BILL ANALYSIS Ó
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 885|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 885
Author: Lopez (D)
Amended: 6/2/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE: 5-0, 5/10/16
AYES: McGuire, Berryhill, Hancock, Liu, Nguyen
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/14/16
AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning,
Wieckowski
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/11/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 1/27/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Foster youth
SOURCE: Alliance for Childrens Rights
DIGEST: This bill deletes the requirement that a former
guardian or adoptive parent of a nonminor dependent no longer
receive aid on behalf of the nonminor before the juvenile court
may resume dependency jurisdiction, and makes other related
changes.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
AB 885
Page 2
1)Establishes under the California Fostering Connections to
Success Act and the corresponding federal Fostering
Connections to Success Act an option for states to receive
federal financial participation to continue foster care
eligibility for nonminor dependents between the ages of 18 and
21 under specific conditions. (WIC 11403)
2)Establishes various supports for dependent or former dependent
children and the families that care for them. Each of the
federally reimbursed programs has a corollary state-only
funded program for children who are not eligible under Aid to
Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) income eligibility
criteria from 1996. These programs include:
Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care
(WIC 11401)
Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment Program
(Kin-GAP); (WIC 11360; WIC 11385)
Adoption Assistance Program (WIC 16115)
Non Relative Legal Guardianship (WIC 11405)
1)Permits a former nonminor dependent or delinquent who turned
18 years of age while under the order of a foster care
placement and who is under the age of 21 to petition the court
which found the nonminor to be a dependent or delinquent child
to resume dependency jurisdiction. (WIC 388)
2)Requires a court to set a hearing within 15 judicial days of a
nonminor's petition to resume dependency if the minor was
under the juvenile court jurisdiction when guardianship was
established, and the guardian or adoptive parent died when the
nonminor was between 18 and 21 years of age or the guardian or
adoptive parent no longer provides ongoing support and no
longer receives payment on behalf of the minor, as specified.
(WIC 388.1 (c))
3)Permits nonminor dependents and former dependents to
AB 885
Page 3
voluntarily continue or re-enter foster care before or after
filing a petition to establish eligibility upon meeting
specified requirements. (WIC 388.1)
4)Establishes that termination of kinship guardianship also
terminates eligibility for Kin-GAP unless specified conditions
apply and an alternate guardian or co-guardian is appointed.
(WIC 388.1 (e))
5)Permits a nonminor former dependent who previously received
Kin-GAP or adoption assistance payment (AAP), and whose
guardian or adoptive parent dies or no longer provides ongoing
support or receives benefits on behalf of the nonminor, to
petition the court to re-enter extended foster care if the
nonminor meets other criteria for eligibility for extended
foster care. (WIC 388.1 and WIC 11403 (c))
This bill:
1)Deletes various requirements that a former guardian of a
nonminor dependent be no longer receiving Kin-GAP aid or AAP
benefits on behalf of the minor in order for a judge to hear a
petition to resume the nonminor's dependency, while retaining
the requirement that the former guardian no longer be
providing support.
2)Eliminates the requirement that a guardian or adoptive parent
no longer receive payment on behalf of the minor for a court
to resume dependency jurisdiction or to receive aid, among
other considerations.
3)Permits voluntary reentry to foster care only if the
nonminor's guardian or guardians, or adoptive parent or
parents, as applicable, have died or are no longer receiving
payment on behalf of the nonminor.
AB 885
Page 4
4)Adds the nonminor's adoptive parent or parents and the
nonminor's guardian or guardians to the list of individuals
that the court must notify of a hearing set due to a
nonminor's petition and requires at least three days' notice
prior to that hearing.
Background
In 2008, the federal Fostering Connections to Success and
Increasing Adoptions Act (P.L. 110-351) made significant policy
changes to the states' child welfare programs, including
creating a program of extended foster care for nonminor former
dependents who are between ages 18 and 21. States were given the
option to participate. Nonminors must meet certain eligibility
requirements, including:
Working toward completing secondary education or a program
leading to an equivalent credential.
Enrollment in an institution that provides post-secondary or
vocational education.
Participating in a program or activity designed to promote, or
remove barriers to, employment.
Employed for at least 80 hours per month.
Incapable of doing any of the above because of a medical
condition.
California opted to participate in the federal program two years
later with the passage of AB 12 (Beall and Bass, Chapter 559,
Statutes of 2010), and subsequent cleanup legislation (AB 212,
Beall, Chapter 459, Statutes of 2011; AB 1712, Beall, Chapter
846, Statutes of 2012, and others).
A California youth must meet four basic eligibility requirements
to receive support after age 18. He or she must be under an
order for foster care placement on his or her 18th birthday,
meet one of the five participation conditions listed above,
AB 885
Page 5
agree to live in a supervised placement that is licensed or
approved for 18 to 21 year olds, and continue under the
jurisdiction of a juvenile court as a dependent, under
transitional jurisdiction or as a ward of the court.
Re-entry into foster care. In order to re-enter foster care, a
nonminor dependent must submit a petition to the juvenile court
in which he or she was previously found to be a dependent or
delinquent for a hearing to determine whether the court will
resume dependency. A court has 15 days in which to set the
hearing, and must notify the nonminor and appropriate child
welfare or probation department, as well as any other person
requested by the nonminor of the hearing's time, date and
location. Prior to the hearing, the nonminor may voluntarily
re-enter foster care if the guardian or adoptive parent has died
or is no longer receiving aid or benefits on behalf of the
nonminor.
Prior Legislation
AB 2454 (Quirk Silva, Chapter 769, Statutes of 2014) permits a
nonminor former dependent who previously received extended
Kin-GAP or AAP, but whose former guardians are no longer
providing support to the nonminor, to petition the court to
resume dependency under the extended foster care program.
AB 12 (Beall and Bass, Chapter 559, Statutes of 2010), the
California Fostering Connections to Success Act, provides an
option for continued jurisdiction of federally-eligible nonminor
dependents or former dependents of the juvenile court who are
between the ages of 18 and 21, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
AB 885
Page 6
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, this bill
would result in Unknown, but potentially significant, local
assistance costs for administrative costs and an increase in
grant assistance. The reentry rate of nonminor dependents is not
tracked and is therefore unknown at this time. Each nonminor
dependent case that reenters foster care would cost
approximately $6,000 ($4,000 GF) per year. This includes
participation in Transitional Housing Placement - Plus Foster
Care ($3,043 per year plus an additional $88 foster care
administration rate per month) and participation in a Supervised
Independent Living Placement ($886 per year plus an additional
$88 foster care administration rate per month).
SUPPORT: (Verified8/11/16)
Alliance for Children's Rights (source)
Alameda County Board of Supervisors
All Saints Church Foster Care Project
Aspiranet
California Alliance of Child and Family Services
Children Now
Children's Law Center of California
County Welfare Directors Association of California
East Bay Children's Law Offices
Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the State Bar
of California
Imperial Valley Regional Occupational Program
John Burton Foundation for Children Without Homes
Legal Services for Children
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Public Counsel's Children's Rights Project
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Youth Law Center
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/11/16)
AB 885
Page 7
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, this bill
eliminates unintentional administrative barriers that were
included in AB 2454 (Quirk Silva, Chapter 769, Statutes of 2014)
which require the foster youth to prove that their adoptive
parents or guardians are no longer receiving support on behalf
of the nonminor before having an opportunity to petition the
court. In some cases, the relationship between the nonminor and
guardian or adoptive parent has soured, yet the parent or
guardian continues to receive funding while providing no support
to the nonminor. In those cases, under current law, the minor
would be ineligible to petition the court to re-enter foster
care. This bill clarifies that a nonminor who voluntarily
re-enters foster care may do so if funding has ceased to a
guardian or adoptive parent. It also permits a nonminor to
petition the court in instances where funding continues to a
guardian or adoptive parent but the nonminor is not being
supported. The court can then determine whether the youth is
being supported and whether the youth is permitted to re-enter
extended foster care.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 1/27/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,
Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,
Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Patterson, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
Prepared by:Mareva Brown / HUMAN S. / (916) 651-1524
8/15/16 20:26:51
AB 885
Page 8
**** END ****