BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      SB 12


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          Date of Hearing:   June 30, 2015


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES


                                  Kansen Chu, Chair


          SB  
          12 (Beall) - As Amended June 2, 2015


          SENATE VOTE:  35-0


          SUBJECT:  Foster youth.


          SUMMARY:  Expands eligibility for extended foster care to  
          specified nonminors who have crossed over from the dependency  
          system to the delinquency system.


          Specifically, this bill:  


          1)Permits a nonminor between the ages of 18 and 21 to petition  
            the court to resume dependency jurisdiction or assume  
            transition jurisdiction over him or her, provided he or she  
            has been all of the following, as specified: 


             a)   Adjudged a ward of the court; 


             b)   Subject to an order for foster care placement at the  
               time the petition to adjudge him or her a ward of the court  
               was filed; and 








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             c)   Held in secure confinement when he or she reached 18  
               years of age.


          1)Makes conforming technical changes.


           EXISTING LAW:   


          1)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 et seq.)

          2)Allows a juvenile court to adjudge a child a ward or a  
            dependent of the court for specified reasons, including but  
            not limited to if the child has been left without any  
            provision for support, as specified.  (WIC 300)

          3)Permits the juvenile court to retain jurisdiction over a ward  
            or dependent of the court until he or she reaches the age of  
            21.  (WIC 303)

          4)Establishes circumstances under which a minor may be adjudged  
            a ward of the juvenile court, including, but not limited to,  
            being beyond the control of his or her parents, guardian, or  
            custodian, or violating any city, county, state, or federal  
            laws, except for certain serious violations that warrant  
            prosecution under the general law in a court of criminal  
            jurisdiction, as specified.  (WIC 601 and 602)

          5)Authorizes the juvenile court to place a minor on probation  
            without adjudging a minor to be a ward of the court, as  
            specified, or to adjudge a minor to be a ward of the court.   
            (WIC 725)









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          6)Defines "nonminor dependent" as a current or former foster  
            youth who is between 18 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.  (WIC 11400(v))
          7)Defines "nonminor former dependent or ward" as either:


             a)   A nonminor who turned 18 while subject to an order for  
               foster care placement, and for whom dependency,  
               delinquency, or transition jurisdiction has been  
               terminated, and who is still under the general jurisdiction  
               of the court; or

             b)   A nonminor who is at least 18 years old and, while a  
               minor, was a dependent child or ward of the juvenile court  
               when the guardianship was established, as specified, and  
               the juvenile court dependency or wardship was dismissed  
               following the establishment of the guardianship.  (WIC  
               11400(aa))


          8)Revises and expands federal funding and programs for certain  
            foster and adopted children via the Fostering Connections to  
            Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008.  (P.L. 110-351)

          9)Provides for extended foster care funding for youth until age  
            21, as well as adopts other changes to conform to the federal  
            Fostering Connections to Success Act.  (WIC 241.1, 303, 366.3,  
            388, 391, 450, 11400, 11402, 11403)

          10)Allows a nonminor who has not yet turned 21, or specified  
            entities on behalf of such a minor, to petition the court in  
            which the nonminor was previously found to be a dependent or  
            delinquent child of the court for a hearing to determine  
            whether to assume dependency jurisdiction over him or her,  
            provided the nonminor turned 18 while subject to an order for  
            foster care placement and had the court dismiss dependency  
            jurisdiction, delinquency jurisdiction, or transition  








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            jurisdiction for him or her, as specified.  (WIC 388(e))

          11)Permits a nonminor former foster youth under the age of 21 to  
            petition the court for re-entry into foster care if his or her  
            guardian or adoptive parent is no longer providing him or her  
            with support, as specified.  (WIC 388.1)

          12)Allows nonminor dependents who meet general Aid to Families  
            with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) requirements, as  
            well as one or more of a set of specified requirements, to  
            voluntarily continue placement in or to re-enter into foster  
            care.  (WIC 11403(b))

          13)Provides that a minor or nonminor is within the transition  
            jurisdiction of the juvenile court if all of the following  
            criteria are satisfied:

             a)   The minor is between the ages of 17 years, 5 months and  
               18 years old and is in foster care placement, or the  
               nonminor is under the age of 21 and is in foster care  
               placement and was subject to an order for foster care  
               placement on the day he or she turned 18, as specified;

             b)   The minor or nonminor was either removed from the  
               physical custody of his or her parents or legal guardian,  
               adjudged a ward of the juvenile court as specified and  
               ordered into foster care, or was a dependent of the court  
               with an order for foster care placement as a dependent in  
               effect at the time the court adjudged him or her a ward of  
               the juvenile court;

             c)   The rehabilitative goals of the minor or nonminor have  
               been met and juvenile court jurisdiction is no longer  
               required;

             d)   The minor has indicated intent to sign a mutual  
               agreement with the responsible agency for placement in a  
               supervised setting as a nonminor dependent, or the nonminor  
               has signed such a mutual agreement or a voluntary reentry  








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               agreement, as specified.  
               (WIC 450)

          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the May 28, 2015, Senate  
          Appropriations Committee analysis, this bill may result in the  
          following:


          1)Potentially significant future costs in the range of $550,000  
            to $1.7 million (General Fund/Federal Fund) for extended  
            foster care benefits annually assuming the provision of  
            benefits for up to three years, to provide extended foster  
            care benefits to additional probation youth between the ages  
            of 18 and 20 in secure confinement on their 18th birthday,  
            although a portion of these costs could be eligible for  
            federal reimbursement;


          2)Potentially significant increase in non-reimbursable local  
            probation supervision costs in the low millions of dollars  
            (General Fund) annually to the extent nonminors provided  
            extended foster care benefits continue under the supervision  
            of probation departments;



          3)Unknown, but potentially significant future cost savings  
            (General Fund) to the extent the provision of extended foster  
            care benefits to this population of nonminors results in  
            improved long-term outcomes and reduced future involvement in  
            the criminal justice system.


          4)Potential Proposition 30 implications to the extent this bill  
            creates a new mandate for counties that must be funded with  
            General Fund dollars.


          COMMENTS:  








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          Juvenile dependency and juvenile delinquency systems:  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 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. When these options  
          are not available or appropriate, children may be placed in  
          other settings, such as foster homes.  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.





          The juvenile delinquency system, as opposed to juvenile  
          dependency, deals with youth who have violated the law.  Through  
          this system, a minor may have his or her case referred to  
          juvenile court, where he or she can be declared a ward of the  
          court and placed on probation.  Some youth may be placed in  
          secure confinement, such as a juvenile facility.  According to  
          the Legislative Analyst's Office in 2010, there were over  
          186,000 referrals to probation in the state's juvenile justice  
          system.  Just over half of these referrals led to cases heard in  
          juvenile court, and 29% of the total referrals to probation  
          resulted in a juvenile being made a ward of the court.  Ten  








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          percent of total referrals to probation resulted in juveniles  
          being placed in a local facility, 3% in placement with another  
          public or private agency, and 0.2% in being sent to the  
          Department of Juvenile Justice.





          "Crossover youth" are those who have been involved with both the  
          dependency and delinquency systems as a result of having been  
          victims of abuse and neglect, and also having committed  
          offenses.  Crossover youth may face less positive outcomes as  
          they age out of either system.  A 2011 report supported by the  
          Conrad N. Hilton Foundation examined the outcomes in young  
          adulthood of three groups of youth in Los Angeles County: 1)  
          those who exited from a CWS out-of-home placement while they  
          were between 16 and 21 years old; 2) those who exited from any  
          type of juvenile probation supervision while they were between  
          16 and 21 years old; and 3) those who exited an out-of-home  
          child welfare placement while they were between 16 and 21 years  
          old and who also had been involved at some point with the  
          juvenile probation system - i.e., crossover youth.  This report  
          looked at income, employment, education, drug and alcohol  
          treatment, mental health services utilization, incarceration,  
          and other factors, and ultimately pointed to the relative  
          vulnerability of the crossover population, concluding that:





            "Almost every measure considered in this report indicates that  
            crossover youth are at-risk of comparatively negative outcomes  
            after they exit the child welfare and juvenile justice  
            systems.  A considerably larger proportion of the observed  
            crossover youth fell into extreme poverty in their young adult  
            years by comparison with those in the [juvenile probation] and  
            [child welfare] groups.  Additionally, larger proportions of  








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            those in the crossover group became incarcerated as young  
            adults...The statistical models deployed for this report  
            reinforce this picture, showing that membership in the  
            crossover group substantially increases the likelihood of less  
            desirable outcomes."





          In most counties, dependency status is terminated once  
          delinquency status is established.  However, 15 counties (as of  
          February 2013) throughout the state have established "dual  
          jurisdiction" proceedings, enabling youth to have dual  
          delinquency and dependency status.  Dual jurisdiction protocols  
          vary by county.





          Extended foster care:  Recent changes in federal and state law  
          have facilitated access to extended foster care funding and  
          services for youth between the ages of 18 and 21.  Per the  
          federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing  
          Adoptions Act of 2008, and as adopted in state law by AB 12  
          (Beall), Chapter 559, Statutes of 2010 - the California  
          Fostering Connections to Success Act - California extended  
          foster care to eligible child welfare and probation youth that  
          remain in foster care up to age 21, also known as "nonminor  
          dependents."  Subsequent legislation has further refined the  
          changes adopted in AB 12. 


          Crossover youth who are on probation and supervised by the  
          delinquency court may be eligible for extended foster care  
          services provided they have an order for foster care placement  
          on their 18th birthday and meet certain other requirements,  
          including: meeting at least one of the participation conditions  








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          (generally pertaining to employment and education) also required  
          of dependent youth, agreeing to live in an approved supervised  
          placement, meeting with their probation officer on a monthly  
          basis, participating in six-month review processes, and signing  
          a mutual agreement, where applicable.


          Former wards of the juvenile delinquency system may also be able  
          to participate in extended foster care.  The California  
          Fostering Connections to Success Act created a new status -  
          "transitional jurisdiction" - which enables youth who were  
          previously wards of the juvenile dependency system to, provided  
          they meet certain requisites, receive extended foster care  
          services without having to stay under delinquency jurisdiction.   
          Nonminors under the age of 21 with an order for foster care  
          placement on their 18th birthday are eligible to enter  
          transition jurisdiction once they have finished the terms of  
          their probation.  Minors who are at least 17 years, 5 months old  
          and who meet certain other requirements (including, among other  
          things, no longer requiring the supervision of the delinquency  
          court and not being able to be return to their parents' home due  
          to risk of abuse and neglect) may also be eligible for  
          transition jurisdiction. 


          Need for this bill:  Federal and state actions in recent years  
          to extend foster care services to nonminors ages 18 to 21  
          recognized the need to support youth as they transition from the  
          juvenile dependency and juvenile delinquency systems to  
          adulthood.  Since the California Fostering Connections to  
          Success Act was passed in 2010, additional pieces of legislation  
          have been adopted to further realize the intent of that bill.   
          This bill seeks to continue this effort with regards to a small  
          population of youth: those crossover youth who were adjudged a  
          ward of the court and subject to an order for foster care  
          placement at the time this adjudication took place, but who were  
          held in secure confinement on their 18th birthday.  This last  
          condition - that a youth was in secure confinement per the  
          juvenile delinquency system on their 18th birthday - can  








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          currently render him or her ineligible to receive extended  
          foster care services and benefits, because he or she is  
          typically no longer subject to an order for a foster care  
          placement on his or her 18th birthday.  (There may be instances  
          where this scenario does not apply in a dual-jurisdiction  
          county, and a youth in secure confinement on his or her 18th  
          birthday is already eligible for extended foster care; however,  
          given the variance in dual-jurisdiction protocols across  
          counties, this bill may also benefit youth in those counties by  
          providing clarity and statewide direction.)

          The number of youth that would be impacted by this bill is  
          assumed to be relatively small. However, data on the exact  
          number are not readily available due to the multiple factors  
          that need to be considered in identifying this population.   
          According to the Department of Social Services, there are  
          approximately 300 to 400 youth in secure confinement between the  
          ages of 18 and 20. From that number, in order to estimate the  
          number of youth impacted by this bill, it would then be  
          necessary to extract only those youth for whom all of the  
          following apply: they were in secure confinement on their 18th  
          birthday, don't live in a dual-jurisdiction county with a  
          protocol that already makes them eligible for extended foster  
          care, meet all additional eligibility requirements, and choose  
          to opt into extended foster care.


          According to the author, this bill "actualizes the Legislature's  
          original intent in passing the Fostering Connections to Success  
          Act, by remedying the inadvertent exclusion of a small but  
          vulnerable population of former foster youth from extended  
          foster care.  [This bill] allows foster youth who turn 18 inside  
          a locked correctional facility and would otherwise lose extended  
          benefits the chance to opt back into foster care and get access  
          to extended foster care benefits up until age 21.  Youth who are  
          forced to leave the foster care system at age 18 face  
          significant challenges.  As a result, youth's outcomes include  
          high rates of homelessness, incarceration, reliance on public  
          assistance, teen pregnancy, and low rates of high school and  








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          postsecondary graduation.  New legislation is needed to ensure  
          that we correct our statutory oversight and ensure vulnerable  
          populations of former foster youth are included in and able to  
          voluntarily re-enter extended foster care."


          PRIOR LEGISLATION:


          AB 2454 (Quirk-Silva), Chapter 769, Statutes of 2014, authorized  
          former nonminor dependents under the age of 21, as specified, to  
          petition the court to re-enter foster care if their guardian or  
          adoptive parent is no longer providing them with support.


          AB 787 (Stone), Chapter 487, Statutes of 2013, made technical  
          and clarifying changes to the California Fostering Connections  
          to Success Act.


          AB 1712 (Beall), Chapter 846, Statutes of 2012, made technical  
          and clarifying changes to the California Fostering Connections  
          to Success Act.


          AB 212 (Beall), Chapter 459, Statues of 2011, made technical and  
          clarifying changes to the California Fostering Connections to  
          Success Act.


          AB 12 (Beall), Chapter 559, Statutes of 2010, the "California  
          Fostering Connections to Success Act," conformed state law to  
          federal requirements to revise and expand programs and funding  
          for certain foster and adopted children.


           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.








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          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:




          Support


          Alliance for Children's Rights, sponsor


          Youth Law Center, sponsor


          Aspiranet


          California Against Slavery


          California Youth Empowerment Network


          Children Now 


          Coalition for Youth


          Legal Services For Prisoners with Children (LSPC)


          Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce (L.A. Chamber)


          National Association of Social Workers, CA Chapter (NASW-CA)








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          National Center for Youth Law


          National Foster Youth Institute 





          Opposition


          


          Chief Probation Officers of California (CPOC)





          Analysis Prepared by:Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916)  
          319-2089