BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1633
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Date of Hearing: April 26, 2005
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Noreen Evans, Chair
AB 1633 (Evans) - As Amended: April 20, 2005
SUBJECT : Foster youth benefits.
SUMMARY : Requires the California Department of Social Services
(DSS) to convene a workgroup 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 social
security benefits and supplemental security income benefits
(SSI/SSP). Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the workgroup to include 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.
2)Requires the guidelines to be established by December 31,
2006.
3)Requires the guidelines to include, but not be limited to,
establishing procedures for:
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 and/or
supplemental security income/State Supplemental 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 and/or SSI/SSP benefits for any child not
receiving benefits but who may be eligible upon application
for those benefits; and
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e) Maximizing the amount of federal benefits received for
the current maintenance of children in the county's
custody.
4)Specifies that money set aside in the foster youth dedicated
account shall not exceed the federal SSI resource limit.
5)Extends the opportunity for foster youth to remain in foster
care beyond the age of 18 years old if they are pursuing a
high school equivalency certificate.
6)Declares the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation
relating to educational opportunities and resources for foster
youth including provision of designated educational
information to judges, lawyers and the Legislature and
provision of information about educational rights to foster
youth.
7)Makes additional findings and declarations.
8)Specifies that no appropriation shall be made for the purposes
of this act.
EXISTING LAW
1)Permits a child who is in foster care and who is attending
high school, vocational or technical school to stay in foster
care until the age of 19 if the youth may reasonably be
expected to complete the educational or training program
before his or her 19th birthday.
2)Requires counties, on behalf of foster youth, to research and
make an effort to obtain any income for which the youth are
eligible.
3)Provides for benefits under the federal Social Security Act
for eligible beneficiaries. This federal 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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Many children who come into California's custody
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suffer not only from abuse or neglect, but many from serious
physical or mental disabilities. These disabled children may
qualify for additional assistance through federal social security
benefits and/or the federal Supplemental Security Income program
and the State Supplemental Payment (SSI/SSP). But many children
are not getting the assistance to which they are entitled.
In 2002, only 3% of the nearly 85,000 children receiving SSI/SSP
benefits in California were also receiving child welfare
services. Many more children in the state's care likely qualify
for social security benefits or SSI/SSP benefits. Unfortunately,
most of them go without those federal benefits because no one is
there to assist them in the arduous application process.
Social security and SSI/SSP benefits are additional funds that
can be used to meet the child's individual needs while in the
state's care, and, if the child returns home, the SSI benefits
follow the child, providing essential benefits to the family.
Further, the diagnostic evaluations that are done in assessing a
child for potential eligibility for SSI/SSP and during the
application process will improve the likelihood that the child
will receive timely and appropriate treatment. SSI/SSP benefits
also ensure eligibility for a federal adoption assistance subsidy
if a child or youth cannot be returned to biological parents.
"Being determined eligible for social security or SSI/SSP
benefits while residing in the state's care is highly beneficial
for children," according to the bill's sponsor, the National
Center for Youth Law.
SSI benefits are an important resource for children that leave
state custody at age eighteen. The federal rules permit a child
to have up to $2,000 in resources before becoming ineligible for
SSI. Ensuring that a child emancipating out of the state's care
transitions with that $2,000 can make the difference between
having shelter or being homeless.
According to the author, "assisting youth in securing these
benefits is a cost-effective way to improve the lives of our
neediest children and enable some of them to return sooner to a
safe and stable home."
Finally, AB 1633 allows foster youth to remain in care beyond
his or her 18th birthday if they are pursuing a high school
equivalency certificate. This reform recognizes the need to
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provide foster youth with every opportunity to complete their
high school studies. Many foster youth experience great
instability in their education due to changing placements and
schools. Allowing them to remain in a family home with supports
and assistance is essential to ensuring they can complete school
and transition successfully into independent living situations.
According to the Western Center on Law and Poverty, "(t)he
combination of reforms offered by AB 1633?will provide needed
support to hundreds of vulnerable children."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
National Center for Youth Law (Sponsor)
Children's Advocacy Institute
Legal Advocates for Permanent Parenting (LAPP)
Western Center on Law and Poverty
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME)
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Caitlin O'Halloran/ HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089