BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 1838 (Ting) - Foster care: infant supplement: pregnancy
prevention
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|Version: August 1, 2016 |Policy Vote: HUMAN S. 5 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Debra Cooper |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 1838 would make a pregnant minor or nonminor
dependent eligible for the infant supplement for a specified
period before the expected date of birth, subject to a
verification of pregnancy, as specified.
Fiscal
Impact: Significant costs to the Department of Social Services
of $1.3 million ($0.9 million GF) for fiscal year 2016-17 and
ongoing costs of $2.2 million ($1.5 million GF) for funding the
supplement. (See Staff Comments)
Background: According to the author and sponsors of this bill, the purpose
of this bill is to increase the likelihood that a foster youth
will receive prenatal medical care and other supports during
pregnancy by providing the infant supplement rate to pregnant
minor and nonminor dependents.
AB 1838 (Ting) Page 1 of
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According to a 2016 study from UC Berkeley, approximately
one-third of youth in foster care are adolescents of
reproductive age (14-20 years-old), and as compared to the
general U.S. population of the same age, are associated with
younger age at first intercourse, greater number of sexual
partners, and lower contraceptive use. According to a 2014
CalYOUTH study, 26% of female foster youth had been pregnant by
age 17, compared to 10% in the general population. This study
also reported that 20% of pregnant foster youth did not receive
any prenatal care during their pregnancy.
The Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care
(AFDC-FC) program provides cash benefits to foster care
providers on behalf of qualified children in foster care.
AFDC-FC specifies that two separate foster care payments may be
paid on behalf of a minor parent and his or her child living in
the same foster care facility as long as they are both
dependents of the court and meet other eligibility criteria.
Existing law requires that an infant supplement, an additional
amount paid to the foster care provider on behalf of a dependent
parent, for the care and supervision of a child is equal to the
basic foster family home rate.
Proposed Law:
This bill would require that the infant supplement rate for a
pregnant minor or nonminor for the month in which the birth is
anticipated and for the three-month period immediately prior to
the month in which the birth is anticipated include the amount
that would otherwise be paid to cover the care and supervision
of a child, if born. This bill would require that, upon
verification of pregnancy, any supplement paid on behalf of a
pregnant dependent be used to meet the specialized needs of the
pregnant minor or nonminor dependent and to properly prepare for
the needs of the infant.
Related
Legislation: AB 1603 (Assembly Committee on Budget, Chapter 25,
Statutes of 2016) requires the infant supplement rate to be
increased by $489 per month, if funding for this purpose is
AB 1838 (Ting) Page 2 of
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appropriated in the annual Budget Act.
Staff
Comments: Fiscal estimates were based on point-in-time AFDC-FC
and Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment (Kin-GAP) cases
receiving the infant supplement in September 2015, which was
803. Under AB 1838, each of the 803 cases would receive a $900
infant supplement per month for the three months prior to the
anticipated birth as well as the month of the anticipated birth.
However, an unborn child is not eligible for federal funding for
an infant supplement under Title IV-E foster care funds. The
infant supplement for the three months prior to the anticipated
birth would be wholly funded by the state General Fund.
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