BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  ACR 58
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 18, 2005

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                   Judy Chu, Chair

                      ACR 58 (Parra) - As Amended:  May 9, 2005 

          Policy Committee:                              Human Services  
          Vote:        7-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This resolution urges the Department of Social Services (DSS),  
          the State Department of Education (SDE), the Department of  
          Mental Health (DMH), and other advocates and stakeholders to  
          work together to assist foster youth in understanding their  
          rights and available resources.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Negligible costs to the various state departments to continue  
          efforts to aid foster youth. 

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . This measure was developed during a recent lobby  
            day for the California Youth Connection (CYC).  Foster youth  
            at that event expressed frustration with the lack of publicity  
            of the Foster Youth Bill of Rights. 

           2)Related Legislation  . AB 899 (Liu), Chapter 683, Statutes of  
            2001, established the Foster Youth Bill of Rights. This  
            codified such rights as the right to live in a safe, healthy,  
            and comfortable home where a child is treated with respect,  
            the right to be free from physical, sexual, emotional, or  
            other abuse, the right to receive adequate and healthy food  
            and adequate clothing, and the right to attend religious  
            services and activities of his or her choice.

          AB 458 (Chu) Chapter 331, Statutes of 2003, amended the Foster  
            Youth Bill of Rights to ensure that foster children are not  
            subjected to discrimination or harassment on the basis of  








                                                                  ACR 58
                                                                  Page  2

            race, ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, color, religion,  
            sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental or physical  
            disability, or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)status. 


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Mary Ader / APPR. / (916) 319-2081