BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1416
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Date of Hearing: April 28, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Kansen Chu, Chair
AB 1416
(Dababneh) - As Introduced February 27, 2015
SUBJECT: Foster parent evaluations
SUMMARY: Establishes a foster parent evaluation system.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Directs the Department of Social Services (DSS), in
consultation with stakeholders, as specified, to develop and
implement a foster parent evaluation process.
2)Requires the foster parent evaluation process to include a
process for foster youth over the age of 12 and nonminor
dependents to provide feedback on the quality of care
received, as specified, and the development of an evaluation
tool in partnership with current and former foster youth and
their caregivers that allows youth to give feedback on a
number of factors, including the following:
a) A caregiver's participation in implementing the youth's
case plan;
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b) A caregiver's provision of excellent, nurturing
parenting, as specified;
c) A caregiver's honoring of the rights of the foster
youth;
d) The extent to which a caregiver respects and supports
the youth's ties to his or her biological family, as
specified;
e) A caregiver's advocacy for the youth, as specified;
f) A caregiver's participation in the youth's medical and
wellness care, as specified;
g) A caregiver's encouragement and support of the youth's
educational goals and school success, as specified;
h) A caregiver's provision of developmentally appropriate
opportunities to develop and practice life skills, as
specified;
i) A caregiver's provision of opportunities to develop the
youth's interests and skills, as specified; and
j) A caregiver's efforts to ensure any transition to foster
care is appropriate and supported, as specified.
1)Requires DSS, in consultation with specified caregivers, to
consider how information gathered from the evaluations can
inform recruitment, training, and retention of high-quality
foster parents.
2)Requires DSS to implement the foster parent evaluation
process, and promulgate all necessary regulations, by January
1, 2017.
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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
family-like setting and as close to the child's family as
possible, as specified. (WIC 16000)
3)Requires out-of-home placement of a child in foster care to be
based upon selection of a safe setting that is the least
restrictive or most family-like and the most appropriate
setting available and in close proximity to the parent's home,
the child's school, and best suited to meet the child's
special needs and best interests. Further requires the
selection of placement to consider, in order of priority,
placement with relatives, nonrelated extended family members,
tribal members, and foster family homes, certified homes of
foster family agencies, intensive treatment or
multidimensional treatment foster care homes, group care
placements, such as group homes and community treatment
facilities, and residential treatment, as specified. (WIC
16501.1(c)(1))
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4)States that DSS shall promote the participation of current and
former foster youth in the development of state foster care
and child welfare policy. (WIC 16001.7)
5)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)
6)Requires DSS to establish a working group, in consultation
with stakeholders, charged with developing recommended
revisions to the current rate-setting system, services, and
programs provided by foster family agencies and group homes,
as specified. Further requires the working group to consider,
among other things, how to ensure the provision of services in
family-like settings and submit a report on its
recommendations to the Legislature by October 1, 2014. (WIC
11461.2)
7)States that is the intent of the Legislature that foster
parents, and potential foster parents, receive training in
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order to assist them in being effective caregivers and to
enhance the safety and growth of children placed with them.
Further states the need to develop a basic curriculum, a
program for continuing education, and specialized training for
parents caring for children with unique needs. (HSC 1529.1)
8)Requires every licensed foster parent to complete a minimum of
12 hours of foster parent training, as specified, prior to any
foster youth being placed with him or her. Further requires a
licensed foster parent to complete at least 8 hours of foster
parent training, as specified, annually. (HSC 1529.2(b))
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
Child Welfare Services: California's Child Welfare Services
(CWS) system provides a number of services, supports, and
interventions aimed at protecting children and their health and
safety. Ultimately, the system aims to preserve and strengthen
families by reuniting children with their biological parents
whenever appropriate. When this reunification is not possible
or appropriate, children are placed in the setting deemed least
restrictive and most suitable; this can include placement with
relatives or guardians (such as a nonrelative extended family
member) or adoption.
Under certain circumstances defined in state law, the juvenile
court may deem a child to be a dependent or ward of the court.
The court may then keep the child in his or her home or remove
the child from the home; removal may either result in eventual
reunification with the family, or the court may determine that
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an alternate permanent placement is more fitting. In this
latter case, 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.
On January 1, 2015, there were 62,898 children in foster care in
California. Approximately 35% of these youth were placed with
relatives, non-relative extended family members, or in a
tribe-specified home. Another 25% were placed with foster
family agencies or foster family agency certified homes, and
almost 9% were placed in foster family homes and small family
homes.
Foster parent recruitment and retention: Resource families -
that is, families wishing to provide foster care, adopt, or both
- are the subject of efforts being put forth by DSS, county
child welfare agencies, and probation departments to implement a
cohesive, family-friendly, and child-centered approval process.
Recruiting, training, supporting, and retaining foster parents
is a key component of the child welfare system in California.
The need for high quality caregivers in California's child
welfare system has been recognized for some time. For example,
the 2008 federal Child and Family Services Review (CFSR), which
assessed the state's achievement of positive outcomes for
children and families, found that, "another concern pertained to
a lack of foster homes in the State in general and a specific
lack of foster homes that reflect the racial/ethnic diversity of
the children in foster care. Stakeholders also suggested that
there is a lack of State leadership with regard to statewide
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recruitment efforts."
DSS's Children and Family Services Division's June 2013 Annual
Progress and Services Report on its Child and Family Services
Plan for 2010-14, addressing the concerns raised by the 2008
CFSR, stated that, "California seeks to improve the state's
diligent recruitment and retention of resource families. The
state's overall goal is to attract quality resource families
that reflect the diversity within California, and of the
children in foster care, and to provide services that support
resource families as they work to improve the lives of children
in their care. California continues efforts to consolidate and
better coordinate existing efforts, improve customer service and
initiating, with philanthropy and counties, a pilot program
aimed at enhancing the state's recruitment and retention efforts
of quality foster parents."
One example of state recruitment and retention efforts is the
Quality Parenting Initiative (QPI). In 2009, DSS, the County
Welfare Directors Association, and the Youth Law Center
collaborated to establish a statewide approach to the
recruitment and retention of high quality caregivers for
children in the child welfare system. Currently, 18 counties
are participating in this effort, using a county-based
recruitment, training, and retention model.
Additionally, attention to resource family recruitment and
retention is given in current Continuum of Care (CCR) efforts.
SB 1013 (Senate Budget and Fiscal Review) Chapter 35, Statutes
of 2012, realigned CWS to counties, established a moratorium on
the licensing of new group homes, and required DSS to convene a
workgroup. This workgroup was charged with examining the use of
group homes in California and providing recommendations to the
Legislature and the Governor on how to reform this use. In
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January 2015, DSS submitted the CCR workgroup report to the
Legislature, which included general and fiscal recommendations,
alongside recommendations on home-based family care, residential
treatment, and performance measures and outcomes. One of those
recommendations was to "strengthen resource family recruitment,
training requirements and retention strategies."
Need for this bill: The author states that, "Foster youth are
removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect and placed
in the care of families or agencies that have stepped forward to
care for them and to ensure their needs are met. In order to
ensure that these vulnerable young people are properly placed in
families that will be a good fit for them or in agencies that
can meet their unique needs, the state needs a better system of
tracking how they are doing in the environments we place them
in. We can learn a lot about how our foster care system is
working from foster youth themselves."
Also, according the author, QPI efforts in Florida are more
robust, including an exit interview for foster youth that
provides valuable feedback on their caregivers. This bill will
help make similar connection between foster youth feedback and
the recruitment, training, and retention of high-quality
caregivers.
The sponsor of this bill, California Youth Connection, states
that, "Children in foster care, just like all children, need
caring and engaged adults to support their well-being.
Currently, licensing agencies lack a satisfactory process to
compile, track, and evaluate feedback from foster youth on the
care they are receiving from caregivers in foster homes and
group homes. While the youth may share information verbally
with a social worker, there is no official method for collecting
that feedback. [This bill] aims to harness that valuable input
in order to better match children with the appropriate
caregivers, identify areas of strengths or weakness in the
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system, improve the overall quality of care, and provide an
avenue for foster youth to voice their opinions about improving
the system that is ultimately meant to serve them."
PRIOR LEGISLATION:
AB 2583 (Dababneh), 2014, was very similar to this bill. It
died in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 196 (Mansoor), 2013, was similar to this bill. It died in
the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Youth Connection (CYC), sponsor
California Alliance of Child and Family Services
Children NOW
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Children's Law Center
John Burton Foundation
East Bay Children's Law Offices
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089
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