BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 2668
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          Date of Hearing:   April 29, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
                                  Mark Stone, Chair
              AB 2668 (Quirk-Silva) - As Introduced:  February 21, 2014
           
          SUBJECT  :  Foster care: nonminor dependent parents

           SUMMARY  :  Permits non-minor dependents (NMD) who are also  
          parents to enter into a parenting support plan, as specified.   
          Specifically,  this bill  :   

          1)Permits a parenting NMD who is participating in a supervised  
            independent living plan (SILP) to enter into a parenting  
            support plan, which may be developed between the NMD, an  
            identified responsible adult, and a representative of the  
            county child welfare agency (CWA) or probation department, as  
            specified.

          2)Permits additional input to be provided by any other  
            individuals identified by the NMD, the other parent of the  
            child, or other extended family members. 

          3)Provides that the plan shall be developed as soon as is  
            practicably possible, and allows the plan to be amended with  
            additional stakeholder input, as requested by the NMD, if  
            those stakeholders are not available within the first 30 days  
            if the NMDs request to enter into the plan.  

          4)Requires the plan to be designed to preserve and strengthen  
            the NMD parent family unit, to assist the NMD parent in  
            providing a healthy and safe environment of his or her child,  
            and to support the NMD's educational and employment goals.

          5)Provides that the plan shall in no way limit the NMD parent's  
            legal right to make decisions regarding the care, custody and  
            control of the child. 

          6)Requires the plan to be written for the express purposes of  
            identifying additional parenting support to the NMD and shall  
            outline the responsibilities of how the identified responsible  
            adult will assist the NMD parent and the types of supportive  
            services s/he will provide, as specified.

          7)Requires the plan to include, but not be limited to,  








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            transportation to health care appointments, child care, and  
            school, as appropriate and providing child care and  
            babysitting. 

          8)Provides that the plan may not conflict with the NMD parent's  
            transitional independent living case plan.

          9)Requires an additional $200 per month to be paid to a NMD  
            parent who enters into a parenting support plan. 

           EXISTING LAW   

          1)States that the purpose of foster care law is to provide  
            maximum safety and protection for children who are currently  
            being physically, sexually, emotionally abused, neglected, or  
            exploited, and to ensure the safety, protection, and physical  
            and emotional well-being of children who are at risk of harm.   
            (W&I Code 300.2)

          2)States the intent of the Legislature to preserve and  
            strengthen a child's family ties whenever possible and to  
            reunify a foster youth with his or her biological family  
            whenever possible, or to provide a permanent placement  
            alternative, such as adoption or guardianship.  (W&I Code  
            16000)

          3)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.  
               (AB 12, Chapter 559, Statutes of 2010)

          4)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.  (WIC  
            11400(v))









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          5)Requires a shared responsibility plan for a child of a  
            parenting minor dependent or NMD, which shall be developed by  
            the dependent, or NMD, the caregiver, and a representative  
            from the county CWA or probation department.  (WIC 16501.25)

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown

           COMMENTS  :    

           California Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2010 (FCSA)  :   
          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: 

          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 guardian 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 "nonminor  
          dependents" as they are referred to in statute, in their  
          transition to adulthood by providing them with the opportunity  
          to create a case plan alongside their case worker 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 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  








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          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 youth 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 their caseworker to prepare and  
          participate in their transitional independent living case plan;  
          and have their 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;

          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.
           
          Need for the bill  :  Stating the need for the bill, the author  
          writes:

               Young parents in the foster care system face both the  
               challenges of being in foster care as well as the  
               challenges of being a young, usually single, parent.   
               Studies of both groups have found that they will experience  
               higher than average rates of poverty and unemployment and  
               low educational attainment.

               A 2013 Conrad N. Hilton Foundation study revealed that the  
               rates of abuse and neglect among children born to teens  
               with a history of maltreatment are 2-3 times higher than  
               the rates of children whose teen mothers had no child  
               welfare involvement.  This underscores the need to provide  
               young parents in foster care with adequate support and  








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               services to overcome the challenges they face, and to  
               preserve and strengthen the family unit.  
               The issue of parenting youth in foster care has become more  
               pressing with the implementation of extended foster care in  
               California.  The foundation study estimated that as many as  
               one in three female youth may be parenting by the time they  
               exit the foster care system on their 21st birthday.

               Additionally, there are new placement options available to  
               non-minor dependents remaining in extended foster care,  
               known as a Supervised Independent Living Placement (SILP),  
               which enables them to live without a caregiver in an  
               apartment, rented room, dorm room, etc.  While SILP's  
               provide youth with the independence and autonomy to  
               properly prepare for life after foster care, an unintended  
               shortcoming is the lack of support for custodial parenting  
               non-minor dependents.

               Unlike most young parents, foster youth who become parents  
               at an early age typically cannot turn to their own parents  
               for emotional support, daily or even occasional assistance  
               most young parents receive from their families.   
               Consequently, these young parents are often completely on  
               their own as they struggle to balance work, school, and  
               parenting responsibilities.  Not surprisingly this stress,  
               lack of resources, and simple lack of experience makes  
               these young parents vulnerable and high risk for poor  
               outcomes.

          In support of this measure, the Youth Law Center writes:

               Under current law, a "Shared Responsibility Plan" outlines  
               the duties, rights, and responsibilities of a teen parent  
               and his/her caregiver with regard to the teen parent's  
               child, and identifies supportive services to be offered to  
               the teen parent.  Upon the completion of the plan, the  
               caregiver's foster care payment is increased by $200 each  
               month.  [This bill] would encourage a custodial non-minor  
               dependent parent living in a SILP to enter into a  
               "Parenting Support Plan" with an identified responsible  
               adult, such as a mentor or relative.  The plan would  
               identify ways in which the responsible adult will assist  
               the youth and his/her baby.  Upon completion of the plan,  
               the custodial non-minor dependent parent's foster care  
               payment would be increased by $200 each month.








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           Staff comments :  This measure authorizes a parenting NMD to  
          participate in a "shared responsibility plan" when placed into a  
          SILP.  SILPS are relatively new placements that are reserved for  
          older foster youth who are 16 years of age and over.  They allow  
          minor dependents and NMDs to live independently in their own  
          domicile, but with a nearby caregiving adult to help provide  
          supervision for the youth, but also to act as a mentor as the  
          youth transitions into adulthood.  With the implementation of  
          the FCSA, there has been a need to bring various parts of the  
          child welfare statute into compliance with the evolving  
          placements that have since become available.  This bill simply  
          allows a parenting NMD who lives independently in accordance  
          with his or her SILP to participate in a shared responsibility  
          plan.  The purpose this plan is to provide the parenting NMD  
          with an older caregiver who can help play the 'grandparent' or  
          older parent role for both the parenting NMD and his or her  
          child.  In essence, it can be viewed as purely a compliance  
          measure.

          However, under the existing shared responsibility plan, the  
          'identified responsible adult' is the foster caregiver with whom  
          the parenting minor dependent has been placed.  The caregiver in  
          this arrangement is required to have his or her home certified  
          as a foster family home and undergo required training and a  
          criminal background check.  In order to bring this measure into  
          alignment with the existing shared responsibility plan program,  
          while acknowledging that the parent is a NMD in extended foster  
          care, there remains a need to ensure that the 'identified  
          responsible adult' who will serve in the mentoring  
          pseudo-grandparent role meets a minimum level of qualifications  
          and criteria to serve in that role.

           RECOMMENDED AMENDMENTS  :  In recognition that there should be a  
          minimum level of criteria and qualifications expected of an  
          'identified responsible adult,' the bill should be amended to  
          require the adult to meet fundamental health and safety  
          requirements, such as a criminal background check and a health  
          clearance, such as a tuberculosis test. 

          The bill should be additionally amended to require DSS to  
          convene a stakeholder working group to develop guidance via an  
          All-County Letter as to additional criteria and training an  
          'identified responsible adult' should comply with prior to being  
          eligible to serve in that capacity for a parenting NMD in a  








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          SILP.   

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          Alameda County Foster Youth Alliance 
          Alliance for Children's Rights 
          American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees  
          (AFSCME) 
          California Alliance of Child and Family Services 
          California CASA 
          California Coalition of Youth (CCY) 
          Children's Advocacy Institute
          Children's Rights Project at Public Counsel
          East Bay Children's Law Offices 
          First Place for Youth
          Mission Focused Solutions 
          Optimist Youth Homes and Family Services 
          San Francisco Counsel for Families & Children
          Youth Law Center
           
          Opposition 
           
          None on file.
           
          Analysis Prepared by :    Chris Reefe / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089