BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 794
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB
794 (Committee on Human Services)
As Amended September 1, 2015
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 40-0
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Human Services |7-0 |Chu, Mayes, Calderon, | |
| | |Lopez, Maienschein, | |
| | |Mark Stone, Thurmond | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonta, | |
| | |Calderon, Chang, | |
| | |Nazarian, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Quirk, Rendon, | |
| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SB 794
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SUMMARY: Amends state law to address compliance with the
federal Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families
Act (Public Law 113-183). Specifically, this bill:
1)Redefines reasonable and prudent parent standard to mean the
standard characterized by careful and sensible parental
decisions that maintain the health, safety, and best interests
of a child while at the same time encouraging the emotional
and developmental growth of the child, that a caregiver shall
use when determining whether to allow a child in foster care
under the responsibility of the state to participate in age or
developmentally appropriate extracurricular, enrichment,
cultural, and social activities.
2)Requires licensed community care facilities that provide care
and supervision to children to designate at least one onsite
staff member to apply the reasonable and prudent parent
standards, as specified.
3)Requires a licensed or certified foster parent or facility
staff member to receive training related to the reasonable and
prudent parent standard, including knowledge and skills
relating to the standard for the participation of the child in
age and developmentally appropriate activities, as specified.
Additionally, adds the reasonable and prudent parent standard
to training topics required for preapproval training for a
resource family applicant and annual training for an approved
resource family.
4)Defines "another planned permanent living arrangement" as a
permanent plan ordered by the court for a child 16 years of
age or older or a nonminor dependent, when there is a
compelling reason or reasons to determine that it is not in
the best interest of the child or nonminor dependent to return
home, be placed for adoption, be place for tribal customary
adoption, or be placed with a fit and willing relative.
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Prohibits placement in a group home or in a short-term
residential treatment facility as the identified permanent
plan for any child or nonminor dependent.
5)Eliminates placement of a dependent child under 16 years of
age in another planned permanent living arrangement as a
permanency option and requires the court to order a permanent
plan of return home, adoption, tribal customary adoption in
the case of an Indian child, legal guardianship, or placement
with a fit and willing relative, as appropriate.
6)Authorizes the court to order a planned permanent living
arrangement, as defined, for children age 16 or older and
nonminor dependents for whom no other permanent plan is
appropriate, as specified.
7)Requires permanency review hearing documents to include the
following for children 16 years of age or older and in a
planned permanent living arrangement, as specified:
a) A description of the intensive and ongoing efforts of
the child welfare agency to return the child to the home of
the parent, place the child for adoption, or establish a
legal guardianship, as appropriate; and
b) The steps taken to: ensure the child's care provider is
following the reasonable and prudent parent standard; and
to ascertain whether the child has regular, ongoing
opportunities to engage in age or developmentally
appropriate activities, including consulting with the child
about opportunities for the child to participate in the
activities.
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8)Requires such documentation for children under 16 years of age
with a permanent plan of return home, adoption, legal
guardianship, or placement with a fit and willing relative to
include any barriers to achieving the permanent plan and the
efforts made by the child welfare agency to address those
barriers.
9)Requires the case plan for a child who is 16 years of age or
older and in a planned permanent living arrangement, as
specified, to identify the intensive and ongoing efforts to
return the child to the home of the parent, place the child
for adoption, place the child for tribal customary adoption in
the case of an Indian child, establish a legal guardianship,
or place the child or nonminor dependent with a fit and
willing relative, as appropriate. Requires such efforts to
include the use of technology, including social media, to find
biological family members of the child.
10)Expands the definition of sexual exploitation to include a
person who sexually traffics a child or commercially sexually
exploits a child, as specified.
11)Requires a county probation department or child welfare
agency to immediately, and within no more than 24 hours,
report to the appropriate law enforcement authority upon
receiving information that a child or youth who is receiving
child welfare services has been identified as the victim of
commercial sexual exploitation, as defined.
12)Requires a county probation department or child welfare
agency to immediately, and within no more than 24 hours,
notify the appropriate law enforcement authority when a child
or youth who is receiving child welfare services and is known
or suspected to be the victim of sexual exploitation is
missing or has been abducted, so that the incident can be
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entered into the National Crime Information Center database of
the FBI and to the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children.
13)Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to inquire
about a dependent child's credit history at the age of 14
instead of 16 and for specified documentation to be included
in a case plan of a youth 14 years of age or older.
14)Provides that a successor kinship guardian may be appointed
by the juvenile court when death or incapacity of a child's or
youth's kinship guardian has resulted in the termination of
the kinship guardianship and the successor guardian is named
in the kinship guardianship assistance agreements, as
specified.
15)Requires that no less than 30% of savings realized from the
provision of new federal funding for adoption assistance
resulting from the Fostering Connections to Success and
Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 be spent on post-adoption
services, post-guardianship services, and services to support
and sustain positive permanent outcomes for children who
otherwise might enter into foster care. Requires that at
least two-thirds of the 30% in savings be spent on post
adoption and post guardianship services.
16)Adds to the requirement that the state reinvest adoption
incentive payments through the implementation of the Fostering
Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 a
requirement that the state reinvest guardianship incentive
payments received through the Preventing Sex Trafficking and
Strengthening Families Act into the child welfare system, as
specified.
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17)Replaces the term "independent living" with "successful
adulthood" in describing requirements pertaining to a nonminor
dependent's case plan.
18)Requires the case plan for youth 14 years of age or older and
nonminor dependents to be developed in consultation with the
youth. Provides that, at the youth's option, the consultation
may include up to two members of the case planning team who
are chosen by the youth, as specified.
19)Provides that for youth in foster care 14 years of age or
older and nonminor dependents, the case plan shall include
both of the following:
a) A document that describes the youth's rights with
respect to education, health, visitation and court
participation, the right to be annually provided with
copies of his or her credit reports at no cost while in
foster care, and the right to stay safe and avoid
exploitation; and
b) A signed acknowledgement by the youth that he or she has
been provided a copy of the document and that the rights
described in the documents have been explained to the youth
in an age-appropriate manner.
20)Requires the case plan for a child or nonminor dependent who
is, or who is at risk of becoming, the victim of commercial
sexual exploitation, to document the services provided to
address that issue.
21)Requires county child welfare agencies and probation
departments, on or before September 29, 2016, to implement
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policies and procedures that require social workers and
probation officers to do all the following:
a) Identify children receiving child welfare services,
including dependents or wards in foster care, nonminor
dependents, and youth receiving services under the John H.
Chafee Foster Care Independence Program, who are or are at
risk of becoming, victims of commercial sexual
exploitation;
b) Document those individuals identified in the Child
Welfare Services/Case Management System and any other
agency record as determined by the county;
c) Determine appropriate services for a child or youth
identified; and
d) Receive relevant training in the identification,
documentation and determination of appropriate services for
any child or youth identified.
22)Requires county child welfare agencies and probation
departments to develop and implement specific protocols to
expeditiously locate any child missing from foster care and
specifies minimum requirements for these protocols.
23)Requires DSS, in consultation with stakeholders, as
specified, to develop model policies and procedures to assist
the counties in addressing the needs of children missing from
care, as specified.
24)Requires DSS to ensure the Child Welfare Services/Case
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Management System is capable of collecting all of the
following information to ensure compliance with federal
reporting requirements:
a) The number of dependent children or wards in foster care
who were victims of commercial sexual exploitation before
entering foster care;
b) The number of dependent children or wards in foster care
who became victims of commercial sexual exploitation while
in foster care;
c) The number of dependent children or wards in foster care
who go missing, run away, or are otherwise absent from care
and were commercially sexually exploited during the time
away from placement;
d) The number of dependent children or wards in foster care
who are at risk of becoming victims of commercial sexual
exploitation; and
e) Specified information for children placed in group homes
or short-term residential treatment centers and children or
nonminor dependents who are pregnant or parenting.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill will result in the following fiscal impact:
1)Federal compliance: Annual costs of $4.2 million ($1.7
million General Fund (GF)) for new workload to child welfare
services and probation departments to comply with several
provisions of federal law including the development of case
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plans, documentation related to the reasonable and prudent
parent standards, and notification of relatives. Under
Proposition 30, these costs are not reimbursable, but the bill
will apply only to the extent the State provides annual
funding for the cost increase. These costs are funded in the
2015-16 Budget.
2)Commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC) protocols
compliance: Annual costs to local agencies in the millions of
dollars (GF/Local Funds/Federal Funds) to develop and
implement policies and procedures that identify, document, and
determine appropriate services for youth identified as
runaways/missing or CSEC. Under Proposition 30, these costs
are not reimbursable, but the bill will apply only to the
extent the State provides annual funding for the cost
increase. The 2015-16 Budget includes $20.2 million ($14
million GF) in 2015-16 to support both federally required and
elective county program activities for CSEC. It is estimated
$3.6 million GF will be utilized for federal compliance
activities.
3)Child abuse reporting: Non-reimbursable local costs for
reporting to law enforcement within 24 hours, as required by
federal law.
4)Child Welfare Services/Case Management System (CWS/CMS)
enhancements: Unknown, potentially significant automation
costs (GF) to enable CWS/CMS to collect specified information
on youth identified as missing/runaways or CSEC.
COMMENTS:
The Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act:
The Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act
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(Public Law 113-183) was signed by the President on September
29, 2014. The Act makes numerous changes to the title IV-E
foster care program and enacts new requirements regarding sex
trafficking prevention and reporting, data collection,
reasonable and prudent parent standards, adoption incentives
payments, successor guardianship, and successful adulthood.
Commercially Sexually Exploited Children (CSEC): Commercial
sexual exploitation of children is defined as the sexual
exploitation of children at least primarily for financial or
other economic reasons. Under this definition, the economic
exchanges may be either monetary or non-monetary (e.g., for
food, shelter, drugs). Sex trafficking of minors is defined as
the "recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or
obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act"
where the person is a United States (U.S.) citizen or lawful
permanent resident under the age of 18. While human sex
trafficking was once considered a predominantly international
issue, FBI and other local law enforcement agency initiatives
have become increasingly focused on the rapid-growing epidemic
of the sexual exploitation of minors in the U.S.
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children, one in six child runaways in 2014 were likely sex
trafficking victims, 68% of which are estimated to have been
receiving child welfare services when they ran. A March 2013
report released by the California Child Welfare Council also
made the connection between child victims of commercial sexual
exploitation and foster youth, stating that 50 to 80% of CSEC
are or were involved in the child welfare system. The report
also indicated that early adolescence (ages 11 to 13 for boys
and ages 12 to 14 for girls) is when most children fall victim
to commercial sexual exploitation, and that the abuse and
neglect they experienced that led to their involvement with
child welfare services, in addition to frequently unstable
placements, create the emotional vulnerabilities that are later
exploited. The report also reveals that children who are
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commercially sexually exploited have a life expectancy of seven
years after they are first exploited, and that the leading
causes of death among exploited children are HIV/AIDS and
homicide.
The Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act
requires child welfare agencies to develop policies and
procedures to strengthen child sexual exploitation prevention
and intervention efforts, which are reflected in this bill.
More specifically, it sets dates by which child welfare agencies
need to do the following:
1)Implement policies and procedures to identify, document, and
determine appropriate services for a child or nonminor
dependent who is or who is at risk of becoming a sex
trafficking victim, has run away from home, or is receiving
services under the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program;
2)Develop and implement protocols to locate children and
nonminor dependents missing from foster care, determine the
factors that lead to the youth's absence from foster care and,
to the extent possible, address those factors in subsequent
placements, determine the youth's experiences while absent
from care, including whether the youth is a sex trafficking
victim, and report related information as required by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services; and
3)Report immediately, and within no more than 24 hours, to law
enforcement when a child or nonminor dependent is identified
to be a victim of sex trafficking. Agencies must also develop
and implement protocols to report immediately to law
enforcement, and within no more than 24 hours, information on
missing or abducted youth receiving child welfare services who
are identified as being, or are at risk of being, a victim of
sex trafficking, for entry into the National Crime Information
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Center (NCIC) database, and to the National Center for Missing
and Exploited Children.
Another Planned Permanent Living Arrangement (APPLA): Among the
myriad other changes to child welfare requirements included in
the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act is
the elimination of another planned permanent living arrangement,
or APPLA, as a permanency option for a child under 16 years of
age. APPLA is a long-term, out-of-home foster care placement
type that a child or youth is expected to remain in until
adulthood when other options such as reunification, relative
placement, adoption, or legal guardianship have been ruled out.
While it is intended to be identified as a last-resort option
for permanency, current state statute outlining APPLA
requirements is not restrictive enough to ensure certain steps
are taken to avoid use of APPLA for dependent children. In
addition to restricting the use of APPLA to youth 16 and older,
this bill requires child welfare agencies to document, at each
permanency hearing, the efforts to place a child permanently
with a parent, relative, or in a guardianship or adoptive home.
It also requires the court, during each permanency hearing, to
ask the child about his or her desired permanency outcome, make
a judicial determination that APPLA is the best permanency plan
for the child, and to identify compelling reasons why it is not
in the best interest of the child to return home, be placed for
adoption, be placed with a legal guardian, or be placed with a
fit and willing relative.
Need for this bill: This bill makes statutory changes necessary
to ensure state compliance with the federal Preventing Sex
Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act (Public Law 113-183),
as identified by the California Department of Social Services.
These include: child sex trafficking prevention and data
collection; strengthening of the state's reasonable and prudent
parent standards; additional reinvestment of state expenditure
savings to fund post-adoption and guardianship services; the
potential establishment of a successor kinship guardian for a
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child when a previous kinship guardian dies or becomes
incapacitated; the elimination APPLA for children under age 16;
and an overall focus on youth being provided the necessary
services and supports to reach successful adulthood.
This bill will ensure state statute maintains conformity with
federal law and regulations, including requirements the state
must meet in order to continue receiving federal funding
participation for its child welfare services system.
Analysis Prepared by: Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089
FN: 0001886