BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 885
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Date of Hearing: April 14, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Kansen Chu, Chair
AB 885
(Lopez) - As Introduced February 26, 2015
SUBJECT: Foster Youth
SUMMARY: Facilitates former foster youth re-entering care upon
the disruption of their permanent relationship.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Removes the requirement that guardians must no longer be
receiving aid on behalf of nonminor former dependents who
received aid under Kin-GAP after the age of 18 and nonminors
who received adoption assistance after the age of 18 in order
for those nonminors to be able to petition the court to remain
in foster care.
2)Removes the requirement that a nonminor former dependent child
or ward of the juvenile court be receiving Aid to Families
with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) benefits, as
specified, as one criterion for continued eligibility to
receive aid. Instead requires that the child or ward be
otherwise eligible to receive AFDC-FC benefits, as specified.
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3)Makes technical amendments to remove outdated statutory
language.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes a state and local system of child welfare
services, including foster care, for children who have been
adjudged by the court to be at risk or have been abused or
neglected, as specified. (WIC 202)
2)Allows a juvenile court to adjudge a child a ward or a
dependent of the court for specified reasons, including but
not limited to if the child has been left without any
provision for support, as specified. (WIC 300)
3)States that the purpose of foster care law is to provide
maximum safety and protection for children who are currently
being physically, sexually, or emotionally abused, neglected,
or exploited, and to ensure the safety, protection, and
physical and emotional well-being of children who are at risk
of harm. (WIC 300.2)
4)Defines "nonminor dependent" as a current or former foster
youth who is between18 and 21 years old, in foster care under
responsibility of the county welfare department, county
probation department, or Indian Tribe, and participating in a
transitional independent living plan. (WIC 11400 (v))
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5)Defines "nonminor former dependent or ward" as either:
a) A nonminor who turned 18 while subject to an order for
foster care placement, and for whom dependency,
delinquency, or transition jurisdiction has been
terminated, and who is still under the general jurisdiction
of the court; or
b) A nonminor who is at least 18 years old and, while a
minor, was a dependent child or ward of the juvenile court
when the guardianship was established, as specified, and
the juvenile court dependency or wardship was dismissed
following the establishment of the guardianship. (WIC
11400 (aa))
6)Revises and expands federal funding and programs for certain
foster and adopted children via the Fostering Connections to
Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. (P.L. 110-351)
7)Provides for extended foster care funding for youth until age
20, as well as adopts other changes to conform to the federal
Fostering Connections to Success Act. (WIC 241.1, 303, 366.3
388,391, 450, 1140, 11402, 11403)
8)Allows a nonminor former foster youth under the age of 21 to
petition the court for re-entry into foster care if his or her
guardian or adoptive parent is no longer providing him or her
with support, as specified. (WIC 388.1)
9)Allows nonminor dependents who meet general AFDC-FC
requirements, as well as one or more of a set of specified
requirements, to voluntarily continue placement in or to
re-enter into foster care. (WIC 11403(b))
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
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Child Welfare Services: The purpose of California's Child
Welfare Services (CWS) system is to protect children from abuse
and neglect and provide for their health and safety. When
children are identified as being at risk of abuse, neglect or
abandonment, county juvenile courts hold legal jurisdiction and
children are served by the CWS system through the appointment of
a social worker. Through this system, there are multiple
opportunities for the custody of the child, or his or her
placement outside of the home, to be evaluated, reviewed and
determined by the judicial system, in consultation with the
child's social worker, to help provide the best possible
services to the child. The CWS system seeks to help children
who have been removed from their homes reunify with their
parents or guardians, whenever appropriate, or unite them with
other individuals they consider to be family. There are
currently close to 63,000 children and youth in California's
child welfare system; over 7,800 of these youth are between the
ages of 18 and 20.
Extended foster care: Recent changes in federal and state law
have facilitated access to extended foster care funding and
services for youth between the ages of 18 and 21. Per the
federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing
Adoptions Act of 2008, and as adopted in state law by AB 12
(Beall), Chapter 559, Statutes of 2010, California extended
foster care to eligible child welfare and probation youth that
remain in foster care up to age 21.
The federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing
Adoptions Act of 2008 offered states the option to receive
federal financial participation for foster care for eligible
nonminor dependents. It also allowed federal reimbursement for
the Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment (Kin-GAP) program,
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which serves youth who exit the juvenile dependency system to
achieve permanency in the home of a relative caregiver and
provides a subsidy to eligible families that is equivalent to
the basic foster care rate.
For youth who were placed with a relative guardian, or adopted,
between the time they were 16 and 18 years old, their guardians
or adoptive parents are eligible to receive Kin-GAP or Adoption
Assistance Payments (AAP) funding, respectively, to provide
integral supports and services for the youth until the youth is
age 21, providing the youth meets eligibility criteria.
However, sometimes the guardian or adoptive parent fails to
continue to provide support to a youth who has turned 18. This
can contribute to increased risk of homelessness and other
crisis situations for a youth who, by virtue of being in the
child welfare system, has already faced significant troubles.
AB 2454 (Quirk-Silva), Chapter 769, Statutes of 2014, sought to
address this issue by allowing former foster youth who were
placed in guardianship or adopted between the ages of 16 and 18
to re-enter the child welfare system if their guardian or
adoptive parent fails to provide them with ongoing support and
if the parent or guardian is no longer receiving benefits on
behalf of the youth. AB 2454 allows a youth facing the
situation, as described, to petition the court and have a judge
evaluate his or her circumstances and make a determination as to
whether re-entry should be permitted, thereby allowing access to
supports and services.
Need for this bill: The law extending foster care re-entry
rights to nonminors currently requires adoptive parents and
guardians who are receiving Kin-GAP and AAP benefits,
respectively, on behalf of a youth to have those benefits
terminated prior to the youth becoming eligible to petition for
re-entry. According to the author, this can create a
significant barrier to re-entering foster care, because the
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youth often has no control over when or whether this funding is
terminated. Also, the author contends that current law bases
re-entry on the type of aid that the youth is receiving, and
thus inadvertently excludes youth that may have exited to
permanency but might not be receiving any benefit or receiving
an alternative benefit, like SSI.
The author states that, "Last year legislation was signed into
law that allows former foster youth whose guardian or adoptive
parent is no longer providing them with support to re-enter
foster care. The intent of this bill is to remove disincentives
to permanency for youth who would otherwise be eligible for
extended foster care by providing safeguards against failed
permanency when a youth is between the ages of 18 and 21.
However, as passed, [the legislation signed last year] excludes
some former foster youth and also creates unintentional barriers
to re-entry. This legislation is needed in order to ensure that
all former foster youth are afforded the right to re-enter care
if their permanent relationship disrupts without having to
overcome administrative barriers to re-entry."
According to the Alliance for Children's Rights, which provides
legal services to current and former foster youth, "Alliance
attorneys have encountered numerous cases where guardianship or
adoptions disrupt after age 18 and the young person is left
homeless and without recourse. Now that AB 2454 passed,
Alliance attorneys are helping youth to re-enter. However, the
provisions in AB 2454 that require benefits to have already
terminated are presenting barriers to re-entry. Even the
attorneys have difficulty ascertaining whether funding has
terminated or who to contact in order to initiate the process to
terminate the funding. All the while, the youth goes days or
weeks without being able to access the right to re-entry."
PRIOR LEGISLATION:
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AB 2454 (Quirk-Silva), Chapter 769, Statutes of 2014, authorized
former nonminor dependents under the age of 21, as specified, to
petition the court to re-enter foster care if their guardian or
adoptive parent is no longer providing them with support.
AB 787 (Stone), Chapter 487, Statutes of 2013, made technical
and clarifying changes to the technical and clarifying changes
to the California Fostering Connections to Success Act.
AB 1712 (Beall), Chapter 846, Statutes of 2012, made technical
and clarifying changes to the California Fostering Connections
to Success Act.
AB 212 (Beall), Chapter 459, Statues of 2011, made technical and
clarifying changes to the California Fostering Connections to
Success Act.
AB 12 (Beall), Chapter 559, Statutes of 2010, the "California
Fostering Connections to Success Act," conformed state law to
federal requirements to revise and expanding programs and
funding for certain foster and adopted children.
DOUBLE REFERRAL . This bill has been double-referred. Should
this bill pass out of this committee, it will be referred to the
Assembly Committee Judiciary.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
AB 885
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Support
California Alliance of Child and Family Services
County Welfare Directors Association (CWDA)
Family Law Section (FLEXCOM)
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089
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