BILL NUMBER: ACR 58	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Parra

                        APRIL 26, 2005

   Relative to foster youth.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 58, as introduced, Parra.
   This measure would recognize that the rights of foster youth are
critical to ensuring their well-being and future, and would urge the
State Departments of Social Services, Education, and Mental Health,
as well as other designated entities, to develop practices to
facilitate making foster youth aware of their rights and available
resources.
   Fiscal committee: yes.





   WHEREAS, Ninety-five thousand foster children are in care in
California. In removing a child from his or her family and placing
that child in foster care, the state assumes enormous responsibility.
In effect, the state is committed to protecting the child and
ensuring that the child thrives and develops the skills, supports,
and enduring relationships that will sustain him or her into
adulthood; and

   WHEREAS, Foster youth are uniquely vulnerable, because they are
completely dependent on the state to meet their needs, and require
additional protection, resources and support to make a successful
transition to adulthood; and

   WHEREAS, The Legislature has recognized the importance of the
rights of foster youth by enacting numerous measures to ensure and
strengthen those rights, and has further expressed the intent to
ensure that the rights of children in out-of-home placement are
preserved and not infringed upon; and

   WHEREAS, The Legislature has recognized the need to expand the
foster youth bill of rights to include specific education and higher
education rights as education is the foundation and key to
self-sufficiency for many foster youth; and

   WHEREAS, If members of the child welfare community and the public
are unaware of the rights of foster youth, they are unable to meet
their collective responsibility to ensure foster youth are cared for
and have adequate access to information; and

   WHEREAS, Foster youth often lack access to information about their
rights and available resources in their community. When youth are
aware of their rights in foster care, they are able to self-advocate,
which is critical to their success. It is necessary that all foster
youth know that they have specific rights, and that they know they
can call the Office of the State Foster Care Ombudsperson if there is
a violation of those rights; and

   WHEREAS, Outreach by the state and local foster care ombudsperson
offices to educate foster youth and providers needs to be
consistently supported so the rights afforded foster youth are
meaningful. In recent years, the travel abilities of the Office of
the State Foster Care Ombudsperson have been limited due to budget
concerns; and

   WHEREAS, Nearly one in every four calls to the Office of the State
Foster Care Ombudsperson concern's a violation of a foster youth's
rights. There is a need to expand the scope of the Office of the
State Foster Care Ombudsperson to include the ability to
independently report to the public and the Legislature regarding the
concerns and complaints of foster youth; and

   WHEREAS, Two promising steps toward the ensuring that foster youth
are informed of their rights and have access to the resources needed
to be successful are the creation of local foster care ombudsperson
offices and the centralization of all resources to foster youth in a
"one stop center"; and

   WHEREAS, Everyone who comes into contact with foster youth should
make it their duty to share responsibility for ensuring that the
youth know their rights and are informed of available education,
employment, housing, health, and financial resources; now, therefore,
be it

   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature recognizes that the rights
of foster youth are critical to ensuring their well-being and future;
and be it further

   Resolved, That the Legislature urges the State Department of
Social Services, the State Department of Education, and the State
Department of Mental Health, the County Welfare Directors Association
of Social Workers, the California Judicial Council, the California
State Foster Parent Association, the California Alliance for Children
and Family Services, and the California Chief Probation Officers
Association to develop practices that will facilitate making foster
youth aware of their rights, and of the resources available to
support them both in foster care and as they transition out of the
foster care system; and be it further

   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.