BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1879
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Date of Hearing: March 29, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Susan Bonilla, Chair
AB 1879
(McCarty) - As Amended March 28, 2016
SUBJECT: Foster youth: permanency
SUMMARY: Requires the provision of child-centered specialized
permanency services for specified foster youth, and authorizes
the provision of these services for specified nonminor
dependents, in order to facilitate the placement of these youth
and nonminor dependents with permanent families.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Defines "child-centered specialized permanency services" to
mean services designed for, and with, a child to:
a) address the child's history of trauma, separation, and
loss;
b) include mental health services or other services, as
specified;
c) utilize enhanced family finding and engagement to assist
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the child in achieving a permanent family, as specified;
d) prepare the permanent family to meet the child's needs;
e) set appropriate expectations for before and after
permanency; and
f) stabilize the placement.
2)Requires the court, when it has determined that it is not in
the best interests of the child to hold a hearing to terminate
parental rights, to order the provision of child-centered
specialized permanency services for:
a) a child who is not placed with a fit and willing
relative;
b) a child 16 years or age or older for whom the court has
ordered placement in an "another planned permanent living
arrangement" ("APPLA") (i.e., long-term foster care);
c) a child placed in a residential treatment facility for
whom the court has determined that adoption is currently
unlikely or undesirable;
d) a child that the court has deemed to have a probability
for adoption but is deemed difficult to place, as
specified; and
e) a child for whom an available and suitable legal
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guardian has not yet been found, as specified.
3)Permits the court, when it has determined that it is not in
the best interests of the child to hold a hearing to terminate
parental rights, to order the provision of child-centered
specialized permanency services for a nonminor dependent for
whom the court has ordered placement in long-term foster care.
4)Requires the court in some cases and permits it in others,
when it has determined that it is not in the best interests of
the child to hold a hearing to terminate parental rights and
when it has ordered a child 16 years of age or older or a
nonminor dependent to be placed in long-term foster care, to
order that the appropriateness of the child's continuation in
long-term foster care be assessed at the next review hearing,
as specified.
5)Includes child-centered specialized permanency services among
the efforts a child welfare agency or probation department
must show the court it has made in an attempt to achieve
permanency for the child or nonminor dependent when the court
is reviewing the status of a dependent child or nonminor
dependent or ward of the juvenile court, as specified.
6)Requires the court, at hearings reviewing the status of a
dependent child, as specified, to assess progress towards
placement in a permanent family for a child placed in a
residential treatment facility when the court has determined
that adoption is currently unlikely or undesirable for that
child and that it is not in the best interests of the child to
hold a hearing to terminate parental rights.
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7)Stipulates that permanent placement services, designed to
provide an alternate permanent family structure for children
who because of abuse, neglect, or exploitation cannot safely
remain at home and who are unlikely to ever return home,
shall, as needed to achieve a permanent family, include
child-centered specialized permanency services. Further,
permits permanent placement services for nonminor dependents
to include child-centered specialized permanency services and
requires permanent placement services for nonminor dependents
to include supportive transition services.
8)Requires information regarding, and documentation of the
provision of, child-centered specialized permanency services
to be included in a youth's case-planning processes, as
specified.
9)Requires a social worker or probation officer, when the court
has ordered a dependent child or a ward of the juvenile court
placed for adoption or has appointed a relative or nonrelative
legal guardian, to provide the prospective adoptive family or
the guardian(s) written information regarding the importance
of working with mental health providers that have specialized
adoption or permanency clinical training and experience if the
family needs clinical support, and a description of the
desirable clinical expertise the family should look for when
choosing an adoption- or permanency-competent mental health
professional.
10)Makes technical changes.
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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. (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
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
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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)Establishes requirements and processes for the court, and
further provides for various hearings to review the status of
the dependent child during which certain case information
regarding the child must be provided and reviewed. (WIC
360-370)
6)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))
7)Establishes the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening
Families Act in federal law, which includes new requirements
for states and counties regarding sex trafficking prevention
and reporting, data collection, reasonable and prudent parent
standards, adoption incentives payments, successor
guardianship, and successful adulthood. (Public Law 113-183)
8)Defines a "planned permanent living arrangement" to mean any
permanent living arrangement that is ordered by the court for
a minor 16 years of age or older when there is a compelling
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reason or reasons to determine that it is not in the best
interest of the minor to have a permanent plan, as specified;
states that a planned permanent living arrangement can
include, but not be limited to, placement in: a specific,
identified foster family home, program or facility on a
permanent basis or placement in a transitional housing
placement facility. Further, permits a court to place a minor
in a planned permanent living arrangement only if the court
finds that there is a compelling reason, as specified, for
determining that terminating parental rights and adoption are
not in best interest of the minor. (WIC 727.3)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
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 to 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.
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As of October 1, 2015, there were 62,605 children in
California's child welfare system. Of those, 9,079 had been in
foster care for five years or more; 37% of those in foster care
five years or more were between the ages of 18 and 20, 22%
between the ages of 16 and 17, 29% between the ages of 11 and
15, and 11% between the ages of 3 and 5.
Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act: The
Preventing Sex Trafficking, and Strengthening Families Act
(Public Law 113-183), adopted in 2014, made numerous changes to
the title IV-E foster care program and enacted new requirements
regarding sex trafficking prevention and reporting, data
collection, reasonable and prudent parent standards, adoption
incentives payments, successor guardianship, and successful
adulthood.
Conforming state legislation (SB 794 [Senate Committee on Human
Services], Chapter 425, Statutes of 2015), made a number of
changes to state law, including eliminating the option of
long-term foster care placement (APPLA) for dependent children
under the age of 16, and requiring permanency review hearing
documents for children 16 years of age or older and in a planned
permanent living arrangement to include a description of the
intensive and ongoing efforts of the child welfare agency to
return the child to the home of the parent, place the child for
adoption, or establish a legal guardianship, as appropriate.
Child welfare agencies are also required, in these documents, to
describe any barriers to achieving the permanent plan and the
efforts made by the child welfare agency to address those
barriers.
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Need for this bill: According to the author, "Too many of our
children [in foster care] wind up being moved from home to home,
from school to school. Too many are never returned to their
original families or adopted into new ones, are never connected
with adults who stick with them and guide them, and are never
provided with the developmental, emotional and social benefits
that are best achieved through permanency. And then, when they
reach the age of 18 or 21 they age-out of care to face life
without the safety net of a permanent family. Within two years,
50% are homeless, victimized, incarcerated or dead.
Model programs in California and throughout the nation have
demonstrated repeatedly that our children do not need to
languish in foster care. Although California led the nation in
developing effective child-centered specialized permanency
services they are rarely used by our counties resulting in
unnecessarily high child welfare costs and unnecessarily-poor
adult outcomes for so many of our youth.
We know how to find them permanent families, and we know that
after a start-up period the services pay for themselves. This
bill creates a statutory definition of child-centered
specialized permanency services designed to address the child's
history of separation and loss, and requires that these services
be provided to children whose reunification services have been
terminated, are not placed with a fit and willing relative, and
are considered unlikely to achieve a permanent family. It also
requires that the services be included in the statutory
requirements to provide intensive and ongoing efforts to place
long-term foster care youth age 16 and above into a permanent
family. There is no question that this bill will result in more
of our children achieving the permanent families they need and
deserve.
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Because these children come into adoptive families with tragic
histories of trauma, separation and loss, their new parents
often need to seek the help of mental health providers who
understand the specialized clinical issues associated with
adoption and other forms of permanency. Clinical services
provided by mental health providers without specialized training
and experience in adoption/permanency clinical issues has been
shown to often do more harm than good putting the children at
risk for disruption of the adoption? one more preventable loss
in a litany of losses they have incurred. [This bill] requires
that potential adoptive parents and guardians be informed of the
importance of working with mental health providers with the
necessary specialized training and experience."
DOUBLE REFERRAL . This bill has been double-referred. Should
this bill pass out of this committee, it will be referred to the
Assembly Committee on Judiciary.
PRIOR LEGISLATION:
SB 794 (Senate Committee on Human Services), Chapter 425,
Statutes of 2015, adopted a number of changes to conform with
the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act
(Public Law 113-183), adopted in 2014.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Alliance for Children's Rights
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Alternative Family Services
Aspiranet
Bienvenidos Children's Center
California Alliance
California CASA Association
California Youth Connection
Children Now
Children's Advocacy Institute
Children's Law Center
David and Margaret Youth and Family Services
Families For Children
Families NOW - sponsor
John Burton Foundation
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John Burton Foundation
Kinship Center
Lilliput Children's Services
North Star Family Center
Nuevo Amanecer Latino Children's Services
Youth Homes
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089
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