BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                                                                AB 388
                                                                Page A
        CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
        AB 388 (Chesbro)
        As Amended  August 18, 2014
        Majority vote
         
         ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
        |ASSEMBLY: |     |(May 6, 2013)   |SENATE: |34-0 |(August 19, 2014)    |
         ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
             (vote not relevant)


         ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
        |COMMITTEE VOTE:  |5-0  |(August 22, 2014)   |RECOMMENDATION: | concur   |
        |(Hum. S.)        |     |                    |                |          |
         ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

        Original Committee Reference:    HIGHER ED.  

         SUMMARY  :  Provides additional clarification on how juvenile courts  
        may consider a child's status as a dependent minor when determining  
        whether to place that child into delinquency, as specified, and  
        requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to make additional  
        licensing information and monitoring requirements for child welfare  
        placements, including group homes, available to the public, as  
        specified.

         The Senate amendments  delete the Assembly version of the bill, and  
        instead:  

        1)State the intent of the Legislature to reduce the frequency of  
          law enforcement involvement and delinquency petitions of minors  
          in dependency who are placed in group homes or other non-foster  
          family placements.

        2)Require DSS to make available to interested persons the number,  
          types, and outcomes of law enforcement contacts made by group  
          homes, transitional housing placement providers, community  
          treatment facilities, and runaway and homeless youth shelters.

        3)Require group homes, transitional housing placement providers,  
          community treatment facilities, and runaway and homeless youth  
          shelters to inform DSS whenever they have an incident that  
          involves law enforcement and to provide DSS with a report every  
          six months on each incident, as specified. 










                                                                AB 388
                                                                Page B
        4)Require DSS to conduct annual licensing inspections of group  
          homes, transitional housing placement providers, community  
          treatment facilities, and runaway and homeless youth shelters if  
          it is found that the facility has a greater than average number  
          of incidences that involve law enforcement.

        5)Require the juvenile court to inform the county child welfare  
          services (CWS) agency and the minor's counsel when a dependent  
          minor is referred to probation and to afford the dependent minor  
          of the same rights that would otherwise be afforded to a  
          non-dependent minor, as specified.

        6)If an incident that brings a dependent minor to the attention of  
          probation occurs in a foster care placement, require the county  
          probation department and the CWS agency to consult and determine  
          whether the incident warrants the dependent minor remaining in a  
          non-probation foster care placement or whether the dependent  
          minor should be placed into a probation placement in order to  
          serve the best interests of the child. 

        7)Provide that the juvenile court may not use a minor's status as a  
          dependent or the county CWS' inability to provide a placement as  
          cause to detain the child.

        8)Provide that the court's decision to detain a dependent minor  
          shall not be based upon a finding that the minor's current  
          placement is contrary to his or her welfare, and if the court  
          finds that continuance of the dependent minor in his or her  
          current placement is contrary to the minor's welfare, require the  
          court to order county CWS to place him or her in another  
          placement.

        9)Require the court to waive a restitution fine of a dependent  
          minor for conduct occurring under the supervision of a foster  
          home, group home, or other licensed facility that provides  
          residential care for minors, and additionally provide that if the  
          victim is a group home or licensed residential facility in which  
          the minor was placed, or an employee the facility, restitution  
          shall be limited to out-of-pocket expenses that are not covered  
          by insurance and are paid by the facility or employee.  

        10)Require the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), upon  
          notification by DSS of any adverse licensing action taken against  
          a group home that provides mental health treatment services, as  
          specified, to review its certification of the group home to  









                                                                AB 388
                                                                Page C
          provide those services, as specified.

        Require DSS, by January 1, 2016, in consultation with specified  
        stakeholders and the public, to develop additional performance  
        standards and outcome measures that require group homes to  
        implement programs and services to minimize law enforcement  
        contacts and delinquency petition filings arising from incidents of  
        allegedly unlawful behavior by minors, as specified.

         EXISTING LAW  :

        1)Requires county child welfare departments and county probation  
          departments to jointly develop a written protocol regarding  
          minors who appear to come within both dependency and delinquency  
          jurisdiction.  (Welfare and Institutions (W&I) Code Section  
          241.1)

        2)Requires the county welfare and county probation departments,  
          pursuant to the joint protocol, to make a recommendation to the  
          court regarding which initial status of a minor who appears to  
          come within both dependency and delinquency jurisdiction would  
          best serve the interests of the minor and the protection of  
          society.  (W&I Code Section 241.1)

        3)Provides for the temporary custody and detention of minors in  
          specified circumstances, and provides for the court to make its  
          order releasing the minor from custody after hearing relevant  
          evidence, as specified.  (W&I Code Section 635)

        4)Provides that if "the probation officer has reason to believe  
          that the minor is at-risk of entering foster care placement, then  
          the probation officer shall submit a written report to the court  
          containing all of the following: the reasons why the minor has  
          been removed from the parent's custody; any prior referrals for  
          abuse or neglect of the minor or any prior filings regarding the  
          minor; the need, if any, for continued detention; the available  
          services that could facilitate the return of the minor to the  
          custody of the minor's parents or guardians; and whether there  
          are any relatives who are able and willing to provide effective  
          care and control over the minor."  (W&I Code Section 635)

        5)Provides the court with authority to make an order, in certain  
          circumstances, that a minor be detained in the juvenile hall or  
          other suitable place designated by the juvenile court for a  
          period not to exceed 15 judicial days, as specified.  (W&I Code  









                                                                AB 388
                                                                Page D
          Section 636)

        6)Provides that before detaining the minor, the court shall  
          determine whether continuance in the home is contrary to the  
          minor's welfare and whether there are available services that  
          would prevent the need for further detention.  The court shall  
          make that determination on a case-by-case basis and shall make  
          reference to the documentation provided by the probation officer  
          or other evidence relied upon in reaching its decision.  (W&I  
          Code Section 636(d))

        7)Provides for victim restitution and a victim restitution fine  
          from minors found to have committed a crime by the juvenile  
          court.  (W&I Code Section 730.6)

        8)Provides for the licensure and regulation of community care  
          facilities, including group homes, by the CDSS and requires that  
          licensed facilities be subject to unannounced inspections under  
          specified circumstances. (Health and Safety Code Section 1500)

         AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY  , this bill clarified that nothing in the  
        Student Success and Support Program (created by SB 1456  
        (Lowenthal), Chapter 624, Statutes of 2012) at the California  
        Community Colleges (CCC) is intended to preclude CCCs from  
        providing courses and programs including, but not limited to,  
        professional development of language skills; and job services for  
        individuals with disabilities to the extent resources are available  
        for those purposes.

         FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

        1)Significant ongoing costs potentially in the hundreds of  
          thousands of dollars (General Fund) to DSS to conduct additional  
          visits to specified facilities triggered by the law enforcement  
          notification threshold established in this bill.  

        2)Potentially significant one-time and ongoing local costs (Local)  
          to county child welfare services departments and county probation  
          departments to add components to the existing protocol to address  
          the situation when a minor who is a dependent of the court then  
          appears to come within delinquency jurisdiction.  

        3)Negligible impact on the Restitution Fund, as the amount of  
          restitution received from juvenile offenders is negligible and  
          not regularly imposed.  









                                                                AB 388
                                                                Page E

        4)Minor ongoing costs to the DHCS to review certifications upon  
          notification of adverse licensing actions taken by DSS.  

        5)Potential future cost pressure on [group home] 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 [group homes], leading to pressure to  
          increase rates to provide these additional programs and services.  
           

        6)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. 
         COMMENTS  :  

        Maintaining the Family:  Historically, it has been the stated  
        policy of California that when a child is removed from the home,  
        first preference should be given to placing the child with another  
        parent, or with his or her relatives whenever possible and  
        appropriate.  This has helped to preserve and strengthen the social  
        bedrock of our society, by keeping families together and reducing  
        society's reliance on its social welfare system. 

        Child Welfare Services:  The purpose of California's Child Welfare  
        Services (CWS) system is to provide for the protection and the  
        health and safety of children.  Within this purpose, the desired  
        outcome is to reunite children with their biological parents, when  
        appropriate, to help preserve and strengthen families.  However, if  
        reunification with the biological family is not appropriate,  
        children are placed in the best environment possible, whether that  
        is with a relative, through adoption, or with a guardian, such as a  
        nonrelated 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 served by the CWS system  
        through the appointment of a social worker.  Through this system,  
        there are multiple stages where the custody of the child or his or  
        her placement are 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.

        Need for the bill:  Stating the need for the bill, the author  
        writes:









                                                                AB 388
                                                                Page F

             AB 388 will protect foster youth from being  
             inappropriately referred to, and detained in, the  
             juvenile justice system for minor incidents and  
             typical adolescent behavior solely due to their status  
             as a foster youth, which in competently parented  
             family settings would not result in law enforcement  
             intervention and formal handling in the juvenile  
             justice system.  AB 388 would require policies,  
             reporting, and monitoring on law enforcement  
             interventions by community care licensing for foster  
             youth placed in residential facilities.  Foster  
             children should not be unfairly and disproportionately  
             arrested, charged, and detained, and pulled ever  
             deeper into the criminal justice system, due to  
             typical teen misbehavior that would not trigger such  
             dire consequences for youth living at home with  
             parents.

        Writing as a co-sponsor of the measure, the Youth Law Center  
        states:

             Children in the foster care system, particularly those  
             placed in group homes are especially vulnerable to  
             crossing over to the delinquency system.<1>  Group  
             homes are designed to provide a higher level of care  
             and supervision to foster youth than the level of care  
             provided in family-based foster care settings.   
             Adolescents in the dependency system often end up  
             placed in group homes by default because of a lack of  
             other placement resources to meet their needs. Despite  
             the higher level of care and supervision, some group  
             homes rely on law enforcement as the primary behavior  
             management system to respond to minor misconduct such  
             as fights among peers, threats or conflict with group  
             home staff, or damage to facility property.  Once  
             arrested, many foster youth are needlessly detained in  
             juvenile halls for extended periods because they are  
             without a parent to whom they can be released, a  
             placement to return to and a child welfare agency  
             willing to place them in a new foster care setting.  
             -----------------------
        <1> Ryan, J.P., Marshall, J.M., Herz, D., & Hernández, P. (2008).  
        Juvenile delinquency in child welfare: Investigating group home  
        effects. Children and Youth Services Review.  
         http://www.cwla.org/programs/juvenilejustice/grouphomeeffects.pdf  








                                                                AB 388
                                                                Page G
             Sadly, detention exponentially increases a foster  
             youth's risk of spiraling deeper and deeper into the  
             juvenile justice system and experiencing poor  
             education and employment outcomes after exiting the  
             system.<2>

             Foster youth should not be unfairly subject to arrest,  
             detention and prosecution for typical teen misbehavior  
             that would not trigger such dire consequences for  
             youth living at home with parents.  Foster youth are  
             disproportionately impacted by the negative effects of  
             the delinquency system simply because of their foster  
             care status and the system's inability to provide  
             competent substitute parenting.  Children living at  
             home and referred to the juvenile justice system and,  
             even if prosecuted, would not be detained in juvenile  
             hall. For foster youth, a delinquency record can  
             create not only a lifelong stigma, but significant  
             barriers to successful transition to adulthood and  
             independence.<3>  AB 388 will allow foster youth the  
             same opportunities as their peers who have not been  
             removed from the home to avoid the direct and  
             collateral consequences of juvenile justice system  
             involvement. 
         

        Analysis Prepared by  :    Chris Reefe / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089 


                                                                FN: 0005358 




        ------------------------------
        <2> Mendel, R. (2013), NO PLACE FOR KIDS The Case for Reducing  
        Juvenile Incarceration, The Annie E. Casey Foundation.
        <3> Culhane, D.P., Byrne, T., Metraux, S., Moreno, M., Toros, H.,  
        Stevens, M. (November 2011). Young Adult Outcomes of Youth Exiting  
        Dependent or Delinquent Care in Los Angeles, (Foster youth who  
        crossed over into the delinquency system were twice as likely to  
        experience unemployment, homelessness, incarceration, mental health  
        disorders, and lower educational attainment than youth exiting  
        supervision from either probation or child welfare.)  
         http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1125&context=de 
        nnis_culhane  








                                                                AB 388
                                                                Page H