BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 885
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GOVERNOR'S VETO
AB
885 (Lopez)
As Enrolled September 1, 2016
2/3 vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |79-0 |(January 27, |SENATE: |39-0 |(August 22, |
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|ASSEMBLY: |79-0 |(August 25, | | | |
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Original Committee Reference: HUM. S.
SUMMARY: Facilitates former foster youth re-entering care upon
the disruption of their permanent relationship by, among other
things, removing the requirement that a guardian or adoptive
parent must no longer be receiving Kinship Guardianship
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Assistance Payment Program (Kin-GAP) aid or adoption assistance
in order for a nonminor to be able to petition the court to
remain in foster care and by permitting a nonminor to enter into
a voluntary re-entry agreement if that nonminor's guardian(s) or
adoptive parent(s) have died or are no longer receiving payment
on behalf of the nonminor, as specified.
The Senate amendments:
1)Stipulate that the current-law requirement that the court give
prior notice of a hearing regarding a nonminor's petition to
remain in foster care must occur at least three days prior to
the hearing.
2)Require the Department of Social Services (DSS) to promulgate
a regulation defining "ongoing support" for purposes of this
bill.
3)Make technical amendments.
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. (Welfare and Institutions Code
Section (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)
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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))
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. (Public Law
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)
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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 Aid to Families
with Dependent Children - Foster Care (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: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee
August 1, 2016, analysis, this bill could result in unknown, but
potentially significant, local assistance costs for
administrative costs and an increase in grant assistance.
(General Fund)
COMMENTS:
Child Welfare Services (CWS): The purpose of California's 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 62,000 children and youth in California's
child welfare system; approximately 7,600 of these youth are
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between the ages of 18 and 21.
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 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.
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 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
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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 allowed 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 guardians and adoptive
parents who are receiving Kin-GAP and adoption assistance
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
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 who may have exited to
permanency but might not be receiving any benefit or receiving
an alternative benefit, like Supplemental Security Income.
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:
I am returning the following five bills without my signature:
Assembly Bill 492
Assembly Bill 885
Assembly Bill 1584
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Assembly Bill 1770
Assembly Bill 1838
Each of these bills make changes to a worthy program that
results in increased funding, a few of which received increases
in this year's budget. These bills are an end run of the budget
process, and would commit us to spending an additional $240
million every year.
The budget process allows for all spending proposals to be
weighed equally through public hearings, negotiations and,
finally, approval of a balanced budget. This is the best way to
evaluate and prioritize all new spending proposals, including
those that increase the cost of existing programs. This process
is even more important when the state's budget is precariously
balanced.
The budget process begins again on January 10, 2017, which is
the appropriate time to discuss these proposals.
Analysis Prepared by:
Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089 FN:
0005094
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