BILL NUMBER: AB 667	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 27, 2005
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 1, 2005
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 26, 2005
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 13, 2005

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Jones

                        FEBRUARY 17, 2005

   An act to add Section 17716 to the Family Code, relating to child
support.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 667, as amended, Jones.  Child support enforcement.
   Existing law establishes the Department of Child Support Services
to administer laws and regulations pertaining to the administration
of child support enforcement obligations. Existing law requires each
county to maintain a local child support agency.
   Existing law requires the Director of Child Support Services to
review and approve annual budgets submitted by the local child
support agencies to ensure each local child support agency operates
an effective and efficient program that complies with all federal and
state laws, regulations, and directives. Existing law provides for
the payment of a federal incentive to every county, and also
establishes a state child support incentive funding program
permitting a county that comes within specified standards of
performance to receive state child support incentive funds.
   This bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to
contract with an appropriate and qualified entity to conduct an
evaluation of the child support program, as specified, and would
provide for the convening of an advisory group in that regard. The
bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to report the
findings and recommendations of the evaluation to the Legislature on
or before January 1, 2007. The bill also would require the Department
of Child Support Services to provide to the Legislative Analyst's
Office requested caseload performance and expenditure data to ensure
timely completion of the report.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.
   The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (a) Child support is critical to the financial security of
children throughout California.  Maximizing child support
collections and improving child support program operations will help
ensure financial security for children in California. 
   (b) Maximizing federal incentive payments and adequately funding
the child support services program are crucial elements in ensuring
effective child support enforcement.
    (c)    The existing approach to
budgeting and funding of child support services was established
before the current federal incentive structure was implemented, and
it is in the best interest of children for the Legislature to find
out if the program is effective, the resources available to the
program are sufficient, and the allocation of resources among
counties is equitable and adequate to maximize child support
collections for families and to carry out all federal and state
statutory and regulatory requirements governing the program.
  SEC. 2.  Section  11716   17716  is added
to the Family Code, to read:
    11716.     17716. 
   (a) The Legislative Analyst's Office shall contract with an
appropriate and qualified entity to conduct an evaluation of the
child support program, including  collections and
cost-effectiveness, possible additional enforcement tools,  the
current level of funding for child support services  ,  and
allocation methodology, and to make recommendations for revising 
program operations, such as management practices, protocols,
procedures or other elements of program operations, collection
options, and  the allocation methodology. The evaluation shall
include appropriate caseload levels in order to ensure accurate,
equitable, and adequate funding for the state child support program
and local child support programs. This evaluation shall, at a
minimum, consider the impact of the following factors on the
allocation methodology for local child support programs:
   (1) The current state and federal statutory and regulatory
environment for child support services.
   (2) The state-of-the-art advancement and best practices.
   (3) The potential impact of the California Child Support Automated
System on the workload of workers in the system.
   (4) The caseload and workload levels, as well as statutory,
policy, and regulatory requirements, in other states.
   (5) The impact on workload of timely establishing and collecting
child support to meet children's needs.
   (6) Recruitment and retention issues affecting child support staff
in local programs.
   (b) The Legislative Analyst's Office shall convene an advisory
group that shall include representatives of the department, the
judiciary,  the Child Support Directors Association of
California, the California State Association of Counties, child
support services consumers, children's advocacy organizations, child
support worker organizations, and appropriate policy and fiscal
committees of the Legislature. The advisory group shall do both of
the following:
   (1) Provide oversight  over   of  the
process of selecting an entity to conduct evaluations under
subdivision (a).
   (2) Provide oversight  over   of  , and
technical assistance to, the entity selected to conduct the
evaluations under subdivision (a).
   (c) The department shall provide the Legislative Analyst's Office
requested caseload performance and expenditure data to ensure timely
completion of the report required by subdivision (d) of this section.

   (d) The Legislative Analyst's Office shall report the findings and
recommendations of the evaluation to the appropriate policy and
fiscal committees of the Legislature on or before January 1, 2007.