BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






                                  SENATE HUMAN
                               SERVICES COMMITTEE
                            Senator Jim Beall, Chair


          BILL NO:       AB 1978                                      
          A
          AUTHOR:        Jones-Sawyer                                 
          B
          VERSION:       May 7, 2014
          HEARING DATE:  June 10, 2014                                
          1
          FISCAL:        Yes                                          
          9
                                                                      
          7
          CONSULTANT:    Sara Rogers                                  
          8

                                        

                                     SUBJECT
                                         
                             Child Welfare Services

                                     SUMMARY  

          This bill prohibits a county child welfare agency from  
          retaliating against a social worker if the social worker  
          discloses that they believe a policy, procedure, or  
          practice endangers the health or well-being of a child or  
          children, as specified. The bill requires counties, in  
          developing self-assessments and improvement plans of their  
          child welfare services, to consult with stakeholders, as  
          specified, and to consult with at least one county child  
          welfare worker named by the bargaining unit representing  
          children's social workers. Makes other related changes.

                                     ABSTRACT  

           Existing law:


           1)Requires the state, through the California Department of  
            Social Services (CDSS) and county welfare departments, to  

                                                         Continued---




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            establish and support a public system of child welfare  
            services to protect and promote the welfare of children.  
            (WIC 16500)


          2)Establishes the California Child and Family Service  
            Review (C-CFSR) System to maximize compliance with  
            federal Social Security Act Title IV-E Regulations and to  
            improve child welfare outcomes for children and their  
            families in the areas of child protection, foster care,  
            adoption, family connections and independent living  
            services.  (WIC 10601.2)


          3)Under federal law, establishes the Child Abuse Prevention  
            and Treatment Act (CAPTA) which provides fully federal  
            grant funding to applicant states to improve child  
            protective service systems and for child abuse prevention  
            activities. Requires the submission of a state plan, as  
            specified, and requires services to be coordinated with  
            Title IV-B services. Additionally requires states to  
            report specified information regarding child fatalities  
            (42 U.S.C. 5106 et seq)


          4)Establishes the California State Child Death Review  
            Council to oversee the statewide coordination and  
            integration of state and local efforts to address fatal  
            child abuse or neglect and to create a body of  
            information to prevent child deaths. (PEN 11174.34 (b)  
            (1))


          5)Provides for the establishment of county Child Death  
            Review Teams to assist local agencies in identifying and  
            reviewing suspicious child deaths and facilitating  
            communication among persons who perform autopsies and the  
            various persons and agencies involved in child abuse or  
            neglect cases. (PEN 11174.32) 


          6)Requires each child death review team to make findings,  
            conclusions, recommendations and specified data available  
            to the public no less than once each year. (PEN 11174.32  
            (e) (1))





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          7)Provides that all applications and records maintained or  
            kept in regards to the administration or provision of  
            social services, as specified, to be confidential and not  
            be made open other than for the purposes of the  
            administration or provision of the social service  
            programs, unless otherwise specified.  (WIC 10850)


          8)Requires specified information from a child welfare case  
            related to the suspected death of a child cause by abuse  
            or neglect to be released within five days, and permits  
            DSS and the CWA to comment on the case within the scope  
            of the release, as specified.  (WIC 10850(a) and (g))


           This bill:


           1)Makes legislative findings regarding the role that the  
            delivery of child welfare service by state and local  
            government plays in meeting the needs of vulnerable  
            children. 


          2)Requires counties, in developing self-assessments and  
            improvement plans of their child welfare services, to  
            consult with stakeholders, including county child welfare  
            agencies and probation agency staff at all levels,  
            current and former foster children, children's attorneys,  
            and foster care providers.

          3)Requires counties, when doing self-assessments and  
            improvement plans in child welfare, to consult with at  
            least one county child welfare worker named by the  
            bargaining unit representing children's social workers.

          4)Requires that county child welfare improvement plans  
            include a separately titled provision that lists and  
            provides the rationale for proposed operational  
            improvements identified during the stakeholder process  
            that can be implemented at a cost savings to the county  
            or within existing county resources.






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          5)Prohibits a county child welfare agency from retaliating  
            against a social worker if the social worker has  
            reasonable cause to believe that a policy, procedure, or  
            practice related to the provision of child welfare  
            services endangers the health or well-being of a child or  
            children and the social worker discloses this information  
            to a government or law enforcement agency, an appointed  
            or elected official, or the public.

          6)Provides that nothing in this bill authorizes a social  
            worker within a county child welfare agency to disclose  
            the identity of a child or any portion of a case file.

          7)Authorizes county child welfare social workers to comment  
            on a child welfare case, within the scope of the  
            information released, once documents have been released  
            by the custodian of records, as specified.

                                  FISCAL IMPACT  

          An Assembly Appropriations Analysis states there are  
          potential state costs in the range of $50,000 to $100,000  
          (GF) for mandated activities on local agencies associated  
          with the current and future development of county  
          self-assessments and county improvement plans.

                            BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION  

           Purpose of the bill


           This measure is a re-introduction of AB 921 (Jones-Sawyer)  
          from 2013. As initially proposed, AB 921 established civil  
          penalties for specified offenses committed against a social  
          worker and a requirement for counties to adopt an ordinance  
          that provides social workers specific additional authority  
          and protections. However those provisions were removed  
          prior to the bill reaching the Governor. AB 1978 reflects  
          the final version of AB 921 as was adopted by the  
          Legislature, but vetoed by the Governor. 


          The Governor's veto message for AB 921 stated:







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               Among its provisions, the bill would allow any social  
               worker to comment on any child welfare services  
               policy, procedure and practice, or any publicly  
               released child fatality case, with impunity.


               While this bill has the best of intentions, it  
               overreaches.  The judgment of social workers should be  
               valued, but we don't need a law to protect their  
               opinions, and theirs alone.  Social workers, like  
               other public or private employees, already have  
               "whistleblower" protections for illegal acts they  
               report.  Specific county policies and practices that  
               are legal but problematic should be resolved at the  
               county level, or through legislation as a last resort,  
               when counties cannot do it on their own. 


               Social workers, the state and counties all have a duty  
               to protect children who are abused and neglected.  We  
               should all work together in good faith to that end.


          According to the sponsor of the bill, Service Employees  
          International Union (SEIU), this bill is a response to a  
          series of tragic child deaths as a result of abuse and  
          neglect that occurred in two of California's largest  
          counties; Los Angeles and Sacramento.  In support of this  
          bill, SEIU writes:


               "Over the years, SEIU members who are social workers  
               have shared numerous stories of their attempts to make  
               changes in the child protective services systems they  
               work in to benefit children and families?but workers'  
               recommendations often fall on deaf ears, and in some  
               cases, suggestions and concerns have even been met  
               with responses ranging from indifference to hostility.  
               AB 1978 seeks to provide protections to workers who  
               have firsthand experience and knowledge on how  
               policies and procedures affect child safety. 


               This bill will also allow social workers to comment on  
               circumstances related to a child death. SB 39, enacted  





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               in 2009 allowed for the public to have access to  
               specific information in a child's CPS file if there  
               was a child death. SB 39 required the county to  
               provide the information in a specified time and also  
               allowed for county officials to comment on the case  
               while maintaining strict confidentiality standards. AB  
               1978 seeks to provide the same ability to comment on  
               cases with the same confidentiality protection as in  
               current law for county social workers who have worked  
               on the case resulting in a child death."


           Child Welfare System


           California has a complex child welfare system incorporating  
          federal, state and local funds expended for the broad  
          purpose of child welfare, including child abuse prevention  
          and response. The federal Administration of Children and  
          Families (ACF) administers numerous federal grants intended  
          to assist states with child abuse prevention and response  
          and to support the foster care system which provides board  
          and care payments for eligible dependent children. Within  
          the statutorily established parameters for each grant,  
          states have substantial flexibility in how to apportion  
          funds but are accountable to significant federal oversight  
          of program administration.  


          The California Department of Social Services (CDSS)  
          supervises the 58 county-administered Child Welfare  
          Services (CWS) system which investigates approximately  
          32,000 reports of severe injury, death and life threatening  
          neglect of children annually. According to DSS, as of  
          January 2014, there were nearly 61,000 children currently  
          in foster care placement, with nearly one in three residing  
          in Los Angeles County.  


          Child and Family Services Review System (CFSR)

          Federal law pursuant to Title IV-B of the Social Security  
          Act and state law pursuant to AB 636 (Steinberg, Chapter  
          678, Statutes of 2001) establish an outcomes-based review  
          process administered known as the Child and Family Services  





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          Review System (CFSR). 


          At the federal level, the Children's Bureau of the  
          Administration for Children and Families under the U.S.  
          Department of Health and Human Services Agency conducts the  
          CFSR based on a statewide assessment prepared by CDSS,  
          state child welfare data, case reviews and interviews and  
          focus groups conducted on site. Additionally, the process  
          includes an Annual Progress and Services Report to  
          establish transparent performance measures, accountability  
          and program improvement plans (PIPs) for states to improve  
          child welfare systems. California's most recent CFSR in  
          2008 found that the state did not achieve substantial  
          compliance with any of the safety, permanency or wellbeing  
          outcomes identified including home permanency, safety from  
          abuse and neglect, timeliness of adoptions, placement  
          stability, educational needs and others and a PIP was  
          established.<1> 


          The report additionally found that California's low  
          performance may be attributed at least in part to the lack  
          of state-wideness for implementation of many of the state's  
          innovative best practices, as well as high social worker  
          caseloads and high turnover, insufficient numbers of foster  
          homes and insufficient support and training for caregivers,  
          and an over reliance on group homes and residential  
          treatment facilities.<2> The PIP was deemed substantially  
          completed by 2011 and last year ACF rescinded all  
          penalties. A new CFSR is expected in 2016.


          California Outcomes and Accountability System (C-CFSR) 


          In addition to the federal CFSR process, California has  
          established a corollary process called the Outcomes and  
          -------------------------
          <1> C-CFSR 2008.  
          http://www.childsworld.ca.gov/res/pdf/CFSRExecSummary2008.pd 
          f
          <2> Final Report: California Child and Family Services  
          Review.  July 2008.   
           http://www.childsworld.ca.gov/res/pdf/CFSRFinalReport2008.pd 
          f  




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          Accountability System (C-CFSR) which requires counties to  
          develop a county self-assessment and System Improvement  
          Plan (SIP). The county self-assessment is completed every  
          five years by the county in coordination with local  
          community stakeholders to provide a comprehensive review of  
          the child welfare and probation placement programs, from  
          prevention through permanency and aftercare. The subsequent  
          SIP establishes an "operational agreement" between CDSS and  
          the county and is developed by lead county agencies in  
          collaboration with local stakeholders, prevention and early  
          intervention partners and is approved by the county Board  
          of Supervisors. Following development of the CSA and SIP,  
          the county develops an annual SIP Progress Report to  
          reevaluate and determine whether the SIP strategies are  
          successful and to provide an opportunity for amendment.<3> 


          According to CDSS instructions the CFSR process includes  
          the establishment of a team led by representatives from the  
          County's Child Welfare Department, Probation Placement  
          Agency and CDSS. The team may also include additional  
          county agency staff and community partners who contribute  
          to quarterly outcome reviews, CSA and SIP development, SIP  
          Progress reports, as well as other required reports. 




          According to the CFSR Instruction Manual, "In counties  
          where staff are represented by labor unions, the county is  
          encouraged to request participation of line supervisors and  
          staff as selected by the union, in addition to other  
          staff."<4> The Instruction Manual additionally states that  
          "input from stakeholders is essential throughout the C-CFSR  
          cycle. The C-CFSR process requires input from stakeholders  
          within the county who participate in providing services to  
          children and families involved in the child welfare system  
          as well as from individuals who are receiving or have  
          -------------------------


          <3> California Child and Family Services Review Manual  
          Instruction  
           http://www.childsworld.ca.gov/res/pdf/CCFSRInstructionManual 
          .pdf  
          <4> Ibid.






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          received services." 


          Child Fatality Reviews


          SB 39 (Migden) Chapter 468, Statutes of 2007, required  
          county welfare departments to notify CDSS following every  
          child fatality that occurred within its jurisdiction  
          determined to be the result of abuse and/or neglect. The  
          determination that abuse or neglect resulted in the child's  
          death can be made by a coroner, law enforcement agency, the  
          Child Welfare services agency or probation department. SB  
          39 required CDSS to issue an annual report identifying  
          child fatalities and any systemic issues or patterns  
          revealed by the notices submitted by the counties and any  
          other relevant information in the Department's possession. 


          Additionally, the federal Child Abuse Prevention Treatment  
          Act (CAPTA) requires states to have policies that allow for  
          the public disclosure of child fatality information, but  
          does not require that information be disclosed. (42 U.S.C.  
          § 5106) When a county learns that a child fatality has  
          occurred and has a reasonable suspicion that the fatality  
          was a result of abuse or neglect, the county is required to  
          open a child welfare investigation and make a determination  
          whether the fatality was the result of abuse or neglect. If  
          it has been determined that the child fatality was the  
          result of substantiated abuse or neglect, the county is  
          required to file a report with CDSS including the following  
          information that is collected in aggregate for further  
          statewide analysis: 


                 The age and gender of the child. 
                 The date of death. 
                 Residence of child at the time of death.
                 Whether an investigation is being conducted by a  
               law enforcement agency and/or the county child welfare  
               agency.
                 Which agency made a determination whether the child  
               fatality was or was not the result of abuse and/or  
               neglect.






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          The law additionally provides for the public disclosure of  
          specified information related to a child fatality case.  
          Child fatality cases can generate intense public interest  
          and media attention, in this regard state and federal law  
          seeks to balance the need for accountability and attention  
          to be paid to tragic circumstances that may have been  
          preventable, with the privacy needs of any surviving  
          siblings that may be negatively affected by public comment  
          and publicity. Additionally, criminal proceedings may be  
          affected by the release of information publicly.


          Furthermore, SB 39 authorizes a county human services  
          director to speak publicly about certain elements of a case  
          if other parties in the case are also speaking publicly  
          about the incident. The California Welfare Directors  
          Association of California writes that:


               "The very sensitive nature of the cases of some  
               children in our care necessitates that any public  
               commentary regarding same, be handled with the utmost  
               thoughtfulness and delicacy. There are certainly  
               instances where a human services director authorized  
               by SB 39 to publicly comment on a case decides not to  
               do so to protect the privacy and well-being of  
               innocent parties, such as a sibling. 


               We believe if a county human services director opts to  
               comment publicly about a child fatality, the child  
               welfare social worker on the case should also have  
               that option. However, AB 1978 would authorize a child  
               welfare social worker to comment publicly about a  
               child fatality case, even if the county human services  
               director decides not to comment publicly to protect  
               the privacy of other parties.  Given the privacy and  
               well-being risks to multiple parties that must be  
               weighed against the interest of transparency, the  
               decision of a county agency - or its employees - to  
               initiate public comments about a child fatality is  
               appropriately made by the agency director.







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               Accordingly, we request that your bill be amended to  
               permit the social worker assigned to the case in  
               question to publicly comment only when the county  
               welfare director has done so first." 


          In response to these concerns, SEIU writes:


               "This bill does not propose to change anything in  
               current law related to confidentiality protections and  
               rights of children and families that we  
               serve?.Government Code Section 6252(b) [provides that]  
               if a social worker discloses any portion of what is in  
               a case file...including by definition the identity of  
               anyone in it - she or he loses the modest protection  
               against being disciplined afforded by the law."


                                   PRIOR VOTES  

          Assembly Floor      64 - 9
          Assembly Appropriations  14 - 3
          Assembly Human Services    5 - 0

                                    POSITIONS  

          Support:       Service Employees International Union -  
          California (sponsor)

          Oppose:   None received.






                                   -- END --