BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     SB 794


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          SENATE THIRD READING


          SB  
          794 (Committee on Human Services)


          As Amended  September 8, 2015


          Majority vote


          SENATE VOTE:  40-0


           -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |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                   |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |








                                                                     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  








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            home, be placed for adoption, be place for tribal customary  
            adoption, or be placed with a fit and willing relative.   
            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  








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            or suspected to be the victim of sexual exploitation is  
            missing or has been abducted, so that the incident can be  
            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.










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          21)Requires county child welfare agencies and probation  
            departments, on or before September 29, 2016, to implement  
            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.









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          24)Requires DSS to ensure the Child Welfare Services/Case  
            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  








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            services and probation departments to comply with several  
            provisions of federal law including the development of case  
            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:  










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          The Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act:   
          The Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act  
          (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  








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          placements, create the emotional vulnerabilities that are later  
          exploited.  The report also reveals that children who are  
          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  








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            are identified as being, or are at risk of being, a victim of  
            sex trafficking, for entry into the National Crime Information  
            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  








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          savings to fund post-adoption and guardianship services; the  
          potential establishment of a successor kinship guardian for a  
          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:  
          0002233