BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1790|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 1790
Author: Dickinson (D)
Amended: 6/11/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/25/14
AYES: Hernandez, Morrell, Beall, De León, DeSaulnier, Evans,
Monning, Nielsen
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/28/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Foster children: mental health services
SOURCE : Mission Focused Solutions
DIGEST : This bill requires the Department of Social Services
(DSS) to convene a stakeholder group, as specified, to identify
barriers to mental health services by mental health
professionals with specified training. Requires the stakeholder
group, on or before September 30, 2015, to make specific,
non-binding recommendations to specified groups to address the
identified barriers.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Establishes DSS to serve, aid, and protect needy and
vulnerable children and adults in ways that strengthen and
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preserve families, encourage personal responsibility, and
foster independence.
2.Requires a foster child whose adoption is final, who is
receiving or is eligible for Adoption Assistance Program
assistance, including Medi-Cal, and whose foster care court
supervision has been terminated, to 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.
This bill:
1.Requires DSS to convene a stakeholder group to identify
barriers to the provision of mental health services by mental
health professionals with specialized clinical training in
adoption or permanency issues to foster youth receiving
services from the Adoption Assistance Program. Requires the
stakeholder group to include at least all of the following
individuals:
A. Adoptive parents;
B. Former foster youth;
C. Representatives from the mental health and child welfare
fields, including an association representing county mental
health departments;
D. Representatives from mental health and social work
graduate degree-granting postsecondary education
institutions; and
E. Representatives from relevant state and local agencies.
1.Requires the stakeholder group, on or before September 30,
2015, to make specific recommendations for voluntary measures
available to state and local government agencies and private
entities, as appropriate, to address those barriers.
2.Requires DSS to collect existing research and professional
literature pertinent to the need for specialized clinical
training in adoption and permanency issues. Requires DSS to
distribute the information to the stakeholder group and to
coordinate with, and endeavor not to duplicate, existing
local, state, or national initiatives.
3.Prohibits any recommendation made to be construed to be
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binding on any state or local government agency or private
entity.
Comments
According to the author, this bill improves the stability of
adoptive and guardianship families by increasing the pool of
adoption/permanency competent mental health professionals.
Without the support of clinicians with specialized clinical
adoption training and experience, children adopted from foster
care are at unnecessary risk for disruption from their new
families. The consequence is return of children to foster care,
suffering one more devastating loss in a litany of preventable
losses. Despite the increase in the numbers of children in
foster care achieving permanence through adoption and
guardianship, placement into a stable and motivated family is
not sufficient to compensate for psychosocial problems related
to prior trauma and chronic maltreatment. Adoption and
guardianship bring with them unique issues, which if not
understood by the clinician, can result in ineffective or even
damaging treatment. Because adoption issues are not typically
included in the education of psychologists and marriage and
family therapists, these issues are given relatively limited
attention in the training of graduate-level social workers.
Most clinicians are unaware of the impact of the unique issues
facing these families. Rather than getting the help needed, many
adoptive parents and guardians are misunderstood or even blamed
for a child's problems, leaving the family in greater crisis.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/4/14)
Mission Focused Solutions (source)
Adopt a Special Kid
American Academy of Pediatrics
Aspirenet
Better Life Children Services
California Association of Adoption Agencies
California CASA
California Youth Empowerment Network
Capital Adoptive Families Alliance
The Child Abuse Prevention Center
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Childrens Law Center
Community Champions Network, Sacramento
David & Margaret Youth and Family Services
Junior Leagues of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The sponsor and supporters argue that a
large body of research confirms the need for adoption competency
in mental health professionals accepting adoptive and guardian
families as clients. They further argue that children adopted
from foster care bring histories of trauma and loss into their
new families, and providing mental health services to these
families by professionals who do not have training and
experience in adoption competency can and has caused
unintentional harm.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 05/28/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,
Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A.
Pérez, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Donnelly, Vacancy
JL:nl 8/5/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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