BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
AB 388 (Chesbro) - Juveniles.
Amended: June 4, 2014 Policy Vote: HS 4-0; PS 7-0
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: August 4, 2014
Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 388 would:
Require the Department of Social Services (DSS) to conduct
an unannounced visit to any group home (GH) or other
specified licensed facility that averages more than one call
per month over a six-month period to law enforcement from
facility staff regarding residents' alleged violations of
specified laws.
Require the DSS to publish and make available specified
information on licensing complaints and law enforcement
incidents at community care facilities providing residential
care to minors.
Add new requirements to the jointly developed written
protocols by county probation and county child welfare
services departments in handling minors under dependency and
delinquency jurisdictions.
Provide that a court shall waive a restitution fine of a
dependent minor who is ordered to pay restitution as a
result of specified conduct.
Require the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) or
the delegated county to review the certification issued of a
facility upon receipt of notification from DSS of any
adverse licensing action taken after the finding of
noncompliance during an unannounced visit, as specified.
Require DSS to consult with specified agencies and
entities by January 1, 2016, to develop additional
performance standards and outcome measures that require GHs
to implement programs and services to minimize law
enforcement contacts and delinquency petition filings
against dependent minors, as specified.
Fiscal Impact:
Significant ongoing costs potentially in excess of $500,000
AB 388 (Chesbro)
Page 1
(General Fund) to DSS to conduct additional visits to GHs
and other residential care facilities triggered by the law
enforcement notification threshold established in the bill.
DSS licenses approximately 1,100 GHs, of which 31 are
located out-of-state.
Potentially significant one-time and ongoing state costs
(General Fund*) to county child welfare services departments
and county probation departments to develop additional
written protocols to address when a minor who is a dependent
of the court then appears to come within delinquency
jurisdiction.
Negligible impact on the Restitution Fund, as the amount of
restitution received from juvenile offenders is negligible
and not regularly imposed.
Minor ongoing costs to the DHCS to review certifications
upon notification of adverse licensing actions taken by DSS.
Potential future cost pressure on GH rates (General Fund*)
to the extent the workgroup develops performance standards
and outcome measures requiring group homes to implement
programs and services to minimize law enforcement contacts
that results in increased costs to the GHs, leading to
pressure to increase rates to provide these additional
programs and services.
Potential future ongoing cost savings (General Fund/Local)
in the criminal justice system to the extent earlier
intervention in these cases precludes minors from
transitioning from dependency to delinquency jurisdiction.
*Pursuant to Proposition 30 (November 2012) any legislation
enacted after September 30, 2012, that has an overall effect of
increasing the costs already borne by a local agency for
programs or levels of service mandated by realignment (including
child welfare services and foster care) only apply to local
agencies to the extent that the state provides annual funding
for the cost increase.
Background: Existing law requires county child welfare
departments and county probation departments to jointly develop
a written protocol regarding minors who appear to come within
both dependency jurisdiction, as specified, and delinquency
jurisdiction. Existing law requires the departments, pursuant to
the joint protocol, to make a recommendation to the court of
which initial status of a minor who appears to come within both
dependency and delinquency jurisdiction would best serve the
AB 388 (Chesbro)
Page 2
interests of the minor and the protection of society. (Welfare
and Institutions Code (WIC) § 241.1.)
Group homes are 24-hour residential facilities licensed by the
DSS to provide board and care to foster youth from both the
dependency and delinquency jurisdictions. Under existing law,
the DSS is required to establish a rate classification level
(RCL) structure for GHs ranging from RCL 1 to RCL 14, with a
corresponding rate structure according to the level of care and
services that will be provided, including various levels of
professional training and specified adult-to-child ratios. The
monthly rates per youth paid to GHs range from $2,262 for an
RCL1 to $9,669 for an RCL 14. GHs classified as RCL 13 or 14 are
permitted to accept a child assessed as seriously emotionally
disturbed (SED) as long as the child does not require inpatient
care in a licensed health facility. These GHs must be both
licensed by the DSS and certified by the Department of Health
Care Services (DHCS) as a program that provides mental health
treatment services for SED children.
This bill seeks to reduce the frequency of law enforcement
involvement and delinquency petitions arising from incidents at
group homes and other facilities licensed to provide residential
care to dependent children.
Proposed Law: This bill would require the DSS to conduct an
unannounced visit to any GH or other facility licensed to
provide residential care to six or more minors, that averages
more than one incident per month over a six-month period for
every six minors for whom the facility is licensed to provide
care, in which law enforcement is called by facility staff
regarding residents' alleged violations of specified laws.
Additionally, this bill:
Requires licensing reports of unannounced inspections for
this purpose to be provided to the DSS division responsible
for determining and auditing GH RCL and to any other public
agency that has certified the facility program or
components.
Requires the DSS to publish and make available the
following information regarding community care facilities
providing residential care to minors:
o The number of licensing complaints, type of
complaint, outcomes of complaints including citations,
fines, exclusion orders, license suspensions
AB 388 (Chesbro)
Page 3
revocations and surrenders.
o The number of law enforcement contacts made by
the facility staff or residents, type of incidents,
whether staff, residents, or both were involved, the
gender, race ethnicity, and age of residents involved
and the outcomes.
Requires facilities to report to the DSS CCLD upon the
occurrence of any incident in which a resident of the
facility has contact with law enforcement, and requires
specified follow-up reports to be provided quarterly.
Adds the following additional requirements to the jointly
developed written protocols between the county probation and
county child welfare services departments for a minor who is
a dependent of the court and then appears to come within the
description of a ward of the court (delinquency):
o Requires immediate notification of the child
welfare services department and the minor's dependency
attorney upon referral to probation.
o Procedures for release to, and placement by,
the child welfare services department pending
resolution of the determination, as specified.
o Timelines for dependents in secure custody to
ensure timely resolution of the determination for
detained dependents.
o Consideration of whether the alleged conduct
occurred in, or under the supervision of, a foster
home, GH, or other licensed residential facilities
serving minors, as specified.
o Nondiscrimination provisions to ensure that
dependents are provided with any option that would
otherwise be available to a nondependent minor.
Provides that if a minor is a dependent of the court, as
specified, the court's decision to detain shall not be
based on the minor's status as a dependent of the court or
the child welfare services department's inability to
provide a placement for the minor.
Provides that a court shall waive a restitution fine of
a dependent minor, who is ordered to pay restitution as a
result of specified conduct. Additionally provides that if
the victim is a GH or licensed residential care facility in
which the minor was placed, or an employee of the facility,
restitution shall be limited to out-of-pocket expenses that
are not covered by insurance and that are paid by the
facility or employee.
AB 388 (Chesbro)
Page 4
Requires DHCS or a delegated county to review the
certification issued of a facility upon receipt of
notification from DSS of any adverse licensing action taken
after the finding of noncompliance during an unannounced
visit, as specified.
Requires DSS to consult with specified agencies and
entities by January 1, 2016, to develop additional
performance standards and outcome measures that require GHs
to implement programs and services to minimize law
enforcement contacts and delinquency petition filings
against dependent minors, as specified.
Staff Comments: By requiring the DSS to conduct an unannounced
visit to any GH or licensed facility providing residential care
to minors that averages more than one call per month over a
six-month period to law enforcement, as specified, the DSS could
incur significant ongoing costs potentially in excess of
$500,000 (General Fund) for additional resources to conduct the
visits as well as administrative costs to compile and track the
data required to be reported to the DSS on law enforcement
incidents. The DSS licenses approximately 1,100 GHs, of which 31
are located out-of-state.
This bill requires probation departments and child welfare
services departments to develop additional written protocols to
address when a minor who is a dependent of the court appears to
come within delinquency jurisdiction, and requires, among other
duties, immediate notification of the child welfare services
department and the minor's attorney upon referral to probation,
procedures to release to, and placement by, the child welfare
services department pending resolution of the determination, and
timelines for dependents in secure custody to ensure timely
resolution of the determination.
Although existing law already mandates a written protocol
between these two entities, the existing procedures outline a
process for the initial determination of the status of the youth
that will serve the best interests of the minor based on the
consideration of various factors. This bill requires a new
protocol to be established and followed for situations in which
the initial status of the youth has been determined but may
change. To the extent developing the written protocol and
implementing its provisions results in increased costs to either
probation departments and/or county child welfare services
AB 388 (Chesbro)
Page 5
departments could result in potentially significant one-time and
ongoing state costs.
This bill requires the DSS, in consultation with specified
stakeholders, to develop additional performance standards and
outcome measures that require GHs to implement programs and
services to minimize law enforcement contacts and delinquency
petition filings arising from incidents of allegedly unlawful
behavior by minors occurring in GHs, including individualized
behavior management programs, emergency intervention plans, and
conflict resolution processes. Mandating GHs to implement new
programs and services could lead to future cost pressure of an
unknown but potentially significant amount to increase GH rates
to provide these additional programs and services.
Prior to Fiscal Year (FY) 2011-12, the state and counties
contributed to the non-federal share of child welfare services
and foster care expenditures. AB 118 (Committee on Budget)
Chapter 40/2011 and ABX1 16 Chapter 13/2011 realigned state
funding to the counties through the 2011 Local Revenue Fund
(LRF) for various programs, including child welfare services and
foster care. As a result, beginning in FY 2011-12 and for each
fiscal year thereafter, non-federal funding and expenditures for
foster care and child welfare services activities are funded
through the LRF.
Proposition 30 was passed by the voters in November 2012, and
among other provisions, eliminated any potential mandate funding
liability for any new program or higher level of service
mandated on the counties related to realigned programs,
including child welfare services and foster care. Rather,
legislation enacted after September 30, 2012, that has an
overall effect of increasing the costs already borne by a local
agency for programs or levels of service mandated by realignment
only apply to local agencies to the extent that the state
provides annual funding for the cost increase. Local agencies
are not obligated to provide programs or levels of service
required by legislation above the level for which funding has
been provided.
To the extent it is determined that the provisions of this bill
impose a higher level of service on local agencies, including
probation departments and county child welfare services
departments, or result in an increase in overall costs already
AB 388 (Chesbro)
Page 6
borne by counties for the provision of child welfare services
and foster care, the state could potentially elect to, but not
be required to, provide funding for the cost increase.
The Victims Compensation and Government Claims Board (VCGCB) has
indicated negligible impact on the Restitution Fund associated
with the provision of this bill requiring a court to waive a
restitution fine of a dependent minor who is ordered to pay
restitution as a result of specified conduct. The VCGCB
indicates the amount of restitution received annually from
juvenile offenders is minor and not regularly imposed.
To the extent earlier intervention in these cases precludes
minors from transitioning from dependency to delinquency
jurisdiction, the provisions of this bill could result in
potentially significant future ongoing cost savings in the
criminal justice system.