BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Senator McGuire, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 731
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|Author: |Leno |
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|Version: |February 27, 2015 |Hearing |April 21, 2015 |
| | |Date: | |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Sara Rogers |
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Subject: Foster children: housing: gender identity
SUMMARY
This bill provides that foster children and nonminor dependents
in out-of-home care shall be placed according to their gender
identity, regardless of the gender or sex listed in their court
or child welfare records. Additionally, this bill adds the above
requirement to the foster care bill of rights.
ABSTRACT
Existing law:
1)Enacts the California Community Care Facilities Act which
provides for the licensure and regulation by the California
Department of Social Services (CDSS) of community care
facilities, as defined, including licensed foster family
homes, foster family agencies that certify foster family
homes, and group home facilities. (HSC 1500 et. seq)
2)Establishes the criteria by which a child who has suffered, or
is at risk of suffering, significant abuse or harm shall be
within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court which may
adjudge that person to be a dependent child of the court. (WIC
300)
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3)Establishes, as the policy of the state, a series of rights
provided to minors and nonminors in foster care, including:
The right to have caregivers and child welfare
personel who have received instruction on cultural
competency and sensitivity relating to, and best
practices for, providing adequate care to lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender youth in out of home care.
The right to have fair and equal access to all
available services, placement, care, treatment, and
benefits, and to not be subjected to discrimination or
harassment on the basis of actual or perceived race,
ethnic group identification, ancestry, national origin,
color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender
identity, mental or physical disability, or HIV status.
(WIC 16001.9)
1)Requires group home administrator certification programs,
foster parent trainings, and relative and nonrelative extended
family member trainings to include instruction on cultural
competency and sensitivity relating to, and best practices
for, providing adequate care to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender youth in out-of-home care. (HSC 1522.41, 1529.2,
16003)
This bill:
1)Provides that foster children and nonminor dependents in
out-of-home care shall be placed according to their gender
identity, regardless of the gender or sex listed in their
court or child welfare records.
2)Adds to the established rights afforded to minors and
nonminors in foster care, the right to be placed according to
their gender identity, regardless of the gender or sex listed
in their court or child welfare records.
FISCAL IMPACT
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This bill has not been analyzed by a fiscal committee.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Purpose of the bill:
According to the author, many transgender youth face rejection,
harassment, and physical abuse at the hands of their families,
communities, and schools due to bias against their gender
identity or expression. The author states that these children
are at extremely high risk for poor health and mental health
outcomes, risks that are magnified for children in foster care,
many of whom have already experienced significant trauma. The
author states that when a foster child is improperly placed
without consideration of gender identity, the child may be at
risk for further bullying, harassment, and abuse.
The author additionally states that studies show that lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth are at much higher
risk for homelessness, abuse, depression, and suicide and that
an estimated 25 to 40 percent of LGBT homeless youth report
leaving home due to conflicts with family members related to
their sexual orientation or gender expression.
A recent best practices guide published by the National Center
for Lesbian Rights states:<1>
Many transgender youth experience emotional distress and
are at risk of abuse when placed in facilities according to
their assigned birth sex. Because most group care
facilities are segregated by sex, almost all transgender
and gender non-conforming youth in group care are living in
facilities that house either boys or girls, or where boys
and girls are housed on separate units or in separate
buildings. When facilities encounter transgender youth,
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<1> A Place of Respect: A Guide for Group Care Facilities
Serving Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Youth. National
Center for Lesbian Rights, Spring 2011.
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most often they place these youth according to their
assigned birth sex rather than their gender identity,
without considering other, more appropriate, options.
Placing transgender youth with youth of the same assigned
birth sex without doing an individualized analysis of the
transgender youth's gender identity and related needs in
this regard, can cause serious harm to the youth's
well-being, create unnecessary safety risks, and may
violate non-discrimination laws. In addition, once
improperly placed, youth are frequently required to conform
to gender norms that are inappropriate for them, which
increase their levels of stress and discomfort.
Group Homes
Group homes are 24-hour residential facilities licensed by CDSS
to provide board and care to foster youth from both the
dependency and delinquency jurisdictions. Group home facilities
are organized under a system of rate classification levels
(RCLs) ranging from 1-14 that are based on levels of
professional training and adult-to-child ratios. In practice,
the majority of group homes are RCL 10 and above with nearly 50
percent of groups homes at RCL 12. There is wide variation in
group home size from as few as six children to group homes that
house more than 100 children.
Existing law requires that children removed from their homes and
made dependents of the court be placed in the most family-like
and "least restrictive" setting. Existing law requires counties
to seek timely permanent placements, such as guardianship or
adoption, for dependent youth that are removed from their homes.
Group homes, which provide an institutional type of care as
opposed to a family like setting, are not intended to be long
term placements, however in practice many children placed in
group homes remain in that setting for the duration of their
time in foster care, and many age out of the system while
residing in group home placements. While in a group home
program, it is intended that children receive services and
treatment designed to eliminate or reduce the conditions,
behaviors and characteristics that led to their group home
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placement, and to teach new, adaptive skills and behavior.<2>
Staff training
Group homes are required to establish a "group home program
statement" that includes a training plan that is appropriate for
the client population and the training needs and skill level of
child care staff. Through regulation, existing law provides that
newly hired staff complete at least 24 hours of training within
90 days of being hired, and 40 hours within 12 months, as
specified, with all existing staff receiving 20 hours annually.
Regulations provide for the minimum topics that must be included
(e.g. discipline policies and procedures, behavior
problems/psychological disorders, and mental health/behavioral
interventions). Social work staff are required to establish a
"needs and services plan" for each child that identifies the
specific needs of an individual child, and delineates those
services necessary in order to meet the child's identified
needs.
Related legislation:
AB 1856 (Ammiano, Chapter 639, Statutes of 2012) required
certification programs for foster care providers to include
instruction on cultural competency and sensitivity related to
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth in out-of-home
care.
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<2> California Alliance for Child and Family Services. Group
Homes for Foster Children Fact Sheet
http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.cacfs.org/resource/resmgr/advocacy/p
ublicpolicy10.pdf
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POSITIONS
Support:
Equality California (Co-Sponsor)
AFSCME
California Alliance of Child and Family Services
California Communities United Institute
County Welfare Directors Association of California
East Bay Children's Law Offices
Equality California
Family Builders
Gender Health Center
Gender Spectrum
Juvenile Court Judges of California
Legal Services for Children
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Center for Youth Law
National Council on Crime & Delinquency
Youth Law Center
Oppose:
None.
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