BILL NUMBER: AB 1876	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Leslie

                        JANUARY 19, 2006

   An act to add and repeal Chapter 12.97 (commencing with Section
18986.70) of Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, relating to public social services, and making an appropriation
therefor.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1876, as introduced, Leslie  Foster Child Welfare Act of 2006.
   Existing law provides for oversight by various state and local
entities of certain populations of children, including those who are
wards of the juvenile court, and those who are in foster care, or are
otherwise under the supervision of county welfare departments.
   This bill, the "Foster Child Welfare Act of 2006," would require
the Placer County Department of Health and Human Services, with the
county's consent, to conduct a one-year pilot program to achieve
permanency solutions for at-risk foster clients in the county, by
working with faith-based institutions and other appropriate nonprofit
organizations.  The bill would define "at-risk foster clients" for
purposes of the pilot program. It would require the county department
to submit a report evaluating the pilot program to the appropriate
committees of the Legislature, the State Department of Social
Services, and other county human services departments.
   This bill would appropriate $100,000 from the General Fund to the
county for purposes of conducting the pilot program. It would declare
that special legislation is necessary due to the unique
circumstances applicable to Placer County with respect to foster
care.
   This bill would make its provisions inoperative on July 1, 2008,
and repealed as of January 1, 2009, unless these dates are extended
by a later enacted statute.
   Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Chapter 12.97 (commencing with Section 18986.70) is
added to Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code,
to read:
      CHAPTER 12.97.  PLACER COUNTY FOSTER CARE PERMANENCY PILOT
PROGRAM

   18986.70.  (a) This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the
"Foster Child Welfare Act of 2006."
   (b) The Placer County Department of Health and Human Services
shall conduct a one-year pilot program pursuant to this chapter to
achieve permanency solutions for at-risk foster clients in the
county. The pilot program shall be conducted with the consent of the
county.
   (c) The county department shall contact all faith-based
institutions and other appropriate nonprofit organizations within the
county and shall work with those entities to identify liaisons who
are willing to head permanency solution efforts at each organization.
Each liaison shall have both of the following duties:
   (1) To establish within the faith-based institution or nonprofit
organization a support network for parents and relatives of at-risk
foster clients eligible for permanency, for the purpose of
reunification or relative adoption.
   (2) To administer a recruitment program in the faith-based
institution or nonprofit organization to identify individuals who can
provide permanency solutions for at-risk foster clients, such as
nonrelative guardianship or adoption.
   (d) For purposes of this chapter, "at-risk foster clients" include
all of the following:
   (1) Foster clients with disabilities.
   (2) Sibling groups of three or more foster clients.
   (3) Foster clients over the age of 13 years.
   (4) African-American foster clients.
   (e) At the end of the pilot program, the county department shall
submit to the appropriate committees of the Legislature, the State
Department of Social Services, and other county departments of human
services, a report evaluating the pilot program.
   18986.72.  This chapter shall become inoperative on July 1, 2008,
and, as of January 1, 2009, is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2009, deletes
or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is
repealed.
  SEC. 2.  The sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) is
hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the State Department of
Social Services for allocation to the Placer County Department of
Health and Human Services for the 2007-08 fiscal year, for the
purpose of implementing the pilot program provided for pursuant to
Chapter 12.97 (commencing with Section 18986.70) of Part 6 of
Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
  SEC. 3.  Due to the unique circumstances in Placer County with
respect to foster care, it is necessary that, and the Legislature
finds and declares that, a general statute cannot be made applicable
within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California
Constitution.