proper licensing and regulation of social service providers
for the protection and care of all citizens.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)DSS costs of approximately $200,000 GF for 2012-13 and
$300,000 GF for 2013-14 for the workload associated with the
Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD) developing the new
policy and regulations associated with this new licensing
category and for training staff and updating automated
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systems.
2)Depending on the number of licensed facilities, on-going costs
could be in excess of $150,000 per year for the workload
associated with overseeing those treatment facilities.
3)Minor annual ongoing costs to the Judicial Branch, likely less
than $10,000 (per 20 new filings), for increased court filings
for misdemeanor violations of the Child Day Care Facilities
Act.
4)Non-reimbursable state-mandated local costs for enforcement,
offset to a degree by fine revenue.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . According to the author, this measure is needed to
ensure boot camps, ranch camps, or forestry camps, are not
excluded from the child care licensing process. These programs
are often intended to provide less restrictive treatment
options for children with significant mental health or
behavioral issues. There are two known non-residential youth
boot camps in California, both in Pasadena.
In one particular instance, a camp owner was arrested and
charged with child abuse, kidnapping, false imprisonment,
extortion, and the unlawful use of a badge. Upon further
inspection it was found that this camp did not have a
DSS-issued child care license, which would have required the
camp to comply with child safety laws, ensure that all staff
undergoes a criminal background check and provides for the
protection of children under their care, and be subject to the
DSS complaints process and operational accountability
requirements.
2)Background . Current law establishes various licensing and
regulation requirements for child day care facilities under
the California Child Day Care Facilities Act. Under existing
law, the following licensed or license-exempt programs are
exempt from child care licensing statutes: health facilities,
clinics, community care facilities, specified family day care
homes, cooperative child care arrangements, child care
provided by a relative, public recreation programs, extended
day care programs operated by public/private schools, school
parenting programs, child care programs operating under
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specified time restrictions, programs administered by the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), and
crisis nurseries.
Treatment programs for troubled youth, commonly referred to as
youth boot camps or wilderness therapy programs, have been the
subject of controversy within California and nationwide for
several years. These non-traditional treatment programs are
intended to provide less restrictive options for children with
significant behavioral issues and provide a range of services,
including drug and alcohol treatment, military-style
discipline, and psychological counseling. A 2007 Government
Accountability Office (GAO) report, "Residential Treatment
Programs: Concerns Regarding Abuse and Death in Certain
Programs for Troubled Youth," identified thousands of
allegations of abuse, some of which involved death, at such
programs. The GAO report noted that there is no single federal
agency regulating such programs, and a variety of approaches
throughout the country ranging from statutory regulations that
require licensing to no oversight at the state level.
Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)
319-2081