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