BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1879 Page 1 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 AB 1879 Page 2 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 AB 1879 Page 3 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. AB 1879 Page 4 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. AB 1879 Page 5 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 AB 1879 Page 6 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 AB 1879 Page 7 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. AB 1879 Page 8 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. AB 1879 Page 9 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. AB 1879 Page 10 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 AB 1879 Page 11 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 AB 1879 Page 12 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 AB 1879 Page 13