BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 731|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 731
Author: Leno (D)
Introduced:2/27/15
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE: 3-0, 4/21/15
AYES: McGuire, Hancock, Liu
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Nguyen
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 5-1, 4/28/15
AYES: Jackson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning, Wieckowski
NOES: Anderson
NO VOTE RECORDED: Moorlach
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-1, 5/28/15
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza
NOES: Nielsen
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bates
SUBJECT: Foster children: housing: gender identity
SOURCE: Equality California
National Center for Lesbian Rights
Transgender Law Center
DIGEST: This bill requires foster children and nonminor
dependents in out-of-home care to 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.
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ANALYSIS:
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)
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
personnel 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
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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.
3)Requires CDSS to promulgate regulations implementing the above
provisions.
Background
Best Practices: A recent best practices guide published by the
National Center for Lesbian Rights states that 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, 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
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the same assigned birth sex without doing an individualized
analysis of the transgender youth's gender identity and related
needs, 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 at or above RCL 10, with nearly
50 percent of group homes at RCL 12. There is wide variation in
group home size from as few as six children to 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
placement, and to teach new, adaptive skills and behavior.
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
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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 must
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.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to an analysis by the Senate Appropriations committee
this bill is estimated to incur the following costs:
Regulations: One-time minor costs (General Fund) for CDSS to
promulgate regulations.
Foster Care placements: Likely minor caseload impact
statewide. To the extent county agencies incur increased
workload associated with implementing and adhering to the
specified regulations, statewide costs could exceed $50,000
(General Fund).
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 that the
State provides annual funding for the cost increase.
SUPPORT: (Verified5/28/15)
Equality California (co-source)
National Center for Lesbian Rights (co-source)
Transgender Law Center (co-source)
American Civil Liberties Union
AFSCME
California Alliance of Children and Family Services
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County Welfare Directors Association of California
Children's Law Center
East Bay Children's Law Offices
Family Builders
Gender Health Center
Gender Spectrum
Juvenile Court Judges of California
Legal Services for Children
National Association of Social Workers
National Center for Youth Law
National Council on Crime and Delinquency
Santa Clara Board of Supervisors
Youth Law Center
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/28/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: 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.
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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.
Prepared by:Sara Rogers / HUMAN S. / (916) 651-1524
5/30/15 10:23:29
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