BILL NUMBER: AB 880 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 21, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 13, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 20, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Cohn
FEBRUARY 18, 2005
An act to amend Section 300.2 16500.1
of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to dependent
children.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 880, as amended, Cohn. Dependent children.
Existing law provides for the placement of dependent children by
the juvenile court according to specified procedures. Existing
law requires the state to encourage the development of approaches to
child protection that employ specified methods.
This bill would specify that when the return of a
dependent child to his or her parent is not possible and placement of
the child is being considered, the primary purpose of the law with
respect to dependent children is to identify family members who may
be able to safely care for the child expand the latter
provision by requiring the state to encourage the development of
approaches that include ensuring that a search for
relatives available for placement is initiated before permanent
placement decisions are made for children who cannot be reunited with
their families . The bill would also set forth various
requirements for the State Department of Social Services to ensure
that as many family members as possible of dependent children are
identified, including drafting guidelines outlining best practices in
the use of advanced technology to assist counties in identifying all
relatives and nonrelative extended family members at the earliest
possible time for a foster child and developing a cost benefit
analysis funding estimates, as specified. The bill would
authorize the department to identify best practices for implementing
optimal foster child placement opportunities, as reported by
designated counties that have developed kinship care programs for
that purpose.
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 as follows:
(a) Currently, social workers make the effort to maintain
relationships between the child in foster care and certain
individuals who are important to the child.
(b) The Legislature recognizes the right of a child in foster care
to be involved in the development of his or her own case plan to
identify all relatives, extended family members, and nonrelative
extended family members, and the need to place the child in a safe
home and to complete any steps necessary to finalize the permanent
placement of the child and his or her siblings, if any.
(c) In California, at least eight counties have voluntarily
initiated programs to provide the vital function of seeking to find a
foster child's relatives and nonrelative extended family members
using new advances in technology. These proven search methods can
serve to provide family members who may agree to house children who
would otherwise be at risk of foster care placement. Relative homes
offer stability to children in crisis and enhance family
reunification. Outcome data from Washington and Illinois show that
children in the care of relatives are less likely to enter state
custody, and most of these arrangements do not require intensive
supervision of the placement by the courts or by the department of
social services. Moreover, results from these states demonstrate that
even the most difficult to place foster children have been
successfully placed with extended family members by utilizing family
finding technologies.
SEC. 2.
(a) The State Department of Social Services, in conjunction with
stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the California Youth
Connection and the County Welfare Directors Association, shall draft
guidelines outlining best practices in the use of advanced technology
to assist counties in identifying all relatives and nonrelative
, extended family members at the earliest possible
time for a foster child. The department, in conjunction with
stakeholders, shall also develop a cost benefit analysis
including estimates of the funding needed to support family
finding technology that counties can utilize and develop recommended
funding strategies, including the use of state master contracts,
public and private partnerships, and available federal funds.
(b) (1) The State Department of Social Services may identify best
practices for the development of optimal foster child placement
opportunities, as reported by the counties listed in paragraph (2),
that are planning, designing, and implementing strategies, such as
kinship care programs, to prioritize the placement of foster
children. The creation of public and private partnerships is
encouraged, and will enhance programs designed to quickly identify
relatives and nonrelative extended family members of children placed
in foster care. The purpose of these programs is to create a robust
component in the spectrum of foster care placement options, to be
used when out-of-home placement is necessary and to secure permanency
for a foster child and any siblings.
(2) Counties that have developed kinship care programs, whose
practices may be considered by the department pursuant to this
subdivision, include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(A) Alameda County.
(B) Monterey County.
(C) Orange County.
(D) Placer County.
(E) Sacramento County.
(F) Santa Clara County.
(G) Stanislaus County.
(H) San Mateo County.
SEC. 3. Section 300.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
300.2.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the purpose of the
provisions of this chapter relating to dependent children is to
provide maximum safety and protection for children who are currently
being physically, sexually, or emotionally abused, being neglected,
or being exploited, and to ensure the safety, protection, and
physical and emotional well-being of children who are at risk of that
harm. This safety, protection, and physical and emotional well-being
may include provision of a full array of social and health services
to help the child and family and to prevent reabuse of children. The
focus shall be on the preservation of the family as well as the
safety, protection, and physical and emotional well-being of the
child. The provision of a home environment free from the negative
effects of substance abuse is a necessary condition for the safety,
protection, and physical and emotional well-being of the child.
Successful participation in a treatment program for substance abuse
may be considered in evaluating the home environment. In addition,
the provisions of this chapter ensuring the confidentiality of
proceedings and records are intended to protect the privacy rights of
the child.
(b) When the return of a dependent child to his or her parent is
not possible and placement of the child is being considered, the
primary purpose of this chapter is to identify family members who may
be able to safely care for the child. To this end, all professionals
having interaction with a child who is described in this section
shall take steps to identify, contact, and engage relatives, as
defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 361.3, who may
be potential caretakers or support persons for the child.
SEC. 3. Section 16500.1 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code is amended to read:
16500.1.
(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to use the strengths of
families and communities to serve the needs of children who are
alleged to be abused or neglected, as described in Section 300, to
reduce the necessity for removing these children from their home, to
encourage speedy reunification of families when it can be safely
accomplished, to locate permanent homes and families with
relatives, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section
361.3, for children who cannot return to their biological
families, to reduce the number of placements experienced by these
children, to ensure that children leaving the foster care system have
support within their communities, to improve the quality and
homelike nature of out-of-home care, and to foster the educational
progress of children in out-of-home care.
(b) In order to achieve the goals specified in subdivision (a),
the state shall encourage the development of approaches to child
protection that do all of the following:
(1) Allow children to remain in their own schools, in close
proximity to their families.
(2) Ensure that a search for relatives available for
placement is initiated before permanent placement decisions are made
for children who are un able to be reunited with their
families.
(3) Increase the number and quality of
foster families available to serve these children.
(3)
(4) Use a team approach to foster care that
permits the biological and foster family to be part of that team.
(4)
(5) Use team decisionmaking in case
planning.
(5)
(6) Provide support to foster children and
foster families.
(6)
(7) Ensure that licensing requirements do
not create barriers to recruitment of qualified, high quality foster
homes.
(7)
(8) Provide training for foster parents and
professional staff on working effectively with families and
communities.
(8)
(9) Encourage foster parents to serve as
mentors and role models for biological parents.
(9)
(10) Use community resources, including
community-based agencies and volunteer organizations, to assist in
developing placements for children and to provide support for
children and their families.
(10)
(11) Ensure an appropriate array of
placement resources for children in need of out-of-home care.
(11)
(12) Ensure that no child leaves foster care
without a life-long connection to a committed adult.
(c) In carrying out the requirements of subdivision (b), the
department shall do all of the following:
(1) Consider the existing array of program models provided in
statute and in practice, including, but not limited to, wraparound
services, as defined in Section 18251, children's systems of care, as
provided for in Section 5852, the Oregon Family Unity or Santa Clara
County Family Conference models, which include family conferences at
key points in the casework process, such as when out-of-home
placement or return home are considered, and the Annie E. Casey
Foundation Family to Family initiative, which uses team
decisionmaking in case planning, community-based placement practices
requiring that children be placed in foster care in the communities
where they resided prior to placement, and involve foster families as
team members in family reunification efforts.
(2) Ensure that emergency response services, family maintenance
services, family reunification services, and permanent placement
services are coordinated with the implementation of the models
described in paragraph (1).
(3) Ensure consistency between child welfare services program
regulations and the program models described in paragraph (1).
(d) The department, in conjunction with stakeholders, including,
but not limited to, county child welfare services agencies, foster
parent and group home associations, the California Youth Connection,
and other child advocacy groups, shall review the existing child
welfare services program regulations to ensure that these regulations
are consistent with the legislative intent specified in subdivision
(a). This review shall also determine how to incorporate the best
practice guidelines for assessment of children and families receiving
child welfare and foster care services, as required by Section
16501.2.
(e) The department shall report to the Legislature on the results
of the actions taken under this section on or before January 1, 2002.