BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 1099
          Author:   Steinberg (D), et al.
          Amended:  4/29/14
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE  :  6-0, 4/22/14
          AYES:  Jackson, Anderson, Corbett, Lara, Leno, Vidak
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Monning

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  7-0, 5/23/14
          AYES:  De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg


           SUBJECT  :    Dependent children:  sibling visitation

           SOURCE  :     California Youth Connection


           DIGEST  :    This bill requires social workers to include  
          specified details related to sibling visitation in social  
          studies or evaluations, and requires courts to make a renewed  
          finding that sibling interaction is contrary to the safety or  
          well-being of either child when renewing any suspension of  
          sibling interaction.  This bill also authorizes a dependent  
          child to request visitation with a sibling who is in the  
          physical custody of a common parent, as specified, and  
          authorizes the court to grant such a request unless it is  
          determined by the court that visitation is contrary to the  
          safety and well-being of either of the siblings.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing federal law requires states to use  
          "reasonable efforts" to place siblings together, unless such  
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          placement is contrary to their safety or well-being.  If the  
          siblings are not placed together, visitation between them must  
          occur frequently, unless it is contrary to their safety or  
          well-being.

          Existing law states the intent of the Legislature to ensure that  
          siblings who are removed from the home will be placed in foster  
          care together, unless the placement is contrary to the safety or  
          well-being of any sibling.  Existing law requires the  
          responsible local agency to make diligent efforts to maintain  
          sibling relationships in all out-of-home placements of dependent  
          children, and, if siblings are not placed together in the same  
          home, the social worker must explain why, what efforts are being  
          made to place them together in the same home, or alternatively  
          why those efforts are not appropriate. 

          This bill provides that it is also the intent of the Legislature  
          to preserve and strengthen a dependent child's sibling  
          relationship with a nondependent sibling who remains in the  
          custody of a mutual parent subject to the court's jurisdiction,  
          and that the court has the authority to develop a sibling  
          visitation plan, as specified. 

          Existing law requires a social worker, where possible and  
          appropriate, to place a child, who has been removed from his/her  
          parents or guardian because of abuse or neglect, together with  
          his/her siblings or half-siblings also being removed, or to  
          describe continuing efforts to place them together if they are  
          not initially placed together, or to explain why placing them  
          together is inappropriate.  

          Existing law requires reports submitted into evidence and  
          prepared by social workers or child advocates for dispositional  
          hearings to include factual discussions regarding a variety of  
          subjects including whether child protective services have been  
          considered, any plan for parental reunification, and the nature  
          of sibling relationships and status of sibling visitation. 


          This bill requires the social worker to include additional  
          information in his/her report in situations where siblings are  
          not placed together, including: 



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             1.    The frequency and nature of visits between siblings.
             2.    Whether visits are supervised, and if so, why. 
             3.    What needs to be accomplished in order to have  
                unsupervised visits.
             4.    Any plan to increase visitation between siblings. 

          This bill requires the court, in situations where dependent  
          siblings have not been placed in the same home, to consider the  
          above information at periodic review hearings. 

          Existing law requires, when the court has ordered the removal of  
          a child from his/her parents, to consider whether there are  
          siblings also under the court's jurisdiction, the nature of the  
          relationships between the siblings and the appropriateness of  
          developing or maintaining those relationships, and the impact of  
          those relationships on placement and permanency planning.  

          Existing law requires, when the court has ordered removal of a  
          child from the physical custody of a parent, the court must  
          consider whether there are any siblings under the court's  
          jurisdiction, and the appropriateness of maintaining those  
          sibling relationships. 

          This bill requires the court to consider whether there are any  
          non-dependent siblings in the custody of a parent subject to the  
          court's jurisdiction, and the appropriateness of maintaining  
          those sibling relationships. 

          Existing law requires any order placing a child in foster care  
          to provide for visitation between a child and any siblings,  
          unless the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that  
          sibling interaction is contrary to the safety and well-being of  
          either child.  

          This bill requires that in order for a suspension of sibling  
          interaction to continue after periodic review hearings, the  
          court must make a renewed finding that sibling interaction is  
          contrary to the safety or well-being of either child. 

          Existing law allows any person to petition the juvenile court to  
          assert a sibling relationship by blood, adoption, or through  
          affinity with a legal or biological parent with a child who is a  
          dependent of the juvenile court, and to request visitation with  
          that child.  

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          This bill authorizes the court to grant a request for sibling  
          visitation unless it is determined by the court that sibling  
          visitation is contrary to the safety and well-being of any of  
          the siblings.

           Background
           
          In October 2008, Congress passed, and President Bush signed, the  
          Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act  
          (Act) to promote permanent families for children and youth in  
          foster care by providing greater assistance to relative  
          caregivers and improving incentives for adoption.  The Act also  
          extends assistance for foster children to age 21 and improves  
          education and health care for children and youth in foster care.  
           Further, the Act requires states to use "reasonable efforts" to  
          place siblings together, unless such placement is contrary to  
          their safety or well-being.  If the siblings are not placed  
          together, visitation between them must occur frequently, unless  
          the visitation is contrary to their safety or well-being.  

          Prior to passage of the Act, California was one of the first  
          states to pass legislation promoting sibling visitation for  
          foster children as early as 1999. (AB 740, Steinberg, Chapter  
          805, Statutes of 1999.)  Since then California has enacted  
          several additional statutes to expand legal protections for  
          sibling relationships. 

          These laws have served to promote sibling relationships when  
          both children are in the dependency system, but recent,  
          unpublished cases indicate that courts will not grant visitation  
          in the rare case where one sibling is in the foster system and  
          the other remains in the legal custody of the parent.   

           Prior Legislation  

          AB 743 (Portantino, Chapter 560, Statutes of 2010) made changes  
          to the standards for sibling visitation, interaction, and  
          placement for children in foster care to conform with the  
          federal Fostering Connections to Success Act. 

          AB 408 (Steinberg, Chapter 813, Statutes of 2003) made changes  
          in dependency law to help achieve permanency for older children,  
          including authorizing the court to make orders to ensure that  

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          sibling relationships are maintained. 

          AB 705 (Steinberg, Chapter 747, Statutes of 2001) ensured that  
          sibling relationships are considered at all appropriate hearings  
          and siblings are placed together when appropriate.

          AB 1987 (Steinberg, Chapter 909, Statutes of 2000) recognized  
          the importance of sibling relationships and required the court  
          to consider the existence, nature, and impact of a dependent  
          child's sibling relationships on the child's placement and  
          planning for legal permanence.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  Yes


          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:


           Potential state costs in the range of $325,000 to $650,000  
            (General Fund) annually for increased workload to social  
            workers to document detailed information on sibling  
            interaction efforts, assuming an additional 15 minutes to 30  
            minutes annually for an estimated 17,800 dependents who are  
            not placed with siblings. 


           Potentially significant state costs (General Fund) for local  
            agencies to facilitate additional sibling visits between  
            dependents and non-dependent children that the courts have not  
            previously granted. 

           Minor impact to court workload for the expansion of current  
            sibling visitation provisions of law.

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  5/19/14)

          California Youth Connection (source)
          All Saints Church Foster Care Project
          California Alliance of Child and Family Services
          California State PTA
          California Welfare Directory Association
          Children Now
          Crittenon Services for Families and Children

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          East Bay Children's Law Offices
          Juvenile Court Judges of California
          Legal Advocates for Children and Youth
          National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author:

             Current law is unclear as to whether or not the courts have  
             authority to determine and compel a visitation schedule  
             between a dependent and non-dependent child in foster care.  
              In addition to this, the details for which a court uses to  
             determine sibling visitation schedules between siblings is  
             unclear and insufficient, which creates statewide  
             inconsistency.  Lastly, current law does not explicitly  
             require the court to revisit a visitation schedule after an  
             initial decision was made even though circumstances may  
             have changed.

             This bill would provide clarity in court reports and  
             further provide some detail for legal findings related to  
             sibling visitation schedules.  Furthermore it would also  
             explicitly allow courts to make findings related to the  
             visitation schedule between a dependent and non-dependent  
             child in foster care.

          AL:d  5/23/14   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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