BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 352
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 24, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Isadore Hall, Chair
AB 352 (Hall) - As Amended: April 23, 2013
SUBJECT : Foster care: smoke-free environment
SUMMARY : Prohibits smoking in licensed residential foster care
homes or in the physical presence of the foster youth.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Exempts the homes of relatives and nonrelative extended family
relative caregivers.
2)Codifies existing regulations to specify that group homes and
small family homes shall maintain a smoke-free environment in
the facility and on the grounds of the facility.
3)Prohibits smoking in any motor vehicle used to transport
foster children.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes the California Community Care Facilities Act
(Act), which regulates various community care facilities,
including foster family homes and small family homes, as
defined, which provide care for foster children.
2)Requires the State Department of Social Services to adopt
regulations for these facilities, and requires that
regulations for a license prescribe standards of safety and
sanitation for the physical plant and standards for basic
personal care, supervision, and services bases upon the
category of licensure.
3)Defines and requires for licensure, under the Act, the
following facilities to serve youth in foster care:
a) Foster Family Agency (FFA), which recruits, certifies,
and trains foster parents and oversees certified family
homes for the temporary placement of children in foster
care;
b) Certified Family Home (CFH), which is a family residence
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certified by a FFA as meeting the Act's licensing
requirements to serve as a temporary placement for children
in foster care;
c) Foster Family Home (FFH), which provides 24-hour care
for six or fewer foster children and is owned, leased or
rented and is the residence of a foster parent; and
d) Small Family Home (FFH), which provides 24-hour care for
six or fewer foster children who have mental disorders or
developmental or physical disabilities and require special
care and supervision.
4)Prohibits smoking in a motor vehicle, whether in motion or at
rest, when a minor is in the car.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Purpose of the bill : The state of California has a legal
obligation to protect the well-being of foster children. AB 352
will ensure that foster children, already one of the most
vulnerable populations in our state, enjoy a safe and healthy
environment to live and thrive.
According to the author, there are nearly 60,000 children who
are currently served by California's foster care system, 75% of
which are minorities. Although foster homes are intended to be
a temporary home with the ultimate goal being a permanent living
arrangement, many foster children remain in foster care for
years.
Exposure to secondhand smoke is hazardous to all people.
Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of
secondhand smoke because they are still developing physically,
have higher breathing rates than adults and have little control
over their indoor environments. Children exposed to high doses
of secondhand smoke run the greatest relative risk of
experiencing damaging health effects including asthma,
bronchitis, pneumonia and inner ear infections.
California currently spends approximately one billion dollars
every year for board, care and services for foster children.
When foster children reside in an environment where their health
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is compromised by exposure to secondhand smoke, the state's
health care costs for tobacco-related medical conditions will
almost certainly rise.
This measure is consistent with similar requirements in eighteen
other states, and three California counties, none of which have
reported problems in recruitment or a reduction in the number of
foster homes attributable to the smoke free policies in those
states.
It is important to note that nothing in this measure requires an
individual to quit smoking, just to forego smoking in the home
where the foster child resides or in the presence of the child.
The measure also exempts relatives and nonrelative extended
family relative caregivers so as not to dis-incentivize their
willingness to be a placement for foster youth.
California's Child Welfare Services : The purpose of
California's Child welfare Services (CWS) system is to provide
for the protection and the health/safety of children. The
desired outcome is to reunite children with biological parents,
when appropriate, in order to help preserve and strengthen
families. When this is not possible, children are placed in the
best environment possible, whether with a relative, adoption, or
guardian, such as a nonrelative extended family member.
In the case of children who are at risk of abuse, neglect or
abandonment, county juvenile courts hold legal jurisdiction, and
children are appointed a social worker. Through the CWS system,
there are multiple stages where the custody of the child or
their placement is evaluated, reviewed and determined by the
judicial system, in consultation with the child's social worker,
to help provide the best possible services to the child. At the
time a child is identified as needing services, the social
worker is required to identify whether there is a relative or
guardian to whom a child may be released.
A court may deem a child a dependent or ward of the court,
including when the parent has been incarcerated or
institutionalized and is unable to arrange for care for the
child, such as placement with a known relative. If the child is
deemed a dependent or ward of the court, the court may maintain
the child in his or her home, remove the child from the home but
with the goal of reunifying the child with his or her family, or
identify another form of permanent placement. Unless the child
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is unable to be placed with the parent, the court is required to
give preference to a relative of the child in order to preserve
the child's association with his or her family.
Facts about children in foster care in California : According to
the California Welfare Dynamic Report System, a statewide child
welfare database, there were approximately 56,495 children in
foster care as of January 1, 2013. Nearly 20,000 of those are
in Los Angeles County alone.
According to information provided by the author, the average age
of foster youth in California was 11 years old in 2010. Forty
six percent of foster children in California are Latino. While
African American children comprise only 5.7% of the overall
children of the state, African American children make up roughly
25% of the foster children population in California. The average
stay for children in care on September 2010 was 16.4 months and
57% of the young people leaving the system were reunified with
their birth parent(s) or primary caregiver(s). In 2010, 28%
children and youth living in out-of-home care were residing with
kin.
Effects of secondhand smoke on children : While exposure to
secondhand smoke is harmful to adults and can trigger various
health complications, the physical effects of exposure to smoke
can be particularly dangerous to infants and children because
their bodies are still developing.
The Surgeon General has cited hundreds of medical studies and
reports proving the toxic effects of tobacco smoke on infants
and children, including the following findings.
1) Both babies whose mothers smoke while pregnant and
babies who are exposed to secondhand smoke after birth
are more likely to die from sudden infant death syndrome
than babies who are not exposed to cigarette smoke.
2) Secondhand smoke exposure causes acute potentially
fatal respiratory tract infections, such as bronchitis
and pneumonia, in infants and young children, and
respiratory symptoms, including cough, phlegm, wheezing
and breathlessness, among school-aged children.
3) Exposure to secondhand smoke causes children who
have asthma to experience more frequent and severe
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attacks than children in non-smoker households.
4) Children exposed to secondhand smoke are at
increased risks for eye and ear infections and are more
likely to need operations to insert ear tubes for
drainage.
5) Children who live in households with smokers have a
greater risk of getting lung cancer during their
lifetimes than children raised in a smoke-free
environment. Even if children living with smokers do not
immediately show physical effects of exposure to
secondhand smoke, they may eventually develop cancer or
other smoking-related chronic diseases.
6) Children exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely
than those in nonsmoking households to experience
learning and behavioral problems and to become smokers in
adolescence or adulthood.
The effects on foster children are even more pronounced.
Children are placed in foster care because of abuse, neglect, or
abandonment or parental problems. Foster children have often
moved from one risky environment to another and are uniquely
vulnerable population. The American Academy of Pediatrics
classifies them as children with special health care needs
because of the high prevalence of chronic medical, developmental
and mental health problems that typically precede foster care
placement. Numerous studies have also shown the prevalence of
serious respiratory illness among foster children.
Smoke free foster care policies in effect : By early 2011,
there were eighteen states that had passed laws or regulations
regulating smoking in foster care homes: Alaska, Arizona,
Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Montana, New
Jersey, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas,
Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming. In California the counties of
San Luis Obispo, Monterrey, and Santa Cruz have all adopted
smoke free foster care policies. Although not specifically
written in statute, the California Code of Regulations prohibits
smoking in the home and the grounds of the home; this measure
codifies that prohibition.
In the approximately 18 states with smoke-free policies, the
methods of enforcement follow the same basic process as it is
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for all foster parent requirements. As part of the licensing
process, prospective foster parents are provided information
about policies, including the smoke-free requirement and sign
contracts agreeing to comply with these policies. Social
service workers conduct home visits with both foster children
and foster parents on a regular basis to monitor and oversee
compliance with licensing requirements. In addition, child
protection workers visit many foster homes, and are expected to
report apparent violations to licensing staff.
Arguments in support : The California Black Health Network state
that children of color are disproportionately in foster care,
affected by asthma and other chronic conditions that can be
exacerbated by secondhand smoke. We know that a number of
states have banned smoking in homes that have foster children
and in the motor vehicles that transport them.
Supporters also argue that the dangerous effects of smoking and
secondhand smoke are well documented. It is important that
people who wish to provide foster care keep the health and
wellbeing of the child as a top priority. The state has a
responsibility to ensure that foster children, who are
considered wards of the state, are protected in their homes.
Implementation of AB 352 will bring California in line with 18
other states who have embraced smoke-free foster homes. San
Luis Obispo, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties currently prohibit
smoking in foster homes and cars transporting children as well.
It is time to make this statewide regulation to protect every
foster child.
Double referred : AB 352 (Hall) was heard in Assembly Human
Services Committee on April 16, 2013. The bill was passed with
a vote of 5-2.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Crittenton Services for Children and Families
California Black Health Network
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
AB 352
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Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Felipe Lopez / G. O. / (916) 319-2531