BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
AB 1978 (Jones-Sawyer) - Child welfare services.
Amended: June 15, 2014 Policy Vote: HS 3-1; JUD 5-2
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: August 4, 2014
Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 1978 would enact the Child Welfare Social
Worker Empowerment and Foster Child Protection Act to provide
specified protections for county child welfare social workers.
Fiscal Impact: Potential state costs in excess of $50,000 to
$100,000 (General Fund*) for mandated activities on local
agencies associated with the current and future development of
county self-assessments and county improvement plans.
*Pursuant to Proposition 30 (November 2012) any legislation
enacted after September 30, 2012, that has an overall effect of
increasing the costs already borne by a local agency for
programs or levels of service mandated by realignment (including
child welfare services) only apply to local agencies to the
extent that the state provides annual funding for the cost
increase.
Background: Existing law establishes a system of child welfare
services (CWS) for abused and neglected children which is
overseen by the Department of Social Services (DSS) and
administered by individual counties. Chapter 678/2001
established the California Child and Family Service Review
(CFSR) System in order to review all county child welfare
systems according to outcome indicators and to identify and
promote the replication of best practices in CWS delivery. Under
current law, DSS is required to provide information annually to
the appropriate policy and budget committees of the Legislature
including findings and recommendations for CWS improvements
identified in county self-assessments and county system
improvement plans.
Existing law authorizes the DSS and county welfare departments
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or agencies to comment on a case involving a child fatality
which is suspected to have been caused by abuse or neglect. This
bill would also authorize a county child welfare social worker
to comment on the case within the scope of the release of
documents by the custodian of records.
Proposed Law: This bill would enact the Child Welfare Social
Worker Empowerment and Foster Child Protection Act to provide
specified protections for county child welfare social workers.
Specifically, this bill:
Requires counties to consult with specified stakeholders in
developing county self-assessments and county improvement
plans, or in any subsequent county self-assessments, and
requires counties to consult with at least one county child
welfare worker named by the bargaining unit representing
children's social workers.
Requires the county improvement plans developed and approved
by the county board of supervisors to include a separately
titled provision that lists and provides the rationale for
proposed operational improvements identified during the
stakeholder process that may be implemented at a cost savings
to the county or within existing resources.
Authorizes a social worker to comment on a case involving a
child fatality if the county welfare department or agency
comments publicly about the case within the scope of the
release of documents.
Specifies that a county child welfare agency that is an
employer of social workers engaged in providing child welfare
services shall not retaliate 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.
Includes uncodified legislative findings and declarations.
Prior Legislation: AB 921 (Jones-Sawyer) 2013 was substantially
similar to this measure. This bill was vetoed by the Governor
with the following message:
I am returning Assembly Bill 921 without my signature. Among its
provisions, the bill would allow any social worker to comment on
any child welfare services policy, procedure and practice, or
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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.
AB 1015 (Calderon) 2011 was identical to one provision included
in this measure that would have required counties to consult
with specified stakeholders when developing county
self-assessments, county improvement plans, or similar reports,
and would have required counties to include in their CFSRs a
discussion of operational improvements that could be implemented
at a cost savings or within existing resources. This bill was
held on the Suspense File of this Committee.
Staff Comments: This bill would require each county to consult
with stakeholders, including but not limited to, county child
welfare agencies and probation agency staff at all levels,
foster care providers, children's attorneys, and current and
former foster youth when developing county self-assessments,
county improvement plans, or similar reports required by any
subsequent changes to the California CFSR System. The county
would additionally be required to consult with at least one
county child welfare worker named by the bargaining unit
representing children's social workers.
This bill would also require county improvement plans that are
approved by the county board of supervisors to include a
separately titled provision that lists and provides the
rationale for proposed operational improvements identified
during the stakeholder process that may be implemented at a cost
savings to the county or within existing county resources.
Prior to FY 2011-12, the state and counties contributed to the
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non-federal share of child welfare services expenditures. AB 118
(Committee on Budget) Chapter 40/2011 and ABX1 16 Chapter
13/2011 realigned state funding to the counties through the 2011
Local Revenue Fund (LRF) for various programs, including child
welfare services. As a result, beginning in FY 2011-12 and for
each fiscal year thereafter, non-federal funding and
expenditures for child welfare services activities are funded
through the 2011 LRF.
Proposition 30, passed by the voters in November 2012, among
other provisions, eliminated any potential mandate funding
liability for any new program or higher level of service
provided by counties related to the realigned programs. Although
the provisions of this bill create a mandate on local agencies,
any increased costs would not appear to be subject to
reimbursement by the state. Rather, Proposition 30 specifies
that for legislation enacted after September 30, 2012, that has
an overall effect of increasing the costs already borne by a
local agency for realigned programs, the provisions shall apply
to local agencies only to the extent that the state provides
annual funding for the cost increase.
Counties currently receive an appropriation to conduct CFSR
activities and are encouraged to use existing planning processes
and community-based groups to facilitate public input in the
self-assessment and county improvement planning process. As a
result, the DSS estimates the impact associated with the
requirement to consult with additional stakeholders in the
county assessment and county improvement planning process is
estimated to be minor. However, the level of staff resources and
workload involved with the development of reports required by
future changes to the CFSR System is unknown at this time, and
could result in potentially significant state costs in order to
comply with subsequent changes to the reporting process to the
extent this legislation has an overall effect of increasing the
costs already borne by a local agency for realigned child
welfare services, and the state is required to provide annual
funding for the cost increase.
Should the development of cost neutral operational improvements
to be included in county improvement plans necessitate
additional time and resources could also result in minor to
significant state costs. The impact would vary by county and
would be dependent upon the breadth and scope of the operational
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improvements included in each county's plan.
To the extent the provisions of this bill facilitate the
development of improved practices could result in improved
outcomes for children and assist the state in ensuring
compliance with required federal standards.