BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2580
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
2580 (Olsen)
As Amended April 18, 2016
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Human Services |7-0 |Bonilla, Grove, | |
| | |Calderon, Lopez, | |
| | |Maienschein, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Mark Stone, Thurmond | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Permits a caregiver to indicate to a foster child's
social worker, at the time the child is removed from the
caregiver's care in order for the child to be reunified with the
child's parent or guardian, that the caregiver is interested in
providing and willing to provide care for the child in the
future if the child is removed from his or her parent or
guardian and in need of foster care placement.
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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. (Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC)
Section 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 Section 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 Section 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 Section 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
Section 360-370)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
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
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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.
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.
Need for this bill: According to the author,
California has more children in foster care than any other
state in the nation, with over 60,000 children placed in our
state's foster care system. Foster parents provide a
supportive and stable family for children who cannot live
with their parents. They develop close bonds with the
children they welcome into their home, and are active
participants in major decisions for the children. Too
often, however, this bond is needlessly broken to the
detriment of the child. Numerous cases have seen children
being removed from their foster homes without any indication
that reunification will be in their best interest.
Analysis Prepared by:
Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089 FN:
0002794
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