BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1067
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Date of Hearing: January 12, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Kansen Chu, Chair
AB 1067
(Gipson) - As Amended January 4, 2016
SUBJECT: Foster children: rights
SUMMARY: Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to
convene a working group to develop standardized information
about the rights of all minors and nonminors in foster care, as
specified.
EXISTING LAW:
1)States that the purpose of foster care law is to provide
maximum safety and protection for children who are being
physically, sexually or emotionally abused, neglected, or
exploited and to ensure the safety, protection, and physical
and emotional well-being of children at risk of such harm.
(WIC 300.2)
2)Declares the intent of the Legislature to, whenever possible:
preserve and strengthen a child's family ties, reunify a
foster child with his or her relatives, or when family
reunification is not possible or likely, to develop a
permanent alternative. Further states the intent of the
Legislature to reaffirm its commitment to children who are in
out-of-home placement to live in the least restrictive, most
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family-like setting and as close to the child's family as
possible, as specified. (WIC 16000)
3)Enumerates rights of minors and nonminors in foster care,
including but not limited to the right to: live in a safe,
healthy, and comfortable home where he or she is treated with
respect; be free from physical, sexual, emotional, or other
abuse, or corporal punishment; receive adequate and healthy
food, adequate clothing, and, for youth in group homes, an
allowance; receive medical, dental, vision, and mental health
services; be involved in the development of his or her own
case plan and plan for permanent placement; and review his or
her own case plan and plan for permanent placement, if he or
she is 12 years of age or older and in a permanent placement,
and receive information about his or her out-of-home placement
and case plan, including being told of changes to the plan.
(WIC 16001.9)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
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 dependency
jurisdiction; these children are served by the CWS system
through the appointment of a social worker. Through this
juvenile dependency system, there are multiple opportunities for
the custody of the child, or his or her placement outside of the
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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.
However, the court may determine that an alternate permanent
placement is more fitting; the court must give preference to
potential placements in this order: relatives, nonrelative
extended family members, or family foster homes. Placement in
group homes or other intensive treatment placement settings are
considered only in more challenging situations where a child may
need stabilization services in order to transition to a less
restrictive placement, such as with a relative or foster
caregiver.
There are currently close to 63,000 children and youth in
California's CWS system.
Foster Youth Bill of Rights: AB 899 (Liu), Chapter 683,
Statutes of 2001, adopted California's Foster Youth Bill of
Rights. Two previous bills - AB 2923 (Bates) in 1994 and SB
1974 (Watson) in 1996 - had sought to codify the rights of
children in foster care but were vetoed by then-Governor Pete
Wilson. Proponents of AB 899 acknowledged that regulations at
the time contained a number of rights of foster children, but
they argued that the lists of these rights tended to vary and
were not conveyed consistently to foster youth. Staff of the
Office of the State Foster Care Ombudsperson (Office) also
acknowledged at the time that most of the rights contained in AB
899 were consistent with those provided by the Office to youth,
but the Office still struggled with uniformly conveying this
information; the Office also pointed to the lack of a clear
process of accountability when youth were not provided with this
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information.
AB 899, in making the Foster Youth Bill of Rights law,
consolidated and codified the rights of children into one place
in statute. It also required: social workers and probation
officers to periodically inform children of these rights in an
age-appropriate manner, the Office to develop, in consultation
with stakeholders, and disseminate information on these rights,
and any facility licensed to provide foster care for six or more
children to post a listing of these rights.
Additional rights have been added to the Foster Youth Bill of
Rights over time, most recently with SB 731 (Leno), Chapter 805,
Statutes of 2015, which added the right of foster youth to be
placed in out-of-home care according to their gender identity,
regardless of the gender or sex listed in their court or child
welfare records. The current list of rights for all minors and
nonminors in foster care includes 27 enumerated rights, such as
the right to: live in a safe, healthy, and comfortable home
where he or she is treated with respect; be free from physical,
sexual, emotional, or other abuse, or corporal punishment;
receive adequate and healthy food, adequate clothing, and, for
youth in group homes, an allowance; and receive medical, dental,
vision, and mental health services.
Need for this bill: According to the author, "Current law
(Welfare and Institutions Code Section 16001.9) establishes a
list of certain rights of foster children but provides no
provision for how or when these rights should be updated. This
bill will ensure that foster youth are aware of their rights and
are actively involved in updating them."
The need to keep foster youth informed of the most up-to-date
version of their rights has been recognized, and some attempts
have been made to address this need, over time. For example, in
Assembly Concurrent Resolution 58 (Parra), Resolution Chapter
150, Statutes of 2006, the Legislature urged DSS and other
specified entities to develop practices that assist foster youth
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in understanding their rights and the resources available to
support them in foster care and as they transition out of foster
care. The Senate floor analysis for this resolution, dated
August 17, 2005, stated that:
"ACR 58 was developed during this year's lobby day for the
California Youth Connection when the foster youth expressed
their frustration with the lack of publicity and enforcement
of the rights that the Legislature enacted in recent
legislation. The author argues that if foster youth are not
aware of some of their rights or do not understand them well,
the youth are less likely to take advantage of the protection,
resources, and support the state offers. The various
governmental entities, advocates, and stakeholders who work
with foster youth therefore have a responsibility to assist
foster youth in understanding their rights and the resources
available to support them."
Recommended amendments: In order to include the voices of
current and former foster youth, alongside the input of other
relevant parties, in a timely process that reviews and revises
the Foster Youth Bill of Rights and how information regarding
those rights is developed and disseminated, committee staff
recommends the following amendments beginning on page 2 of the
bill:
3
16001.8. (a) The State Department of Social Services shall
convene
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a working group to develop standardized information about
regarding the
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rights of all minors and nonminors in foster care, as specified
in
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Section 16001.9, in order to educate them foster youth, foster
care providers,
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and others. Responsibilities of the working group shall include
all of the following:
(1) By January 1, 2018, make recommendations to the
Legislature for revising the Foster Youth Bill of Rights, as
specified in Section 16001.9, based on a review of state
law;
(2) By July 1, 2018, do all of the following:
(A)Develop standardized information regarding the revised Foster
Youth Bill of Rights in an age-appropriate manner, and
reflective of any relevant licensing requirements with respect
to foster care providers' responsibilities to adequately
supervise children in care; (B) Develop recommendations
regarding methods for disseminating the standardized
information, specified in paragraph (2), regarding the Foster
Youth Bill of Rights;
(C) Develop recommendations for measuring, and improving if
necessary, the degree to which foster youth are adequately
informed of the Foster Youth Bill of Rights.
(b) The working group shall be composed of all of the
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following:
(1) The Office of the State Foster Care Ombudsperson.
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(a) (2) The California County Welfare Directors Association of
California.
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(b) (3) The Chief Probation Officers of California.
(4) The County Behavioral Health Directors Association
of California.
(5) Current and former foster youth.
(6) Foster parents and caregivers.
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(c) (7) Foster children advocacy groups.
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(d) (8) Foster care facilities associations.
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(e) (9) Any other interested parties.
PRIOR LEGISLATION:
AB 899 (Liu), Chapter 683, Statutes of 2001, adopted
California's Foster Youth Bill of Rights.
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SB 1974 (Watson), 1996, among other things, would have required
youth placed in foster care to be provided an orientation that
included an explanation of the child's rights. It was vetoed by
the Governor.
AB 2923 (Bates), 1994, would have adopted a Group Home Bill of
Rights. It was vetoed by the Governor.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Youth Connection
American Academy of Pediatrics
National Center for Youth Law
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Humboldt County Transition Age Youth Collaboration
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089