BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 787
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Date of Hearing: April 16, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Mark Stone, Chair
AB 787 (Stone) - As Amended: March 19, 2013
SUBJECT : Fostering Connections to Success Act
SUMMARY : Makes various technical and clarifying changes to the
California Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2010.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Revises foster care disposition statute to allow probation
officers to place non-minor dependents (NMD) into AB 12
approved transitional services placements.
2)Removes case management requirements for non-federal IV-E
eligible state Kinship Guardian Assistance Payment Program
(KinGap) youth prospectively, which would align statute with
case management requirements under federal Title IV-E eligible
KinGap youth requirements.
3)Allows re-entry into nonminor dependency for former NMDs who
reached permanency and whose guardian, relative or adoptive
parent died before their 21st birthday.
4)Clarifies how the court may terminate jurisdiction of a NMD,
but still retain the ability to monitor them as a nonminor.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes the California Fostering Connections to Success
Act of 2010 which, among other provisions:
a) Provides for the extension of transitional foster care
to eligible youth up to age 21 as a voluntary program for
youth who meet specified work and education participation
criteria; and,
b) Requires changes to the Kin-GAP program in order to
allow for federal financial participation in the program.
2)Defines a "nonminor dependent" as a current or former foster
child between the ages of 18 and 21 who is in foster care
under the responsibility of the county welfare department,
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county probation department, or Indian Tribe and is
participating in a transitional independent living plan.
3)Defines a "transition dependent" as a minor who is between 17
years and five months of age and 18 years of age who is
subject to the court's transition jurisdiction.
4)Defines a "nonrelative extended family member" (NREFM) as any
adult caregiver who has an established familial or mentoring
relationship with a child and requires a county welfare
department to verify the existence of this relationship, as
specified.
5)Allows a juvenile court to adjudge a child or a nonminor a
ward or a dependent of the court for specified reasons,
including but not limited to if the child or nonminor has been
neglected or abused or has committed a crime, as specified.
6)Establishes a process for the identification and placement of
a ward, dependent, or nonminor of the court with a parent,
relative, extended relative or other form of guardianship.
7)Provides that a nonminor ages 18-21 shall continue to receive
foster care assistance under certain conditions, including
that the nonminor is otherwise eligible for AFDC-FC benefits,
has signed a mutual agreement, and when one or more of the
following conditions exist:
a) The nonminor is working toward their high school
education or an equivalent credential;
b) The nonminor is enrolled in a postsecondary institution
or vocational education program;
c) The nonminor is participating in a program or activity
designed to promote, or remove barriers to employment;
d) The nonminor is employed for at least 80 hours per
month; or
e) The nonminor is incapable of doing any of the activities
described in (a) through (d) above, due to a medical
condition, and that incapability is supported by regularly
updated information in the case plan of the nonminor.
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8)Federal law, requires states to develop a transition plan with
foster youth, addressing specified outcome areas 90 days prior
to emancipation, and to include information about the
importance of designating someone to make health care
treatment decisions on behalf of the child in addition to the
option of a health care power of attorney, health care proxy,
or similar document. Public Law (P.L.) 110-148, P.L. 110-351
9)Authorizes a court to resume jurisdiction over a former NMD
under specified circumstances if the nonminor signs a mutual
transition or voluntary reentry agreement.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
BACKGROUND:
California Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2010: AB 12
(Beall & Bass) Chapter 559, Statutes of 2010, was a landmark
piece of child welfare legislation in California opting the
state into two provisions of the federal Fostering Connections
to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (Fostering
Connections Act) (P.L. 110-351). Specifically, the California
Fostering Connections to Success Act:
1)Re-enacted California's existing state and county-funded
Kin-GAP program to align it with new federal requirements and
allow the state to bring federal financial participation into
our kinship guardian assistance program for the first time;
and,
2)Provides transitional foster care support to qualifying foster
youth ages 18 to 21, phased-in over three years, beginning in
2012.
The goal of AB 12 is to assist foster youth, or "nonminor
dependents" as they are referred to in statute, in their
transition to adulthood by providing them with the opportunity
to create a case plan alongside their case worker tailored to
their individual needs, which charts the course towards
independence through incremental levels of responsibility. It
is a voluntary program grounded in evidence of how the option of
continued support to age 21 can counter the dismal outcomes
faced by youth who are forced to leave the foster care system at
age 18, including high rates of homelessness, incarceration,
reliance on public assistance, teen pregnancy, and low rates of
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high school and postsecondary graduation.
In essence, AB 12 seeks to mirror the type of continued guidance
and assistance most young adults receive from their parents and
families in their late teens and early twenties. Following this
paradigm, AB 12 provides nonminors with the option to petition
to reenter care if they opt out of extended care and want to
return before age 21, provided they meet the eligibility
criteria set forth in federal and state law.
In order to be eligible to continue foster care benefits up to
age 21, a nonminor dependent youth must: continue under the
jurisdiction of the juvenile court; sign a mutual agreement
which commits both the nonminor and the placing agency to
certain responsibilities; reside in an approved, supervised
placement; work alongside their caseworker to prepare and
participate in their transitional independent living case plan;
and have their status reviewed every six months. In addition,
pursuant to the federal Fostering Connections Act, a youth must
meet one of five work or education-related eligibility criteria:
1)Is completing secondary education or a program leading to an
equivalent credential;
2)Is enrolled in an institution which provides postsecondary or
vocational education;
3)Is participating in a program or activity designed to promote,
or remove barriers to employment;
4)Is employed for at least 80 hours per month; or
5)Is incapable of doing any of the activities described above
due to a medical condition.
COMMENTS :
The California Fostering Connections to Success Act (FCSA) of
2010 was landmark child welfare legislation, however, it was
also substantial in size, amounting to 207 pages at the time of
adoption. Due to the complexity and fundamental improvements
this act made to the state's welfare system, follow up
legislation has been needed since its adoption to help ensure
its successful implementation.
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Since its passage, the Legislature has passed and the state has
adopted two successive measures to this effect; AB 212 (Beall)
from 2011 and AB 1712 (Beall) from 2012. Like its predecessors,
AB 787 continues the Legislature's efforts to ensure the FCSA is
properly implemented to provide necessary and integral support
services to foster youth as they prepare and transition into
adulthood.
NEED FOR THE BILL
Re-Entry for former NMDs
Current law provides opportunities for the court to resume
jurisdiction of a former minor dependent or ward of the court
for specified reasons, including whether the parent, guardian or
adoptive parent with whom the youth reached permanency has
passed away. In these cases, the county may petition the court
to resume jurisdiction so that the child can remain in a healthy
and safe environment. However, this same opportunity was
inadvertently left out of previous FCSA measures for NMDs who
had reached permanency. This has resulted in some NMDs being
left without a parent or guardian and without the ability to
voluntarily re-enter foster care.
AB 787 would remedy this by amending Section 388 of the Welfare
and Institutions (W&I) Code to allow for the voluntary re-entry
of NMDs into foster care, either through the request of the NMD
or under a petition filed by the county.
Appropriate placements for NMDS who are wards of the court
Current law allows NMDs to be placed into appropriate
transitional housing services placements to help provide them
the supportive services to prepare for independent living and
adulthood. However, for the placement of NMDs who are wards of
the court, the W&I Code provides probation officers the
authority to place wards into appropriate placements, but not
the same authority to place NMDs who are wards into appropriate
transitional housing placements as established by the FCSA.
This is a necessary authority inadvertently not provided to
probation officers, who have legal jurisdiction over the NMD by
order of the court.
AB 787 would solve this by simply adding in appropriate
references to nonminor in existing W&I Code sections under which
probation officers already have placement authority over wards.
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Kinship Guardian Assistance Payment (KinGap) Program Case
Management
Under the FCSA, the state expanded the definition of a relative
to include NREFMs. This allowed courts to place minors and NMDs
with a relative or a NREFM as their permanent guardian and
dismiss dependency, but also provide them support services
through the KinGap Program to maintain and ensure the success of
their permanency placement. However, whereas federally funded
KinGap services do not require county case management, state
funded KinGap does.
AB 787 would bring state KinGap Program requirements into
alignment with federal KinGap Program requirements by
eliminating the county case management requirement for state
KinGap Program recipients. This would also result in a cost
savings to the state by eliminating unnecessary county case
management requirements.
Necessary technical clarifications
AB 787 amends provisions in Section 11400 of the W&I Code, which
established the operative definitions for the FCSA to include a
reference to a "transition dependent" as it exists in another
portion of the code.
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SUPPORT:
One of the co-sponsors, the California Alliance for Children's
Rights, writes in support of the bill:
The extended foster care benefits provided through the
California FCSA have been available since January 1, 2012.
Over the course of the last year, as youth began exercising
their option to remain in foster care after the age of 18,
we have identified several areas of the California
Fostering Connections to Success Act that require technical
or conforming changes in order to ensure that the true
promise of this landmark bill is achieved. The
beneficiaries of these amendments contained in AB 787 will
be the youth whom The Alliance for Children's Rights serves
as they "age out" of the foster care system. AB 787 will
ensure that these vulnerable young adults will be able to
take full advantage of the opportunities offered through
the California Fostering Connections to Success Act.
The California Alliance for Child and Family Services also
writes:
We strongly support the provisions in AB 787 to ensure
smooth transitions for foster youth who choose to remain in
foster care after they turn 18. Of specific interest to
the California Alliance of Child and Family Services, this
bill will allow probation officers to place non-minor
dependents into foster care placements such as foster
families and transitional housing; and will allow non-minor
dependents who were adopted or placed in guardianships and
whose parent or guardian dies before the youth is 21, to
re-enter extended foster care as long as they continue to
meet the eligibility requirements for care.
DOUBLE REFERRAL : This bill has been double-referred. Should
this bill pass out of this committee, it will be referred to the
Assembly Judiciary Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Alliance of Child and Family Services co-sponsor
AB 787
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The Alliance for Children's Rights - co-sponsor
California Police Chiefs
Children's Law Center of California (CLC)
County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA)
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Chris Reefe / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089