BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 885
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 6, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
885 (Lopez) - As Introduced February 26, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill provides that a former dependent under 21 years of age
can voluntarily re-enter extended foster care (FC), upon the
approval of the juvenile court, if the former dependent had been
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receiving assistance under Kinship Guardianship Assistance
Payment (Kin-GAP) Program or the Adoption Assistance Payment
(AAP) Program after he or she turned 18 years of age, but the
guardian or adoptive parent is failing to provide ongoing
support for the former dependent, even if their guardians or
adoptive parents are still receiving aid on their behalf.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Ongoing increase in state costs in the range of $78,000 to
$103,000 (General Fund*) per year for each nonminor former
dependent that resumes dependency under the extended FC
program. To the extent two cases per year resume dependency
under the extended FC program, cumulative costs would range
between $310,000 and $410,000 annually after two years,
including grant and additional social worker administrative
costs.
2)To the extent a nonminor former dependent would have otherwise
remained in extended Kin-GAP or AAP, estimated costs would be
offset in part by savings from terminated
guardianship/adoptions of $10,000 to $12,000 per case per year
once those cases are terminated. This bill allows a former
dependent to petition for re-entry while their guardians or
adoptive parents are still receiving aid on their behalf.
Until those payments cease, those costs would continue to be
incurred.
*Proposition 30 (November 2012) eliminated any potential mandate
funding liability for any new program or higher level of service
mandated on local agencies related to realigned programs,
including child welfare services and foster care. Rather,
legislation enacted after September 30, 2012, that has an
overall effect of increasing the costs already borne by a local
agency for programs or levels of service mandated by
realignment, only apply to local agencies to the extent that the
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state provides annual funding for the cost increase. Local
agencies are not obligated to provide programs or levels of
service required by legislation above the level for which
funding has been provided.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. This bill continues the Legislature's efforts to
ensure the California Fostering Connection to Success Act
(FCSA) of 2010 is properly implemented. The FCSA provides
transitional foster care support to qualifying foster youths
ages 18-21 by, among other things, allowing more former foster
youth to voluntarily re-enter the foster care system as
nonminor dependents (NMDs). Last year, the Legislature
expanded that group to include former foster youth, who had
been receiving Kin-GAP Program or Adoption Assistance Payment
(AAP) Program assistance after they turned 18, and whose
guardians or adoptive parents had failed to support them, to
voluntarily re-enter extended foster care upon the approval of
the juvenile court. This bill expands that slightly by
allowing these youth to re-enter foster care even if their
guardians or adoptive parents are still receiving aid on their
behalf.
The author states that, "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."
2)Background. The federal Fostering Connections to Success and
Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 offered states the option to
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receive federal financial participation for foster care for
eligible NMDs. It also allowed federal reimbursement for the
Kin-GAP program, 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.
California law allows the court to resume jurisdiction of a
former NMD or ward of the court for specified reasons. In
these cases, a youth who was receiving foster care services
when he or she turned 18 may opt to re-enter foster care so
that he or she may remain in a healthy and safe environment
and draw down services to help him or her transition into
adulthood. In addition, the law allows a former foster youth,
whose adoptive parent or guardian dies before the youth turns
21, to re-enter as a NMD if he or she meets specified
criteria.
Last year, this same opportunity was added for NMDs who have
reached permanency, but whose adoptive parent or guardian then
fail to provide ongoing support while the youth is between the
ages of 18 and 21. However, adoptive parents and guardians
who are receiving AAP or Kin-GAP benefits on behalf of a youth
must terminate those benefits prior to the youth becoming
eligible to petition for re-entry. Supporters argue that this
can create a significant barrier to re-entering foster care,
because the youth often has no control over when or whether
the termination occurs, and some attorneys have difficultly
determining whether the funding has terminated and who to
contact to initiate the termination process.
3)Prior Legislation:
a) 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
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them with support.
b) AB 787 (Stone), Chapter 487, Statutes of 2013, AB 1712
(Beall), Chapter 846, Statutes of 2012, and AB 212 (Beall),
Chapter 459, Statues of 2011, all made technical and
clarifying changes to the California Fostering Connections
to Success Act.
c) 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.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081