BILL NUMBER: AB 1225 CHAPTERED 10/10/99 CHAPTER 905 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 10, 1999 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 9, 1999 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 9, 1999 PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 7, 1999 AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 2, 1999 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 24, 1999 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 28, 1999 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 8, 1999 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ashburn (Coauthor: Senator Alpert) FEBRUARY 26, 1999 An act to amend Sections 16119 and 16122 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to human services, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1225, Ashburn. Adoptions. Existing law provides for the payment, by the State Department of Social Services and counties, of cash assistance to eligible families that adopt eligible children, and bases the amount of the payment on the needs of the child and the resources of the family to meet those needs. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services or a licensed adoption agency, at the time application for adoption of a child who is potentially eligible for these benefits is made, to provide the prospective adoptive family with information, in writing, on the availability of these benefits. This bill would also require this information to be provided at the time immediately prior to finalization of the adoption decree. Because state funds are continuously appropriated to pay for a portion of the costs of county adoption assistance payments, the bill would constitute an appropriation. Existing law also provides that, from funds appropriated for the purpose, the state shall compensate private adoption agencies for costs of placing for adoption children eligible for the Adoption Assistance Program, not to exceed $3,500 per child adopted. This bill would, effective July 1, 1999, increase that limitation to $5,000. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 16119 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, proposed by AB 390, to be operative only if AB 390 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2000, and this bill is chaptered last. These changes would become operative on the effective date of AB 390. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. Appropriation: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 16119 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read: 16119. (a) At the time application for adoption of a child who is potentially eligible for Adoption Assistance Program benefits is made, and at the time immediately prior to the finalization of the adoption decree, the department or the licensed adoption agency, whichever is appropriate, shall provide the prospective adoptive family with information, in writing, on the availability of Adoption Assistance Program benefits, with an explanation of the difference between these benefits and foster care payments. The department or the licensed adoption agency shall also provide the prospective adoptive family with information, in writing, on the availability of reimbursement for the nonrecurring expenses incurred in the adoption of the Adoption Assistance Program eligible child. (b) The department or the licensed agency shall encourage families that elect not to sign an adoption assistance agreement to sign a deferred adoption assistance agreement. (c) The department or the county, whichever is responsible for determining the child's eligibility for the Adoption Assistance Program, shall assess the needs of the child and the resources of the family to meet those needs, including the family's financial status relative to available statewide median income data. (d) The amount of an adoption assistance cash benefit, if any, shall be a negotiated amount based upon the needs of the child and the ability of the family to meet the child's needs. There shall be no means test used to determine an adoptive family's eligibility for the Adoption Assistance Program. The statewide median income data shall be used as a guideline to assist agencies and adoptive families in negotiating the amount of the Adoption Assistance Program benefit to be awarded to families to meet a child's needs for which other resources are unavailable. In all instances, actual living expenses, including any unusual expenses, shall be considered in evaluating the amount of benefit needed by the family to meet the child's needs. In those instances where an otherwise eligible child does not require a cash benefit, Medi-Cal eligibility may be established for the child, as needed. (e) In applying the statewide median income guideline, agencies shall be guided by the following assumptions: (1) Families with income below the statewide median income may qualify for an amount up to the state approved basic foster care rate plus any state approved specialized care increment for which the child would be eligible if in foster care. (2) Families with income above the statewide median income shall be considered to be able to meet the normal child rearing expenses encompassed in the state approved basic foster family home care rate, but may qualify to receive benefits in an amount up to the state approved specialized care increments the child would be eligible to receive if in foster care. (f) The department or the licensed adoption agency shall inform the prospective adoptive family regarding the county responsible for providing financial aid to the adoptive family in an amount determined pursuant to Sections 16120 and 16120.1. SEC. 2. Section 16119 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read: 16119. (a) At the time application for adoption of a child who is potentially eligible for Adoption Assistance Program benefits is made, and at the time immediately prior to the finalization of the adoption decree, the department or the licensed adoption agency, whichever is appropriate, shall provide the prospective adoptive family with information, in writing, on the availability of Adoption Assistance Program benefits, with an explanation of the difference between these benefits and foster care payments. The department or the licensed adoption agency shall also provide the prospective adoptive family with information, in writing, on the availability of reimbursement for the nonrecurring expenses incurred in the adoption of the Adoption Assistance Program eligible child. The department or licensed adoption agency shall also provide the prospective adoptive family with information on the availability of mental health services through the Medi-Cal program or other programs. (b) The department or the licensed agency shall encourage families that elect not to sign an adoption assistance agreement to sign a deferred adoption assistance agreement. (c) The department or the county, whichever is responsible for determining the child's eligibility for the Adoption Assistance Program, shall assess the needs of the child and the circumstances of the family. (d) (1) The amount of an adoption assistance cash benefit, if any, shall be a negotiated amount based upon the needs of the child and the circumstances of the family. There shall be no means test used to determine an adoptive family's eligibility for the Adoption Assistance Program. In those instances where an otherwise eligible child does not require a cash benefit, Medi-Cal eligibility may be established for the child, as needed. (2) For purposes of paragraph (1), "circumstances of the family" includes the family's ability to incorporate the child into the household in relation to the lifestyle, standard of living, and future plans and to the overall capacity to meet the immediate and future plans and needs, including education, of the child. (e) The department or the licensed adoption agency shall inform the prospective adoptive family regarding the county responsible for providing financial aid to the adoptive family in an amount determined pursuant to Sections 16120 and 16120.1. (f) The department or the licensed adoption agency shall inform the prospective adoptive family that the adoptive parents will continue to receive benefits in the agreed upon amount unless one of the following occurs: (1) The department determines that the adoptive parents are no longer legally responsible for the support of the child. (2) The department determines that the child is no longer receiving support from the adoptive family. (3) The adoption assistance payment exceeds the amount that the child would have been eligible for in a licensed foster home. (4) The adoptive parents demonstrate a need for an increased payment. (5) The adoptive parents voluntarily reduce or terminate payments. (6) The adopted child has an extraordinary need that was not anticipated at the time the amount of the adoption assistance was originally negotiated. SEC. 3. Section 16122 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read: 16122. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this chapter to provide children who would otherwise remain in long-term foster care with permanent adoptive homes. It is also the intent of this Legislature to encourage private adoption agencies to continue placing these children, and in so doing, to achieve a substantial savings to the state in foster care costs. (b) From any funds appropriated for this purpose, the state shall compensate private adoption agencies licensed pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 1500) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code for costs of placing for adoption children eligible for Adoption Assistance Program benefits pursuant to Section 16120. These agencies shall be compensated for otherwise unreimbursed costs for the placement of these children in an amount not to exceed a total of three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500) per child adopted. Half of the compensation shall be paid at the time the adoptive placement agreement is signed. The remainder shall be paid at the time the adoption petition is granted by the court. Requests for compensation shall conform to claims procedures established by the department. This section shall not be construed to authorize reimbursement to private agencies for intercountry adoption services. (c) Effective July 1, 1999, the maximum amount of reimbursement pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be five thousand dollars ($5,000). SEC. 4. Section 2 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 16119 of the Welfare and Institutions Code proposed by both this bill and AB 390. It shall only become operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2000, but this bill becomes operative first, (2) each bill amends Section 16119 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after AB 390, in which case Section 16119 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as amended by Section 1 of this bill, shall remain operative only until the operative date of AB 390, at which time Section 2 of this bill shall become operative. SEC. 5. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: In order to make changes in provisions of law relating to children placed in foster care, as well as provisions relating to facilities licensed by the State Department of Social Services at the earliest possible time, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.