BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 68
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Date of Hearing: July 14, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Kansen Chu, Chair
SB
68 (Liu) - As Amended June 24, 2015
SENATE VOTE: 40-0
SUBJECT: Minor or nonminor dependent parents: reunification
services.
SUMMARY: Requires special considerations in dependency hearings
for the children of minor parents and nonminor dependent
parents.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the court to consider the particular barriers faced
by minor parents and nonminor dependent parents when
determining whether to return a child who has entered foster
care to the physical custody of his or her parent or legal
guardian.
2)Authorizes the court to continue a case for an additional six
months for the provision of additional reunification services
for a minor parent or nonminor dependent parent who is making
significant and consistent progress in establishing a safe
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home for the child's return.
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)Declares legislative intent that a child shall not be
considered to be at risk of abuse or neglect solely because of
the age, dependent status, or foster care status of his or her
parent. (WIC 300)
4)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 300.2)
5)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)
6)Requires the court to make a determination as to whether
reasonable efforts were made to prevent or eliminate the need
for removal of a minor from his or her home, as specified.
(WIC 361)
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7)Establishes processes and requirements for juvenile court
dependency hearings, and requires the court to consider at
several points during the dependency process after removal of
the child from the home, and in certain circumstances the
social worker to document, the special circumstances of
parents who are incarcerated, institutionalized, detained, or
deported, including barriers to access services and maintain
contact with the child, and the parent's significant and
consistent progress in establishing a safe home for the
child's return. (WIC 366.21, 366.22.)
8)Establishes circumstances under which family reunification
services should be ordered to be provided for families.
Provides for six months of reunification services for children
under the age of three, and twelve months for children over
the age of three. Further provides for an extension of
reunification services for up to a total of 18 to 24 months
for specified reasons. (WIC 361.5)
9)Defines "nonminor dependent" as a current or former foster
youth who is between18 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))
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the May 28, 2015, Senate
Appropriations Committee analysis, this bill may result in the
following costs:
1)Potential future increase in child welfare services costs
(General Fund) for the 6-month extension of reunification
services to specified minor parent cases. While the total
number of applicable cases is unknown at this time, for every
10 cases granted extended services, costs would be about
$50,000. (Proposition 30 exempts the State from mandate
reimbursement for realigned programs, however, legislation
that has an overall effect of increasing the costs already
borne by a local agency for realigned programs including child
welfare services, apply to local agencies only to the extent
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that the State provides annual funding for the cost increase.)
2)Unknown, potential future cost savings (Local/State) in
reduced time spent in dependent care to the extent youth are
reunified with their parents sooner than otherwise would occur
under existing law.
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 and outcomes for 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.
The juvenile court holds various hearings throughout the
dependency process, including the initial hearing, a disposition
hearing to determine where a child should live, and periodic
review hearings. During this process, at several points after a
child has been removed from his or her home, several factors are
taken into consideration, and documented by social workers, in
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order to ascertain what is best for the child. One set of these
factors includes considering the special circumstances of
parents who are incarcerated, institutionalized, detained,
deported, or court-ordered to residential substance abuse
treatment, including barriers to accessing services and
maintaining contact with the child, and the parent's significant
and consistent progress in establishing a safe home for the
child's return.
Reunification services: The court may order reunification
services for parents who have had a child removed when it is
determined that reunification with the family would ultimately
benefit the child. These services can encompass a range of
supports, including parenting classes, substance abuse
treatment, family therapy, and home visiting, among others,
aimed at responding to the needs of the child and the parents.
Depending on the child's age, reunification services can be
offered for between 6 months (for children under the age of 3)
and 12 months (for children ages 3 and older). Extensions for
certain circumstances may be granted if there is a substantial
probability that the child will be returned to the physical
custody of his or her parents, and for parents who are making
significant and consistent progress in a court-ordered
residential substance abuse treatment program, or recently
discharged from incarceration, institutionalization, or the
custody of the United States Department of Homeland Security and
making progress in establishing a safe home for the child.
Teen parents and parenting foster youth and nonminor dependents:
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services'
Office of Adolescent Health, in 2011, California had the 30th
highest teen birth rate in the country, with 38,303 births to
women ages 15 to 19, representing 28.7 births per 1,000 females
in that age range.
While comprehensive data on the size of the state's population
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of pregnant and parenting foster youth and nonminor dependents
is currently lacking, evidence of higher pregnancy and parenting
rates for foster youth exists. For example, recent research
connecting Child Protective Services (CPS) data with birth
records in California was able to link approximately 1.5 million
California birth records (from 2000 to 2010) to 1 million CPS
records. Using this linked data, researchers found that, of
girls in foster care at the age of 17, more than one-quarter of
them had given birth at least once during their teens. Of girls
in foster care who had given birth at least once before the age
of 18, over one-third had more than one birth in their teens.
These findings were corroborated by a much smaller, more
in-depth study that interviewed over 700 17-year-old foster
youth and former foster youth in California. This study found
that just over one-fourth of respondents had ever been pregnant;
30% of whom had been pregnant more than one time.
Teen pregnancy and parenthood have been found to be correlated
with a number of social and economic consequences. Teen mothers
are less likely to finish high school, more likely to live in
poverty, and can face poorer health conditions than slightly
older mothers. The children of teenage parents are then also
more likely to live in poverty. They are also more likely to
come into contact with the child welfare system. Importantly,
teen pregnancy may not distinctly cause each of these outcomes,
but instead leads to compounding and interrelated impacts, with
diminished educational attainment contributing to decreased
earnings and higher poverty levels, and other negative outcomes
stemming from living in poverty. Moreover, the children of teen
parents may not necessarily be more susceptible to abuse and
neglect, but may instead have increased exposure to the child
welfare system because teenagers may more often have their
parenting questioned and because young parents may need greater
support in raising their children.
Need for this bill: This bill seeks to support teen parents who
have come into contact with the CWS system, and risk losing
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custody of their children, by providing extended reunification
services where necessary and appropriate, and by asking the
court to consider the barriers faced by this population when
making decisions regarding dependency. Recognizing that
pregnant and parenting youth ages 18 to 20 that are enrolled in
extended foster care may also face a number of the same issues
that teen parents do, this bill was recently amended to include
nonminor dependent parents.
According to the author:
"A significant number of teenage parents who are in the
state's juvenile dependency system are trying to reunify with
their children. Minor parents face numerous hurdles, legal
and otherwise, which are distinct from those encountered by
adult parents and guardians. This bill will help reunite teen
parents with their children and keep families together. Minor
parents must navigate an already complicated legal process
which presumes the parent or legal guardian has ready access
to court-ordered treatment programs. Many of these existing
programs are not necessarily adaptable to the needs of a minor
parent.
Minor parents are also enrolled in school or pursuing other
educational opportunities, which limits their chances to
effectively utilize parenting skills enhancement programs
within the time frame normally allotted by statute. Minor
parents face substantial legal barriers that prevent access to
full-time employment, appropriate child care, transportation,
and adequate housing. Minor parents must overcome these
systemic barriers while also demonstrating a full-time
commitment to their parenting responsibilities.
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This bill extends for six months reunification services for
minor parents who are making significant progress in a
court-ordered reunification plan. The bill also recognizes
the unique challenges faced by teenage parents. Children of
minor parents are at greater risk of permanently losing their
families because of barriers that impede reunification. This
bill requires the courts to recognize these barriers, protect
these families and enhance the reunification process for
children and their minor parents, giving them their greatest
opportunity to succeed."
RELATED LEGISLATION:
AB 260 (Lopez), 2015, provides for additional considerations and
supports for pregnant and parenting foster youth and nonminor
dependents.
SB 1064 (De León), Chapter 845, Statutes of 2012, among other
things, required juvenile courts to consider the particular
barriers faced by detained and deported parents.
AB 2070 (Bass), Chapter 482, Statutes of 2008, among other
things, required juvenile courts to consider the circumstances
of incarcerated or institutionalized parents, and parents
participating in court-ordered residential substance abuse
treatment programs.
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SB 1178 (Kuehl), Chapter 841, Statutes of 2004, established the
Teen Parents in Foster Care Act, which set forth ways in which
the families of dependent minor parents could be strengthened
and preserved, and required child welfare agencies to identify
and utilize whole family placements and other placement models
that supported pregnant and parenting foster youth and their
families.
SECOND COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE . This bill was previously heard
in the Assembly Judiciary Committee, on June 23, 2015 and was
approved on a 10-0 vote.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Children's Law Center of California (CLC)
Dependency Legal Services
First Place for Youth
Los Angeles Dependency Lawyers, Inc. (LADL)
National Association of Social Workers, CA Chapter (NASW-CA)
San Francisco Counsel for Families & Children (SFCFC)
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The Alliance for Children's Rights
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089