BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 985 (Cooley) - Kinship guardianship assistance payment
(Kin-GAP) program.
Amended: August 12, 2013 Policy Vote: Human Services 6-0
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: August 12, 2013
Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 985 would expand eligibility for extended state
Kin-GAP benefits to age 21 to youth who attain 18 years of age
while receiving federal or state KinGAP benefits and who entered
the program prior to reaching the age of 16, subject to
specified criteria.
Fiscal Impact:
Annual state Kin-GAP payment and administrative costs
(General Fund) of $1.2 million in FY 2013-14 (6 months),
$7.8 million in FY 2014-15, $11.5 million in FY 2015-16, and
$14.2 million once fully implemented. This estimate reflects
the cumulative effect as cases extend to age 21 and assumes
over 1,500 average monthly Kin-GAP cases once fully
implemented at a cost of $679 per month.
Ongoing state costs potentially in the range of $100,000
(General Fund) per year for disability determinations by
county social workers.
Background: The California Fostering Connections to Success Act
of 2010, enacted by AB 12 (Beall/Bass) Chapter 559/2010,
exercised the state option under the federal Fostering
Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008
(Public Law 110-351) of extending benefits for youth up to age
21 in the Foster Care, Adoption Assistance, and Kinship
Guardianship Assistance Payment (Kin-GAP) programs. AB 12
aligned the state's existing Kin-GAP program with requirements
in order to draw down federal funds and provided for a
three-year phase in of extended benefits up to age 21 that was
intended to reduce the upfront costs of program expansion.
Significant clean-up legislation was pursued through AB 212
(Beall) Chapter 459/2011 and AB 1712 (Beall) Chapter 846/2012 to
AB 985 (Cooley)
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address various issues identified subsequent to implementation
of the initial legislation.
Under existing federal law, states are eligible to receive
federal reimbursement for the Kin-GAP program, which serves
youth who exit the juvenile dependency system to achieve
permanency in the home of a relative, non-relative extended
family member, or tribal member caregiver. Under the federal
act, youth who enter the Kin-GAP program are eligible for
extended Kin-GAP benefits to age 21 only if the youth was over
the age of 16 at the time that a Kin-GAP agreement was
negotiated (with the exception of youth who have a physical or
mental disability that warrant continuation of assistance). The
extended state Kin-GAP program eligibility requirements are
consistent with the federal Kin-GAP program in this regard.
Proposed Law: This bill would extend state Kin-GAP benefits to
age 21 to youth who attain 18 years of age while receiving
federal or state Kin-GAP benefits and who entered the program
prior to reaching the age of 16, subject to the following
criteria:
For youth who have attained 18 years of age in the state
Kin-GAP program, state Kin-GAP benefits may continue to age
21 if:
o The relative guardian continues to be
responsible for the support of the youth.
o The youth meets one or more of the following
conditions:
� Completing high school or a program
leading to an equivalent credential.
� Enrolled in a postsecondary or
vocational education program.
� Participating in a program or
activity designed to promote or remove barriers
to employment.
� Employed at least 80 hours per
month.
� Is incapable of activity due to a
medical condition supported by information in the
case plan.
For youth who have attained 18 years of age while receiving
federal Kin-GAP benefits, but are no longer eligible under
that program, state Kin-GAP benefits may continue to age 21
if:
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o The youth's relationship to the kinship
guardian is related to the child by blood, adoption,
or affinity within the fifth degree of kinship,
including stepparents, stepsiblings, and all relatives
whose status is preceded by the words "great,"
"great-great," or "grand" or the spouse of any of
those persons even if the marriage was terminated by
death or dissolution (excludes non-related extended
family members).
o The youth was under 16 years of age at the
commencement of Kin-GAP payments.
o The guardian continues to be responsible for
the support of the youth.
o The youth meets one or more of the
educational/employment provisions noted above for the
state Kin-GAP program.
For both state and federal Kin-GAP programs, requires
county social workers to, at the time of redetermination of
eligibility closest to the child's 18th birthday, determine
whether the child has a mental or physical disability that
warrants continuation of assistance, as specified.
Retains the provision under the federal Kin-GAP program
authorizing continuation equivalent level of vocational or
technical training on a full-time basis, who are reasonably
expected to complete the educational or training program
before age 19.
Prior Legislation: AB 12 (Beall/Bass) Chapter 559/2010 enacted
the California Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2010, and
authorized the state to exercise the option of extending
benefits in the Foster Care, Kin-GAP, Fed-GAP, and AAP to age 21
for youth who meet specified criteria. AB 12 also provided for
the alignment of the Kin-GAP program with federal requirements
in order to receive federal financial participation.
AB 212 (Beall) Chapter 459/2011, the follow-up legislation to AB
12, made various technical and substantive changes to law in
order to ensure the proper implementation of the California
Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2010.
AB 1712 (Beall) Chapter 846/2012 expanded the definition of
"relative" for purposes of both the federal and state-funded
Kin-GAP programs to include guardians who are non-related
extended family members, tribal kin, or current caregivers of
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foster children, as specified, and extended eligibility for
non-related legal guardian placements to age 21.
Staff Comments: By expanding state Kin-GAP payments to youth
currently receiving state or federal Kin-GAP who were receiving
benefits prior to age 16, the provisions of this bill will
result in ongoing increased costs to the state. The Department
of Social Services (DSS) data indicates 1,369 Kin-GAP youth who
will turn 18 years of age in 2013-14 who could potentially be
eligible for extended Kin-GAP benefits. Assuming 80 percent of
18 year olds will remain in extended Kin-GAP to age 19, 39
percent will extend to age 20, and nearly 33 percent will extend
to age 21, the estimated ongoing costs for extending Kin-GAP
benefits to these nonminors based on an average Kin-GAP grant of
$679 per month and an administrative cost per case of $57 per
month is $1.2 million in FY 2013-14 (6 months), $7.8 million in
FY 2014-15, $11.5 million in FY 2015-16, and $14.2 million once
fully implemented. The rising costs reflect the cumulative
effect of the cohorts of nonminors turning 19, 20, and 21 years
of age each year, adjusted for the reduced percentage of
nonminors estimated to extend each year.