BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1521
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Date of Hearing: June 26, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Jim Beall Jr., Chair
SB 1521 (Liu) - As Amended: April 10, 2012
SENATE VOTE : 39-0
SUBJECT : Child Welfare Services
SUMMARY : Makes a number of amendments and federal conformity
changes to Welfare and Institutions Code relating to the
provision of services for foster youth. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Prohibits reunifications services to a parent or guardian who
has been required to register as a sex offender by a court of
law under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of
2006 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 16913(a)).
2)Requires County Welfare Agencies (CWA) to annually request a
free consumer credit report for a foster youth when s/he turns
16 and for each year thereafter and requires the CWA to
provide credit counseling and assistance services to a foster
youth, as specified.
3)Requires CWAs to annually account for and report how federal
Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) funding is spent.
4)Deletes and ads reporting elements to the Child Welfare
Training Program's (CWTP) annual evaluation report, as
specified.
5)Clarifies that a foster youth's case plan include an
educational placement assessment to take into account the
educational stability of the child, in accordance with the
federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Access
to Adoptions Act of 2008 and the Child and Family Services
Improvement and Innovation Act of 2011.
6)Implements the caseworker visit requirements under the Child
and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act in state
law, which:
a) Requires as a part of a foster youth's case plan the
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inclusion of whether the child received a consumer credit
report at age 16 and each year thereafter and what credit
counseling services were provided if an inaccuracy was
found.
b) Requires the total number of monthly caseworker visits
to youth in foster care to not be less than 90% of the
total number of monthly caseworker visits that would occur
if each child were visited once per month.
c) Requires no less than 50% of the total monthly
caseworker visits conducted by the caseworker shall occur
in the child's residence.
d) Requires effective October 1, 2014, the total number of
monthly caseworker visits to children in foster care to not
be less than 95% of the total number of monthly caseworker
visits that would occur if each child is visited once per
month.
e) Requires the DSS and county welfare and probation
departments to collect and provide any data necessary to
comply with the federal Child and Family Services
Improvement and Innovation Act.
7)Allows peer-to-peer mentoring and support groups for parents
and primary caregivers, including familial visitation services
and activities, in accordance with the Child and Family
Services Improvement and Innovation Act.
EXISTING LAW
1)States that the purpose of foster care law is to provide
maximum safety and protection for children who are currently
being physically, sexually, emotionally abused, neglected, or
exploited, and to ensure the safety, protection, and physical
and emotional well-being of children who are at risk of harm.
2)Establishes a system of child welfare services, including
foster care, for children who have been adjudged by the court
who are at risk or have been abused or neglected, as
specified.
3)Requires counties to establish and maintain specialized
organizational entities within their CWAs which shall have
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sole responsibility for the operation of the child welfare
services program.
4)Establishes process for the identification of placement of a
ward or dependent of the court with a parent, relative or
extended relative or other form guardianship.
5)Requires all adults caring for or living with a foster youth
to undergo a criminal background check and precludes the
Director of the Department of Social Services (DSS) from
allowing any foster youth to be placed with individuals
convicted of certain crimes, as specified.
6)Places eligibility conditions upon individuals who may serve
as a guardian over a ward or dependent of the court.
7)Beginning July 1, 2013, requires county welfare agencies
(CWA), at the time a foster youth turns 16 years of age, and
each year thereafter, to request on behalf of the youth a
consumer credit check to determine whether the child has been
a victim of identity theft.
8)Establishes the Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) to provide
financial assistance to prospective or current adoptive
parents, as specified.
9)Requires DSS to actively seek and make the maximum use of
federal funds to implement the AAP.
10)Establishes the CWTP to develop and implement statewide
coordinated training programs designed specifically to meet
the needs of county child protective services social workers
assigned emergency response, family maintenance, family
reunification, permanent placement, and adoption
responsibilities.
11)Requires child welfare services case plans to be the guiding
principle used to identify, outline and provide services to
children in foster care, which shall act as the foundation
upon which the health and safety of the child is based.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
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This measure predominantly serves as a federal compliance
measure to bring state statute into alignment with several
measures adopted by Congress. As required by federal law, in
order to be eligible for federal grant funding, states are
required to align their statutes, or provide other assurances,
as specified, into compliance with federal law. Should states
be unable to demonstrate or bring their statutes into
compliance, the federal government can reduce or eliminate
federal funding or place sanctions on the state, depending on
the grant requirements and conditions.
According to the author, this measure would address a number of
sections in the Welfare and Institutions Code to bring state
statute into compliance with the federal Child Abuse Prevention
and Treatment Act (CAPTA) of 2010, the Fostering Connections to
Success and Increasing Access to Adoptions Act of 2008 and the
Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act of
2011.
Reunification Services
Under CAPTA, states are now required to prohibit the
reunification foster youth with their biological parent if they
have been convicted of a sex offense and are required to
register as a sex offender, as required by the federal Adam
Walsh. Under current state law, reunification of the child with
their biological process is made under the determination of the
court, however, although state law prohibits the placement of a
foster youth with an individual who has been convicted as a sex
offender, explicitly forbidding reunifications services for a
parent who is a sex offender would help to ensure greater
compliance with CAPTA.
Credit Reports for Foster Youth
Under current law, which was established by AB 106 (Committee on
Human Services), Chapter 32, Statutes of 2011, CWAs would be
required to begin requesting a consumer credit report for each
foster youth under their care who is 16 years of age or older on
July 1, 2013. However, the federal Child and Family Services
Improvement and Innovation Act of 2011, which was signed into
federal law one day after the AB 106 was signed into state law,
requires CWAs to currently request a consumer credits report for
foster youth 16 years of age and older. This measure would
eliminate the implementation date established by AB 106 and add
additional requirements as established by the Child and Family
Services Improvement and Innovation Act.
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AAP Funding and Data Reporting, and Mentoring Services
Under the federal Fostering Connections to Success and
Increasing Access to Adoptions Act of 2008, revised the practice
by which children are deemed eligible for federal AAP funding.
This has resulted in a decrease of the state's AAP costs, as
more children are eligible for federal funding. The Act also
required CWAs to account for and reinvest any state funds
realized by this increase in federal funding. This measure
would bring statute into compliance with the Act, by requiring
the documentation of state AAP funds saved and reinvested.
CWTP
To ensure the CWTP's effectiveness, DSS is required to conduct
an annual assessment and evaluation report of the program and to
submit it to the Legislative Analyst. This measure would delete
the requirement for the DSS to forward its annual evaluation
report to the Legislative Analyst and delete the requirement
that the report include the opportunity for feedback from
program participants. It would also add to the list of required
elements of the report workforce, education, qualification and
demographic information.
According to DSS, this provision is needed to address changes
made in the reauthorization of CAPTA. However, it is unclear why
it is necessary to remove the ability of the CWTP's evaluation
assessment to include participate feedback. The CWTP is
required to be designed specifically to meet the needs of county
child protective services social workers. If this the
participant feedback is eliminated, is the state reducing the
programs ability to meet the programmatic goals?
Foster Care Case Plan - Educational Stability
Under current state law, a foster care child's case plan is
required to ensure the educational stability of the child, which
must include the following:
1)An assessment of the appropriateness of the current
educational setting.
2)The proximity of the school to the child's placement.
3)An assurance that the CWA has coordinated with the child's
educational rights holder and appropriate local educational
agencies to ensure that the child is placed in the appropriate
educational setting.
4)The transfer of the child's educational records, if s/he is
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placed in a new school.
However, current law is unclear as to whether the educational
stability of the child is taken into account each time s/he is
placed in a new school. As required by the federal Child and
Family Services Improvement Act of 2008, the educational
stability must be considered each time the child's educational
placement is considered. This measure would simply clarify that
an educational stability assessment is undertaken each time the
child's educational placement is determined, thus bringing state
statute into compliance with federal law.
Caseworker Visits
In accordance with the federal Child and Family Services
Improvement Act of 2008, this measure would make correlating
changes to the Welfare and Institutions Code to establish
minimum monthly visits child welfare caseworkers must make to
youth under their jurisdictional care. Specifically, it would:
1)Requires caseworkers to visit no less than 90% of the children
under their jurisdictional care per month.
2)Requires caseworkers to visit no less than 50% of the above
noted children in the child's residence.
3)Increases the monthly visit requirement noted in bullet #1 to
95% on October 1, 2014.
It would also require DSS, in coordination with CWAs, to collect
and provide any data necessary to comply with the Act.
Mentoring Services
The federal Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2008
added mentoring services as eligible services under the
definition of "family support services" and "time-limited family
reunification services." By simply adding mentoring services to
the state statutory definitions of the same services, it brings
state statute into further compliance with federal law.
DOUBLE REFERRAL . This bill has been double-referred. Should
this bill pass out of this committee, it will be referred to the
Assembly Judiciary Committee.
RECOMMENDED AMENDMENTS
Staff recommended the following amendment:
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To maintain the CWTP's ability to consider feedback from
participating social workers and meets its requirement under
current law, language allowing the assessment to include
information about the training that participants perceive to be
useful should be retained. Specifically, the amendment would:
1)On page 32, line 22 add (3) The degree to which the training
is perceived to by participants as useful in practice.
2)On page 32, line 24 delete (4) and add (5) prior to "Any."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Chris Reefe / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089