BILL ANALYSIS Ó Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary Senator Kevin de León, Chair AB 2454 (Quirk-Silva) - Foster care: nonminor dependents. Amended: July 1, 2014 Policy Vote: HS 4-0; JUD 7-0 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 2454 would allow a nonminor former dependent who previously received extended Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment (Kin-GAP) or Adoption Assistance Payment (AAP), but whose guardian or adoptive parent no longer provides ongoing support to, and no longer receives aid on behalf of, the nonminor, to petition the court to resume dependency under the extended foster care (FC) program. Fiscal Impact: Ongoing increase in state costs in the range of $78,000 to $103,000 (General Fund*) per year for each nonminor former dependent that resumes dependency under the extended FC program. To the extent two cases per year resume dependency under the extended FC program, cumulative costs would range between $310,000 and $410,000 annually after two years, including grant and additional social worker administrative costs. To the extent a nonminor former dependent would have otherwise remained in extended Kin-GAP or AAP, estimated costs would be offset in part by savings from terminated guardianship/adoptions of $10,000 to $12,000 per case per year. *Proposition 30 (November 2012) eliminated any potential mandate funding liability for any new program or higher level of service mandated on local agencies related to realigned programs, including child welfare services and foster care. Rather, 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 only apply to local agencies to the extent that the state provides annual funding for the cost increase. Local agencies are not obligated to provide programs or levels of service required by legislation above the level for which funding has been provided. AB 2454 (Quirk-Silva) Page 1 Background: The California Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2010, enacted by AB 12 (Beall/Bass) Chapter 559/2010, exercised the state option under the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-351) of extending benefits for youth up to age 21 in the Foster Care, Adoption Assistance, and Kin-GAP programs. AB 12 aligned the state's existing Kin-GAP program with requirements in order to draw down federal funds and provided for a three-year phase in of extended benefits up to age 21 that was intended to reduce the upfront costs of program expansion. Significant clean-up legislation was pursued through AB 212 (Beall) Chapter 459/2011 and AB 1712 (Beall) Chapter 846/2012 to address various issues identified subsequent to implementation of the initial legislation. Existing law defines "nonminor former dependent or ward" as either: A nonminor who reached 18 years of age while subject to an order for foster care placement, for whom dependency, delinquency, or transition jurisdiction has been terminated, and who is still under the general jurisdiction of the court, or A nonminor who is over 18 years of age, and, while a minor, was a dependent child or ward of the juvenile court when the guardianship was established, as specified, and the juvenile court dependency or wardship was dismissed following the establishment of the guardianship. Existing law provides that a nonminor former dependent is not eligible for reentry into extended foster care as a nonminor dependent of the juvenile court, unless the nonminor former dependent's guardian or adoptive parent has died, and the nonminor is between the ages of 18 and 21 years. Proposed Law: This bill would allow a nonminor former dependent who previously received extended Kin-GAP or AAP, but whose guardian or adoptive parent no longer provides ongoing support to, and no longer receives aid on behalf of, the nonminor, to petition the court to resume dependency under the extended FC program. AB 2454 (Quirk-Silva) Page 2 Prior Legislation: AB 12 (Beall/Bass) Chapter 559/2010 enacted the California Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2010, and authorized the state to exercise the option of extending benefits in the Foster Care, Kin-GAP, Fed-GAP, and AAP to age 21 for youth who meet specified criteria. AB 12 also provided for the alignment of the Kin-GAP program with federal requirements in order to receive federal financial participation. AB 212 (Beall) Chapter 459/2011, the follow-up legislation to AB 12, made various technical and substantive changes to law in order to ensure the proper implementation of the California Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2010. AB 1712 (Beall) Chapter 846/2012 expanded the definition of "relative" for purposes of both the federal and state-funded Kin-GAP programs to include guardians who are non-related extended family members, tribal kin, or current caregivers of foster children, as specified, and extended eligibility for non-related legal guardian placements to age 21. AB 787 (Stone) Chapter 487/2013, among other provisions, allows re-entry into nonminor dependency for nonminor former dependents who reached permanency whose guardian died before their 21st birthday. AB 985 (Cooley) 2013 would have expanded eligibility for extended state Kin-GAP benefits to age 21 to youth who attain 18 years of age while receiving federal or state KinGAP benefits and who entered the program prior to reaching the age of 16, subject to specified criteria. This bill was held on the Suspense File of this Committee. Staff Comments: Authorizing extended foster care benefits for a nonminor former dependent whose guardian no longer provides ongoing support to, and no longer receives aid on behalf of, the nonminor is estimated to result in increased state costs in the range of $78,000 to $103,000 (General Fund) per case, depending on the placement type. This estimate is based on a monthly assistance and administrative cost for a nonminor of $6,464 for an extended FC placement in a supervised independent living placement (SILP) and $8,544 for an extended FC placement in a transitional housing placement-plus (THP-Plus) program. While the number of cases that will resume dependency under the provisions of this bill is unknown, to the extent two cases per AB 2454 (Quirk-Silva) Page 3 year resume dependency under the extended FC program, cumulative costs would range between $310,000 and $410,000 annually after two years, including grant and additional social worker administrative costs. To the extent a nonminor former dependent would have otherwise remained in extended Kin-GAP or the AAP program in the absence of this measure, estimated new costs would be offset in part by savings from terminated guardianships/adoptions of $10,000 to $12,000 per case per year. Prior to Fiscal Year (FY) 2011-12, the state and counties contributed to the non-federal share of child welfare services and foster care 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 and foster care. As a result, beginning in FY 2011-12 and for each fiscal year thereafter, non-federal funding and expenditures for foster care and child welfare services activities are funded through the LRF. Proposition 30 was passed by the voters in November 2012, and among other provisions, eliminated any potential mandate funding liability for any new program or higher level of service mandated on the counties related to realigned programs, including child welfare services and foster care. Rather, 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 only apply to local agencies to the extent that the state provides annual funding for the cost increase. Local agencies are not obligated to provide programs or levels of service required by legislation above the level for which funding has been provided. To the extent it is determined that the provisions of this bill impose a higher level of service on local agencies or result in an increase in overall costs already borne by counties for the provision of child welfare services and foster care, the state could potentially elect to, but not be required to, provide funding for the cost increase. AB 2454 (Quirk-Silva) Page 4