BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 68 Page 1 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 SB 68 Page 2 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) SB 68 Page 3 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 SB 68 Page 4 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 SB 68 Page 5 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 SB 68 Page 6 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 SB 68 Page 7 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. SB 68 Page 8 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. SB 68 Page 9 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) SB 68 Page 10 The Alliance for Children's Rights Opposition None on file. Analysis Prepared by:Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089