BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 787
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 787 (Stone)
As Amended September 6, 2013
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |70-0 |(May 16, 2013) |SENATE: |38-0 |(September 11, |
| | | | | |2013) |
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Original Committee Reference: HUM. S.
SUMMARY : Makes various technical and clarifying changes to the
California Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2010.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Clarifies foster care disposition statute (Welfare and
Institutions Code (WIC) Section 727) for probation officers to
place non-minor dependents into AB 12 (Beall and Bass),
Chapter 559, Statutes of 2010, approved transitional services
placements.
2)Allows re-entry into nonminor dependency for former nonminor
dependents (NMD) who reached permanency whose guardian or
relative or adoptive parent died before their 21st birthday.
3)Provides a definition of a transition dependent in WIC Section
11400 to allow these youth subject to the court's transition
jurisdiction be eligible for extended foster care.
4)Clarifies the juvenile court's authority and the process it
must undertake to terminate dependency for a NMD, but maintain
jurisdiction over the youth as a nonminor.
5)Clarify the eligibility definition for a NMD to provide that
they "have" rather than "are participating in" their
transitional independent living case plan.
6)Fixes an unintentional omission of probation officers in WIC
Section 16501.1.
7)Clarifies current statute to ensure that minors participating
in a voluntary placement agreement may become eligible for
extended foster care pursuant to required actions of the child
welfare agency and the juvenile court.
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The Senate amendments :
1)Delete removal of case management requirements for non-federal
IV-E eligible state Kinship Guardian Assistance Payment
(KinGap) Program.
2)Clarify current statute to ensure that minors participating in
a voluntary placement agreement may become eligible for
extended foster care pursuant to required actions of the child
welfare agency and the juvenile court.
3)Clarify the eligibility definition for a NMD to provide that
they "have" rather than "are participating in" their
transitional independent living case plan.
4)Fix an unintentional omission of probation officers in WIC
Section 16501.1.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Clarified foster care disposition statute (WIC Section 727)
for probation officers to place non-minor dependents into AB
12 approved transitional services placements.
2)Removed case management requirements for non-federal IV-E
eligible state KinGap Program youth prospectively, which would
align statute with case management requirements under federal
Title IV-E eligible KinGap youth requirements.
3)Allowed re-entry into nonminor dependency for former NMDs who
reached permanency and whose guardian, relative or adoptive
parent died before their 21st birthday.
4)Clarified how the court may terminate jurisdiction of a NMD,
but still retain the ability to monitor them as a nonminor.
FISCAL EFFECT : According the Senate Appropriations Committee:
1)Potential minor state costs for extended foster care and
adoption assistance benefits for former NMDs whose guardian,
relative, or adoptive parent passed away prior to the NMD's
21st birthday. Annual costs would be in the range of $12,000
to $36,000 (General Fund) per case, depending on the placement
type.
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2)Increased county administrative costs of about $35,000
(General Fund) per year for county assessments conducted 90
days prior to a youth's 18th birthday. This estimate assumes
a 45-minute assessment at a cost of $57 per youth for 600
youth turning 18 per year.
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.
Since its passage, the Legislature has passed and the state has
adopted two successive measures to this effect; AB 212 (Beall),
Chapter 459, Statutes of 2011, and AB 1712 (Beall), Chapter 846,
Statutes of 2012. Like its predecessors, this bill 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.
BACKGROUND:
California Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2010: AB 12
(Beall and Bass) 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
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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
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.
NEED FOR THE BILL :
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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.
This bill would remedy this by amending WIC Section 388 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.
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.
Analysis Prepared by : Chris Reefe / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089
FN: 0002762
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