BILL NUMBER: AB 1790 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 23, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 24, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 9, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 25, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Dickinson
FEBRUARY 18, 2014
An act to amend Section 16125 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, relating to foster children.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1790, as amended, Dickinson. Foster children: mental health
services.
Existing law provides for the Adoption Assistance Program,
administered by the State Department of Social Services, which
provides for the payment by the department and counties of cash
assistance to eligible families that adopt eligible children, and
bases the amount of the payment on the needs of the child and the
circumstances of the family. Under existing law, the department,
county adoption agency, or licensed adoption agency is required,
among other duties, to provide the prospective adoptive family with
information on the availability of mental health services through the
Medi-Cal program or other programs. Existing law provides that a
foster child whose adoption has become final and who is receiving or
is eligible to receive Adoption Assistance Program assistance,
including Medi-Cal, and whose foster care court supervision has been
terminated, shall be provided medically necessary specialty mental
health services by the local mental health plan in the county of
residence of his or her adoptive parents, as specified.
This bill would require the county mental health plan to
take steps to increase the pool of specialty mental health providers
who meet specified training or experience criteria and are available
to meet the needs of children formerly in foster care who have been
adopted or placed with a guardian. The bill would require
the State Department of Social Services to convene a stakeholder
group to recommend strategies and facilitate the development
of processes relating to the education and training of these
specialty mental health providers, and to consult with the State
Department of Health Care Services to ensure that these provisions
are implemented in compliance with state and federal requirements
governing the Medi-Cal program. identify barriers to
the provision of mental health services by mental health
professionals with specialized clinical training in adoption or
permanency issues to children receiving those medically necessary
specialty mental health services . The bill would authorize
the stakeholder group to make specific recommendations for voluntary
measures to address those barriers, but would provide that those
recommendations are not binding on any state or local government
agency or private entity. The bill would require the
stakeholder group to coordinate with, and endeavor not to duplicate,
existing local, state, or national initiatives.
To the extent that it would impose new duties on counties in
connection with the provision of mental health services, this bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes no .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and
declares all of the following:
(1) Despite the increase in the number of children achieving
permanence through adoption, placement of a child into a stable and
motivated family is not considered sufficient to compensate for
psychosocial problems related to prior trauma and chronic
maltreatment. As the number of adopted children with significant
developmental and emotional issues surrounding their adoption
experience has grown, the need has increased for child welfare
professionals and clinicians with an in-depth understanding of
adoption issues and the skills to work effectively with adoptive
persons and their families.
(2) Many textbooks for counseling professionals have limited
coverage of adoption. As a result, most mental health practitioners
and many child welfare professionals lack knowledge about adoption
and the issues that are unique to adoptive families. Many mental
health professionals, for example, are unaware of the potential
impact of adoption on clients. Given the absence of education on
adoption issues, it is not surprising that many counselors report
feeling unprepared to deal with adoption related issues in their
practice.
(3) The interest in developing specialized clinical training in
adoption has evolved over two decades as a result of the high demand
for postadoption services by families and the lack of local mental
health and post permanency supports that address the needs of
adoptive families.
(4) Adoption competence begins with a solid foundation of
knowledge and clinical skills gained through an approved graduate
program in psychiatry, psychology, social work, marriage and family
therapy, or counseling. Meeting the needs of individuals and families
touched by adoption also requires specialized training in
assessment, diagnosis, and intervention. At each phase of the
clinical process, therapists must be attuned to the complex array of
historical and contemporary factors impacting the lives of their
clients and, specifically, to the ways in which the adoption
experience can influence their identity, relationships, and
development.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to
increase stability of adoptive and guardianship families by
increasing the pool of adoption and permanency competent mental
health professionals.
SEC. 2. SECTION 1. Section 16125 of
the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:
16125. A foster child whose adoption has become final, who is
receiving or is eligible to receive Adoption Assistance Program
assistance, including Medi-Cal, and whose foster care court
supervision has been terminated, shall be provided medically
necessary specialty mental health services by the local mental health
plan in the county of residence of his or her adoptive parents,
pursuant to all of the following:
(a) The host county mental health plan shall be responsible for
submitting the treatment authorization request (TAR) to the mental
health plan in the county of origin.
(b) The requesting public or private service provider shall
prepare the TAR.
(c) The county of origin shall retain responsibility for
authorization and reauthorization of services utilizing an expedited
TAR process.
(d) (1) The county mental health plan shall take steps to increase
the pool of specialty mental health providers who meet all of the
following training or experience criteria and are available to meet
the needs of children formerly in foster care who have been adopted
or placed with a guardian:
(A) The mental health professional has completed the requisite
education and obtained all necessary licenses otherwise required by
law.
(B) The mental health professional has completed a minimum of 48
hours of training from an evidence-informed post-graduate adoption or
permanency training program, continuing education courses, or
individual workshops. Topics covered in the curricula shall be
documented and shall include, at a minimum, all of the following:
(i) Separation, grief, and loss.
(ii) Attachment.
(iii) Trauma and brain development.
(iv) Identity formation.
(v) Openness in adoption.
(vi) Impact of prenatal or postnatal exposure to drugs and
alcohol.
(vii) Adoptive family formation, integration, and developmental
stages.
(viii) Family constellation challenges in adoption, including the
birth family and the adoptive family.
(ix) Race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, and
cultural competence.
(x) Tools for skilled practice.
(xi) Tools for adoptive parents, including, but not limited to,
decoding behaviors, how to mitigate impacts of trauma, and
recognizing behavioral and emotional challenges in context of life
histories.
(C) The mental health professional utilizes family-based,
strength-based, and evidence-based approach to working with adoptive
families and birth families.
(D) The mental health professional utilizes developmental and
systemic approach to understanding and working with adoptive and
birth families.
(E) The mental health professional demonstrates knowledge,
clinical skills, and experience in treating individuals with a
history of abuse, neglect, or trauma.
(F) The mental health professional demonstrates knowledge,
clinical skills, and experience in working with adoptive families and
birth families.
(2)
(d) (1) The State Department of
Social Services shall convene a stakeholder group comprised of
adoptive parents, representatives from the mental health and child
welfare fields, representatives from relevant state and local
agencies, and others, as appropriate, to facilitate
the development of a process to approve curricula and determine
criteria for trainers, and to facilitate the establishment of a
process by which mental health practitioners document adoption and
permanency training and experience that satisfies the criteria set
forth in paragraph (1). The stakeholder group shall recommend a
strategy to educate mental health professionals working with adoptive
and guardianship families about the importance of obtaining training
and experience that will increase the pool of mental health
professionals who can meet the needs of children who were formerly in
foster care and are now in adoptive and guardianship families. The
stakeholder group shall also consult with the State Department of
Health Care Services to ensure that this subdivision is implemented
in compliance with state and federal requirements governing the
Medi-Cal program. to identify barriers to the
provision of mental health services by mental health professionals
with specialized clinical training in adoption or permanency issues
to children who are receiving services pursuant to this section. The
stakeholder group may make specific recommendations for voluntary
measures available to state and local government agencies and private
entities, as appropriate, to address those barriers. The stakeholder
group shall coordinate with, and endeavor not to duplicate, existing
local, state, or national i nitiatives.
(2) A recommendation made pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not be
construed to be binding on any state or local government agency or
private entity.
SEC. 3. If the Commission on State Mandates
determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs
shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.