BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 1056 (Liu) - Juveniles: family reunification
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|Version: April 19, 2016 |Policy Vote: HUMAN S. 4 - 0, |
| | JUD. 6 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: May 16, 2016 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: SB 1056 would increase the provision of family
reunification and family preservation services, as follows:
Adds parental homelessness and minor status to the
considerations the court must take into account when deciding
whether to provide or extend family reunification services.
Mandates the court to order reunification services for a minor
parent unless it is determined by clear and convincing
evidence those services would be detrimental to the child.
Provides that if a parent is in substantial compliance with
the court-ordered case plan and lack of housing is the sole
impediment to family reunification, the court may order the
child be returned to the parent's physical custody within five
days after the parent has secured safe and adequate housing,
as specified.
Authorizes the court to order a county to assist a family in
maintaining housing with referral to, and coordination of,
supportive services.
Adds housing and supportive services for homeless parents of
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dependent children, as specified, to the types of services
that may be provided under family preservation services.
Authorizes participating counties to use, in addition to any
available county funds through federal Title IV-E of the
Social Security Act, any other available waiver funds to
assist parents in securing appropriate housing and supportive
services.
Fiscal
Impact:
Mandated reunification services : Potentially significant
increase in child welfare services costs potentially in the
range of $475,000 (General Fund*/Federal Funds) annually to
provide reunification services for 12 months for minor
parents, assuming 50 percent of 100 minor parents are
currently provided with these services. This estimate assumes
reunification services costs of $790 per month per case.
Extended reunification services : Potentially major increase
in child welfare services costs in the millions to tens of
millions of dollars (General Fund*/Federal Funds) for the
extension of reunification services ranging from six to 18
months for specified minor parent, and to a greater extent,
homeless parent cases. While the number of potentially
applicable cases is unknown, the CalWORKs Homeless Assistance
Program (HAP) reviewed nearly 45,800 applications in Calendar
Year 2015 and approved 38,300 applications in that same year.
For every 10 percent of denied applications (750 cases) that
may have been approved for HAP had reunification services been
extended and lack of housing was the sole impediment to
reunification, annual costs would be in the range of $3.6
million to $10.7 million annually to provide reunification
services for six to 18 months.
Social worker activities : Potentially moderate to significant
ongoing workload in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars
(General Fund*/Federal Funds) annually to (1) document in the
case plan the barriers of a minor parent, (2) provide a
factual discussion in the supplemental report of whether lack
of housing is sole impediment to family reunification, and (3)
provide referrals to, and coordination of, supportive
services. Costs would be dependent on the number of cases and
the time spent providing the additional services per case,
which is unknown.
Permanent placement/Family preservation services : Potentially
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significant increase in child welfare services costs (General
Fund*/Federal Funds) to add housing and supportive services
for homeless parents of dependent children to the types of
services provided under family preservation services.
Additionally, potential increase in child welfare services
costs for a shift of cases from family reunification to
permanent placement status.
CalWORKs program : Potentially major increase in ongoing
CalWORKs program costs in the millions of dollars (General
Fund) annually to the extent the provision of reunification
services to a greater number of homeless parents enables more
CalWORKs cases to remain open, thereby increasing the number
of cases eligible for (1) Homeless Assistance Program (HAP)
benefits, a Housing Support Program (HSP) allocation, and (3)
Family Stabilization Program intensive case management
services.
Proposition 30* : Exempts the State from mandate reimbursement
for realigned programs, however, legislation that has an
overall effect of increasing the costs already borne by a
local agency for realigned programs including child welfare
services, apply to local agencies only to the extent that the
State provides annual funding for the cost increase.
Dependency caseload impact : Unknown, potentially major future
cost savings in the millions of dollars (Local/General Fund)
in reduced time spent in dependent care, including time spent
in court hearings, to the extent youth are reunified with
their parents sooner than otherwise would occur under existing
law.
**Trial Court Trust Fund
Background: This bill seeks to address the issues related to family
reunification and homelessness, and would require the court to
consider a parent's homeless status, if the parent is otherwise
in compliance with the court-ordered case plan. This bill also
seeks to ensure that homeless parents are connected with
services that will help them secure housing, and would provide
the court with a mechanism whereby a child may be reunified with
his or her parent soon after the parent secures safe and
adequate housing.
Proposed Law:
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This bill would add homelessness and minor status to the list
of reasons that a court may extend reunification services beyond
the initial 12 months, provided that the homeless or minor
parent has made regular contact with the child, and has met
other conditions, as specified.
In the case of minor parents, this bill would require the court
to order reasonable services unless the court determines, by
clear and convincing evidence, those services would be
detrimental to the child. Additionally, this bill requires the
social worker to document in the child's case plan the
particular barriers to a minor parent's access to those
court-mandated services and ability to maintain contact with his
or her child.
This bill would also add parental homelessness to the existing
list of considerations for a court deciding whether to grant an
extension of services to the family during status, permanency,
and review hearings. Specifically, this bill:
Requires the court to consider whether the parent is in
substantial compliance with the court-ordered case plan,
whether lack of housing is the sole impediment to family
reunification, and whether the child can be returned to the
parent upon the parent securing appropriate housing;
Requires the court, in making its determination, to
review and consider the referral and coordination of
services provided by the county, and the efforts, progress,
or both demonstrated by the parent, and the extent to which
he or she availed himself or herself of services provided,
as specified; and
Permits the court to order that the child be returned to
the parent's physical custody within five days after the
parent has secured safe and adequate housing, as confirmed
by the county child welfare agency, if lack of housing is
the sole impediment to family reunification.
Authorizes the court to order the county to assist the
family in maintaining housing with referral to, and
coordination of, supportive services.
This bill requires the social worker to include a factual
discussion in each supplemental report to the court indicating
whether the parent is in substantial compliance with the case
plan and a lack of housing is the sole impediment to family
reunification, and the services offered by the county welfare
department to assist the parent in securing appropriate housing.
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This bill would define appropriate housing to include housing
provided through rapid rehousing, transitional or permanent
housing programs, and funded by federal, state or county
sources, or through various nonprofit organizations.
This bill would add housing and supportive services for homeless
parents of dependent children, as specified, to the types of
services that may be provided under family preservation
services. Further, to the extent permitted by federal law, this
bill adds that Title IV-E waiver funds through the Social
Security Act may be used for family preservation services.
Finally, this bill authorizes participating counties to use, in
addition to any available county funds through federal Title
IV-E of the Social Security Act, any other available waiver
funds to assist parents in securing appropriate housing and
supportive services.
This bill would provide that the term "homeless" has the same
meaning as that term is defined in the federal McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act.
This bill would also state the legislative intent to reduce the
length of stay in out-of-home care and hasten reunification when
it can be safely accomplished, and the intent to provide housing
and supportive services to parents who are in substantial
compliance with their case plans, and make other conforming
changes.
Prior
Legislation: SB 68 (Liu) Chapter 284/2015 requires the juvenile
court, in evaluating whether to return a dependent child to a
parent, to take into account the particular barriers to a minor
parent or a nonminor dependent parent.
SB 977 (Liu) Chapter 219/2014 requires social workers to include
in each social study, evaluation, and supplemental report a
factual discussion of whether a child can be returned to the
custody of his/her parent who is enrolled in a certified
substance abuse treatment facility, and required the court to
consider whether a child can be returned to the custody of
his/her parent in these situations, as specified.
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SB 1064 (de Leon) Chapter 845/2012 authorizes the court to
extend the review hearing periods for reunification following
consideration of a parent's ability to comply with court-ordered
services where a child has been removed from the custody of a
parent and the parent has been arrested and issued an
immigration hold, detained, or deported.
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