BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 2454
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 8, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
                                  Mark Stone, Chair
                  AB 2454 (Quirk-Silva) - As amended:  April 2, 2014
           
          SUBJECT  :  Foster youth: nonminor dependents.

           SUMMARY  :  Permits a former nonminor dependent (NMD) who was  
          receiving Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment (Kin-GAP)  
          Program or Adoption Assistance Payment (AAP) Program assistance  
          after they turned 18 years of age and whose guardian(s) or  
          adoptive parent(s) are failing to provide ongoing support for  
          the NMD, as conditioned upon the receipt of Kin-GAP or AAP  
          services, to voluntarily re-enter extended foster care upon the  
          approval of the juvenile court. 

           EXISTING LAW   

          1)Establishes the California Fostering Connections to Success  
            Act of 2010 which, among other provisions:  

             a)   Provides for the extension of transitional foster care  
               to eligible youth up to age 21 as a voluntary program for  
               youth who meet specified work and education participation  
               criteria; and,

             b)   Requires changes to the Kin-GAP program in order to  
               allow for federal financial participation in the program.  
               (Chapter 559, Statutes of 2010)

          2)Defines a "nonminor dependent" as a current or former foster  
            child between the ages of 18 and 21 who is in foster care  
            under the responsibility of the county welfare department,  
            county probation department, or Indian Tribe and is  
            participating in a transitional independent living plan.  (W&I  
            Code 11400(v))

          3)Provides for the voluntary continuation or reentry into foster  
            care for nonminor dependents who meet general Aid to Families  
            with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) requirements and  
            when the nonminor youth has signed a voluntary mutual  
            agreement, as specified.  (W&I Code 11403)

          4)Permits re-entry into extended foster care for a NMD whose  








                                                                  AB 2454
                                                                  Page  2

            guardian or adoptive parent died if the NMD is between the  
            ages of 18 and 21.  (W&I Code 11403(c))

          5)Makes Legislative findings and declarations that the  
            continuation of the state-funded Kin-GAP Program is necessary  
            to ensure that wards and dependent children of the juvenile  
            court whose placement in the home of an approved relative that  
            is funded under the California Work Opportunity and  
            Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program are equally eligible  
            for the benefits derived from legal permanency with the  
            related guardian and that the state can maximize improvements  
            to federal permanency outcome measures by exiting nonfederally  
            eligible youth to the state's subsidized kinship guardianship  
            program.  (W&I Code 11360)

          6)Establishes the AAP to recruit, retain and maintain healthy  
            and successful adoptions of youth in the child welfare system  
            by providing supportive benefits on behalf of the adopted  
            child to the adoptive parents.  (W&I Code 16115)

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown.

           COMMENTS :    

           Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment (Kin-GAP) Program  :  The  
          Kin-GAP program was established by SB 1901 (McPherson), Chapter  
          1055, Statutes of 1998, to provide children exiting dependency  
          into permanency with a relative or legal guardian.  It was  
          expanded by AB 1808 (Assembly Budget Committee) Chapter 75,  
          Statutes of 2006 to include probation youth who were exiting  
          delinquency.  The intent of the Kin-GAP program is to help  
          improve permanency opportunities for foster youth by providing  
          integral support benefits to help enable the foster youth's  
          relatives to open their home to the youth.  

          The Kin-GAP Program offers a subsidy on behalf of children that  
          is 100% of the basic foster care rate, based upon age.  Movement  
          to Kin-GAP is not automatic.  The court, with a recommendation  
          from the county social worker or probation officer, has  
          discretion regarding whether termination of court involvement is  
          in the child's best interest.  Relative caregiver's  
          participation in Kin-GAP is strictly voluntary, and not mandated  
          by any regulations or statutes.  Each family's situation is  
          unique, therefore the decision regarding a child's permanent  
          plan must be mutual between the county, the relative, and child  








                                                                  AB 2454
                                                                  Page  3

          where age appropriate, in order to ensure that the chosen  
          alternative will be successful.  

           Adoption Assistance Program  :  California's AAP was created to  
          reduce the number of children in foster care and help to provide  
          stable, secure adoptive homes for eligible children.  The amount  
          of AAP support is based on the child's needs and family's  
          circumstances, with eligibility periodically reassessed.   
          Payments continue until the child reaches age 18, unless a  
          mental or physical disability creates eligibility until the age  
          of 21.  For children who are federally eligible, the costs of  
          AAP benefits are shared among the federal government, state, and  
          relevant county.  For children who are not federally eligible,  
          the costs are shared by the state and county only. 

          Recognizing that adoptive parents often experience financial  
          difficulty meeting the special needs of children who formerly  
          were placed in California's foster care system, the State  
          Legislature created the AAP to mitigate that financial  
          difficulty in order to provide children in foster care the  
          security and stability of a permanent home through adoption.   
          Children may receive a federally funded subsidy under Title IV-E  
          or a state funded subsidy per state guidelines.

          To apply for the AAP, adoptive families must submit a completed  
          Request for Adoption Assistance (AAP 1) form, which is provided  
          by their licensed adoption agency.  The responsible public  
          agency will determine the child's special needs eligibility for  
          participation in the program.  If the child is deemed eligible,  
          the responsible public agency will negotiate a signed adoption  
          assistance agreement, or a deferred adoption assistance  
          agreement will be executed with the adoptive parents, prior to  
          finalization of the adoption.  A reassessment of the child's  
          needs and family's circumstances is conducted every two years.   
          The amount of financial assistance is based upon the special  
          needs of the child and circumstances of the family. 

           California Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2010  :  AB 12  
          (Beall & Bass) Chapter 559, Statutes of 2010, was a landmark  
          piece of child welfare legislation in California opting the  
          state into two provisions of the federal Fostering Connections  
          to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (Fostering  
          Connections Act) (P.L. 110-351).  Specifically, the California  
          Fostering Connections to Success Act: 









                                                                  AB 2454
                                                                  Page  4

          1)Re-enacted California's existing state- and county-funded  
            Kin-GAP program to align it with new federal requirements and  
            allow the state to bring federal financial participation into  
            our kinship guardianship assistance program for the first  
            time; and, 

          2)Provides transitional foster care support to qualifying foster  
            youth ages 18 to 21, phased-in over three years, beginning in  
            2012.

          The goal of AB 12 is to assist foster youth, or NMDs in their  
          transition to adulthood, by providing them with the opportunity  
          to create a case plan alongside their case workers tailored to  
          their individual needs, which charts the course towards  
          independence through incremental levels of responsibility.  It  
          is a voluntary program grounded in evidence of how the option of  
          continued support to age 21 can counter the dismal outcomes  
          faced by youth who are forced to leave the foster care system at  
          age 18, including high rates of homelessness, incarceration,  
          reliance on public assistance, teen pregnancy, and low rates of  
          high school and postsecondary graduation.  

          In essence, AB 12 language seeks to mirror the type of continued  
          guidance and assistance most young adults receive from their  
          parents and families in their late teens and early twenties.   
          Following this paradigm, AB 12 provides nonminors with the  
          option to petition to reenter care if they opt out of extended  
          care and want to return before age 21, provided they meet the  
          eligibility criteria set forth in federal and state law.

          In order to be eligible to continue foster care benefits up to  
          age 21, a nonminor dependent must:  continue under the  
          jurisdiction of the juvenile court; sign a mutual agreement  
          which commits both the nonminor and the placing agency to  
          certain responsibilities; reside in an approved, supervised  
          placement; work alongside his or her caseworker to prepare and  
          participate in the transitional independent living case plan;  
          and have his or her status reviewed every six months.  In  
          addition, pursuant to the federal Fostering Connections Act, a  
          youth must meet one of the following five work- or  
          education-related eligibility criteria:

          1)Is completing secondary education or a program leading to an  
            equivalent credential;









                                                                  AB 2454
                                                                  Page  5

          2)Is enrolled in an institution which provides postsecondary or  
            vocational education;

          3)Is participating in a program or activity designed to promote  
            or remove barriers to employment;

          4)Is employed for at least 80 hours per month; or

          5)Is incapable of doing any of the activities described above  
            due to a medical condition.

           Foster care benefits eligibility gap for Kin-GAP and AAP  :  The  
          state's Fostering Connections to Success Act brought Kin-GAP and  
          AAP benefit eligibility into alignment with federal eligibility  
          expansions.  However, over the past three years, several policy  
          changes intended to expand eligibility for Kin-GAP and AAP  
          benefits have created varying levels of eligibility as follows:

          Relative Guardian 
           Foster youth who entered into a Kin-GAP or AAP permanency  
            arrangement with a relative guardian prior to age 16 have  
            their benefits terminated at age 18.
           
           A developmentally disabled foster youth or foster youth with  
            mental health needs who entered into a Kin-GAP or AAP  
            permanency arrangement with a relative at any age can continue  
            to receive those benefits until age 21.

           However, if the foster youth entered into a Kin-GAP or AAP  
            arrangement after 16, their benefits can continue until age 21  
            if the youth meets the five work- or education-related  
            eligibility criteria indicated above.

           Need for this bill  :  The California Fostering Connections to  
          Success Act (FCSA) of 2010 was landmark child welfare  
          legislation. However, it was also substantial in size, amounting  
          to 207 pages at the time of adoption.  Due to the complexity and  
          fundamental improvements this act made to the state's welfare  
          system, follow up legislation has been needed since its adoption  
          to help ensure its successful implementation. 

          Since its passage, the Legislature has passed and the state has  
          adopted three successive measures to this effect; AB 212 (Beall)  
          in 2011, AB 1712 (Beall) in 2012, and AB 787 (Stone) in 2013.   
          Like its predecessors, this bill continues the Legislature's  








                                                                  AB 2454
                                                                  Page  6

          efforts to ensure the FCSA is properly implemented to provide  
          necessary and integral support services to foster youth as they  
          prepare and transition into adulthood.

           Re-entry for former NMDs:   Current law provides opportunities  
          for the court to resume jurisdiction of a former nonminor  
          dependent or ward of the court for specified reasons.  In these  
          cases, a youth who was receiving foster care services when they  
          turned 18 may opt to re-enter foster care so that he or she may  
          remain in a healthy and safe environment and draw down services  
          to help him or her transition into adulthood.  However, this  
          same opportunity was inadvertently left out of previous FCSA  
          measures for NMDs who had reached permanency through permanent  
          guardianship or adoption, but whose adoptive parents or  
          guardians have failed to provide ongoing support while the youth  
          was between the age of 18 and 21.  Although rare, this has  
          resulted in some NMDs being left without the parent or guardian  
          who had committed to providing for their health, safety and  
          wellbeing, but also without the ability to voluntarily re-enter  
          foster care. 

          This bill remedies this by amending Section 388 of the Welfare  
          and Institutions Code to allow for the voluntary re-entry of  
          NMDs into foster care through the request of the NMD and  
          agreement by the court that it is in the NMDs' best interest to  
          re-enter foster care.  

           DOUBLE REFERRAL  .  This bill has been double-referred.  Should  
          this bill pass out of this committee, it will be referred to the  
          Assembly Judiciary Committee.























                                                                  AB 2454
                                                                  Page  7


           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          None on file.

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