BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1838|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1838
Author: Ting (D) and Bonta (D), et al.
Amended: 8/16/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE: 5-0, 6/28/16
AYES: McGuire, Berryhill, Hancock, Liu, Nguyen
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/11/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 6/1/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Foster care: infant supplement
SOURCE: Childrens Law Center
First Place for Youth
DIGEST: This bill makes a pregnant minor or nonminor dependent
eligible for a foster care payment for their child during the
last three months before the expected date of birth, as
specified, subject to a verification of pregnancy.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/16/16 resolve chaptering conflicts
with AB 1997 (Stone).
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
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1)Establishes the child welfare system under which a child may
be made a dependent of the juvenile court because the child
has suffered, or there is a substantial risk that the child
will suffer, serious physical harm inflicted non-accidentally
upon the child by the child's parent or guardian. (WIC 300)
2)Requires that foster care providers shall be paid a monthly
rate per child to care for and supervise a foster child,
establishes the California Department of Social Services
(CDSS) as the single statewide rate-setting agency, as
specified, and sets statewide rates for care, as specified.
(WIC 11460 et seq.)
3)Establishes various supplemental rates including a
"specialized care increment" rate for a foster or relative
home on behalf of a child requiring specialized care in
addition to the basic AFDC-FC rate, a supplemental rate for
foster children to be placed with their siblings, a rate
differential to address the extraordinary care and supervision
needs of children who are both in the foster care system and
clients of regional centers, and others. (WIC 11461 (e)) (WIC
11461.5. (a)) (WIC 11464 (a)(2))
4)Requires the 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, as specified. (WIC
11465(a))
5)Establishes an infant supplement rate for a young child living
with a dependent teenage parent in a group home or short term
residential treatment center (WIC 11465)
6)Defines "whole family foster home" as one that provides foster
care for a minor or nonminor dependent parent and his or her
child, and specifies the provider is specifically recruited
and trained to assist the parenting foster youth in the
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development of the skills necessary to provide a safe, stable,
and permanent home for his or her child, as specified, Sets
the rate for the child of a teen parent as being equal to the
basic rate for a foster child placed in a licensed or approved
home. (WIC 11400, WIC 11465 (d))
7)Requires that the rate paid for a child living with a teen
parent in a whole family foster home shall also be paid for a
child living with a nonminor dependent parent who is eligible
to receive AFDC-FC or Kin-GAP, as specified. (WIC 11465
(d)(6))
8)Defines THP-Plus foster care to be a program for minor and
nonminor dependents to provide supervised housing for young
adults. Criteria for admission to the program includes
consideration of the applicant's age, previous placement
history, delinquency history, history of drug or alcohol
abuse, current strengths, level of education, mental health
history, medical history, prospects for successful
participation in the program, and work experience. Prohibits
automatic exclusion for youth who are wards of the delinquency
court or are receiving psychotropic medications. (WIC 16522.1)
This bill:
1)Requires that the rate paid for a pregnant minor or nonminor
dependent 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 shall include the amount that
would otherwise be paid under this section to cover the care
and supervision of a child, if born.
2)Requires that any amount paid pursuant to this subdivision
shall be used to meet the specialized needs of the pregnant
minor or nonminor dependent and to properly prepare for the
needs of the infant.
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3)Requires the pregnancy be verified as a condition of
eligibility for aid.
Background
California's county-based child welfare system is designed to
protect children at risk of child abuse and neglect or
exploitation by providing intensive services to families to
allow children to remain in their homes, or by arranging
temporary or permanent placement of the child in the safest and
least restrictive environment possible. Approximately 62,000
children and youth in California are in foster care or roughly 1
in 7 foster children nationwide.
Parenting youth in foster care. Approximately one-third of the
children in foster care are adolescents of reproductive age
(14-20 years). These youth are distinct from the general U.S.
adolescent population in terms of sexual risk behaviors. Foster
care is associated with younger age at first intercourse,
greater number of sexual partners, and low contraceptive use.
According to researchers at the University of Chicago's Chapin
Hall, by age 19, nearly one-half of young women who had been
involved with the foster care system had been pregnant, and
nearly one third had given birth. In the same study of the
19-year-old foster youth who had ever been pregnant, 46 percent
had been pregnant more than once. By age 19, nearly one third of
the young women in the study had given birth, compared with 12
percent of the nationally representative sample of 19-year-old
females in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.
Notably, the parenting rate for boys who were in foster care was
also disproportionately high: 14 percent of the 19-year-old
young men reported that they had at least one child, more than
double the percentage among all teens.
A 2015 study of parenting dependents in California found that
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they were 52 percent less likely to be employed at exit from
foster care than nonparents, with earnings 55 percent less than
nonparents. Chapin Hall researchers have used this data to urge
consideration of additional prevention efforts for foster youth.
Foster care payment rates. In June 2004, the federal
Administration for Children and Families issued a policy
clarification which indicated that two separate AFDC-FC foster
care payments may be paid on behalf of a minor parent and her
child living in the same foster care facility as long as they
are both dependents of the court, meet eligibility criteria, and
reunification services are being provided. In response,
California created a Whole Family Foster Home, which provides a
parenting youth in foster care with what is intended to be a
supportive and nurturing placement for both the teen and their
child, with caregivers who assist the teen parent in their
transition to independence. Subsequent legislation provides the
same rate to minor or nonminor foster youth who are parents and
living independently.
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 500 (Keuhl, Chapter 630, Statutes of 2005) established the
Whole Family Home, established a second caregiver payment for
the child of a foster youth, and created the requirement for a
shared responsibility plan between the foster caregiver and the
dependent parent.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to an analysis by the Senate Appropriations Committee,
this bill will have significant costs to the CDSS of $1.3
million ($0.9 million GF) for fiscal year 2016-17 and ongoing
costs of $2.2 million ($1.5 million GF). The analysis noted that
there were 803 cases receiving the infant supplement payment in
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September 2015. Under this bill, each case 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.
SUPPORT: (Verified 8/11/16)
Children's Law Center (co-source)
First Place for Youth (co-source)
A Better Way, Inc.
Abode Services
Advokids
Aspiranet
Beyond Emancipation
California CASA Association
California Youth Connection
Casa de Amparo
CASA of Alameda County
CASA of Santa Cruz County
Children Now
Children's Law Center
County of Santa Clara Department of Family and Children's
Services
Covenant Community Services
Covenant Community Services CHOICES THP
David and Margaret Youth and Family Services
Families Now
Fred Finch Youth Center
Hillsides
iFoster
National Association of Social Workers
National Center for Youth Law
New Alternatives
Peacock Acres
Public Counsel's Children's rights Project
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Redwood Community Action Agency's Youth Service Bureau
Santa Clara County Social Services
St. Anne's
Star Vista
The Alliance for Children's Rights
The California Alliance of Child and Family Services
The John Burton Foundation for Children Without Homes
Tipping Point Community
VOICES Youth Centers of California
Youth Law Center
OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/11/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The Children's Law Center of
California writes in support of this bill that pregnant and
parenting foster youth face a range of challenges that put them
and their children at risk of poverty, poor health and
low-educational attainment. "Their numbers are not large but
they obstacles they face are serious. ? After giving birth,
parenting foster youth and their children frequently confront
inadequate resources, limited support and vulnerability to
homelessness." CLC states that this bill will address these
issues and give young families in foster care the opportunity to
succeed.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 6/1/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,
Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper,
Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim,
Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis,
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Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte,
O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting,
Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
Prepared by:Mareva Brown / HUMAN S. / (916) 651-1524
8/17/16 15:09:01
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