BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1838
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
1838 (Ting and Bonta)
As Amended May 27, 2016
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Human Services |6-0 |Bonilla, Calderon, | |
| | |Lopez, Maienschein, | |
| | |Mark Stone, Thurmond | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonilla, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Roger | |
| | |Hernández, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Obernolte, | |
| | |Quirk, Santiago, | |
| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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AB 1838
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SUMMARY: Increases the infant supplement paid for the care and
supervision of the children of foster youth, provides for
receipt of the infant supplement for the six months preceding
birth, and directs the Department of Social Services (DSS) to
adopt regulations establishing new infant supplement rates for
specified placements. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires that the infant supplement to be equal to the basic
foster family home rate, as specified, and to be paid for the
care and supervision of each child living with his or her
dependent or nonminor dependent parent when the caretaker
receives Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care
(AFDC-FC), Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment (Kin-GAP),
or Approved Relative Caregiver (ARC) benefits on behalf of the
parent.
2)Requires the infant supplement paid to a nonminor dependent
parent residing in a supervised independent living placement,
as specified, to be equal to the basic foster family home
rate.
3)Deletes provisions specifying current infant supplement rates
and adjustments.
4)Requires the DSS, by July 1, 2017, to adopt regulations
establishing new infant supplement rates for children living
with their parents in a group home placement, short-term
residential treatment center, or in Transitional Housing
Placement-Plus Foster Care.
5)Requires the infant supplement to be paid to a pregnant minor
or nonminor dependent for the month in which the birth is
anticipated and for the six months immediately prior, provided
the pregnancy is verified. Further specifies that such
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payments shall be for the purposes of meeting the specialized
needs of the pregnant minors or nonminor dependents and to
properly prepare for the needs of the infant.
6)Makes conforming technical amendments.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Permits the juvenile court to adjudge a child a dependent of
the court for specified reasons, including, but not limited
to, if a child has suffered or is at substantial risk of
suffering serious physical harm, emotional damage, or sexual
abuse, as specified. (Welfare and Institutions Code Section
(WIC) 300)
2)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)
3)Declares the intent of the Legislature to, whenever possible,
preserve and strengthen a child's family ties and, when a
child must be removed from the physical custody of his or her
parents, to give preferential consideration to placement with
relatives. States the intent of the Legislature to reaffirm
its commitment to children who are in out-of-home placement to
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live in the least restrictive family setting and as close to
the child's family as possible, as specified. Further states
the intent of the Legislature that all children live with a
committed, permanent, nurturing family and states that
services and supports should be tailored to meet the specific
needs of the individual child and family being served, as
specified. (WIC 16000)
4)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 family setting that promotes normal childhood
experiences and the most appropriate setting that meets the
child's individual needs, as specified. Further requires the
selection of placement to consider, in order of priority,
placement with: relatives, nonrelated extended family
members, and tribal members; foster family homes, resource
families, and nontreatment certified homes of foster family
agencies; followed by treatment and intensive treatment
certified homes of foster family agencies or multidimensional
treatment foster care homes or therapeutic foster care homes;
group care placements in the order of short-term residential
treatment centers, group homes, community treatment
facilities, and out-of-state residential treatment, as
specified. (WIC 16501.1(d)(1))
5)Defines "nonminor dependent" as a current or former foster
youth who is between18 and 21 years old, in foster care under
the responsibility of the county welfare department, county
probation department, or Indian Tribe, and participating in a
transitional independent living plan, as specified. (WIC
11400(v))
6)Establishes Aid to Families with AFDC-FC as aid provided on
behalf of needy children in foster care, and specifies
eligibility requirements. (WIC 11400 and 11402)
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7)Establishes the federally subsidized and non-federally
subsidized Kin-GAP Programs to provide age to eligible
dependent children and nonminors who have been residing for at
least six consecutive months in the approved home of a
relative guardian. (WIC 11360 et seq.)
8)Defines "kinship guardian" to mean a person who has been
appointed legal guardian of a dependent child or ward of the
juvenile court and is a relative of the child. (WIC 11362)
9)Establishes the ARC program as an optional program for
counties for the purpose of making the amount paid to approved
relative caregivers to care for non-federally-eligible
children equal to the amount paid on behalf of children who
are eligible. (WIC 11461.3)
10)Defines "Transitional Housing Program-Plus Foster Care"
(THP+FC) to mean transitional housing program serving nonminor
dependents between the ages of 18 and 21. (WIC 16522.1(a)(2))
11)Defines "whole family foster home" to mean a new or existing
home that provides foster care for a minor or nonminor
dependent parent and his or her child, and is specifically
recruited and trained to assist the parenting foster youth in
the development of the skills necessary to provide a safe,
stable, and permanent home for his or her child, as specified.
(WIC 11400)
12)Requires the AFDC-FC or Kin-GAP rate paid to a provider on
behalf of a youth who has a child living with him or her to
include an amount for care and supervision of that youth's
child. (WIC 11465(a))
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FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill may result in a one-time cost of $3.1
million ($2.8 million General Fund) for Fiscal Year (FY)
2016-17, and on-going annual cost of $6.2 million ($5.5 million
General Fund) beginning in FY 2017-18 to increase the infant
supplement rate for all the foster youth covered in the bill.
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 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 and outcomes for 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.
Parenting foster youth and nonminor dependents: While
comprehensive data on the size of the state's population of
pregnant and parenting foster youth and nonminor dependents is
currently lacking, evidence of higher pregnancy and parenting
rates for foster youth exists. For example, recent research
connecting Child Protective Services (CPS) data with birth
records in California was able to link approximately 1.5 million
California birth records (from 2000 to 2010) to 1 million CPS
records. Using this linked data, researchers found that, of
girls in foster care at the age of 17, more than one-quarter of
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them had given birth at least once during their teens. Of girls
in foster care who had given birth at least once before the age
of 18, over one-third had more than one birth in their teens.
These findings were corroborated by a much smaller, more
in-depth study that interviewed over 700 17-year-old foster
youth and former foster youth in California. This study found
that just over one-fourth of respondents had ever been pregnant;
30% of whom had been pregnant more than one time.
Teen pregnancy and parenthood have been found to be correlated
with a number of social and economic consequences. Teen mothers
are less likely to finish high school, more likely to live in
poverty, and can face poorer health conditions than slightly
older mothers. The children of teenage parents are then also
more likely to live in poverty. They are also more likely to
come into contact with the child welfare system. Importantly,
teen pregnancy may not distinctly cause each of these outcomes,
but instead leads to compounding and interrelated impacts, with
diminished educational attainment contributing to decreased
earnings and higher poverty levels, and other negative outcomes
stemming from living in poverty. Moreover, the children of teen
parents may not necessarily be more susceptible to abuse and
neglect, but may instead have increased exposure to the child
welfare system because teenagers may more often have their
parenting questioned and because young parents may need greater
support in raising their children.
Infant supplement: SB 510 (Seymour), Chapter 1066, Statutes of
1988, implemented federal requirements contained in the Omnibus
Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 stipulating that county
welfare departments provide supplemental payments for the care
of a child of a minor parent who lives with that parent in a
foster placement. At the time, the supplemental amount - or
"infant supplement" - was $326 per month per child; the amount
paid for a child living with a minor parent in a group home was
$708 per month per child. Today, 27 years later, these amounts
are $411 and $890, respectively. The infant supplement is
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typically paid to the caregiver of the parenting dependent
foster youth; however, nonminor dependents living in a
Supervised Independent Living Program (SILP) receive the
supplement directly.
Need for this bill: This bill seeks to increase the infant
supplement from $411 to the basic foster family home rate of
$688 per month for children under the age of five in order to
better help meet the child's needs. It also permits a pregnant
foster youth to begin receiving the supplement six months before
the due date with the goal of encouraging youth to disclose
their pregnancy and thereby be able to obtain timely referrals
to prenatal care, the Women, Infant and Children nutrition
program, and other services and supports. Lastly, this bill
directs DSS to establish a new infant supplement rate for group
homes, short-term residential treatment centers, and THP+FC
providers.
According to the author, "The number of pregnant and parenting
dependents has increased significantly with the expansion of
foster care to 21 in 2012, raising new questions about how
California should address this small, but highly vulnerable
population. [This bill] lends critical support to pregnant and
parenting foster youth by expanding the existing infant
supplement provided to parenting foster youth. This bill allows
pregnant foster youth to receive the infant supplement six
months prior to their due date to ensure better access to
prenatal care, increases the supplement to match the existing
basic stipend for foster youth caregivers, and establishes an
infant supplement for group homes and other providers caring for
youth parents."
Analysis Prepared by:
Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089 FN:
0003252
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