BILL ANALYSIS �
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 | | |
| | | | |
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APPROPRIATIONS 13-0
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|Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, | | |
| |Bradford, | | |
| |Ian Calderon, Campos, | | |
| |Eggman, Gomez, Hall, | | |
| |Holden, Linder, Pan, | | |
| |Quirk, Weber | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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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.
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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
Page D
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
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<1>
http://www.chapinhall.org/sites/default/files/Pregnant_Foster_You
th_final_081109.pdf
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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
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<2> http://teenbirths.phi.org
<3> Ibid.
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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
FN: 0002375