BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1460|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1460
Author: Senate Human Services Committee
Amended: 8/22/14
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 4-0, 4/22/14
AYES: Liu, Berryhill, DeSaulnier, Hancock
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/14
AYES: De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SENATE FLOOR : 37-0, 5/29/14
AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, Corbett,
Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani,
Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Knight, Lara,
Leno, Lieu, Liu, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nielsen, Padilla,
Pavley, Roth, Steinberg, Torres, Vidak, Walters, Wolk, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon, Wright, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available
SUBJECT : Child welfare
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill addresses state compliance with federal
statute and regulation regarding the Multi Ethnic Placement Act
(MEPA), use of the Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS), the
federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing
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Adoptions Act of 2008, and the Adam Walsh Act.
Assembly Amendments add double-jointing language to SB 1099
(Steinberg) and AB 2607 (Skinner); and make other technical
changes.
ANALYSIS : Existing federal law:
1.Pursuant to MEPA, requires states to have an identifiable
process in place to diligently recruit potential foster
parents and adoptive parents that reflect the ethnic and
racial diversity of children in the state for whom foster and
adoptive homes are needed.
2.Establishes the FPLS, a national automated service provided by
the Office of Child Support Enforcement to help states locate
custodial and noncustodial parents for child support and to
establish, modify and enforce child support obligations.
Federal law additionally permits the service to be utilized
for the purpose of finding non-custodial parents and relatives
and children who are in juvenile dependency proceedings.
3.Establishes the Fostering Connections to Success and
Increasing Adoption Act of 2008 and requires that states make
diligent efforts to place siblings in out-of-home care
together, unless doing so would be detrimental to the health
and safety of one of the siblings.
4.Establishes the Adam Walsh Act requiring a fingerprint check
of a national criminal records database as well as a check
from the state child abuse and neglect registries before a
prospective foster or adoptive parent may be approved for
placement of a child.
Existing state law:
1.Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to authorize
county welfare departments to undertake comprehensive
recruitments programs, as specified, to ensure an adequate
number of foster homes are available to meet the child welfare
placement needs in each county.
2.Establishes the California Parent Locator Service and Central
Registry (CPLS) to collect and disseminate specified
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information for the purpose of administering child and spousal
support enforcement.
3.Requires a social worker to explain why siblings are not
placed together and what efforts the social worker is making
to place the siblings together or why making those efforts
would be contrary to the safety and well-being of any of the
siblings.
4.Provides that a dependent child's attorney and the attorney
for the siblings of the child be notified by the placement
agency if there is a need for a change in placement that will
result in the separation of siblings currently placed
together.
5.Establishes the Resource Family Approval process, initially as
a five county pilot, to replace the multiple processes that
currently exist for licensing foster family homes, approving
relatives and nonrelative extended family members as foster
care providers and approving adoptive families.
This bill:
1.Requires county recruitment of potential foster parents to
include diligent efforts to recruit individuals who reflect
the ethnic, racial, and cultural diversity of foster children.
2.Provides a county child welfare agency or county probation
department may request and receive a relative's name, social
security number, most recent address, telephone number, place
of employment, or other contact information to identify,
locate and notify relatives of children who are the subject of
juvenile court proceedings, including all grandparents, adult
siblings, and other adult relatives of the child as specified.
3.Requires a probation officer to explain why siblings are not
placed together and what efforts the probation officer is
making to place the siblings together or why making those
efforts would be contrary to the safety and well-being of any
of the siblings.
4.Provides a ward's attorney and the attorney for the siblings
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of the ward be notified by the placement agency if there is a
need for a change in placement that will result in the
separation of siblings currently placed together.
5.Allows additional counties to participate in the early
implementation of the "resource family" pilot project
regarding new standards for foster homes. Provides a federal
criminal offender record check be received for all adults
residing in a resource family home as a condition of approval
and makes other technical and conforming changes regarding
resource families.
6.Allows tribes to receive criminal history and child abuse
information from Department of Justice (DOJ) and establishes
the requirements for tribes to complete the approval for
tribal foster homes. Authorizes DOJ to charge a fee for
providing this information to the tribe.
7.Provides for the transfer of Indian child case records from a
county to tribal jurisdiction.
8.Contains double-jointing language to SB 1099 (Steinberg) and
AB 2607 (Skinner).
Background
Congress has recently enacted a number of changes to federal law
which require corresponding changes to state statute in order to
ensure the uninterrupted flow of California's Title IV-E
allocation for child welfare services, over $1 billion annually.
This bill specifically addresses federal compliance with the
Adam Walsh Act, MEPA, the Fostering Connections to Success and
Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, and use of the FPLS.
Federal Multi Ethnic Placement Act (MEPA). MEPA, established in
1994, is a federal law designed to prevent discrimination in the
placement of children on the basis of race, color or national
origin; to facilitate the diligent recruitment of foster and
adoptive parents; and to increase the number of children who are
adopted. The law was enacted to address concerns about the
chronically low placement of children from minority ethnic or
racial groups as a result of the practice of racial and ethnic
matching policies and was intended to increase transracial
adoptions in order to reduce the length of time that a child
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from a minority racial or ethnic group remained in foster care.
Under the law, states are required to engage in diligent
recruitment efforts for prospective foster/adoptive parents who
reflect the race and ethnicity of children currently in the
state foster care system for whom homes are needed and to ensure
that all children needing placement are served in a timely and
adequate manner. Failure to comply with MEPA is a violation of
title VI of the Civil Rights Act and is subject to substantial
financial penalties and loss of federal funds.
California statute authorizes counties to operate recruitment
programs to ensure an adequate number of foster homes are
available to meet their child welfare placement needs. However,
statute does not address the recruitment of foster families who
reflect the diversity of children for whom foster homes are
needed, nor require the diligent recruitment of adoptive homes
at all. According to DSS, the federal government has
specifically inquired as to what California will do to meet the
requirements of MEPA. This bill explicitly requires that an
agency which recruits foster and adoptive parents undertake
diligent efforts to ensure that recruitments reflect the
diversity of the children needing placement.
The Federal Locator Service (FPLS). FPLS is a national
automated service provided by the Office of Child Support
Enforcement to help states locate custodial and noncustodial
parents for child support and to establish, modify and enforce
child support obligations. The FPLS and its state-level
counterpart, CPLS provides information about a parent's address,
employment, income, assets, and social security number
information.
State law permits a county child welfare agency or county
probation department to request and receive information to
identify, locate and notify parents of children who are the
subject of juvenile court proceedings, to establish parent and
child relationships, and to assess the appropriateness of
placement of a child with a noncustodial parent.
Pursuant to the federal Fostering Connections Act, (AB 1751,
Pan, 2012) allows county child welfare departments and county
probation departments to access the FPLS and CPLS for the
purpose of locating a child's non-custodial parent. The specific
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information that may be requested and received includes a
parent's name, social security number, most recent address,
telephone number, place of employment or other contact
information. However, this authority did not extend to finding
other relatives of a child, as provided for under federal law.
This bill permits the FPLS and CPLS to be used in the
identification and notification of relatives of a child who is
the subject of a juvenile court proceeding. Additionally, this
bill authorizes child welfare agencies and county probation
departments to access the information for this purpose.
The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions
Act of 2008. One provision of the federal Fostering Connections
Act requires states to make diligent efforts to place siblings
in out-of-home care together, unless doing so would be
detrimental to the health and safety of one of the siblings.
Although state statute was revised to conform to this provision,
the changes failed to clearly state that probation officers are,
in addition to social workers, required to make these efforts as
required by federal law. In practice, probation officers follow
the same procedures as social workers for placing children in
foster care. Since federal law makes no distinction between
children in the care and custody of a county child welfare
department and children in the care and custody of a county
probation department, this bill explicitly applies the federal
requirements to probation officers.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
Negligible costs to the Department of Social Services.
On-going, likely non-reimbursable, costs in the range of
$15,000 to county probation departments for duties regarding
sibling placements. Proposition 30, passed by the voters in
November 2012, eliminated potential mandate funding liability
for any new program or higher level of service provided by
counties related to realigned programs.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/26/14)
California State PTA
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California Welfare Directors Association
County of San Diego
JL:nl 8/26/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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