BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 413 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 16, 2013 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES Mark Stone, Chair AB 413 (Chavez) - As Amended: March 19, 2013 SUBJECT : Foster Care: Specialized Foster Care Homes SUMMARY : Makes a technical corrective amendment to the Health and Safety Code relating to foster care homes. Specifically, this bill : 1)Deletes an obsolete reference to Section 1523 of the Health and Safety (H&S) Code in Section 17732 of the Welfare and Institutions (W&I) Code and replaces it with the correct reference to Section 1523.1 of the H&S Code. EXISTING LAW 1)Establishes the California Community Care Facilities Act (CCFA) under the H&S Code to provide a comprehensive statewide service system of quality community care for people who have a mental illness, a developmental or physical disability, and children and adults who require care or services by a facility or organization. 1)Defines and requires for licensure, under the CCFA, 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 certified by a FFA as meeting CCFA 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 (SHA), which provides 24-hour care for six or fewer foster children who have mental disorders or AB 413 Page 2 developmental or physical disabilities and require special care and supervision. 2)Defines, under the W&I code a "specialized foster care home" (SFCH) as any CFH, FFH or SHA where they provide specialized in-home health care to foster children, but limits their capacity to no more than two children as specified. FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown BACKGROUND In 2012 the state adopted AB 1928 (Cook), Chapter 120, Statutes of 2012, which clarified existing law regarding the conditions under which a specialized foster care home could serve more than two foster care children. Specifically, it clarified ambiguity in Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations providing the ability for SFCH to serve more than two foster youth with or without special health care needs as long as: 1)The child's social worker determines that there are no other available appropriate placements for the youth; 2)The child's social worker assesses and determines that each youth in placement at the SFCH will have their psychological and social needs met; and 3)The child's individualized health care plan team responsible for each youth in placement at the SFCH assesses and determines that their health and safety will not be jeopardized. However, there was a drafting error that went uncorrected in the adopted version of AB 1928, which incorrectly refers to a code section in the H&S Code that does not exist. Specifically, it references Section 1523 of the H&S Code in Section 17732(b) of the W&I Code rather than the correct section, Section 1523.1 of the H&S Code. COMMENTS : This measure seeks to make a simple corrective amendment to W&I Code 17732(b) to make the proper reference to Section 1523.1 of the H&S Code. AB 413 Page 3 REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support None on file Opposition None on file Analysis Prepared by : Chris Reefe / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089