BILL NUMBER: ACR 58	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 31, 2006
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  MAY 26, 2005
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 9, 2005

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Parra

                        APRIL 26, 2005

   Relative to foster youth.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 58, Parra  Foster youth.
   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, Health Services, and
Mental Health, as well as other designated entities, to develop
practices to assist foster youth in understanding their rights and
available resources.




   WHEREAS, Ninety-five thousand foster youth are in care in
California. In removing a child from his or her family and placing
that child in foster care, the state and counties assume enormous
responsibility. Both the state and counties commit to protecting
these children and ensuring that these children thrive and develop
the skills, supports, and enduring relationships that will sustain
them 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, noting that 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, Education outreach by the state and local foster care
ombudsperson offices to foster youth and the child welfare community
needs to be consistently supported to ensure that 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 reports 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, All individuals in the child welfare community share
responsibility for ensuring that foster 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, the State
Department of Health Services, the State Department of Mental Health,
the County Welfare Directors Association of California, the National
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 assist foster youth in
understanding their rights and 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.