BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 524
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 19, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
SB 524
(Lara) - As Amended August 17, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY: This bill would establish the new community care
licensure category of "private or public residential care
facility for youth," to be licensed and regulated by the
Department of Social Services (DSS), to regulate the operation
of residential facilities and programs focused on serving youth
with emotional, behavioral, or mental health issues, as
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specified. Among its provisions, this bill:
1)Defines "private or public residential care facility for
youth" as a facility or program licensed by DSS as a community
care facility to provide nonmedical care, counseling, or
education or vocational support to persons under the age of 18
with social, emotional, behavioral, or mental health issues or
disorders. Further, specifies that a private or public
residential care facility for youth may provide any of the
following: a program with wilderness or outdoor experience,
expedition, or intervention; a boot camp or related
experience; a therapeutic boarding school; or a behavior
modification program.
2)Requires DSS to license a private or public residential care
facility for youth as a community care facility, and prohibits
DSS from licensing such a facility unless all therapeutic
components of the programs provided are appropriately
licensed.
3)Requires staff members of private or public residential care
facility for youth who supervise residents to receive
training, as specified. Further, specifies components to be
included in a training plan, including components that DSS
shall establish by adopting regulations, and requires the
facility to submit its training plan to DSS for approval prior
to implementing it.
4)States that a staff member of a private or public residential
care facility for youth is a mandated child abuse reporter,
pursuant to current law.
5)Enumerates rights of residents of private or public
residential care facilities for youth, and requires a list of
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these rights to be publically posted and accessible to
residents.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)One-time costs to DSS potentially in excess of $250,000 (GF)
to develop two sets of regulations for the new licensure
category, for the establishment of the new regulatory category
as well as for the training plan requirements for these
programs.
2)Potentially significant ongoing costs likely in excess of
$500,000 (GF) to the DSS Community Care Licensing (CCL)
Division to license, monitor, and inspect additional
facilities, to be offset by the authority to charge both
application and regulatory fees. Ongoing costs would be
dependent on the number of entities impacted statewide, which
is unknown and difficult to ascertain, making it difficult to
understand the full cost implications of this bill. To the
extent the number of new licensees is significant, CCL would
require additional field staff for monitoring and oversight.
3)Potential non-reimbursable local enforcement costs, offset to
a degree by fine revenue to the extent licensing and
regulatory violations are enforced and prosecuted.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, "Tragically, many young
people have experienced horrendous abuse, neglect, and even
death at unregulated boot camps, wilderness camps, and
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residential institutions. Survivors report being denied
medical care, corporal punishment, solitary confinement,
discrimination due to sexual orientation. Often parents and
guardians have no idea that the facility they are sending
their child to is not held to any standards and does not have
any oversight. The current lack of oversight and regulations
over these private institutions has opened up California's
most vulnerable youth to abuse. While private institutions
should retain the right to offer the unique programs they
specialize in, all children regardless of where they are
should have their essential health and safety needs met."
This bill seeks to license and regulate residential facilities
and programs aimed at serving youth with social, emotional,
behavioral, or mental health issues or disorders.
2)Background. CCL licenses and regulates a variety of community
care facilities, defined as "any facility, place, or building
that is maintained and operated to provide nonmedical
residential care, day treatment, adult day care, or foster
family agency services for children, adults, or children and
adults, including, but not limited to, the physically
handicapped, mentally impaired, incompetent persons, and
abused or neglected children."
There are a number of different types of community care
facilities, including adult day programs, foster family
agencies, foster family homes, social rehabilitation
facilities, transitional shelters, group homes, runaway and
homeless youth shelters, and others. CCL also licenses and
regulates child care centers, residential care facilities for
the elderly (RCFEs), and other facilities. Currently,
approximately 65,000 care facilities are licensed in the
state, with the capacity to serve 1.3 million Californians.
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Treatment programs for troubled youth, commonly referred to as
youth "boot camps," wilderness therapy programs, therapeutic
boarding schools, or behavior modification programs, have been
the subject of controversy within California and nationwide
for several years. These non-traditional treatment programs
are intended to provide less restrictive options for children
with significant behavioral issues and provide a range of
services, including drug and alcohol treatment, military-style
discipline, and psychological counseling.
3)Prior Legislation. SB 1089 (Liu), 2012, sought to license and
regulate "private nontraditional alternative treatment
facilities for youth" and was similar to this bill, but more
narrow in scope. It was held on this Committee's Suspense
file.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081