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 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Stone, Maienschein, |Ayes:|Wieckowski, Wagner, | | |Ammiano, | |Alejo, Chau, Dickinson, | | |Ian Calderon, Garcia, | |Garcia, Gorell, | | |Hall | |Maienschein, Muratsuchi, | | | | |Stone | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| |Nays:|Grove | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- APPROPRIATIONS 13-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |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 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 --------------------------- <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 FN: 0002375