BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                            Senator Carole Migden, Chair

                                           1412 (Leno)
          
          Hearing Date:  August 15, 2005      Amended: May 27, 2005
          Consultant:  John Decker        Policy Vote: Judic (5-2), Hum  
          Svcs (6-1)
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          BILL SUMMARY:   AB 1412 expands the state's responsibilities for  
          managing children in the state's foster care system.
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                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions              2005-06     2006-07    2007-08    Fund
           Cost Pressures:
          Require social workers to 
              conduct interviews and other checks           $800    
          $1,600$1,600                 GF & SF*

          *A little less than 50 percent of the costs would be borne by  
          the General Fund.            

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          ____

          STAFF COMMENTS: The bill meets the criteria for referral to the  
          Suspense File.
          
          Under current law, a child may become a dependent of the court,  
          and placed within the foster care system.  The law requires the  
          court to review the status of the child.  For children over the  
          age of ten and placed in a group home, the court must determine  
          if the foster care agency has made efforts to maintain  
          relationships between the child and adults who are important to  
          the child.  This bill requires the court to consider all foster  
          care children over the age of ten, irrespective of their  
          placement.  Similarly, the bill requires social workers to file  
          reports discussing the foster care agency's efforts to maintain  
          relationships between a foster child and adults important to the  
          child, irrespective of the child's placement. 

          Under current law, an agency must ask a foster child placed in a  
          group home to identify individuals who are important to the  










          child.  This bill expands the requirement to all children,  
          irrespective of their placement.

          Existing law affords older (at least 12 years old) foster  
          children the opportunity to review and receive a copy of their  
          care plan.  This bill requires the social worker developing the  
          plan to identify individuals important to the child. 

          The bill's provisions are operative only if the state budget  
          provides funding, thereby creating cost pressures to fund the  
          provisions of the bill.  To implement the provisions of the  
          bill, the state would have to fund costs for conducting the  
          interviews with the children, making the reports and providing  
          the care plan.   There could be costs of about $1.6 million  
          annually, with the General Fund financing about half the cost.