BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 731
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB
731 (Leno)
As Amended August 31, 2015
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 28-5
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
|Human Services |7-0 |Chu, Mayes, Calderon, | |
| | |Lopez, Maienschein, | |
| | |Mark Stone, Thurmond | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
|Appropriations |12-1 |Gomez, Bloom, Bonta, |Gallagher |
| | |Calderon, Gordon, | |
| | |Eggman, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Holden, Quirk, Rendon, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SB 731
Page 2
SUMMARY: Requires the out-of-home placement of foster youth and
nonminor dependents to be based on an individual's gender
identity. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires foster children and nonminor dependents in
out-of-home care to be placed according to their gender
identity.
2)Adds to the codified list of foster youth's and nonminor
dependents' rights the right to be placed in out-of-home care
according to one's gender identity, regardless of the gender
or sex listed in court or child welfare records. Further
requires the Department of Social Services' (DSS) Community
Care Licensing Division (CCLD) to develop regulations
consistent with this right.
EXISTING LAW:
1)States that the purpose of foster care law is to provide
maximum safety and protection for children who are being
physically, sexually or emotionally abused, neglected, or
exploited and to ensure the safety, protection, and physical
and emotional well-being of children at risk of such harm.
(Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 300.2)
2)Requires out-of-home placement of a child in foster care to be
based upon selection of a safe setting that is the least
restrictive or most family-like and the most appropriate
setting available and in close proximity to the parent's home
and the child's school, and best suited to meet the child's
special needs and best interests. Further requires the
selection of placement to consider, in order of priority,
placement with relatives, nonrelated extended family members,
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tribal members, and foster family homes, certified homes of
foster family agencies, intensive treatment or
multidimensional treatment foster care homes, group care
placements, such as group homes and community treatment
facilities, and residential treatment, as specified. (WIC
Section 16501.1(c)(1))
3)Enumerates rights of minors and nonminors 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; be free from physical, sexual, emotional, or other
abuse, or corporal punishment; receive adequate and healthy
food, adequate clothing, and, for youth in group homes, an
allowance; receive medical, dental, vision, and mental health
services; be involved in the development of his or her own
case plan and plan for permanent placement; and review his or
her own case plan and plan for permanent placement, if he or
she is 12 years of age or older and in a permanent placement,
and receive information about his or her out-of-home placement
and case plan, including being told of changes to the plan.
(WIC Section 16001.9)
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill may result in the following:
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 (General Fund). Under
Proposition 30 of 2012, these costs are not reimbursable, but
this bill will apply to local agencies only to the extent the
state provides annual funding for the cost increase.
2)One-time minor costs (General Fund) for the DSS to promulgate
regulations.
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COMMENTS:
Foster Youth Bill of Rights: AB 899 (Liu), Chapter 683,
Statutes of 2001, adopted California's Foster Youth Bill of
Rights, which consolidated and codified all of the rights of
foster children into one place in statute. It also required:
social workers and probation officers to periodically inform
children of these rights in an age-appropriate manner, the
Office of the State Foster Care Ombudsman to disseminate
information on these rights, and any facility licensed to
provide foster care for six or more children to post a listing
of these rights.
The current list of rights for all minors and nonminors in
foster care includes 26 enumerated rights, such as the right to:
live in a safe, healthy, and comfortable home where he or she
is treated with respect; be free from physical, sexual,
emotional, or other abuse, or corporal punishment; receive
adequate and healthy food, adequate clothing, and, for youth in
group homes, an allowance; and receive medical, dental, vision,
and mental health services. Rights specific to transgender
youth include 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 gender identity, and 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 transgender youth in out-of-home
care.
Foster youth and gender identity: It is difficult to get an
exact estimate of the percentage of foster youth who identify as
transgender. A 2014 report released by the Williams Institute
at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law found
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that, in Los Angeles County, approximately 5.6% of youth ages 12
through 21 in out-of-home care identified as transgender (19.1%
overall identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or
questioning [LGBTQ]). This estimate of 5.6% is higher than the
1.3% to 3.2% of the overall youth population in the United
States believed to identify as transgender.
While some LGBTQ youth enter California Child Welfare Services
for reasons unrelated to their sexual orientation or gender
identity, the Child Welfare League of America reports that:
A large proportion of LGBT youth enter these systems,
however, for reasons either directly or indirectly
related to their sexual orientation or gender identity.
This includes youth who, because of their sexual
orientation or gender identity, have been rejected,
neglected, or abused by their birth families; youth who
have stopped attending school because of anti-LGBT abuse
or harassment; runaway, 'throwaway,' and homeless youth,
some of whom engage in survival crimes; and youth who
have been mislabeled as sex offenders simply because of
their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Williams Institute study found that the LGBTQ youth in
foster care in Los Angeles County that they surveyed, when
compared to non-LGBTQ youth, had a higher average number of
foster care placements, reported that they were being treated
less well by the child welfare system, and were more likely to
have been homeless at some point in their lives.
Many professionals agree that it is harmful to prevent
transgender youth from expressing their gender identity.
According to the Child Welfare League of America:
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The integration of a positive gender identity is also a
critical aspect of healthy adolescent development. This
task is especially challenging for transgender youth,
whose gender identity does not correspond with their
anatomical sex? Child welfare and juvenile justice
agencies should not require youth to conform to
traditional conceptions of gender or punish youth who are
transgender or gender nonconforming. The agency's basic
approach should be to validate a young person's core
gender identity, as defined by the youth.
Need for this bill: According to the author:
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.
Many transgender youth face rejection, bullying, and
physical abuse at the hands of their families,
communities, and schools due to bias against their gender
identity or expression. These children are at extremely
high risk for poor health and mental health. They are at
much higher risk than other youth for homelessness,
abuse, depression, and suicide. It is essential that we
provide caregivers and environments that affirm and
respect these young people so that they can thrive.
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
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implement this right.
[This bill] will ensure that caregivers provide
appropriate supportive care, including respecting and
affirming every child's gender identity.
Analysis Prepared by:
Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089 FN:
0001764