BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2597
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Date of Hearing: April 12, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Susan Bonilla, Chair
AB 2597
(Cooley) - As Amended April 6, 2016
SUBJECT: Resource family approval
SUMMARY: Makes various changes to the Resource Family Approval
(RFA) process to account for the unique needs of relative
caregivers.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the court to order a permanent plan of placement with
a fit and willing relative if a child is living with a
relative approved as a resource family who is willing and
capable of providing a stable and permanent environment but
not willing to become a legal guardian or adoptive parent, as
specified.
2)Requires that a foster child shall receive the applicable
CalWORKs grant for a recipient in an assistance unit of one,
as specified, and further requires that the application date
for the CalWORKs grant be the date on which the child was
placed with his or her relative.
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3)Specifies that if the person applying for CalWORKs on behalf
of the child is also a recipient of CalWORKs benefits, he or
she is responsible for complying with continuing eligibility
requirements for himself or herself.
4)Clarifies that a relative caregiver is required to comply with
statewide fingerprint imaging requirements in cases where he
or she is applying for or receiving benefits for himself or
herself.
5)Prohibits a family from being denied as a resource family for
reason of relying on Aid to Families with Dependent
Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC), Kinship Guardianship
Assistance Payments (Kin-GAP) Program, or Adoption Assistance
Program benefits to meet additional household benefits
incurred due to the placement of a child.
6)Allows a relative or non-related extended family member to be
approved as a resource family for only the placement of a
specific child or children if certain circumstances exist, as
specified. Further requires that such a family be reassessed
prior to the placement of any other additional children, and
prohibits denial as a resource family based solely on the fact
that the relative is unwilling to become a legal guardian or
adoptive parent of the specific child or children, as
specified.
7)Requires the relationship between a child and a relative or
nonrelative extended family member who is applying to be a
resource family only for the placement of a specific child or
children to be considered as a factor in the required
psychosocial assessment, as specified.
8)Requires that emergency placement of a child with a relative
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and nonrelative extended family member continue to be assessed
and given consideration for placement, as specified. Further
requires the county to complete an application for CalWORKs
benefits for each foster child to enable receipt of benefits
while approval of the resource family is pending, the CalWORKs
benefits application date be the date the child was placed
with his or her relative, and, that if the resource family
approval process is not completed within 90 days after
placement due to circumstances outside the control of the
resource family, the beginning date of aid for AFDC-FC to be
no later than 90 days after placement.
9)Requires county staff at the supervisory or administrative
level to review the denial of a resource family to ensure
compliance with approval standards, as specified.
10)Makes technical changes.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Enacts the Community Care Facilities Act, which provides for
the licensure and oversight of out of home placements of
abused and neglected children by the Department of Social
Services (DSS). (HSC 1500 et seq.)
2)Establishes a state and local system of child welfare
services, including foster care, for children who have been
adjudged by the court to be at risk or have been abused or
neglected, as specified. (WIC 202)
3)States that the purpose of foster care law is to provide
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maximum safety and protection for children who are currently
being physically, sexually, 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)
4)States the intent of the Legislature to preserve and
strengthen a child's family ties whenever possible and to
reunify a foster youth with his or her biological family
whenever possible, or to provide a permanent placement
alternative, such as adoption or guardianship. (WIC 16000)
5)Requires a social worker, within 30 days of taking a child
into temporary custody or whenever appropriate to identify and
locate all adults who are related to the child by blood,
adoption, or affinity within the fifth degree of kinship and
provide for the purposes of informing them of their right to
participate in the care and placement of the child, as
specified. (W&I Code 309(e))
6)Requires preferential consideration be given to a request by a
relative to have the child placed with the relative if the
child has been removed from the physical custody of the
child's parent(s). (W&I Code 361.3(a))
7)Establishes the Approved Relative Caregiver Program as an
optional program for counties. (WIC 11461.3)
8)Establishes the Approved Relative Caregiver Program as an
optional program for counties to provide funding to
non-federally eligible foster children equal to the rates paid
to federally eligible foster children. (WIC 11461.3)
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9)Requires DSS to license group care facilities, private Foster
Family Agencies (FFAs) and foster family homes for the
placement of children who are in the child welfare system and
requires, prior to licensure, a licensed foster home provider
to undergo a criminal background check, as specified. (HSC
1502 and 1522)
10)Requires each person who files an application for adoption to
be fingerprinted, and for the DSS, the county adoption agency
or licensed adoption agency to secure any criminal record of
that person, including a Federal Bureau of Investigation
background check using fingerprints. (FAM 8712)
11)Establishes a resource family approval process in lieu of
multiple processes to license foster homes, approve foster
relative and nonrelative families, and approve adoptive
families. Requires those families be subject to background
clearance and exemption processes established, as specified.
(WIC 16519.5 and WIC 16519.5 (d)(1))
12)Establishes various training requirements for resource
families, including basic instruction on existing laws and
procedures regarding the safety of foster youth at school; and
ensuring a harassment and violence free school environment, as
defined. (WIC 16519.5 (g)(13)(H))
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
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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. There are
currently close to 63,000 children and youth in California's
child welfare system; over 7,800 of these youth are between the
ages of 18 and 20.
CalWORKs: The California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to
Kids (CalWORKs) program provides monthly income assistance and
employment-related services aimed at moving children out of
poverty and helping families meet basic needs. Federal funding
for CalWORKs comes from the Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) block grant. The average 2015-16 monthly cash
grant for a family of three on CalWORKs (one parent and two
children) is $506.55, and the maximum monthly grant amount for a
family of three, if the family has no other income and lives in
a high-cost county, is $704. According to recent data from DSS,
over 497,000 families rely on CalWORKs, including over one
million children. Nearly 60% of cases include children under 6
years old.
Maximum grant amounts in high-cost counties of $704 per month
for a family of three with no other income means $23.46 per day,
per family, or $7.82 per family member, per day to meet basic
needs, including rent, clothing, utility bills, food, and
anything else a family needs to ensure children can be cared for
at home and safely remain with their families. This grant
amount puts the annual household income at $8,448 per year, or
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42% of poverty. Federal Poverty Guidelines for 2016 show that
100% of poverty for a family of three is $20,160 per year.
Aid for Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) federally
eligible vs. non-federally eligible foster youth: AFDC-FC
provides foster care benefits to youth and can be either
federally-funded or state-only funded. In order to be federally
eligible for foster care, the home from which the child was
removed must meet Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)
eligibility criteria from 1996 in the month in which the
petition is filed or in any of the 6 months prior to the month
in which the petition is filed. Because some foster youth are
considered ineligible to receive federally funded foster care
benefits, the State of California created State AFDC-FC, which
is a blend of State and County funds and provides funding to
foster children placed with non-relative foster parents at the
same rate provided to foster youth who are federally eligible.
However, prior to 2014, foster youth who were placed with
relative caregivers and who were determined to be federally
ineligible for AFDC-FC received CalWORKs benefits and were
funded at much lower rates than their non-federally eligible
counterparts who were placed with non-relative foster parents.
Approved Relative Caregiver (ARC) Program: Established in 2014
by SB 855 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter 29,
Statutes of 2014, the ARC program increased payments to children
placed with relative caregivers who do not qualify for state or
federal foster care benefits. Previously, these children were
only eligible for CalWORKs benefit rate levels, which are much
lower than foster care benefits. The ARC Program is
county-optional and provides State General Fund dollars for
participating counties to increase the monthly payments to
approved relative caregivers in an amount equal to the basic
federal foster care rate. A county may opt out of the program
at any time, but must meet notification and other requirements.
Eligibility criteria require that relative caregivers must be
approved and live in California and meet health and safety
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standards that mirror those for licensed foster parents; and
children must be under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court in
a county that has opted in to the ARC program and are not
federally eligible under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act.
Currently 48 of California's 58 counties have opted in the
Approved Relative Caregiver Program and serve a total of roughly
6,252 adult relative caregivers. Los Angeles County serves
nearly 54% of the program's caregivers with roughly 3,431 adult
relative caregivers served, according to information from the
Legislative Analyst's Office.
Resource Family Approval (RFA): AB 340 (Hancock), Chapter 340,
Statutes of 2007 gave DSS the authority to implement the RFA
program, which is a unified, family-friendly, and child-centered
resource family approval process. RFA was implemented with the
intention of eliminating redundancies in the licensing/approval
process of foster families, including relative caregivers, and
creating one, unified approval process that would be used to
assess all potential foster homes. Under RFA, relatives- like
non-relative foster parent applicants- will be required to
complete training hours, a psychosocial assessment, and risk
assessment.
Initially, five counties, including San Luis Obispo, Kings,
Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, and San Francisco, were selected to
be the initial implementers of the RFA program between November
2013 and August 2014. Between January and July of 2016, an
additional 9 counties volunteered to implement RFA prior to
statewide implementation of RFA beginning on January 1, 2017.
Continuum of Care Reform: In 2015, Governor Brown signed AB 403
by Assemblymember Mark Stone which reformed placement and
treatment options for youth in foster care. The bill was
sponsored by DSS and built upon years of policy changes aimed at
improving outcomes for youth in foster care. AB 403 aimed to
ensure that youth in foster care would have their day-to-day
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physical, mental and emotional needs met and that they have the
opportunity to grow up in permanent and supportive homes, and
that they can grow into self-sufficient and successful adults.
AB 403 included various changes to the RFA program to be enacted
beginning January 1, 2016. In 2016, Assembly Member Mark Stone
introduced AB 1997 as a follow up to AB 403 in order to continue
the work started with AB 403. AB 1997 is scheduled for hearing
in the Assembly Human Services Committee.
Need for this bill: According to the author's office, "Over 30%
of foster parents in California are relative caregivers - family
members who have stepped up to care for a child related to them.
These relative caregivers face challenges that other foster
parents do not. Often, they take the child in first and ask
questions later. Funding and services kick in months after the
child is already in the home, after clothing, food, medical care
have been provided. As California moves to the Resource Family
Approval (RFA) process for foster parents, it is vital that we
keep these relative caregivers in mind. They must be given
adequate time to complete training and given the funds needed to
help care for the child as soon as possible. Each of these
situations are unique and each child and relative caregiver
faces multi-faceted issues. By ensuring that child-specific
approval is allowable under RFA we help the entire foster care
system succeed by not shutting out caregivers who are ready,
willing, and able to take these children into their homes."
Staff Comments: Should this bill move forward, the author may
wish to consider the timeliness of some of its provisions.
Because statewide implementation of various components of the
Continuum of Care Reform (CCR) are still underway, it is
difficult to ascertain how certain provisions of this bill will
interact with ongoing and upcoming CCR changes and activities,
particularly with regard to RFA. Because relative caregivers
respond to the needs of a child immediately, they may go without
the additional supports provided for by the child welfare
system, such as CalWORKs benefits and AFDC-FC payments, until
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they are approved as a resource family. Because of this
challenge, it is important to ensure that the state is mindful
of the unique needs of these caregivers. However, due to the
ongoing implementation of CCR, it is difficult to assess the
appropriateness of the changes provided for in this bill in a
vacuum.
PRIOR LEGISLATION:
AB 1997 (Stone), 2015, furthers Continuum of Care Reform
efforts. It will be heard in the Assembly Human Services
Committee on April 12th.
AB 423 (Cooley), 2015, would have required counties to take
certain steps to assist foster youth placed with relative
caregivers in obtaining foster care benefits and further
expanded eligibility for the receipt of an infant supplement. It
was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 403 (Stone), Chapter 773, Statutes of 2015, implemented
Continuum of Care Reform recommendations to better serve
children and youth in California's child welfare services
system.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Alliance for Children's Rights - sponsor
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Woodland Community College Foster and Kinship Care Education
Public Counsel's Children's Rights Project
Children's Advocacy Institute (CAI)
Children Now
John Burton Foundation
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Kelsy C. Castillo / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089
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