BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1521|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1521
Author: Liu (D)
Amended: 8/24/12
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/24/12
AYES: Liu, Emmerson, Berryhill, Hancock, Strickland,
Wright, Yee
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/24/12
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Dutton, Lieu, Price,
Steinberg
SENATE FLOOR : 39-0, 5/29/12
AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon,
Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Dutton,
Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Harman,
Hernandez, Huff, Kehoe, La Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu,
Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio,
Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Vargas, Walters, Wolk,
Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available
SUBJECT : Child welfare services
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill makes a number of amendments and
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federal conformity changes to Welfare and Institutions Code
relating to the provision of services for foster youth.
Assembly Amendments delete provisions regarding the use of
federal funding, add chaptering out language, and make
technical changes.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Establishes the circumstances of abuse and neglect under
which a minor is within the jurisdiction of the juvenile
court which may adjudge the minor to be a dependent
child of the court.
2. Provides that whenever a child is removed from a
parent's or guardian's custody, the juvenile court shall
order the social worker to provide child welfare
services to the child and the child's mother, father or
guardians.
3. Requires the provision of family reunification services,
as specified, except in certain circumstances related to
the safety and well-being of the child.
4. Under federal law, establishes the Adam Walsh Child
Protection and Safety Act of 2006 and the Child Abuse
Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) which create
national sex offender registries and provide funding to
states for child abuse prevention, investigation,
prosecution, and treatment.
5. Under the federal CAPTA Reauthorization Act of 2010,
requires that states have a mechanism in place to ensure
that reunification of a dependent child is not required
with a parent who is a registered sex offender.
6. Requires a county welfare department to request a free
annual credit check available under the Fair Credit
Reporting Act on a foster youth's behalf to ascertain
whether identity theft has occurred.
7. Provides that if evidence of identity theft exists, the
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county welfare department shall refer the youth to an
approved counseling organization providing identity
theft services.
8. Establishes the Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) which
provides financial assistance to families who are
willing and able to assume parental responsibility for
children but are prevented from doing so by inadequate
financial resources.
9. Under federal law, enacts the Fostering Connections to
Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 which, over
a period of 10 years, removes the income limits used to
determine family eligibility for AAP thus reducing state
share of cost for previously ineligible families.
Requires states to spend savings on child welfare
activities.
10.Requires a foster care case plan to ensure the
educational stability of the child while in foster care
by taking the proximity to the child's school into
account when determining the placement and by enabling
the child to remain enrolled in the same school if
appropriate.
11.Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS), in
consultation with the County Welfare Directors
Association and other advocates, to develop a
comprehensive plan to ensure that 90% of foster children
are visited by their caseworkers each month and that the
majority of the visits occur in the residence of the
child.
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 United States Code
Section 16913(a)).
2. Requires County Welfare Agencies (CWA) to annually
request a free consumer credit report for a foster youth
when she/he turns 16 and for each year thereafter and
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requires the CWA to refer a foster youth to credit
counseling and assistance services, as specified.
3. Deletes and adds reporting elements to the Child Welfare
Training Program's annual evaluation report, as
specified.
4. 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 (CFSIIA).
5. Implements the caseworker visit requirements under the
CFSIIA in state law to set minimum monthly visitation
requirements.
6. Allows peer-to-peer mentoring and support groups for
parents and primary caregivers, including familial
visitation services and activities, in accordance with
the CFSIIA.
Background
CAPTA . In order to receive federal CAPTA funds, states are
required to submit state plans which meet the requirements
specified under federal law. California receives
approximately $3 million in CAPTA funds annually. The
CAPTA Reauthorization Act of 2010 (Public Law (P.L.)
111-320) added a requirement that states have a mechanism
in place to ensure that reunification of a dependent child
with a parent who is a registered sex offender is not
required.
Caseworker visit assurances . Prior federal law enacted
required that 90% of children in care be visited monthly by
their caseworker and prescribed fiscal penalties for
failing to meet this requirement. It also required states
to develop a plan to meet the requirement. Existing state
statute reflects these threshold and plan requirements.
California has been penalized by the federal government for
failing to meet this threshold for the past two years. The
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CFSIIA (P.L. 112-34) raised the caseworker visit
requirement from 90% to 95%, effective in October 2014, and
added a requirement (also effective in October 2014) that
50% of all such visits be in the child's home.
Documentation of AAP savings . As a result of the federal
Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions
Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-351), the practice of determining
eligibility for AAP funding by the use of 1996 Aid to
Families with Dependent Children income limits is being
phased out, resulting in increasing numbers of children who
are eligible for federal AAP funding and thus reducing the
state-only share of costs. P.L. 110-351 required that
states reinvest in child welfare programs any savings of
state funds realized due to increased federal funding.
P.L. 112-34 adds a requirement that states document how
such savings are reinvested.
Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program (PSSF) . PSSF
provides approximately $33 million annually for counties to
offer services aimed at either preventing the removal of
children from their families, or ensuring permanency for
children who have been removed. P.L. 112-34 expanded the
services eligible for this federal funding to include
mentoring services. Because state statute implementing
PSSF duplicates federal definitions regarding services,
changes need to be made to reflect the current definitions.
Educational stability . P.L. 110-351 required that states
provide, in a foster youth's case plan, assurances that the
youth's placement takes into consideration his/her
educational stability. P.L. 112-34 clarifies that these
assurances must be made for each placement of a child, not
merely the first placement. Existing state statute does
not reflect this requirement.
Credit reports for foster youth . P.L. 112-34 enacted a
requirement that each foster youth age 16 and older receive
an annual consumer credit report until juvenile court
jurisdiction is terminated, and that the youth receive
assistance in interpreting and resolving any inaccuracies
in his/her credit report. Current state statute contains a
similar requirement; however, this statute does not fully
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meet the requirements of federal law, and its
implementation has been delayed until July, 2013, beyond
the date by which the federal requirement must be met.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
1. Ongoing costs of approximately $225,000 ($56,250 General
Fund (GF)) to DSS to have county agencies provide annual
credit reports to foster youth age 16 and older, as
specified, and require county welfare departments and
probation departments to provide assistance in
interpreting the consumer credit disclosure to youth on
an annual basis.
However, those costs will be greatly reduced if DSS is
able to work with the three major credit reporting
agencies to develop an automated process.
2. Ongoing costs of approximately $195,000 ($48,750 GF) for
the workload associated with requiring that the
educational stability portion of a foster child's
educational placement assessment be updated with every
change in placement.
3. The remaining portions of this bill are minor and
absorbable within existing DSS resources.
CTW:k 8/28/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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