BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 731 Page 1 Date of Hearing: August 26, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair SB 731 (Leno) - As Amended August 19, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Human Services |Vote:|7 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill requires that foster children and nonminor dependents in out-of-home care be placed according to their gender identity, regardless of the gender or sex listed in their court SB 731 Page 2 or child welfare records. This bill also adds the above requirement to the Foster Care Bill of Rights, and requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to promulgate regulations implementing these provisions. FISCAL EFFECT: 1)Likely minor caseload impact statewide. To the extent county agencies incur increased workload associated with implementing and adhering to the specified regulations, it is unlikely statewide costs would exceed $100,000 (GF). Under Proposition 30, these costs are not reimbursable, but the bill will apply to local agencies only to the extent the State provides annual funding for the cost increase. 2)One-time minor costs (GF) for the DSS to promulgate regulations. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. The author states, "Children in the child welfare system are protected by the Foster Care Bill of Rights, which includes the right to fair and equal access to all services. Though California law intends to protect all children from discrimination, it does not give specific guidance to caregivers when placing foster children who are transgender. Child welfare workers need guidance on how to place children based on their gender identity. This bill accomplishes this by giving foster children the right to be placed according to gender identity and directing Community Care Licensing to develop regulations to implement this right. [This bill] will ensure that caregivers provide appropriate supportive care, SB 731 Page 3 including respecting and affirming every child's gender identity." 2)Background. There are currently approximately 63,000 children and youth in the California's Child Welfare System (CWS). It is difficult to get an exact estimate of the percentage of foster youth who identify as transgender in California. According to a 2014 report released by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, in Los Angeles County, approximately 5.6% of youth ages 12 through 21 in out-of-home cares identified as transgender. Several reports suggest that a large proportion of LGBT youth enter CWS for reasons related to their sexual orientation or gender identity, including rejection, neglect, or abuse by their birth families, lack of school attendance due to harassment or bullying, among other issues. Existing law, the Foster Care Bill of Rights, clearly enumerates the rights of children placed in foster care, including but not limited to the right to live in a safe, healthy, and comfortable home where he or she is treated with respect; the right 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; and 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. 3)Proposition 30. Proposition 30, passed by the voters in November 2012, among other provisions, eliminated any potential mandate funding liability for any new program or higher level of service provided by counties related to realigned programs. Although the provisions of this bill are a SB 731 Page 4 mandate on local agencies, any increased costs would not be subject to reimbursement by the state. Rather, Proposition 30 specifies that for legislation enacted after September 30, 2012, that has an overall effect of increasing the costs already borne by a local agency for realigned programs, which would include child welfare services and foster care, the provisions shall apply to local agencies only to the extent that the state provides annual funding for the cost increase. 4)Prior Legislation. a) AB 868 (Ammiano) Chapter 300, Statutes of 2013, required the Judicial Council to establish training programs for judges on the effects of gender identity and sexual orientation in family law proceedings. This bill also required the Judicial Council to create training standards on cultural competency and sensitivity relating to, and best practices for, providing adequate care to LGBT youth for counsel in juvenile court and appointed special advocates. b) AB 1856 (Ammiano) Chapter 639, Statutes of 2012, required training for administrators of a group home facility, licensed foster parents, and relative or nonrelative extended family member caregivers to also include instruction on cultural competency and sensitivity relating to, and best practices for, providing adequate care to LGBT youth in out-of-home care. c) AB 899 (Liu) Chapter 683, Statutes of 2001, adopted California's Foster Youth Bill of Rights. SB 731 Page 5 Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081