BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 352|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 352
Author: Hall (D), et al.
Amended: 6/26/13 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 4-0, 6/11/13
AYES: Yee, Evans, Liu, Wright
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Emmerson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 51-19, 5/16/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Foster care: smoke-free environment
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires licensed group homes, foster
family agencies, small family homes, transitional housing
placement providers, and crisis nurseries that provide
residential foster care to a child to maintain a smoke-free
environment. Prohibits a person who is licensed or certified to
provide residential care in a foster family home or certified
family home from smoking or permitting any other person to smoke
inside the facility, and, when the child is present, on the
outdoor grounds of the facility. This bill also prohibits a
person who is licensed or certified pursuant to these provisions
from smoking in any motor vehicle that is regularly used to
transport the child.
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ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Establishes that the state, through the Department of Social
Services (DSS) and county welfare departments, supports a
public system of statewide child welfare services, as
specified.
2. Establishes within California's juvenile court the
jurisdiction to remove children from their parents or
guardians and vests the court with the responsibility to
provide care, treatment, and guidance consistent with their
best interest and the best interest of the public.
3. Establishes licensure requirements for persons who wish to
become residential caregivers.
4. Establishes regulations for homes licensed to care for foster
children in small family homes, certified family homes and
group homes.
5. Establishes in California a smoke-free workplace law which
prohibits the smoking of tobacco products in an enclosed
space at a place of employment.
6. Excludes private homes from this prohibition on smoking, with
the exception of private residences licensed as family day
care homes, during the hours of operation as family day care
homes and in those areas where children are present.
7. Prohibits a person from smoking a pipe, cigar, or cigarette
in a motor vehicle, whether in motion or at rest, in which
there is a minor.
This bill:
1. Requires group homes and foster family agencies, small family
homes, transitional housing placement providers, and crisis
nurseries licensed by the state to maintain a smoke-free
environment.
2. Prohibits a caregiver who is licensed or certified to provide
residential care in a foster family home or certified family
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home or any other person from smoking inside the facility,
and when the child is present, on the outdoor grounds of the
facility.
3. Exempts the homes of relative and nonrelative extended family
member caregivers from the smoking prohibition.
4. Prohibits a person licensed or certified as a caregiver in
residential foster care from smoking in any motor vehicle
that is regularly used to transport the child.
Background
California youth in foster care . Approximately 56,500 children
were in foster care as of January 1, 2013, according to data
compiled and reported by the Center for Social Services Research
at University of California, Berkeley. In California, DSS
oversees a county-administered child welfare services system,
which responded to approximately 40,000 reports of abuse,
neglect or exploitation in 2012. According to DSS, nearly one
in three foster children lives in Los Angeles County.
Chronic health conditions among foster youth . According to a
policy statement issued in November 2012 by the American Academy
of Pediatrics (AAP), foster children face medical and mental
health challenges at significantly higher rates than other
children, often as a consequence of the circumstances that led
to their removal from their home and sometimes exacerbated by
their experiences in foster care.
The AAP noted that health issues include developmental delays,
emotional adjustment problems, chronic medical problems, birth
defects, substance abuse, and pregnancy. In the foster care
population, more than 60% of youth will have mental health
problems during their lifetime; 30% to 40% of adolescents are
coping with mental health issues, including posttraumatic stress
disorder; and more than one-third of older adolescents have a
chronic illness or disability, according to the policy
statement.
Secondhand smoke . Cigarettes are responsible for one in five
deaths in the United States annually, according to a report
issued by the U.S. Attorney General in 2010. A 2007 Surgeon
General's report found that children are far more exposed to
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secondhand smoke than adults. Nearly 60% of U.S. children
between 3 and 11 years, or almost 22 million children, are
exposed to secondhand smoke annually.
As a result of this research, a growing number of U.S.
workplaces and other public places are now smoke-free. Today,
according to the Surgeon General, the one indoor space where
adults, and above all children, are most exposed to secondhand
smoke is the home. One in five children is exposed to smoke in
their homes.
Other states . 18 states, including Illinois, Colorado, Alaska,
Pennsylvania and Texas, have prohibited smoking in foster and
group homes, according to the Public Health Law Center report.
In most of those cases, states prohibited smoking within the
residence or facility and in associated vehicles, but did not
restrict smoking outside within range of the home. Just five of
the states also restricted outdoor smoking near the home or
facility.
In 2011, the Hennepin County (Minnesota) departments of Human
Services and Public Health conducted a survey of 16 states that
had prohibited smoking in foster homes. Some states
additionally prohibited smoking in vehicles while foster
children were being transported. The surveyors were interested
in whether the smoking ban had lowered the number of people who
were willing to become foster parents, a concern they wrote that
had been echoed in a number of states who implemented the ban.
When asked if the numbers of foster parents recruited had
dropped since the smoking ban took effect, 12 of the 16 states
told surveyors that the numbers of foster parents had not
declined and the remaining four said their declines had nothing
to do with the smoking ban.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/1/13)
Advancement Project
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
California Black Health Network
Children's Law Center of California
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Crittenton Services for Children and Families
National Association of Social Workers - California Chapter
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author's office states that
California has a responsibility to protect foster children and
to ensure that they reside in safe and healthy environments.
California currently spends approximately one billion dollars
every year for board, care and services for foster children, the
author further states. Numerous studies have documented the
prevalence of chronic medical conditions among foster youth.
Further, 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, according to the author's
office. 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.
The author's office states that when foster children reside in
an environment where their health is compromised by exposure to
secondhand smoke, the state's health care costs for
tobacco-related medical conditions almost certainly rise.
According to the author's office, this bill 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.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 51-19, 5/16/13
AYES: Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bloom, Blumenfield, Bocanegra,
Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Chesbro, Cooley, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong,
Fox, Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gray, Hall, Roger
Hern�ndez, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lowenthal, Medina, Mitchell,
Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez,
Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Ting, Torres,
Weber, Wieckowski, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NOES: Achadjian, Bigelow, Ch�vez, Conway, Dahle, Donnelly, Beth
Gaines, Hagman, Harkey, Jones, Linder, Logue, Maienschein,
Mansoor, Nestande, Patterson, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Gorell, Grove, Holden, Melendez,
Morrell, Olsen, Stone, Williams, Vacancy
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JL:k 7/1/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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