BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                                                                  SB 528
                                                                  Page A

          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 528 (Yee)
          As Amended  September 3, 2013
          Majority vote 

           SENATE VOTE  :34-2  
           
           HUMAN SERVICES      6-1         JUDICIARY           10-0        
           
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          |Ayes:|Stone, Maienschein,       |Ayes:|Wieckowski, Wagner,       |
          |     |Ammiano,                  |     |Alejo, Chau, Dickinson,   |
          |     |Ian Calderon, Garcia,     |     |Garcia, Gorell,           |
          |     |Hall                      |     |Maienschein, Muratsuchi,  |
          |     |                          |     |Stone                     |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |Nays:|Grove                     |     |                          |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           
          APPROPRIATIONS      13-0                                        
           
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          |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra,         |     |                          |
          |     |Bradford,                 |     |                          |
          |     |Ian Calderon, Campos,     |     |                          |
          |     |Eggman, Gomez, Hall,      |     |                          |
          |     |Holden, Linder, Pan,      |     |                          |
          |     |Quirk, Weber              |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  This measure provides additional considerations for  
          foster youth in relation to the provision of supportive  
          services.  Specifically,  this bill  :

          1)Adds greater specificity to the types of medical care a  
            dependent minor may consent to for diagnosis and treatment, as  
            specified, and permits a social worker to inform a dependent  
            over the age of 12 of his or her right to consent to and  
            receive those health care services, as specified.

          2)Permits social workers to provide dependent children with  
            age-appropriate, medically accurate information about sexual  









                                                                  SB 528
                                                                  Page B

            development, reproductive health, and prevention of unplanned  
            pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections on an ongoing  
            basis.

          3)Adds to the Foster Youth Bill of Rights the right of a minor  
            or nonminor in foster care to have access to age-appropriate  
            information about reproductive health, the prevention of  
            unplanned pregnancy, and the prevention and treatment of  
            sexually transmitted infections at 12 years of age or older. 

          4)States the intent of the Legislature to ensure that complete  
            and accurate data on parenting minor and nonminor dependents  
            (NMDs) and their children is collected, and that the  
            Department of Social Services (DSS) shall ensure that the  
            following information is publicly available on a quarterly  
            basis by county about parenting minor and nonminor dependents  
            and their children:  total number of children, their age,  
            their ethnic group, their placement type, and their time in  
            care.

          5)Permits child welfare agencies (CWA) to provide dependents and  
            NMDs with access to social workers or resource specialists who  
            are trained on the needs of parenting teenagers and available  
            resources.

          6)Encourages and permits CWAs to update a dependent's or NMD's  
            case plan with specified pregnant and parenting information in  
            collaboration with specified individuals within 60 days of  
            being notified that a dependent or NMD has become pregnant. 

          7)Permits child welfare agencies when updating the case plan, to  
            hold a specialized conference to assist pregnant or parenting  
            foster youth and NMD's as specified, to inform the case plan.

          8)Requires the specialized conference to include the pregnant or  
            parenting minor or NMD, family members and other supportive  
            adults, and the specially trained social worker or resource  
            specialist.  Permits the specialized conference to include  
            other individuals, as specified.

          9)Requires NMD parents to be given the ability to attend school,  
            complete homework, and participate in age and developmentally  
            appropriate activities separate from parenting.










                                                                  SB 528
                                                                  Page C

          10)Clarifies that participation in the specialized conference is  
            voluntary on the part of the foster youth or NMD and  
            assistance in identifying and accessing resources is not  
            dependent on participation in the conference.

          11)Permits child welfare agencies, local educational agencies,  
            and child care resource and referral agencies to make  
            reasonable and coordinated efforts to ensure that minor  
            parents and NMD parents who have not completed high school  
            have access to school programs that provide onsite or  
            coordinated child care.

          12)Requires foster care placements for nonminor dependent  
            parents and their children to demonstrate a willingness and  
            ability to provide support and assistance to nonminor  
            dependent parents and their children.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee:
          
          1)Unknown, one-time significant programming/automation costs  
            potentially in excess of $1 million (General Fund) to capture  
            data in CWS/CMS specific to dependent parents, their children,  
            their age, ethnic group, placement type, and time in care,  
            should DSS decide to comply with the legislative intent  
            included in this bill.

          2)Ongoing potential moderate data reporting costs to counties on  
            parenting minor and nonminor dependents and their children  
            should counties decide to comply with the legislative intent  
            included in this bill.  Fund source would either be local  
            realignment funding, GF, or a combination of both.

          3)Significant ongoing local costs potentially in the hundreds of  
            thousands to low millions of dollars to the extent social  
            workers update case plans, provide age-appropriate health  
            information, provide assistance in accessing resources, and  
            hold specialized conferences.  Fund source would either be  
            local realignment funding, GF, or a combination of both.

          4)Significant ongoing costs potentially in the hundreds of  
            thousands to low millions of dollars for specialized training  
            for social workers and/or recruitment of resource specialists  
            to the extent counties provide parenting teens with access to  









                                                                  SB 528
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            specially trained professionals.  Fund source would either be  
            local, realignment funding, GF, or a combination of both. 

          5)Proposition 30, passed by the voters in November 2012, among  
            other provisions, eliminated 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. 

           COMMENTS  :

           Pregnant and parenting foster youth  :  Numerous studies have  
          demonstrated the substantial challenges children in foster care  
          face on a daily basis.  They are more likely to suffer from  
          substance abuse, be victims of physical and sexual assault, lack  
          access to quality preventative health care, including  
          reproductive services, and are less likely to graduate from high  
          school.  One study of foster youth in Chicago estimated that  
          approximately half of young women in foster care will be mothers  
          when they reach age 18 and that at least 30% of the young  
          mothers in foster care will experience a second pregnancy before  
          the age of 21. 

          Additionally, the study found a strong likelihood that a  
          significant number of them will have two or more children by the  
          time they reach age 19.  The study indicated that "school  
          performance among these foster youth was poor" and that the  
          majority of youth included in the study exited care without a  
          GED or diploma and identified a lack of access to reliable child  
          care as a barrier in need of further study.  The same study  
          found that children of foster youth may be especially vulnerable  
          to abuse and neglect - 22% of mothers had been investigated for  
          abuse and neglect and 11% had a child in foster care<1>.


          Research shows that teen mothers who stay in school are equally  
          as likely to graduate as teenage girls with no children; however  
          ---------------------------


          <1>  
          http://www.chapinhall.org/sites/default/files/Pregnant_Foster_You 
          th_final_081109.pdf








                                                                  SB 528
                                                                  Page E

          those who drop out before or shortly after childbirth are only  
          half as likely to return to school and graduate as are childless  
          youth who dropout.  The same study also indicated that preschool  
          children of teen mothers tend to show some delay of cognitive  
          development as well as more behavior problems and more  
          aggressive behavior than children of older mothers, while  
          adolescent children of teen mothers experience high rates of  
          grade failure, delinquency, and early sexual activity.   
          (Constantine, N., and Nevarez, C.)<2>


          Additionally, the study estimated that the annual net costs to  
          California taxpayers related to births to teen mothers was $870  
          million, and annual net societal costs to the state was $3.6  
          billion.<3>

           Access to health care for foster youth  :  Welfare and  
          Institutions Code (WIC) Section 369 sets forth requirements  
          under which consent to medical, surgical, dental or other  
          remedial care may be acquired for a child in temporary custody.   
          Specifically, it requires that either parental consent or  
          permission of the juvenile court be provided in order to provide  
          any medical, surgical, dental or other remedial care.  It also  
          provides specific consent authority to the social worker, but  
          only in cases where emergency care is needed to address an  
          emergency situation.

          This bill would clarify that a dependent minor's right to  
          consent to specified medical or mental health care is not  
          impaired because a court or social worker has authorized the  
          care.  This bill would also require the social worker to inform  
          the dependent of this right.  

          Writing for the need of the bill, the author states:

               Currently, 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  
               ----------------------
          <2> http://teenbirths.phi.org


          <3> Ibid.








                                                                  SB 528
                                                                  Page F

               poverty, unemployment and low educational attainment.   
               While this has long been the case, the issue of  
               parenting youth in foster care has become more  
               pressing with the implementation of extended foster  
               care in California. 

               Research from the University of Chicago suggests that  
               extending foster care to age 21 will roughly double  
               the incidence of parenting youth in foster care.   
               Given this, it is important that California's foster  
               care system adapt itself to meet the real needs of  
               parenting youth and their children.  Doing so provides  
               an important opportunity both to better serve  
               parenting foster youth and meet the needs of their  
               children in their first, most critical years of life.

               This bill seeks to help support foster youth who are  
               pregnant and parenting be successful in their  
               situation and help end the intergenerational cycle  
               within the foster care system.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chris Reefe / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089 


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