BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 1067


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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS


          AB  
          1067 (Gipson)


          As Amended  August 17, 2016


          Majority vote


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          Original Committee Reference:  HUM. S.


          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, and  
          expands requirements regarding the distribution of information  
          regarding these rights, as specified.  


          The Senate amendments:


          1)Require the working group to develop a recommendation as to  
            whether or not to require the signature of a foster child  
            verifying that he or she has received and understands his or  
            her rights.


          2)Add the bureau at the Department of Justice whose mission is  
            to protect the rights of children to the list of required  








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            working group participants.


          3)Expand current-law requirements regarding informing foster  
            children of their rights to do the following:


             a)   Require the child's social worker or probation officer  
               to provide information on the rights to the child's care  
               provider and the child and family team, if applicable;


             b)   Require the child's social worker or probation officer  
               to provide a written copy of the rights to the child as  
               part of the explanation;


             c)   Require information on the rights to be provided at each  
               placement change; and


             d)   Require the social worker or probation officer to  
               document in the case plan that he or she has informed the  
               child of, and has provided the child with a written copy  
               of, his or her rights.


          4)Make technical amendments.


          5)Make chaptering amendments.


          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.   
            (Welfare and Institutions Code Section (WIC) 300.2)








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          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  
            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:  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee, this bill was placed on the second reading file  
          pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8.


          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  








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          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  
          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) of 1994 and SB  
          1974 (Watson) of 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  
          information.










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          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  
          ACR 58 (Parra), Resolution Chapter 150, Statutes of 2006, the  
          Legislature urged DSS and other specified entities to develop  
          practices that assist foster youth 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:








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            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.


          PRIOR LEGISLATION:


          AB 899 (Liu), Chapter 683, Statutes of 2001, adopted  
          California's Foster Youth Bill of Rights.


          SB 1974 (Watson) of 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) of 1994, would have adopted a Group Home Bill of  
          Rights. It was vetoed by the Governor.


          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089  FN:  
          0004555














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