BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 942|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 942
Author: Liu (D)
Amended: 5/31/16
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE: 4-0, 3/29/16
AYES: McGuire, Hancock, Liu, Nguyen
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 6-0, 4/12/16
AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning, Wieckowski
NO VOTE RECORDED: Anderson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/27/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
SUBJECT: Dependency proceedings: relative caregivers
SOURCE: Alliance for Childrens Rights
Childrens Law Center of California
Juvenile Court Judges of California
DIGEST: This bill establishes additional procedures for the
temporary placement of a child with an able and willing relative
under circumstances in which the child has not yet been placed
with a relative prior to the initial child welfare detention
hearing. This requires a social worker to conduct an assessment
and establishes procedures to hold a hearing for consideration
of recommendations based on that assessment. This bill
additionally requires that a criminal records check be conducted
within a specified timeframe. If the county fails to meet those
timeframes, this bill authorizes a judge to make a finding that
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the county has have abused its discretion. This bill also
requires the county to actively assist a person in locating and
obtaining any documents required for the exemption.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Vests, under federal statute, responsibility for caring for a
child who has been removed from home and placed in foster care
with the state and any public agency which is administering
the foster care plan with the state. (42 U.S.C. 672 (a)(2)(B))
2)Places, under state statute, the care of a child who has been
removed from his or her parents or guardian under the
jurisdiction of the juvenile court and defines abuse and
neglect criteria for such removal. (WIC 300 et seq)
3)Defines the steps and timelines the county must take after
detaining a child, including creating a preference for the
child to be placed temporarily with an able and willing
relative or nonrelated extended family member (NREFM), as
defined. (WIC 309)
4)Requires at the detention hearing the court take certain steps
to evaluate the case, determine whether the child can be
returned home safely, and, if not, to ensure the child is
placed in an appropriate placement, with priority
consideration for family members and NREFM. (WIC 319)
5)Establishes criteria for approving a relative or NREFM home
for the placement of a child, including a home visit and the
submission of fingerprints for a state and federal criminal
background check. Requires the county to prohibit placement
with anyone who has an arrest or conviction for a serious or
violent felony, as specified. (WIC 361.4)
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6)Prohibits placement of a child in a home until an exemption is
granted by the county, if an adult in the home has an
exemptible criminal history. (WIC 361.4)
This bill:
1)States legislative findings and declarations that placement
with able and willing relatives at the earliest point in time
is in the best interest of a child in the dependency system.
Further states that research has shown that a foster child
tends to be more emotionally well off when placed with his or
her relatives, and reunification with his or her parents is
routinely enhanced by placement with those relatives.
2)Requires the court to order a social worker to conduct an
assessment of a willing relative that requests temporary
placement of a child if that child is not placed with a
relative at the time of the initial detention hearing.
3)Requires that the social worker provide the results of the
completed assessment to the court, the parent or guardian, the
child's attorney, and the child, if the child is 10 years of
age or older.
4)Permits the child or his or her parent or guardian to request
a hearing to consider the recommendations of the social worker
based on the assessment. Requires the court to hold a hearing
not later than 10 court days after such a request is made.
5)Establishes that setting of the court hearing shall not be
construed to limit the social worker's authority to place a
child in the home of an appropriate relative or NREFM pending
receipt of the results of the assessment or the hearing.
6)Requires a county, to the extent possible, actively assist a
person requesting an exemption relating to a criminal
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background check result to help the person to locate and
obtain any documents required, including having a social
worker contact any other government entity directly to obtain
any required arrest reports or court dispositions.
7)Requires the county to complete the assessment process,
including any exemptions and waivers, within 30 calendar days.
8)Permits a court to set a hearing to determine why the
assessment is not completed within 30 days and specifies that
the denial of an exemption or waiver due to the failure of the
county to obtain necessary governmental documents shall not be
considered completion of the assessment process.
9)Permits the court to conduct a hearing 60 calendar days after
the court order to consider granting the exemption or waiver,
and permits the court to order the child to be placed with the
person.
Background
According to the author, this bill will address the long delays
associated with an inability to complete criminal exemptions for
appropriate relatives which result in foster children remaining
in shelters or foster homes. By instituting timelines for the
process of assessments and waivers, this bill provides
dependency court judges the ability to examine the facts that
have been gathered within the timeline and move the placement
forward if the placement is appropriate and in the best interest
of the child, according to the author.
This bill is the result of a series of foster youth roundtables
and town halls that the author has conducted with stakeholders
over the past several years. Discussions with dependency court
judges at one of these events led to further conversations which
led to development of this bill. These judges and others express
frustration about delays in placement for children whose family
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members need to obtain exemptions.
Child welfare. California's child welfare system protects
children at risk of child abuse and neglect or exploitation
through an integrated service system. It provides intensive
services to families focused on establishing sufficient child
safety, permanency and well-being to allow families to stay
together in their own homes. However, If county social workers,
through the oversight of local juvenile courts, determine that
out-of-home placement is the only safe option for a child, the
child welfare agency arranges for and monitors temporary or
permanent placement of the child in the safest and least
restrictive environment possible.
Approximately 62,600 children were in the custody of the child
welfare system in California as of October 1, 2015, according to
data produced by UC Berkeley's Child Welfare Indicators website
(http://cssr.berkeley.edu/ucb_childwelfare). Some 22,000 of
those children - or roughly 35 percent - were placed with
relatives, according to the same report. Data released with the
Governor's Budget in January 2016 indicates average monthly
caseloads of 45,000, children who experienced abuse or neglect,
with an anticipated increase in coming months.
Outcomes of children in foster care. Numerous national studies
have documented the poor outcomes of children and youth who are
removed from their homes into the child welfare system. These
children have increased rates of chronic health problems,
developmental delays and disabilities, mental health needs, and
substance abuse problems, according to a 2013 report
(http://www.childrensaidsociety.org/files/upload-docs/report_fina
l_April_2.pdf). Many youth have experienced traumatic events
that lead to symptoms such as depression, behavior problems,
hypersensitivity, and emotional difficulties. A child's removal
from home is also a traumatic event, leading to the loss of and
separation from family, friends, and neighbors. Twenty-five
percent of youth who age-out of care experience Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder-double the rate of U.S. war veterans, according
to the report. Nationally, the birth rate for teen girls in
foster care is more than double that for those outside the
foster care system.
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Additionally, former foster youth are less likely to graduate
high school, attend a community or four-year college, or to
receive a postsecondary degree. In addition, they are less
likely to obtain a GED than their peers who dropped out of high
school and more likely to experience suspension or expulsion,
the report said.
Placement with relatives. Studies have demonstrated significant
benefit to children in the child welfare system who are placed
with relatives rather than with strangers in foster homes or in
group care. A 2008 study in the Archives of Pediatric and
Adolescent Medicine found that children placed into kinship care
had fewer behavioral problems three years after placement than
children who were placed into foster care. Children in kinship
care are also more likely to remain in their same neighborhood,
be placed with siblings, and have consistent contact with their
birth parents than children in foster care.
State and federal statutes state a preference to place children
in out-of-home care with relatives. State law provides an
expedited approval process for family members and NREFM who step
forward when the child is detained in order to quickly place the
child in a familiar home.
Background checks. State and federal (The Adam Walsh Act (P.L.
109-248)) statutes require the Department of Social Services
(CDSS) to perform background checks on applicants, licensees,
adult residents, employees and some volunteers of community care
facilities who have contact with clients. Included in the
definition of community care facilities are foster homes, both
public and private, group homes and homes that serve individuals
who are elderly or have developmental disabilities. Individuals
must submit their fingerprints, through a LiveScan machine, for
criminal background clearance. Even with the expedited home
survey, close relatives with a criminal history cannot
immediately be cleared to receive a foster child.
A criminal background clearance cannot be provided if the
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individual has been convicted of a non-exemptible crime, such as
rape, a sex offense, murder, or fiscal malfeasance. If a
criminal record check shows a conviction of any crime other than
a minor traffic violation, the person is not permitted to work
or be present in any community care facility unless they receive
a written criminal record exemption from CDSS, or a county,
under specified circumstances.
In cases where an applicant has been convicted of an exemptible
crime, DSS is required to process an exemption only if requested
by the applicant. Both federal and state laws and regulations,
require the state to conduct a thorough investigation and
evaluation of the applicant. This process can be cumbersome,
requiring the review of original case documents, which can be
difficult to obtain from distant jurisdictions or in decades-old
cases. In the case of new foster care providers, this time lag
takes place during the application phase, before a child is
identified for placement in the home. But in the case of a
family member, who is identified soon after, a child is removed
from home, the process happens while the child is waiting
potentially in a shelter or foster home to be placed with the
relative.
Continuum of Care Reform. Following a three-year stakeholder
process to reconsider how and when California places foster
children in long-term congregate care, the state outlined a
comprehensive reform of the system of placements and services
directed at youth in foster care. The Continuum of Care Reform
includes providing needed treatment and services in homes rather
than in group care, more intensive services, and a significant
decrease in reliance on group homes. As a result, CDSS, the
county welfare directors and advocates say there is a
significantly increased need for foster families to care for
these children.
Prior Legislation
AB 403 (Stone, Chapter 773, Statutes of 2015) enacted the
continuum of care reform.
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AB 1761 (Hall, Chapter 765, Statutes of 2014) expanded the
placement preference for relatives and NREFM from being a
priority prior to the detention hearing to also being a priority
between the detention hearing and the dispositional hearing.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to an analysis by the Senate Appropriations Committee,
this bill will incur potentially major increase in social worker
workload, potentially in the millions of dollars (General Fund)
annually to meet the specified timeframes to complete up to two
in-home assessments, background checks, exemptions, and document
assistance, as well as reporting to the court and participation
at additional court hearings. Additionally, this bill will have
potentially significant increase in state court costs (General
Fund) to conduct additional mandatory and discretionary
hearings. The analysis found that there will be a minor workload
increase to the Department of Justice (Special Fund) to complete
background checks through California Law Enforcement
Telecommunications System/Child Abuse Central Index, to be
reimbursed through fees.
SUPPORT: (Verified 5/30/16)
Alliance for Children's Rights (co-source)
Children's Law Center of California (co-source)
Juvenile Court Judges of California (co-source)
Advokids
Children Now
Children's Advocacy Institute
Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the State Bar
Families Now
Foster Care Counts
John Burton Foundation for Children Without Homes
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Los Angeles Dependency Lawyers
Los Angeles Unified School District
National Association of Social Workers
Public Counsel Children's Rights Project
OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/30/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The Children's Law Center of California,
which represents foster children in Los Angeles and Sacramento
county dependency courts and is a sponsor of this bill, writes:
"Too often we see our clients lingering in foster homes,
congregate care settings or shelters for extended periods of
time, even after an appropriate relative has requested
placement."
The Juvenile Court Judges of California, a sponsor of this bill,
write that this bill ensures children who have been removed from
their parents' homes are placed expediently with appropriate
relatives by creating a timeline by which an assessment must
occur and specifying a procedure for the court to oversee as
necessary the relative assessment and placement process. "These
important safeguards will help to reduce the re-traumatization
of abused and neglected children who enter the foster care
system."
Prepared by:Mareva Brown / HUMAN S. / (916) 651-1524
5/31/16 21:31:47
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