BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                                                                  AB 2187
                                                                  Page A
          Date of Hearing:   April 29, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
                                  Mark Stone, Chair
                   AB 2187 ( Cooley) - As Amended:  April 21, 2014
           
          SUBJECT  :  County children's trust funds

           SUMMARY  :  Maintains birth certificate fees collected for child  
          abuse prevention and intervention services in the county in  
          which a newborn child will reside rather than the county in  
          which the child is born if the child is born outside of the  
          county in which his or her mother resides.

          Specifically,  this bill  :

          1)Deletes the requirement that a portion of birth certificate  
            fees goes to a county children's trust fund in the county in  
            which a child is born but will not reside unless a child is  
            born outside of a mother's county of residence due to the  
            county of residence not having a licensed health facility that  
            provides maternity services. 

           EXISTING LAW  

          1)Establishes a structure of fees required of applicants  
            requesting certified copies of birth certificates, including  
            $12 to be paid by an agency applicant, as specified, and $18  
            to be paid by any other applicant, $4 of which is to be paid  
            to either a county children's trust fund or to the State  
            Children's Trust Fund, as specified.  (H&S 103625(b))

          2)Authorizes a board of supervisors to designate a voluntary  
            commission or council to establish a county children's trust  
            fund, which shall consist of moneys collected from birth  
            certificate fees, grants, gifts, or bequests from private  
            sources to be used for child abuse and neglect prevention and  
            intervention programs, and any funds appropriated by local  
            governmental entities or the Legislature.  (WIC 18966)

          3)Requires a county treasurer to transmit moneys collected from  
            birth certificate fees for its county children's trust fund  
            that pertain to the birth certificate of a child whose mother  
            was a resident of another county at the time of birth to the  
            treasurer of the county of the mother's residence if that  









                                                                  AB 2187
                                                                  Page B
            county has an established county children's trust fund and  
            does not have a licensed health facility that provides  
            maternity services.  (WIC 18966)

          4)Requires the money in a county's children's trust fund to be  
            used to fund child abuse and neglect prevention and  
            intervention programs that are recommended by the commission  
            or council and chosen by the county board of supervisors, as  
            specified.  (WIC 18967)

          5)Establishes the state Office of Child Abuse Prevention within  
            the Department of Social Services (DSS), which administers the  
            State Children's Trust Fund and funds and coordinates local  
            services that help strengthen and preserve families and carry  
            out activities related to child abuse and neglect prevention  
            and intervention.  (WIC 18952) 

          6)Establishes in the State Treasury the State Children's Trust  
            Fund, consisting of moneys transmitted from counties without a  
            county children's trust fund, personal income tax donations,  
            grants, gifts, or bequests made to the state from private  
            sources to be used for innovative and distinctive child abuse  
            and neglect prevention and intervention projects, and money  
            appropriated by the Legislature for that purpose.  (WIC 18969)

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Office of  
          Legislative Counsel.

           COMMENTS  :  This bill seeks to ensure that the portion of a  
          child's birth certificate fees collected for the purpose of  
          funding child abuse and neglect prevention and intervention  
          programs goes to the county in which the child lives.

           Children's trust funds  :  The State Children's Trust Fund was  
          established in 1983 specifically for the purpose of funding  
          child abuse and neglect prevention efforts.  Funds are  
          administered by the Office of Child Abuse Prevention, and  
          include a portion of specialty license plate revenue from the  
          Child Health and Safety Fund, voluntary income tax donations,  
          and a portion of birth certificate fees.  The primary goal of  
          the Fund is to allocate resources for large-scale public  
          awareness, education, and campaigns around child abuse  
          prevention.  Similarly, county children's trust funds are a  
          resource for local, more targeted child abuse prevention and  
          intervention efforts, such as facilitating community education  









                                                                  AB 2187
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          and awareness and coordinating prevention programs among  
          multiple entities.

           Child abuse numbers and effects  :  Data provided through  
          California's Child Welfare Services/Case Management System  
          (CWS/CMS) reveals that 81,381 allegations of child abuse  
          reported in 2013 were substantiated, while another 89,193 were  
          determined to be inconclusive, and 15,321 are still pending a  
          final determination.<1>  According to information from the  
          Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), child  
          maltreatment, including physical abuse, sexual abuse and  
          neglect, among other detrimental experiences, causes stress that  
          can disrupt early brain development.  When this stress turns  
          into chronic stress, the development of a child's nervous and  
          immune systems can be compromised, which results in a higher  
          risk for physical and mental health problems when the child  
          becomes an adult.  The CDC notes that these problems include  
          alcoholism, depression, drug abuse, eating disorders, obesity,  
          high-risk sexual behaviors, smoking, suicide, and certain  
          chronic diseases.

           Need for this bill  :  Under current law, a portion of the fees  
          paid to acquire certified copies of birth certificates goes to  
          either a county children's trust fund, or to the State  
          Children's Trust Fund if a county doesn't have one established.   
          The structure for the deposit of funds in a county children's  
          trust fund is meant to be proportional to the number of children  
          born in the county.  Statute is based on the assumption that a  
          pregnant woman will have her child in her county of residence  
          unless the county lacks a maternity facility, which is why a  
          portion of the fees paid for her child's birth certificate goes  
          to the children's trust fund for the county in which her child  
          is born.  This can result in reduced revenue sources for child  
          abuse prevention and intervention efforts for the children  
          they're intended to serve.

          According to the author:
          ---------------------------
          <1>Needell, B., Webster, D., Armijo, M., Lee, S., Dawson, W.,  
          Magruder, J., Exel, M., Cuccaro-Alamin, S., Putnam-Hornstein,  
          E., Sandoval, A., Yee, H., Mason, F., Benton, C., Lou, C., Peng,  
          C., King, B., & Lawson, J. (2014). CCWIP reports. Retrieved  
          4/18/2014, from University of California at Berkeley California  
          Child Welfare Indicators Project website. URL:  
           http://cssr.berkeley.edu/ucb_childwelfare  









                                                                  AB 2187
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          "Given the current nature of health care delivery, in which  
          health insurance parameters may dictate what delivery facilities  
          that are in a patient's "network," some patients may opt to  
          deliver outside of the county in which they live.  To ensure  
          that each county receives the funds for the children it provides  
          programs and services for, it is vital that the fee for requests  
          of copies of a child's birth certificate should follow the  
          child, regardless of where the child's mother gives birth."

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          California Family Resource Association
          The Child Abuse Prevention Center (CAP Center) (sponsor)

           Opposition 
           
          None on file.
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916)  
          319-2089