BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 403 (Mark Stone) - Public social services: foster care
placement: funding
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|Version: July 16, 2015 |Policy Vote: HUMAN S. 5 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: August 27, 2015 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera |
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*********** ANALYSIS ADDENDUM - SUSPENSE FILE ***********
The following information is revised to reflect amendments
adopted by the committee on August 27, 2015
Bill
Summary: AB 403 states the intent of the Legislature to improve
California's child welfare system and its outcomes through the
use of comprehensive initial child assessments, increasing the
use of home-based family care and the provision of services and
supports to home-based family care providers, reducing the use
of congregate care placement settings, and creating faster paths
to permanency to reduce the duration of a child's involvement in
the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.
This bill, among its numerous provisions, establishes the
framework for the commencement of the development of the reforms
to the existing foster care placement system and payment
structures through the codification of a number of
recommendations included in the Department of Social Services'
report, California's Child Welfare Continuum of Care Reform
(CCR).
AB 403 (Mark Stone) Page 1 of
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Fiscal
Impact:
Local child welfare and probation agencies : Major initial
investments in the tens of millions of dollars (General Fund*)
annually over a number of years to local agencies for
increased costs for activities including but not limited to
comprehensive initial child assessments, recruitment,
retention, and support services (including staffing, training,
specialized care, and child care) for home-based family care
providers, increased services costs for higher rates for
wraparound services, foster family agencies (FFAs), and
short-term residential treatment centers (STRTCs), performance
and outcome measurement and data collection, and accelerated
statewide implementation of the Resource Family Approval (RFA)
process.
2015 Budget Act : Includes initial funding to support
recommendations in the CCR report consisting of $20.3 million
($17.2 million General Fund) to increase foster parent and
relative caregiver recruitment, retention, and training
efforts, and $7.3 million ($4.3 million General Fund) to fund
a 15 percent increase in FFA social worker rates.
DSS licensing, oversight, and administration : Significant
one-time and ongoing costs (General Fund) for the development
of revised rate structures, multiple sets of regulations for
new and revised licensing categories and RFA due process
procedures, stakeholder workgroup activities, development and
implementation of a system of governmental monitoring and
oversight, the development of revised training curricula, and
automation system changes. The magnitude and duration of these
costs will be dependent on the complexity and structure of the
processes developed, which are undetermined at this time.
DHCS administration : Significant one-time costs (General
Fund) to promulgate regulations regarding program standards,
oversight, enforcement, and due process for the mental health
certification of STRTCs and FFAs that provide intensive or
therapeutic treatment services, and to collaborate with DSS on
a monitoring and oversight program.
EPSDT/specialty mental health services : Major costs
potentially in the millions to tens of millions of dollars
(Federal Funds/Local Revenue Fund 2011(Behavioral Health
Subaccount)) annually for increased services and
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administration for both new and existing cases to the extent
the bill's reforms result in more appropriate placements and
assessments of need for children entitled to these services.
Pursuant to 2011 Realignment, responsibility for specialty
mental health and EPSDT services rests with the counties.
Long-term impact : Unknown, potentially significant future
cost savings to the child welfare and juvenile justice systems
to the extent the reforms result in better-informed and
appropriate initial placements provided with targeted
services, coupled with greater use of family-based care and
declining use and duration of congregate care placements and
costs, resulting in shorter and/or fewer stays in the child
welfare and juvenile justice systems. This overall savings is
predicated on numerous interdependent factors including but
not limited to the availability of adequate capacity and
quality of placement options for youth, the successful
provision of services to meet the individual needs of each
child, an effective system of monitoring and local interagency
coordination to ensure identified services are being provided
and transitions to home-based family care are made timely, the
rates developed for STRTCs/FFAs and the number of GH
placements from each RCL level transitioned to the
restructured rates, successful efforts to maximize federal
financial participation, the ability of families to meet the
specialized needs of this population, and performance measures
and standards developed including data collection to enable
analysis and accountability.
Proposition 30* : Provides that to the extent this legislation
has an overall effect of increasing the costs already borne by
a local agency for programs or levels of service mandated by
2011 Realignment, it shall apply to local agencies only to the
extent that the state provides annual funding for the cost
increase. Recognizing the wide variation between counties in
geographic size, population of impacted children, and the
level and costs of services and supports currently being
provided, as well as the varying impacts and timing of this
measure on local agencies within each county (including child
welfare, county probation, county mental health), the point at
which each local agency's overall costs may decrease will
likewise vary. At this time, the methodology including
baseline assumptions for calculating this "overall effect"
pursuant to Proposition 30 is unclear.
Annual THP-Plus FC COLA : To the extent the specified
provision in this bill is determined to codify existing law
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with regard to the rate structure established by the workgroup
pursuant to WIC §§ 11402(b) and 11403.3(a)(1)(B), no new state
costs.
Author
Amendments: Make numerous substantive and technical changes,
including but not limited to the following:
Revises legislative intent language in Section 1 of the
bill to state that if, rather than when, overall costs to a
local agency are reduced, annual funding by the state to
the local agency will only be provided as described in
Section 36 of Article XIII of the California Constitution.
Adds legislative intent and conforming language in
various sections of the bill with regard to continuing the
commitment to protecting the essential tribal relations and
best interests of an Indian child by promoting practices in
accordance with the federal Indian Child Welfare Act and
other applicable laws.
Revises and/or extends various implementation dates for
transition, licensure, placement, and rates.
Deletes the provision requiring the case plan to be
developed in collaboration with the child and family team
(CFT), as well as the requirement that the probation
officer consider the recommendations of the CFT in
determination of the appropriate placement of the ward.
Deletes the provision requiring the probation officer to
document the rationale for any inconsistencies between the
CFT recommendations and the final placement of the ward.
Specifies the state agencies shall attempt to minimize
duplicative audits and reviews to reduce the administrative
burden on providers.
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Provides that funding for recruitment, retention, and
support of foster parents, relative caregivers, and
resource families shall be subject to appropriation by the
Legislature.
Provides that DSS, CDE, and special education local plan
area (SELPA) directors shall work together to address the
funding formula currently based in part on the DSS rate
classification level (RCL) system. Specifies that the RCL
for group homes set by DSS will sunset pursuant to this
act. Prior to the sunset of the RCL, requires the
departments and SELPA directors to work together to develop
an alternative basis for its bed allowance formula.
Requires the DSS to work with stakeholders, including
other state departments, such as the Department of Health
Care Services, legislative staff, counties, and advocates,
to address critical issues in the initial and ongoing
implementation of this act. Requires the work with
stakeholders to include the development of timelines and
key milestones for implementation of this act, including a
process to monitor progress. Requires the DSS, in
consultation with stakeholders, to measure and track
changes in the number of out-of-home placements that are
available to county placing agencies, as specified.
Requires the stakeholder process to address subject
areas including but not limited to the following:
o Rate development for STRTCs, FFAs, and other
caregivers.
o Assessments.
o Retention and recruitment of home-based family
caregivers.
o Availability of core services, including
specialty mental health services.
o Meeting the needs of specialized populations
within the child welfare system.
o The mental health certification process.
o Simplification of the licensure and approval
process for resource families.
o Outcomes, accountability measures, and data
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collection.
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