BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1416
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Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
1416 (Dababneh) - As Introduced February 27, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires the Department of Social Services (DSS), in
consultation with the County Welfare Directors Association
(CWDA), foster parents, caregivers, and current and former
foster youth, to develop and implement a foster parent
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evaluation process by January 1, 2017. Specifically, this bill:
1)Specifies the evaluation process shall allow a foster youth
over 12 years of age and nonminor dependents, to provide
feedback on the quality of care they receive in licensed
foster care homes or group homes every six months, and upon
exit from those homes.
2)Requires the development of an evaluation tool that allows
foster youth to provide feedback on their caregivers.
3)Specifies the evaluation shall be designed to gather
information on a series of specified subjects.
4)Requires DSS to consider how the information gathered can
improve efforts to recruit, train and retain high quality
foster parents.
5)Requires DSS to implement the foster parent evaluation process
and promulgate all necessary regulations no later than January
1, 2017.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)One-time costs to DSS in the range of $100,000 (GF) to develop
the evaluation process and implement regulations.
2)On-going costs in the range of $250,000 to $500,000 (GF) per
year for the workload associated with social workers
administering the evaluation once a year to over 7,000 foster
youth and for processing the information obtained through the
evaluation.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. The author states that, "Foster youth are removed
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from their homes because of abuse or neglect and are 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."
2)Background. 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.
In 2009, DSS, the County Welfare Directors Association, and
the Youth Law Center collaborated to establish the Quality
Parenting Initiative (QPI), 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.
AB 1416 is modeled after a component of Florida's Quality
Parenting Initiative (QPI). QPI in Florida has resulted in
the development of innovative tools for foster parents and
children in foster care, including an exit interview for
children and youth in foster care to provide feedback on their
caregivers.
3)Prior Legislation.
a) This bill is a reintroduction of AB 2583 (Dababneh)
2014. That bill was held on this committee's Suspense
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File.
b) AB 196 (Mansoor) from 2013, which provided for a nearly
identical evaluation process for foster youth ages 10 and
older twice a year. That bill was held on this committee's
Suspense File.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081