AB 1658, as amended, Jones-Sawyer. Foster care: consumer credit reports.
Existing federal law, the Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act of 2011, requires that each child in foster care under the responsibility of the state who has attained 16 years of age receives without cost a copy of any consumer report pertaining to the child each year until the child is discharged from care, and receives assistance in interpreting and resolving any inaccuracies in the report.
Existing law provides for child welfare services, which are public social services directed toward, among other purposes, protecting and promoting the welfare of all children, including those in foster care placement. Existing law declares the policy of the Legislature that all children in foster care be free from abuse. Existing law requires a county welfare department, county probation department, or the State Department of Social Services to request a consumer credit disclosure on behalf of a child in a foster care placement in the county when the child reaches his or her 16th birthday, and each year thereafter while the child is under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.
This bill would require all counties and the State Department of Social Services to be in full compliance with these provisions and the federal act by July 1, 2015, and would require the State Department of Social Services to, by January 1, 2016, submit a report to the Legislature that identifies the counties that are in compliance with these provisions and the federal act, and the counties that are not in compliance.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 10618.6 of the Welfare and Institutions
2Code is amended to read:
(a) Pursuant to the federal Child and Family Services
4Improvement and Innovation Act of 2011, when a child in a foster
5care placement reaches his or her 16th birthday, and each year
6thereafter, while the child is under the jurisdiction of the juvenile
7court, the county welfare department, county probation department,
8or, if an automated process is available, the State Department of
9Social Services, shall request a consumer credit disclosure from
10each of the three major credit reporting agencies, pursuant to the
11free annual disclosure provision of the federal Fair Credit Reporting
12Act, on the child’s behalf, notwithstanding any other law.
13(1) If a child in foster care placement is found to have an active
14consumer credit report, the county social worker or probation
15officer shall immediately notify the three major credit reporting
16agencies of the child’s placement in foster care and request the
17placement of a freeze on the report, unless the child declines.
18(2) If a child in foster care placement is not found to have an
19active consumer credit report, the county social worker or probation
20officer shall provide the credit reporting agencies with information
21necessary to preclude the child from having a credit account created
22in his or her name, unless the child declines.
P3 1(b) For a nonminor dependent, the county welfare department
2or county probation department shall assist the young adult, on a
3yearly basis while the nonminor dependent is under the jurisdiction
4of the juvenile court, with requesting the consumer credit disclosure
5from each of the three major credit reporting agencies, pursuant
6to the free annual disclosure provision of the federal Fair Credit
7Reporting Act.
8(c) The county social worker or county probation officer shall
9ensure that the child or nonminor dependent receives assistance
10with interpreting the consumer credit disclosure and resolving any
11inaccuracies. The assistance may include, but is not limited to,
12referring the youth to a governmental or nonprofit agency that
13provides consumer credit services. This section does
not require
14the social worker or probation officer to be the individual providing
15the direct assistance with interpreting the consumer credit
16disclosure or resolving the inaccuracies.
17(d) Notwithstanding any other law, in order to request a
18consumer credit disclosure for youth pursuant to this section, the
19county welfare department, county probation department, or, if an
20automated process is available, the State Department of Social
21Services may release necessary information to a credit reporting
22agency.
23(e) All counties and the State Department of Social Services
24shall be in full compliance with this section and the federal Child
25and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act of 2011 by
26July 1, 2015.
27(f) (1) No later than January 1, 2016, the State Department of
28Social Services shall submit a report to the Legislature that
29identifies the counties that are in compliance with this section and
30the federal Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation
31Act of 2011, and the counties that are not in compliance.
32(2) A report submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
33submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
34Code.
35(3) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under
36paragraph (1) is inoperative on January 1, 2020, pursuant to Section
3710231.5 of the Government Code.
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