BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 921
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 921 (Jones-Sawyer)
As Amended September 3, 2013
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(May 24, 2013) |SENATE: |32-7 |(September 11, |
| | | | | |2013) |
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(vote not relevant)
Original Committee Reference: PUB. S.
SUMMARY : Enacts the Child Welfare Social Worker Empowerment and
Foster Child Protection Act.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Declares the following legislative findings:
a) While California foster children are in foster care,
they are uniquely dependent upon the lawful, efficient, and
competent delivery of state and local government services
and implementation of state and federal law.
b) The special and uniquely vulnerable status of foster
children warrants extending whistleblower protections for
state employees to county child welfare social workers to
ensure that each worker, without fear of retaliation, can
advocate for policies that benefit every child and publicly
participate in discussions about each child's wellbeing.
c) County child welfare social workers who implement state
and federal policy related to the delivery of services and
implementation of programs benefitting foster children
should have an avenue to suggest cost-saving efficiencies
in the delivery of services to foster children, in a
fashion that is transparent and accountable to the public.
2)Requires counties, when doing self-assessments and improvement
plans in child welfare, to consult with stakeholders,
including county child welfare agencies and probation agency
staff at all levels, current and former foster children,
children's attorneys, and foster care providers.
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3)Requires counties, when doing self-assessments and improvement
plans in child welfare, to consult with at least one county
child welfare worker named by the bargaining unit representing
children's social workers.
4)Requires that each county's child welfare improvement plan,
approved by the county board of supervisors, include a
separately titled provision that lists and provides the
rationale for proposed operational improvements identified
during the stakeholder process that can be implemented at a
cost savings to the county or within existing county
resources.
5)Prohibits a county child welfare agency from retaliating
against a social worker if the social worker has reasonable
cause to believe that a policy, procedure, or practice related
to the provision of child welfare services endangers the
health or well-being of a child or children and the social
worker discloses this information to a government or law
enforcement agency, an appointed or elected official, or the
public.
6)Provides that nothing in this bill authorizes a social worker
within a county child welfare agency to disclose the identity
of a child or any portion of a case file.
7)Authorizes county child welfare social workers to comment on a
child welfare case, within the scope of the information
released, once documents have been released by the custodian
of records, as specified.
The Senate amendments
1)Delete the requirement for county boards supervisors to adopt
ordinances prohibiting retaliation against social workers
employed by county child welfare agencies and, instead,
establish a statewide prohibition on such acts.
2)Delete amendments to the Penal Code increasing penalties for
assault and battery against a county child welfare social
worker.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill increased the misdemeanor
punishment for simple assault and simple battery against a
county child welfare social worker from six months in the county
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jail and up to a $1,000 fine to 12 months in the county jail and
up to a $2,000 fine.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill, as amended, has not been
heard by a fiscal committee.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "AB 921 imposes what is in
essence an empowering suggestion box for social workers engaged
in child welfare. This bill will also ensure that social
workers who speak out against policies and practices that
endanger children cannot be retaliated against for doing so.
This bill will establish a process where social worker-
generated improvements and recommendations are included in Child
Welfare Services systemic reform discussions and in county
planning documents."
Background : AB 636 (Steinberg), Chapter 678, Statutes of 2001,
established the California-Child and Family Services Review
System (C-CFSR), which was implemented in January 2004.
Development of the C-CFSR marked a shift from the previous
oversight system focusing on regulatory compliance to a system
focusing on measuring outcomes for children in the child welfare
services system, including recurrence of maltreatment and child
safety, number of foster home placements, length of time to
reunification with birth parents and permanency. In addition to
the federally required outcome measures, the C-CFSR includes
state-specific outcome measures for overall child and family
well-being. DSS reviews all counties on a five-year cycle under
the C-CFSR to determine county performance in meeting system
requirements and improving outcomes for children. The reviews
consist of a county self-assessment, which is influenced by
local stakeholder input and identifies the county's strengths,
areas needing improvement and barriers to improvement within the
local system; a Peer Quality Case Review, which supplements the
self-assessment with input from peer counties and outside
experts; and a System Improvement Plan (SIP), which identifies
annual targets for improvement in outcomes for children within
the local child welfare services system. The state encourages
counties to use existing planning processes and community groups
to increase public participation, and most counties work with a
group of core representatives in the development of
self-assessments. Additionally, DSS approves each county SIP,
and monitors compliance using quarterly performance reports.
Need for the bill : Requiring input from line social workers to
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be included in the existing county child welfare services review
process has the potential to alter and improve the counties'
ability to adequately address their core child safety and
well-being goals. Additionally, prohibiting retaliation against
social workers for providing such input could increase the
amount and quality of input that is intended to improve the
lives of children within the state's child welfare system.
Analysis Prepared by : Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089
FN:
0002709