BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1997 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 1997 (Mark Stone) As Amended May 27, 2016 Majority vote ------------------------------------------------------------------ |Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------| |Human Services |7-0 |Bonilla, Grove, | | | | |Calderon, Lopez, | | | | |Maienschein, | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Mark Stone, Thurmond | | | | | | | |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------| |Appropriations |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, | | | | |Bloom, Bonilla, | | | | |Bonta, Calderon, | | | | |Chang, Daly, Eggman, | | | | |Gallagher, Eduardo | | | | |Garcia, Roger | | | | |Hernández, Holden, | | | | |Jones, Obernolte, | | | | |Quirk, Santiago, | | | | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | | | | | | | | | | | | AB 1997 Page 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------ SUMMARY: Adopts changes to further facilitate implementation of Continuum of Care Reform (CCR) recommendations to better serve children and youth in California's child welfare services system. Specifically, this bill: 1)Adopts changes regarding accreditation and licensure of Foster Family Agencies (FFAs) and Short-Term Residential Treatment Centers (STRTCs) in order to allow sufficient time for accreditation, as specified. 2)Adopts changes regarding Resource Family Approval (RFA): a) Provides for the Department of Social Services (DSS) licensure and oversight of resource families, as specified. b) Requires, on and after January 1, 2017, a county to approve resource families in lieu of licensing foster family homes (FFHs) and approving relative and nonrelative extended family members and further requires the existing licensure or approval and oversight processes to continue to be administered for FFHs and relatives or nonrelative extended family members licensed or approved prior to January 1, 2017, until the license or approval is revoked or forfeited, as specified. c) Provides for FFA RFA application and approval/denial processes, as specified. d) Defines "Resource Family Approval" to mean that the applicant or resource family successfully meets the home environment assessment and permanency assessment standards and states that such approval is in lieu of a certification of approval issued by a licensed FFA, as specified. AB 1997 Page 3 e) Establishes that the DSS is responsible for requiring FFAs to monitor resource families, as specified, and further provides for specified responsibilities of FFAs regarding resource families. f) Requires all certified family home and foster family home applications received prior to January 1, 2017, to be processed and applicable certification and oversight processes to continue for foster homes certified by an FFA or licensed prior to January 1, 2017, until the certification, licensure, or approval is revoked or forfeited, as specified. g) Stipulates that approved relatives and nonrelative extended family members, licensed FFHs, or approved adoptive homes that have completed the license or approval process prior to statewide implementation of the RFA program shall not be considered part of the program and further requires the otherwise applicable assessment and oversight processes to continue to be administered for families and facilities not included in the program. h) Prohibits a county, upon implementation of the RFA program, from accepting new applications for the licensure of FFHs, the approval of relative and nonrelative extended family members, or the approval of prospective guardians and adoptive homes. i) Authorizes DSS to waive regulations that pose a barrier to the early implementation and operation of the RFA program, as specified. j) States that there is not fundamental right to approval AB 1997 Page 4 as a resource family, and that approval as a resource family does not guarantee an initial, continued, or adoptive placement of a child or the establishment of legal guardianship of a child with a resource family. aa) Requires a county to conduct an unannounced inspection of a resource family home during the annual update, as specified, and to inspect resource family homes as often as necessary to ensure the quality of care provided. bb) Specifies that, in addition to other placements, children with varying designations and needs, developmental disabilities, mental disorders, or physical disabilities may be placed with a resource family, as specified. cc) States Legislative intent that public and private efforts to recruit foster parents not be competitive and that the total number of foster parents be increased. dd) Provides for consistency and parity for all resource families with basic rates to be developed by DSS and requires the basic rate for resource families to be annually adjusted by the change in the California Necessities Index (CNI), as specified. 3)Adopts additional changes: a) Requires private Short-Term Residential Treatment Centers (STRTCs) to be organized and operated on a nonprofit basis and further, includes STRTCs in existing statute pertaining to the monitoring and oversight of the use of psychotropic medications in group homes. b) Requires an out-of-state group home to have a current license, or equivalent approval, in good standing issued by the appropriate authority(s) in the state in which it is operating in order to receive certification from DSS and further, clarifies that out-of-state group homes, as with AB 1997 Page 5 in-state group homes, may be granted an extension, as specified. c) Includes in the definition of "mandated reporter" an individual certified by a licensed FFA as a certified family home and an individual approved as a resource family, as specified. d) Provides for the establishment of interim, provisional, and probationary rates for STRTCs and FFAs, as specified. e) Specifies that, for youth 13 years old or older, approval of placement in an STRTC by the chief probation officer, as specified, shall take place only if the placement is longer than 12 months. f) Adopts clarifying changes regarding criminal record exemptions and due process rights, as specified. g) Extends by one year, to January 1, 2019, the amount of time that community treatment facility programs granted an extension have to acquire nationally recognized accreditation, as specified. h) Extends by one year, to January 1, 2019, the time until current FFA rate-setting system is repealed, as specified. i) Makes additional technical amendments, including changes to conform to state and federal law. EXISTING LAW: 1)States that the purpose of foster care law is to provide maximum safety and protection for children who are being AB 1997 Page 6 physically, sexually or emotionally abused, neglected, or exploited and to ensure the safety, protection, and physical and emotional well-being of children at risk of such harm. (WIC 300.2) 2)Requires 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 and is available, in close proximity to the parent's home, the child's school, and best suited to meet the child's special needs and best interests. 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 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)) FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, the Governor's 2016-17 Budget (including May Revision) includes $182 million ($127 million General Fund) to continue to implement Continuum of Care Reform (CCR) contained in AB 403 (Stone), Chapter 773, Statutes of 2015, including all of the provisions of this bill. COMMENTS: Continuum of Care Reform: The Legislature has worked and continues to work with various entities in and around the Child Welfare Services (CWS) system to focus on family reunification AB 1997 Page 7 and permanency by seeking ways to best address the needs of foster youth through less restrictive, more supportive placements and services. SB 1013 (Senate Budget and Fiscal Review) Chapter 35, Statutes of 2012, realigned CWS to counties, established a moratorium on the licensing of new group homes, and required DSS to convene a stakeholder workgroup. This workgroup was charged with examining the use of group homes in California and providing recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor on how to reform this use. In January 2015, DSS submitted the CCR workgroup report to the Legislature, which included general and fiscal recommendations, alongside recommendations on home-based family care, residential treatment, and performance measures and outcomes. AB 403: AB 403 (Stone), Chapter 773, Statutes of 2015, adopted myriad changes aimed at implementing a number of recommendations from the DSS CCR report. These included establishing a sunset for existing licensure, rate-setting and other provisions for group homes and FFAs and establishing interim provisions. AB 403 provided for licensure of STRTCs and FFAs and requires DSS to develop a new payment structure for both. Need for this bill: According to the author, "[This bill] builds upon comprehensive 2015 legislation that advances California's long-standing goal to move away from the use of long-term group home care by increasing youth placement in family settings and by transforming existing group home care into places where youth who are not ready to live with families can receive short term, intensive treatment. Ultimately, when children enter foster care, they need a safe, comfortable, and supportive place to stay, whether that is with a relative, a foster family, or in a short-term center. Recent changes to the law have been designed to provide options along the continuum of care spectrum to meet these needs. The technical and policy updates in this measure follow up on the new law to provide youth with the support they need in foster care to return to their families or to find a permanent home if returning to their AB 1997 Page 8 families is not an option." PRIOR LEGISLATION: AB 403 (Stone), Chapter 773, Statutes of 2015, implemented Continuum of Care Reform (CCR) recommendations to better serve children and youth in California's child welfare services system. SB 1013 (Senate Budget and Fiscal Review) Chapter 35, Statutes of 2012, realigned the child welfare services system to counties, established a moratorium on the licensing of new group homes, and required DSS to convene a workgroup to discuss and recommend changes to the continuum of care within child welfare services and how to reform the use of congregate care. Analysis Prepared by: Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089 FN: 0003367