BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
2767 (Lopez)
As Amended June 16, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |79-0 |(May 5, 2016) |SENATE: |37-0 |(August 18, |
| | | | | |2016) |
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Original Committee Reference: HUM. S.
SUMMARY: States that foster parents should be provided with the
email address, alongside other already-required contact
information, of a child's social worker, the social worker's
supervisor, the child's attorney, and court-appointed special
advocate, and makes technical changes.
The Senate amendments remove Legislative findings and
declarations that provide statistics regarding children in
foster care in California.
EXISTING LAW:
1)States that the purpose of foster care law is to provide
maximum safety and protection for children who are currently
being physically, sexually, emotionally abused, neglected, or
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exploited, and to ensure the safety, protection, and physical
and emotional well-being of children who are at risk of harm.
(Welfare and Institutions Code Section (WIC) 300.2)
2)Finds that it is in the best interest of a child that their
caregivers are privy to important information about them in
order to obtain social and health services for children,
enroll children in school and extracurricular activities, and
update social workers and court personnel about important
developments affecting foster children. (WIC 16010.4)
3)Requires foster parents receive basic information in order to
provide the needs of children placed in their home, as
specified. (WIC 16010.4)
4)Assigns a court-appointed special advocate duties, as
specified, including representing the best interests of the
child involved, and consider the best interests of the family,
in the cases to which he or she is appointed. (WIC 102)
FISCAL EFFECT: None.
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 dependency
jurisdiction; these children are served by the CWS system
through the appointment of a social worker. Through this
juvenile dependency 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
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seeks to help children who have been removed from their homes
reunify with their parents or guardians, whenever appropriate.
However, the court may determine that an alternate permanent
placement is more fitting; the court must give preference to
potential placements in this order: relatives, nonrelative
extended family members, or family foster homes. Placement in
group homes or other intensive treatment placement settings are
considered only in more challenging situations where a child may
need stabilization services in order to transition to a less
restrictive placement, such as with a relative or foster
caregiver. There are currently close to 63,000 children and
youth in California's CWS system.
Court-appointed special advocates (CASAs): Court appointed
special advocates (CASAs) are volunteer advocates appointed by
the courts to help advocate on behalf of abused and neglected
children in the juvenile dependency court, in order to ensure
their health and safety. In their capacity as a court-appointed
special advocate, volunteers meet with the child often, review
court records, and gather information about caregivers, social
workers, and other adults in the child's life in order to ensure
the child receives the best placement possible.
Need for this bill: According to the author, "With the increase
of accessibility to other means of communication, email has
proven to be more functional. Current law already includes the
telephone and fax number of the child's social worker, social
worker supervisor, and attorney or CASA worker. The basic
information provided to the caregivers should be updated to fit
the times and needs of our society. The ways in which we
communicate or relay information has increasingly changed over
time."
According to the National Association of Social Workers, in
support of this bill, "It is in the children's best interest
that their caregivers are privy to important information about
them. This information is necessary to obtain social and health
services for children, enroll children in school and
extracurricular activities, and update social workers and court
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personnel about important developments affecting foster
children."
Analysis Prepared by:
Kelsy Castillo / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089 FN:
0003618