BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 342 Page A SENATE THIRD READING SB 342 (Yee) As Amended September 3, 2013 Majority vote SENATE VOTE :39-0 HUMAN SERVICES 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Stone, Maienschein, |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow, | | |Ammiano, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian | | |Ian Calderon, Garcia, | |Calderon, Campos, | | |Grove, Dickinson | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, | | | | |Hall, Holden, Linder, | | | | |Pan, Quirk, Wagner, Weber | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Allows a foster youth to request a private conversation with his or her social worker or probation officer. Specifically, this bill : 1)Requires the monthly visit of a foster youth in a group home by a social worker or probation officer to include a private discussion with the foster youth and for the visit to occur in the group home. 2)Requires the visit of a foster youth in a foster home by a social worker or probation officer to occur in the foster home. 3)Requires visits of a foster youth to comply with federal law, as specified, providing that no more than two consecutive visits may be held outside of the foster youth's residence. 4)Requires the social worker or probation officer to document in the case file and in the court report the location of the visit, the reason for the visit, and whether the visit occurred outside the foster youth's residence. 5)Requires a social worker or probation officer to inform a foster youth placed in a group home or foster home of their right to have the private discussion either in or outside of SB 342 Page B the foster home or group home. 6)Requires a social worker or probation officer to hold a private discussion with a foster youth outside of the foster home or group home, if requested by the foster youth. 7)Provides that a private discussion held with a foster youth does not replace the obligation of the social worker or probation officer to physically visit the foster home or group home. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee: 1)General Fund (GF) costs likely in excess of $500,000 to the extent the provisions of this bill result in an extended amount of time per visit for certain cases than otherwise would occur under existing law. 2)Proposition 30, passed by the voters in November 2012 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 are a mandate on local agencies, any increased costs do 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. COMMENTS : Foster care visitation : The visitation of children in foster care on a regular basis provides numerous benefits ranging from ensuring the health and safety of a child to helping to either reunify the child with his or her biological parents or family, or take the appropriate steps towards permanency, through adoption or guardianship. It can also help to provide proactive services that the child may need, including counseling, educational support, mental health services, and other supportive services that help to improve the child's quality of life. SB 342 Page C Social worker and probation officer foster care visitation requirements are established in state statute and the Department of Social Services (DSS) Child Welfare Services (CWS) Manual of Policies and Procedures (MPP). Established pursuant to DSS' general authority to "formulate, adopt, amend or repeal regulations and general policies affecting the purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction of the department and which are consistent with the law and necessary for the administration of public social services?"<1> the CWS MPP further specifies the frequency by which a foster youth in a licensed, certified, or approved foster home is visited. Although group home visitation requirements are established in statute, foster home visitations requirements are not. Rather, they are provided for in the CWS MPP, which requires foster youth in foster homes to be visited once a month. However, unlike statute, the MPP permits exceptions for foster home visits. Specifically, it allows a social worker to have less frequent visits, up to once every six months provided that the following criteria are met: 1)The child has no severe physical or emotional problems caused or aggravated by the placement; 2)The child has been in the same placement for at least six months and the social worker has determined that the placement is stable; and 3)The child is visited once each calendar month by social worker staff of a foster family agency pursuant to the child's case plan and is documented and reported to the child's social worker. Federal visitation requirements : In September 2011, the United States Congress passed the federal Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act (P.L. 112-34), which amended part of Title IV of the Social Security Act to extend the Child and Family Services Program through federal fiscal year (FFY) 2016. Among its many provisions, and in recognition of the positive correlation between frequent caseworker visits and outcomes for children, states are now required to take necessary steps to --------------------------- <1> Section 10553(e) of the Welfare and Institutions Code. SB 342 Page D ensure that caseworkers visit at least 90% of children in foster care, rising to 95% for FFY 2015 and thereafter, each month. It also requires that the majority of a child's monthly visits occur in the home. If states fail to comply with these requirements, they can face penalties for noncompliance, which could include a reduction in federal funding. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, California has steadily increased the number of foster youth receiving visits in the home, from 63% in 2008 to 74% in 2011. However, progress is still needed to not only ensure federal compliance, but to help improve the lives of children in foster care. Need for the bill : With the implementation of CWS realignment from the state to counties, it has become increasingly important to enhance state oversight, where necessary, to ensure compliance with federal child welfare funding requirements and to help meet federal outcome measures. Additionally, with the adoption of the federal Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act, which significantly increased foster home and group home requirements, the state has needed to take proactive steps in ensuring greater compliance. According to the California Youth Connection, the sponsor of this measure, recent data from DSS demonstrates that approximately 30% of required social worker visits do not occur at the foster home or group home where the child lives. This has resulted in circumstances where a particular group home or foster home was not visited by a case worker for an extended period of time. Not only does this raise policy concerns that a group home or foster home is not being visited as often as it should, it also raises concerns that the state is not complying with federal requirements. Analysis Prepared by : Chris Reefe / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089 FN: 0002273 SB 342 Page E