BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
AB 1089 (I. Calderon) - Foster care.
Amended: August 4, 2014 Policy Vote: Human Services 4-0
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: August 4, 2014
Consultant: Brendan McCarthy
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 1089 would specify the processes and timelines
to be followed by regional centers when a regional center
consumer who is in foster care is moved between regional center
catchment areas.
Fiscal Impact:
Increased administrative costs to the regional centers up
to $200,000 per year for increased coordination between
regional centers and with vendors (General Fund and federal
funds). According to the Department of Developmental
Services, there are about 70 regional center consumers who
are in foster care and move between regional center
catchment areas per year. If regional center staff spend, on
average, one week coordinating with other regional centers
and vendors, total statewide administrative costs would be
about $200,000.
Minor additional costs for services provided to foster
youth (General Fund and federal funds). By increasing
coordination between regional centers and vendors, the bill
is likely to reduce or eliminate gaps in the provision of
service to foster youth who move between regional center
catchment areas. Given the small number of foster youth who
move between catchment areas each year, the regional centers
are likely to experience increased costs between $5,000 and
$20,000 per year, depending on how quickly foster youth are
connected with new service providers.
Minor administrative costs for county welfare agencies to
provide notifications to regional centers when a foster
child will move between catchment areas (local funds or
General Fund, see below).
AB 1089 (I. Calderon)
Page 1
Background: California provides community-based services to
approximately 250,000 persons with developmental disabilities
and their families through a statewide system of 21 regional
centers. Regional centers are private, nonprofit agencies under
contract with the Department of Developmental Services for the
provision of various services and supports to people with
developmental disabilities. As a single point of entry, regional
centers provide diagnostic and assessment services to determine
eligibility, convene planning teams to develop an Individual
Program Plan for each eligible consumer, and either provide
appropriate services or obtain them from other agencies for each
consumer in accordance with the Individual Program Plan.
Under current law, there are general requirements and procedures
on the regional centers when a consumer transfers from one
regional center catchment area to another.
In recent years, there have been 1,700 to 1,800 regional center
consumers who are also in foster care. About 70 of those foster
youth move between regional center catchment areas per year.
Proposed Law: AB 1089 would specify the processes and timelines
to be followed by regional centers when a regional center
consumer who is in foster care is moved between regional center
catchment areas.
Specific provisions of the bill would:
Require the county social worker or probation officer to
notify a regional center of the relocation of a foster
youth;
Require the sending regional center to provide notification
and specified information to the receiving regional center;
Require the receiving regional center to coordinate with
the sending regional center;
Require the sending regional center to attempt to initiate
appropriate services in the receiving regional center's
catchment area;
Require notification to the court, the county, and the
consumer's developmental services decision maker if services
have not been initiated within 30 days;
Specify the notification requirements on the regional
centers.
AB 1089 (I. Calderon)
Page 2
Staff Comments: Pursuant to Government Code Section 30026.5,
legislation enacted after September 30, 2012, that has an
overall effect of increasing the costs already borne by a local
agency for programs or levels of service under the 2011
Realignment shall apply to local agencies only to the extent
that the state provides annual funding for the cost increase.
Local agencies are not be obligated to provide programs or
levels of service required by legislation above the level for
which funding has been provided.
Foster care is one of the programs that has been realigned to
the counties. Therefore, if there are any additional costs to
counties under the bill, counties would only have to undertake
those activities if the state appropriated additional General
Fund money to the counties for those purposes. However, given
the small workload associated with this bill, it seems unlikely
that the counties would request additional funding in order to
comply with this bill.