BILL NUMBER: AB 1633 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 20, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 30, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Evans
FEBRUARY 22, 2005
An act to amend Section 11403 of, and to add Chapter 6.2
(commencing with Section 13750) to Part 3 of Division 9 of, the
Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to foster children ,
and making an appropriation therefor. .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1633, as amended, Evans. Foster children: high school: social
security assistance.
(1) Existing law permits a child who is in foster care and
receiving aid pursuant to the Aid to Families with Dependent
Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, who is attending high school
or the equivalent level of vocational or technical training on a
full-time basis prior to his or her 18th birthday, to continue to
receive aid following his or her 18th birthday, if the child
continues to reside in foster care placement, remains otherwise
eligible for AFDC-FC payments, and continues to attend high school or
the equivalent level of vocational or technical training on a
full-time basis and if the child may reasonably be expected to
complete the educational or training program before his or her 19th
birthday.
Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General
Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program,
which includes the AFDC-FC program.
This bill would extend the opportunity to remain in foster care
placement beyond the age of 18 years to a foster child who is
pursuing a high school equivalency certificate. By extending AFDC-FC
benefits to additional recipients, this bill would make an
appropriation, and would increase the duties of counties
administering the program, thus imposing a state-mandated local
program. The bill would declare that no appropriation would be
made pursuant to the existing continuous appropriation for purposes
of implementing these provisions.
This bill would also declare the intent of the Legislature to
enact legislation relating to educational opportunities and resources
for foster youth, including to provide for designated education and
information for judges, lawyers, and the Legislature, and to require
foster youth to be informed of their education rights.
(2) Existing law provides for the placement of certain children
in foster care under the custody of the State Department of Social
Services. Existing law, the federal Social Security Act, provides for
benefits for eligible beneficiaries, including survivorship benefits
and supplemental security income benefits for, among others, blind
and disabled children. The act authorizes a person or entity to be
appointed as a representative payee for a beneficiary who cannot
manage or direct the management of his or her money.
This bill would require the department to establish and
maintain a social security and supplemental security income
assistance program for convene a workgroup to develop
best practice guidelines for county welfare departments to assist
eligible children who are in the state's or a county's custody
and are qualified under the bill in obtaining federal social
security and supplemental security income benefits. The bill would
require these guidelines to be established by December 31, 2006, and
would establish the required contents of the guidelines . The
bill would require the department to require each county to, among
other duties, assist in the application process for an eligible
foster child, and would require the county to apply to be appointed
the child's representative payee when no other appropriate party is
available to serve. It would further require the county to establish
a maintenance account and a dedicated account for each child, to
contain proceeds from social security and supplemental security
income benefits, each of which would only be used for the purposes
set forth in the bill. The bill would require the county to reserve
a portion of a child's social security benefits for 90
days prior to his or her 18th birthday, and to transfer those
benefits to the child to assist in the transfer to self-sufficient
living. The bill would require the department to make an
annual report containing designated information relating to the
program, and to make the report available to the public. The bill
would require the county to annually review a minimum of 5 counties
to ensure compliance with the bill.
By increasing county duties, this bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: 2/3 majority . Appropriation:
yes no . Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) (1) Children and youth in foster care are more likely to have
more significant emotional and behavioral health problems,
developmental disabilities or delays, or chronic health conditions
than other children.
(2) Assisting eligible children in securing federal social
security benefits, or Supplemental Security Income/State
Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) benefits, is a cost-effective method
to improve the lives of many children and youth in state custody and
to improve their chances of returning to a safe and stable home.
(3) Disabled children face special barriers when transitioning
from state care and custody.
(4) Federal financial benefits can be an important source of
support for these children. These benefits also can serve as a buffer
as children transition from state care and custody.
(5) Many children in foster care go without social security or
SSI/SSP benefits for which they are eligible because no one is
available to assist them with the application process. Only a small
percentage of the children in California that receive SSI/SSP
benefits also receive child welfare services, and many more children
in the state's care are likely eligible for social security or
SSI/SSP benefits.
(6) For those children who leave state custody at 18 years of age,
social security benefits serve as an important resource in making
the transition out of the state's custody.
(b) It is also the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation
to do all of the following:
(1) Provide for the education of judges and lawyers who have
contact with foster youth, regarding the importance of education to
these youth, including the law that permits a foster child to remain
in placement until his or her 19th birthday in order to complete high
school.
(2) Require appropriate state and local entities to provide
information to the Legislature regarding the number of foster youth
who do not graduate from high school, and the impediments to high
school graduation that face foster youth after emancipation.
(3) Provide for procedures for informing foster youth of their
education rights and available resources, so that they will be better
able to advocate for their own needs.
SEC. 2. Section 11403 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
11403. A child who is in foster care and receiving aid pursuant
to this chapter and who is attending high school or the equivalent
level of vocational or technical training on a full-time basis, or
who is in the process of pursuing a high school equivalency
certificate, prior to his or her 18th birthday, may continue to
receive aid following his or her 18th birthday so long as the child
continues to reside in foster care placement, remains otherwise
eligible for AFDC-FC payments, and continues to attend high school or
the equivalent level of vocational or technical training on a
full-time basis, or continues to pursue a high school equivalency
certificate, and the child may reasonably be expected to complete the
educational or training program or to receive a high school
equivalency certificate, before his or her 19th birthday. Aid shall
be provided such to an individual
pursuant to this section provided both the individual and the agency
responsible for the foster care placement have signed a mutual
agreement, if the individual is capable of making an informed
agreement, which documents the continued need for out-of-home
placement.
SEC. 3. Chapter 6.2 (commencing with Section 13750) is added to
Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
CHAPTER 6.2. Foster Care Social Security and Supplemental
Security Income Assistance Program
13750. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Foster Care Social Security and Supplemental Security Income
Assistance Program.
13752. The State Department of Social Services shall establish
and maintain a social security and supplemental security income
assistance program to ensure that all children residing in the state'
s or a county's custody who are eligible for benefits under Title II
of the federal Social Security Act, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Section 402
et seq. (social security benefits) and Title XVI of the Social
Security Act, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Section 1381 (supplemental
security income benefits) receive all federal benefits for which they
are eligible. The department shall require each county welfare
department to do all of the following:
(a) Conduct disability screenings at the earliest possible date
for all children in the custody of the county who are anticipated to
remain in the county's custody for six months or longer for
eligibility for social security and Supplemental Security
Income/State Supplemental Payment (SSI/SSP) benefits. All children
who have actually remained in the county's continuous custody for six
months shall be screened no later than the seventh month of
placement.
(b) Apply for and assist in the application process for social
security and SSI/SSP benefits for each child who, pursuant to the
disability screening, is likely to be determined eligible for
benefits.
(c) Request reconsideration and appeal adverse decisions where
appropriate.
13752. The State Department of Social Services shall convene a
workgroup comprised of the County Welfare Directors Association,
county welfare directors, child advocacy organizations, current and
former foster youth and other relevant stakeholders, as determined by
the department, to develop best practice guidelines for county
welfare departments to assist children residing in the state's or a
county's custody who are eligible for benefits under Title II of the
federal Social Security Act, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Section 402 et
seq. (social security benefits) and Title XVI of the Social Security
Act, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Section 1381 (supplemental security income
benefits) in receiving all federal benefits for which they are
eligible. The guidelines shall be established by December 31, 2006,
and shall include, but not be limited to, establishing procedures for
all of the following:
(a) Determining the time and manner for conducting disability
screenings for children in the custody of the county who may be
eligible for social security or supplemental security income/State
Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) benefits.
(b) Assisting in the application process for social security and
SSI/SSP benefits for each child who, pursuant to the disability
screening, is likely to be determined eligible for benefits.
(c) Requesting reconsideration and appealing adverse decisions
where appropriate.
(d) Informing parents and caretakers, at the time the child leaves
foster care, of potential eligibility for social security or SSI/SSP
benefits for any child not receiving benefits but who may be
eligible upon application for those benefits.
(e) Maximizing the amount federal benefits received for the
current maintenance of children in the county's custody.
13754. The county shall apply to be appointed representative
payee on behalf of a child beneficiary in its custody when no other
appropriate party is available to serve. In its capacity as
representative payee, the county shall do all of the following:
(a) Establish a no-cost, interest-bearing maintenance account for
each child in the department's custody for whom the department serves
as representative payee. Interest earned shall be credited to the
account. The county shall keep an itemized current account , in
the manner required by federal law, of all income
and expense items for each child's maintenance account.
(b) Establish procedures for disbursing money from the accounts,
including disbursing the net balance to the beneficiary upon release
from care. The county shall use social security and SSI/SSP benefits
only for the following purposes:
(1) For the use and benefit of the child.
(2) For purposes determined by the county to be in the child's
best interest.
(3) In accordance with an assessment of the child's individual
needs, provided that each child beneficiary shall receive a personal
allowance of at least thirty dollars ($30) each month for the child's
personal use.
(c) Establish and maintain a dedicated account in a financial
institution for past-due monthly benefits that exceed six times the
maximum monthly benefit payable, in accordance with federal law. The
representative payee may deposit into the account established under
this section any other funds representing past due benefits to the
eligible individual, provided that the amount of the past due
benefits is equal to or exceeds the maximum monthly benefit payable.
Funds from the dedicated account shall not be used for basic
maintenance costs. The use of funds from the dedicated account must
be for the benefit of the child and are limited to expenditures for
the following purposes:
(1) Medical treatment.
(2) Education or job skills training.
(3) Personal needs assistance.
(4) Special equipment.
(5) Housing modification.
(6) Therapy or rehabilitation.
(7) Other items or services, deemed appropriate by the Social
Security Administration.
(d) Beginning at least 90 days prior to a custodial child's 18th
birthday, or anticipated date of custody determination, the county
shall reserve the child's social security and SSI/SSP benefits ,
in an amount not to exceed the federal SSI resource limit, in
lieu of reimbursing the county and state for care and maintenance.
Reserved benefits shall be transferred to the child to assist in his
or her transition to self-sufficient living upon leaving foster care.
13756. The department shall annually report on the Foster Care
Social Security and Supplemental Security Income Assistance Program
and make its report available to the public. The report shall include
the following:
(a) The number of children in each county's custody.
(b) The number of children that each county screened pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 13752.
(c) The number of children likely to be determined eligible for
benefits pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 13752.
(d) The number of children approved for social security or SSI/SSP
benefits as a result of the counties' assistance pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 13752.
(e) The number of children denied social security or SSI/SSP
benefits for whom the counties provided assistance, pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 13752.
(f) The number of children for whom each county serves as
representative payee, and the number of children in each county's
custody that have a representative payee other than the county.
(g) The number of children who emancipated from foster care with
reserved benefits.
(h) Any other information or recommendations deemed appropriate by
the department.
13757. The department shall annually review a minimum of five
counties, consisting of at least one small, medium, and large county,
to ensure compliance with the requirements of Section 13754 and to
ensure that the counties' practice in maintaining the accounts
required in Section 13754 are consistent with commonly accepted
accounting principles. The department shall make its findings
available to the public.
SEC. 4. No appropriation pursuant to Section 15200 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code shall be made for purposes of
implementing this act.
SEC. 4. SEC. 5. If the Commission
on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by
the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for
those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section
17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.