BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1838 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 1838 (Ting and Bonta) As Amended August 16, 2016 Majority vote -------------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |80-0 |(June 1, 2016) |SENATE: |36-0 |(August 18, | | | | | | |2016) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: HUM. S. SUMMARY: 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 three months immediately prior, provided the pregnancy is verified, in order to meet the specialized needs of the pregnant minor or nonminor dependent and to properly prepare for the needs of the infant. The Senate amendments: 1)Reduce the proposed amount of time a pregnant minor or nonminor dependent shall receive the infant supplement from six months to three months immediately prior to the month in which the birth is anticipated. AB 1838 Page 2 2)Delete provisions of the bill requiring that the infant supplement be equal to the basic foster family home rate, as specified, and be paid for the care and supervision of each child living with his or her dependent or nonminor dependent parent when the caretaker receives benefits on behalf of the parent. 3)Delete provisions requiring 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. 4)Reinsert provisions specifying current infant supplement rates and adjustments. 5)Delete provisions requiring 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. 6)Make technical amendments. 7)Make chaptering 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) AB 1838 Page 3 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 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)) AB 1838 Page 4 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 Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) as aid provided on behalf of needy children in foster care, and specifies eligibility requirements. (WIC 11400 and 11402) 7)Establishes the federally subsidized and non-federally subsidized The Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment (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 (Approved Relative Caregiver (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 AB 1838 Page 5 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)) FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 1, 2016, this bill may result in significant costs to DSS of $1.3 million ($0.9 million General Fund) for fiscal year 2016-17 and ongoing costs of $2.2 million ($1.5 million General Fund) for funding the supplement. 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 AB 1838 Page 6 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 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 AB 1838 Page 7 "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 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 permits a pregnant foster youth to begin receiving the infant supplement three months before the month of 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. 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 three months prior to their due date to ensure better access to prenatal care." Analysis Prepared by: Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089FN: 0004451 AB 1838 Page 8