BILL ANALYSIS
AB 880
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 26, 2005
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Noreen Evans, Chair
AB 880 (Cohn) - As Amended: April 20, 2005
SUBJECT : Foster children relative placement.
SUMMARY : Requires the California Department of Social Services
(DSS) in conjunction with stakeholders to draft guidelines
outlining best practices in the use of advanced technology to
assist counties in identifying all relatives, nonrelatives and
extended members at the earliest possible moment for the foster
child.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes Kin-GAP AB 1193 (Shelley), Chapter 794, Statutes
of 1997, and Kinship Support Services Program (KSSP) a program
allowing counties to apply for funds to work with community
based, public private partnership programs for relatives
caring for children in foster care and for those at-risk of
dependency.
2)Authorizes the Guardianship Assistance payment was authorized
by SB 1901, Chapter 1055, Statutes of 1998. It was further
modified by AB 111, Chapter 147, Statutes of 1999.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author, "(i)n California, eight
counties including: Alameda County, Monterey County, Orange
County, Placer County, Sacramento County, Santa Clara County,
Stanislaus County, San Mateo County have voluntarily initiated
programs to provide the vital function of seeking to find a
foster child's relatives (as defined in Welfare and Institutions
Code 361.3 (2) and nonrelative extended family members (as
defined in Welfare and Institutions Code 362.7) using new
advances in technology." These advanced search methods can
serve to find 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
AB 880
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the care of relatives are less likely to enter state custody,
and most of the arrangements do not require intensive
supervision of the placement by the courts or by the department
of social services. In a report mandated by the Washington
State Legislature, the Washington State Department of Social and
Health Services created an oversight committee to create pilot
projects and recommendations regarding kinship programs. Among
their recommendations was "strengthen relative search process."
Through public/private partnerships and pilot projects
Washington has used the latest technological advances to
identify between 28-600 family members for many foster youth.
Involvement with these family members gives foster youth a sense
of belonging and connection and may lead to a more permanent
placement.
Through this bill, DSS may identify best practices as reported
by the counties that are planning, designing, and implementing
strategies to prioritize the placement of children. The
creation of public and private partnerships will be encouraged
and will enhance programs designed to quickly identify the
relative and nonrelative extended family members of children
placed in foster care.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
CA National Organization for Women (CA NOW)
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Caitlin O'Halloran / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089