BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1171
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 30, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Mark Stone, Chair
AB 1171 (Levine) - As Introduced: February 22, 2013
SUBJECT : Child Welfare Services: Electronic Records
SUMMARY : Establishes a three-county pilot for the provision of
electronic access to records for foster youth. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Establishes a pilot program in three counties to provide a
foster youth who is 16 years of age or older, upon his or her
request, the ability to establish an online electronic
repository for his or her records, which shall include but not
be limited to:
a) Medical or health records;
b) Certified copy of his or her birth certificate;
c) Social security card;
d) Letter proving the child or nonminor dependent was a
ward or dependent of the court;
e) Special immigrant juvenile status, if applicable;
f) School records;
g) Driver's license, as described in Section 12500 of the
Vehicle Code, or identification card, as described in
Section 13000 of the Vehicle Code;
h) Background and contact information of siblings and other
family members; and
i) Application to seal juvenile court records.
2)Requires the California Department of Social Services (DSS) to
select the three counties upon their agreement to participate.
3)Requires implementation of the pilot on January 1, 2014.
AB 1171
Page 2
EXISTING LAW
1)Requires a foster youth's case plan to include a summary of
health and education information or records, including mental
health information of the child in the form of a health and
education passport (Passport).
2)Requires the Passport to include, but not be limited to the
following information:
a) Names and addresses of the child's health, dental, and
education providers;
b) The child's grade level performance;
c) The child's school record;
d) Assurances that the child's placement in foster care
takes into account proximity to the school in which the
child is enrolled at the time of placement;
e) The number of school transfers the child has already
experienced;
f) The child's educational progress, as demonstrated by
factors, including, but not limited to, academic
proficiency scores;
g) Credits earned toward graduation;
h) A record of the child's immunizations and allergies;
i) The child's known medical problems;
j) The child's current medications, past health problems,
and hospitalizations;
aa) A record of the child's relevant mental health history;
bb) The child's known mental health condition and
medications; and
cc) Any other relevant mental health, dental, health, and
education information concerning the child determined to be
appropriate by the Director of DSS.
AB 1171
Page 3
3)Requires the information contained in the Passport to be
included in the California Child Welfare Services (CWS) Case
Management System (CMS).
4)Under federal and state law, provides for specific privacy
protections for children in foster care and for pupils
enrolled in the public education system.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Foster Youth Health and Education Passport
The purpose of the passport is primarily to ensure that a foster
youth's caseworker has immediate access to important and
necessary educational and health records in order to help
support and provide for positive outcomes for the foster youth
assigned to them. It provides for a vast array of information
relating to educational records, school enrollment, contact
information for teachers and medical physicians, and any other
relevant medical records, including mental health information
and prescribed medication.
The passport has become a critical and important informational
tool for social workers, as it allows for current and up-to-date
information to be readily accessible to ensure they can provide
for the needs of their foster youth in a timely manner.
However, one of its drawbacks is its limitation of access for a
foster youth. Oftentimes when foster youth emancipate from the
CWS system, they are not provided access to all of the
information they would otherwise need, such as health and
educational records. Whereas many children's parents maintain
their child's health and educational records and provide
guidance as to how and when to utilize these records, foster
youth do not have that regular parental support. Rather, they
are faced with having to act as both parent and child when it
comes to these records. This can be a formidable and daunting
task, especially when many foster youth do not have a regular
home or safe space in which to maintain their records. Upon
emancipation, many foster youth are provided hard copy documents
of records, which overtime can be lost without a central place
to store them.
Need for the bill
AB 1171
Page 4
Writing to express the need for the bill, the author states:
Approximately 4,500 youth age out of the foster care system
each year in California. For youth transitioning out of
the foster care system, a social worker will work with them
to develop their Transitional Independent Living Plan
(TILP). This plan is designed to describe the youth's
current level of functioning, establish emancipation goals,
progress towards achieving those goals, the programs and
services needed, and individuals assisting the youth. The
TILP is reviewed, updated and approved every six months
prior to emancipation by the social worker/probation
officer and the youth.
One of the specific goals of the TILP is to help youth
obtain important documents, including, but not limited to a
certified birth certificate, a social security card, and
health/immunization records.
Currently, these important documents are handed over to a
foster youth dependent upon emancipation. However, these
records are generally shared only in paper form. As such,
it is a challenge to ensure that the documents contain the
most current information and [are] readily available when
care providers need [them] to help make informed care
decisions.
Writing in support of AB 1171, Aspiranet states:
Currently foster youth are only provided with paper copies
of these (health records, birth certificates, social
security card, etc.) important records; and unfortunately,
often times these documents are lost or stolen. Without
access to any of these documents, youth will have a hard
time applying for jobs, accessing public assistance, and
securing housing.
Foster youth also tend to have greater and more complex
health care needs than other children and account for a
disproportionate share of public health spending. Under
the Federal Health Information Technology for Economic and
Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, individuals have a right to
access and obtain a copy of their health information from
health care providers and health plans. Some individuals
may choose to store and manage their health information
AB 1171
Page 5
using a personal health record, which have the potential
for one to have their complete medical history all in one
place. Electronic access to these records would help
minimize barriers to accessing necessary health care
services for this population.
AB 1171
Page 6
RECOMMENDED AMENDMENTS
The current language in the bill lacks specificity on how the
pilot will be administered, its standards, and how long it will
last. Specifically, the bill should be amended to address the
following issues:
1) Specify the organization necessary to oversee the
pilot;
2) Clarify how long the pilot should last;
3) Include an evaluation of the pilot with a
recommendation to the Legislature as to whether it should
continue, be expanded, or be made permanent for all
counties;
4) Address access and security requirements to protect
the privacy of the emancipated foster youth; and
5) Provide assurances for the safety and security of
the records.
Specifically, staff recommends the following amendments:
Amend the bill to read:
16521.6. (a) No later than July 1, 2014, the department
shall implement and oversee a three county pilot for a
period of three years to provide foster youth who are 16
years of age or older, upon their request, or upon the
foster youth's emancipation from dependency or probation,
with access to a singular online electronic recordkeeping
repository of necessary documents for purposes of assisting
the foster youth in maintaining and having access to those
documents and to assist in the youth's transition to
adulthood . When a child is 16 years of age or older, or
when he or she makes the request,
(b) The online electronic recordkeeping repository should
have the capacity to allow the youth to view, download,
upload, and transmit, as appropriate, key documents to
assist the youth or nonminor in maintaining documents.
AB 1171
Page 7
(c) a A social worker or other representative of the county
welfare department or a probation officer or other
representative of the probation department, as appropriate,
or another authorized representative as designated by the
county or the court shall assist the child or nonminor
dependent with establishing and obtaining electronic copies
of his or her records , including, but not limited to: for
the purposes of this pilot.
(d) Documents included in this online electronic
recordkeeping repository shall include, but not be limited
to:
(1) Medical or health records , including an up-to-date
Summary of Care record with diagnoses, allergies, test
results, immunizations, and medications as permitted
by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act .
(2) Certified copy Copy of his or her certified birth
certificate.
(3) Copy of his or her Social security card.
(4) Letter proving the child or nonminor dependent was
a ward or dependent of the court.
(5) Special immigrant juvenile status, if applicable.
(6) School Educational records , as permitted by state
pupil privacy laws and the federal Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act, which shall include a copy of
his or her official high school transcript and high
school diploma or certificate of high school
equivalency, if applicable .
(7) Copy of his or her driver's Driver's license, as
described in Section 12500 of the Vehicle Code, or
identification card, as described in Section 13000 of
the Vehicle Code.
(8) Background and contact information of siblings and
other family members , as appropriate, and as permitted
by court order pursuant to federal and state law .
AB 1171
Page 8
(9) Application to seal juvenile court records.
(10) Copy of his or her Transitional Independent
Living Plan and Agreement, if applicable.
(11) Any additional records as needed as determined by
the Director.
(e) Access to the repository shall be limited to the foster
youth and the person designated pursuant to subdivision
(c).
(f) Any necessary efforts to provide for the security of
the repository, including online security protocols, shall
be taken to protect the privacy of the foster youth as
determined by the Director.
(g) The department, in coordination with the three
participating counties, shall submit a report to the
Assembly and Senate Human Services Committee no later than
December 1, 2018 evaluating the pilot and provide
recommendations as to whether it should be extended,
expanded, or made permanent.
(h) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2017,
and as of January 1, 2019, is repealed, unless a later
enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2019,
deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes
inoperative and is repealed.
(b) This section shall be a pilot program in three counties
that agree to participate, as determined by the State
Department of Social Services, beginning on January 1,
2014.
AB 1171
Page 9
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Aspiranet
California Alliance of Child and Family Services
California Council of Community Mental Health Agencies
Children's Partnership
Family Law Section of the State Bar
Mental Health America of California (MHAC)
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
(NASW-CA)
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Chris Reefe / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089