BILL NUMBER: AB 2161 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 7, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 19, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 27, 2006
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hancock
FEBRUARY 21, 2006
An act to amend Section 8712 of the Family Code, and to
add Sections 16519 and 16519.5 to the Welfare and Institutions Code,
relating to public social services, and making an appropriation
therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2161, as amended, Hancock Child welfare services: resource
family pilot program.
Existing law requires the placement of dependent children by the
juvenile court according to specified procedures. Existing law
requires the state, through the State Department of Social Services
and county welfare departments, to establish and support a system of
statewide child welfare, which includes services related to foster
care placement of dependent children and adoption. Existing law
provides for the licensure of foster care providers, and the approval
of adoptive parents.
This bill would require the State Department of Social Services,
in consultation with county welfare agencies, to implement a pilot
program to establish a unified resource family approval process to
replace the existing multiple processes for licensing foster family
homes, approving relatives and nonrelated extended family members as
foster care providers, and approving adoptive families, as provided
in the bill. The bill would define a resource family for its purposes
as an individual or couple that a participating county has approved
to care for a related or unrelated child who is under the
jurisdiction of the juvenile court or otherwise in the care of a
county child welfare agency.
This bill would require the department to, prior to implementing
the pilot program, promulgate standards for home approval and
permanency assessment for placing children in a resource family.
This bill would require the pilot program to be conducted in up to
5 counties that volunteer to participate. It would authorize the
pilot program to continue through the 2009-10 fiscal year, or for 3
full fiscal years following the receipt of funding for the program,
whichever is later.
Existing law establishes the Aid to Families with Dependent
Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, under which counties provide
payments to foster care providers on behalf of qualified children in
foster care. The program is funded by a combination of federal,
state, and county funds, with moneys from the General Fund being
continuously appropriated to pay for the state's share of AFDC-FC
costs. Existing law requires that a child be in one of 7 designated
placements in order to be eligible for AFDC-FC.
This bill also would require a child placed in a resource family
home that meets specified standards to be eligible for AFDC-FC. By
expanding eligibility standards for AFDC-FC benefits, this bill would
make an appropriation. The bill would provide that a resource family
be paid a specified AFDC-FC rate, and would apply existing sharing
ratios for state financial participation.
This bill would make its implementation contingent upon the
continued availability of federal funds for costs associated with the
placement of children with resource families as provided in the
bill.
The bill would also set forth specified responsibilities for the
department and counties participating in the pilot program for
implementing and enforcing standards provided in the bill.
Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services or
licensed adoption agency to require each person filing an application
for adoption to be fingerprinted, and to secure from an appropriate
law enforcement agency any criminal record of that person to
determine whether the person has ever been convicted of a crime other
than a minor traffic violation, and authorizes the department or a
licensed adoption agency to secure the person's full criminal record,
if any.
This bill would require that any federal level criminal offender
record requests submitted to the Department of Justice be submitted
with fingerprint images and related information required by the
Department of Justice, as specified. The bill would require the
Department of Justice to forward any such record requests received
pursuant to those provisions to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI), to review the information returned to the department from the
FBI, and to compile and disseminate a response to the State
Department of Social Services or to the licensed adoption agency.
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. Section 8712 of the Family
Code is amended to read:
8712. (a) The department or licensed adoption agency shall
require each person filing an application for adoption to be
fingerprinted and shall secure from an appropriate law enforcement
agency any criminal record of that person to determine whether the
person has ever been convicted of a crime other than a minor traffic
violation. The department or a licensed adoption agency
may also secure the person's full criminal record, if any. Any
federal level criminal offender record requests
to the Department of Justice shall be
submitted with fingerprint images and related information
required by the Department of Justice for the purposes of
obtaining information as to the existence and content of a record of
an out-of-state or federal conviction
or arrest of a person or
information regarding any out-of-state or federal crimes
or arres ts for which the Department of Justice
establishes that the person is free on bail ,
or on his or her own recognizance pending trial
or appeal. The Department of Justice
shall forward to the Federal Bureau of Investigation any
such requests for federal summary criminal history
information received pursuant to this section. The Department of
Justice shall review the information returned from the Federal Bureau
of Investigation and shall compile and
disseminate a response to the department or a
licensed adoption agency.
(b) The criminal record, if any, shall be taken into consideration
when evaluating the prospective adoptive parent, and an assessment
of the effects of any criminal history on the ability of the
prospective adoptive parent to provide adequate and proper care and
guidance to the child shall be included in the report to the court.
(c) Any fee charged by a law enforcement agency for fingerprinting
or for checking or obtaining the criminal record of the applicant
shall be paid by the applicant. The department or licensed adoption
agency may defer, waive, or reduce the fee when its payment would
cause economic hardship to prospective adoptive parents detrimental
to the welfare of the adopted child, when the child has been in the
foster care of the prospective adoptive parents for at least one
year, or if necessary for the placement of a special-needs child.
SECTION 1. SEC. 2. Section 16519 is
added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
16519. The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) Safety, permanency, and well-being are crucial for the more
than 82,000 California children in foster care, and are paramount to
achieving both federal and state child welfare system improvement
goals. Foster children need safe homes with permanent connections to
family or other caring adults. The current licensing and approval
system, which screens families to care for foster children, fails to
support these outcomes.
(b) Children in foster care live in a variety of out-of-home care
settings: licensed foster family homes, approved relative and
nonrelated extended family member homes, foster family agencies, and
group homes. All of these placement types, considered facilities
under current law, are required to meet the respective health and
safety standards in order to be licensed or approved. This has
produced administrative inefficiencies and confusion among
stakeholders, and has contributed to difficulty in recruiting
suitable foster family homes for children in out-of-home care.
Increasing the number of available suitable homes will improve the
likelihood that the best home will be initially identified to meet a
child's particular needs.
(c) Child safety and well-being are not achieved solely by
ensuring that the home the child is placed in is free from physical
hazards and that adults living in the home do not have disqualifying
criminal convictions or past reports of child abuse. Child safety and
well-being are also dependent upon consideration of the resource
family's psychosocial history that includes physical health, mental
health, alcohol and substance abuse, family violence or abuse, and
experience caring for children.
(d) Research shows that children in out-of-home care placed with
relatives and nonrelated extended family members are more stable,
more likely to be placed with siblings, and more likely to stay
connected to their community and extended family. California
statutory and regulatory provisions should maximize the likelihood
that a child will initially be placed in the care of a safe relative
or nonrelated extended family member who is willing to provide
permanent care if reunification cannot be achieved.
(e) Families living in the same neighborhood as a family from
which a child has been removed are often best suited to provide for
the immediate placement needs of that child.
(f) Families who provide care to children in out-of-home placement
are a valuable resource to the people of this state and to the
children for whom they provide care.
SEC. 2. SEC. 3. Section 16519.5 is
added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
16519.5. (a) The State Department of Social Services, in
consultation with county child welfare agencies, foster parent
associations, and other interested community parties, shall implement
a pilot program to establish a unified, family friendly, and
child-centered resource family approval process to replace the
existing multiple processes for licensing foster family homes,
approving relatives and nonrelated extended family members as foster
care providers, and approving adoptive families.
(b) Up to five counties shall be selected to participate on a
voluntary basis in the pilot program, according to criteria developed
by the department in consultation with the County Welfare Directors
Association. In selecting the pilot counties, the department shall
promote diversity among the participating counties in terms of size
and geographic location.
(c) (1) For the purposes of this section, "resource family" means
an individual or couple that a participating county determines to
have successfully met both the home approval standards and
the permanency assessment criteria adopted pursuant to subdivision
(d) necessary for providing care for a related or unrelated child who
is under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, or otherwise in the
care of a county child welfare agency. A resource family shall
demonstrate all of the following:
(A) An understanding of the safety, permanence, and well-being
needs of children who have been victims of child abuse and neglect,
and the capacity and willingness to meet those needs, including the
need for protection, and the willingness to make use of support
resources offered by the agency, or a support structure in place, or
both.
(B) An understanding of children's needs and development,
effective parenting skills or knowledge about parenting, and the
capacity to act as a prudent parent in routine decisionmaking.
(C) An understanding of his or her role as a resource family and
the capacity to work cooperatively with the agency in implementing
the child's case plan.
(D) The financial ability within the household to ensure the
stability and financial security of the family.
(2) Subsequent to meeting the criteria set forth in this
subdivision (a) and designation as a
resource family, a resource family shall be considered eligible to
provide foster care for related and unrelated children in out-of-home
placement, shall be considered approved for adoption or
guardianship, and shall not have to undergo any additional approval
or licensure as long as the family lives in a county participating in
the pilot program.
(3) Resource family assessment and approval means that the
applicant meets the standard for home approval, and has successfully
completed a permanency assessment. This approval is in lieu of the
existing foster care license, relative or nonrelated extended family
member approval, and the adoption home study approval.
(4) Approval of a resource family does not guarantee an initial or
continued placement of a child with a resource family.
(d) Prior to implementation of this pilot program, the department
shall adopt standards pertaining to home approval and permanency
assessment of a resource family.
(1) Resource family home approval standards shall include, but not
be limited to, all of the following:
(A) (i) Criminal records clearance of all adults residing in the
home, pursuant to Section 8712 of the Family Code, utilizing the
California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS)
pursuant to Section 11170 of the Penal Code, a check of the
Child Abuse Central Index (CACI), a check of the Child Welfare
Services Case Management System (CWS/CMS), and receipt of
LiveScan, unless an exemption is granted. (CWS/CMS),
receipt of a fingerprint-based state criminal offender record
information search response, and submission of a fingerprint-based
federal criminal offender record information search.
(ii) Consideration of any prior allegations of child abuse or
neglect against either the applicant or any other adult residing in
the home. An approval may not be granted to applicants whose criminal
record indicates a conviction for any of the offenses specified in
clause (i) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (g) of
Section 1522 of the Health and Safety Code.
(iii) Exemptions from the criminal records clearance requirements
set forth in this section may be granted by the director or the
pilot county, if that county has been granted permission by the
director to issue criminal records exemptions pursuant to
Section 316.4, using the exemption criteria currently used for
foster care licensing as specified in subdivision (g) of Section 1522
of the Health and Safety Code.
(B) Buildings and grounds, outdoor activity space, and storage
requirements set forth in Sections 89387, 89387.1, and 89387.2 of
Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.
(C) In addition to the foregoing requirements, the resource family
home approval standards shall also require the following:
(i) That the applicant demonstrate an understanding about the
rights of children in care and his or her responsibility to safeguard
those rights.
(ii) That the total number of children residing in the home of a
resource family shall be no more than the total number of children
the resource family can properly care for, regardless of status, and
shall not exceed six children, unless exceptional circumstances that
are documented in the foster child's case file exist to permit a
resource family to care for more children, including but not limited
to, the need to place siblings together.
(D) The results of a caregiver risk assessment are consistent with
the factors listed in subparagraphs (A) to (D), inclusive, of
paragraph (1) of subdivision (c). A caregiver risk assessment shall
include, but not be limited to, physical and mental health, alcohol
and other substance use and abuse, and family and domestic violence.
(2) The resource family permanency assessment standards shall
include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(A) The applicant shall complete caregiver training.
(B) The applicant shall complete a psychological
psychosocial evaluation.
(C) The applicant shall complete any other activities that relate
to a resource family's ability to achieve permanency with the child.
(e) (1) A child may be placed with a resource family that has
received home approval prior to completion of a permanency assessment
only if a compelling reason for the placement exists based on the
needs of the child.
(2) The permanency assessment shall be completed within 90 days of
the child's placement in the approved home, unless good cause exists
based upon the needs of the child.
(3) If additional time is needed to complete the permanency
assessment, the county shall document the extenuating circumstances
for the delay and generate a timeframe for the completion of the
permanency assessment.
(4) The county shall report to the department on a quarterly basis
the number of families with a child in an approved home whose
permanency assessment goes beyond 90 days and summarize the reasons
for these delays.
(5) A child may be placed with a relative, as defined in Section
319, or nonrelated extended family member, as defined in Section
362.7, prior to home approval and completion of the permanency
assessment only on an emergency basis if all of the following
requirements are met:
(A) Consideration of the results of a criminal records check
conducted pursuant to Section 16504.5 of the relative or nonrelative
extended family member and of every other adult in the home.
(B) Consideration of the results of the Child Abuse Central Index
(CACI) consistent with Section 1522.1 of the Health and Safety Code
of the relative or nonrelative extended family member, and of every
other adult in the home.
(C) The home and grounds are free of conditions that pose undue
risk to the health and safety of the child.
(D) For any placement made pursuant to this paragraph, the county
shall initiate the home approval process no later than five business
days after the placement, which shall include a face-to-face
interview with the resource family applicant and child.
(E) For any placement made pursuant to this paragraph, AFDC-FC
funding shall not be available until the home has been approved.
(F) Any child placed under this section shall be afforded all the
rights set forth in Section 16001.9.
(f) The State Department of Social Services shall be responsible
for all of the following:
(1) Selecting pilot counties, based on criteria established by the
department in consultation with the County Welfare Directors
Association.
(2) Establishing timeframes for participating counties to submit
an implementation plan, enter into terms and conditions for
participation in the pilot program, train appropriate staff, and
accept applications from resource families.
(3) Entering into terms and conditions for participation in the
pilot by counties.
(4) Administering the pilot through the issuance of written
directives that shall have the same force and effect as regulations.
The directives shall be exempt from the rulemaking provisions of the
Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340)) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(5) Approving and requiring the use of a single standard for
resource family home approval and permanency assessment.
(6) Adopting and requiring the use of standardized documentation
for the home approval and permanency assessment of resource families.
(7) Requiring counties to monitor resource families including, but
not limited to, all of the following:
(A) Investigating complaints of resource families.
(B) Developing and monitoring resource family corrective action
plans to correct identified deficiencies and to rescind resource
family approval if compliance with corrective action plans is not
achieved.
(8) Ongoing oversight and monitoring of county systems and
operations including all of the following:
(A) Reviewing the county's implementation of the pilot program.
(B) Reviewing an adequate number of approved resource families in
each participating county to ensure that approval standards are being
properly applied. The review shall include case file documentation,
and may include onsite inspection of individual resource families.
The review shall occur on an annual basis, and more frequently if the
department becomes aware that a participating county is experiencing
a disproportionate number of complaints against individual resource
family homes.
(C) Reviewing county reports of serious complaints and incidents
involving approved resource families, as determined necessary by the
department. The department may conduct an independent review of the
complaint or incident and change the findings depending on the
results of its investigation.
(D) Investigating unresolved complaints against participating
counties.
(E) Requiring corrective action of counties that are not in full
compliance with the terms and conditions of the pilot program.
(9) Terminating the participation of any county that fails to make
corrective action or who otherwise violates the terms and conditions
of participation in the pilot.
(10) Preparing or having prepared within 180 days after the
conclusion of the pilot a report on the results of the pilot. The
report shall include all of the following:
(A) An analysis, utilizing available data, of state and federal
data indicators related to the length of time to permanency including
reunification, guardianship and adoption, child safety factors, and
placement stability.
(B) An analysis of resource family recruitment and retention
elements, including resource family satisfaction with approval
processes and changes regarding the population of available resource
families.
(C) An analysis of cost, utilizing available data, including
funding sources.
(D) An analysis of regulatory or statutory barriers to
implementing the pilot program on a statewide basis.
(g) Counties participating in the pilot shall be responsible for
all of the following:
(1) Submitting an implementation plan, entering into terms and
conditions for participation in the pilot, training appropriate
staff, and accepting applications from resource families within the
timeframes established by the department.
(2) Complying with the written directives pursuant to paragraph
(4) of subdivision (e) (f) .
(3) Implementing the requirements for resource family home
approval and permanency assessment and utilizing standardized
documentation established by the department.
(4) Ensuring staff have the education and experience necessary to
complete the home approval and permanency assessment competently.
(5) Approving and denying resource family applications, including
all of the following:
(A) Rescinding home approvals and resource family approvals where
appropriate, consistent with the established standard.
(B) Providing disapproved resource families requesting review of
that decision due process by conducting county grievance reviews
pursuant to the department's regulations.
(C) Notifying the department of any decisions denying a resource
family's application or rescinding the approval of a resource family.
(6) Updating resource family approval annually.
(7) Monitoring resource families through all of the following:
(A) Ensuring that social workers who identify a condition in the
home that may not meet the approval standards set forth in
subdivision (d) while in the course of a routine visit to children
placed with a resource family take appropriate action as needed.
(B) Requiring resource families to comply with corrective action
plans as necessary to correct identified deficiencies. If corrective
action is not completed as specified in the plan, the county may
rescind the resource family approval.
(C) Requiring resource families to report to the county child
welfare agency any incidents consistent with the reporting
requirements for licensed foster family homes.
(8) Investigating all complaints against a resource family and
taking action as necessary. This shall include investigating any
incidents reported about a resource family indicating that the
approval standard is not being maintained.
(A) The child's social worker shall not conduct the formal
investigation into the complaint received concerning a family
providing services under the standards required by subdivision (d).
To the extent that adequate resources are available, complaints shall
be investigated by a worker who did not initially perform the home
approval or permanency assessment.
(B) Upon conclusion of the complaint investigation, the final
disposition shall be reviewed and approved by a supervising staff
member.
(C) The department shall be notified of any serious incidents or
serious complaints or any incident that falls within the definition
of Section 11165.5 of the Penal Code. If those incidents or
complaints result in an investigation, the department shall also be
notified as to the status and disposition of that investigation.
(9) Performing corrective action as required by the department.
(10) Assessing county performance in related areas of the
California Child and Family Services Review, and remedying problems
identified.
(11) Submitting information and data that the department
determines is necessary to study, monitor, and prepare the report
specified in paragraph (10) of subdivision (e)
(f) .
(h) (1) The Department of Justice shall deem criminal records
information requests made by counties or the department for applicant
and approved resource families as criminal records information
requests for prospective adoptive families, including requests for
subsequent arrest notification.
(2) When a resource family moves to another county, the Department
of Justice shall provide the new county of residence subsequent
arrest notification for that resource family.
(i)
(h) Approved relatives and nonrelated extended family
members, licensed foster family homes, or approved adoptive homes
that have completed the license or approval process prior to full
implementation of the pilot program shall not be considered part of
the pilot program. The otherwise applicable assessment and oversight
processes shall continue to be administered for families and
facilities not included in the pilot program.
(j)
(i) Upon completion of the pilot program, the status of
the resource family's approval shall continue in full force and
effect, and the resource family shall be deemed approved for
licensing, relative and nonrelated extended family member approval,
guardianship, and adoption purposes.
(k)
(j) The department may waive regulations that pose a
barrier to implementation and operation of this pilot program. The
waiver of any regulations waived by the department
pursuant to this section shall apply to only those counties
participating in the pilot program and only for the duration of the
pilot program.
(l)
(k) Resource families approved under this pilot
program, who move within a participating county or who move to
another pilot program county, shall retain the status as a
resource family their resource family status if
the new building and grounds, outdoor activity areas, and storage
areas meet home approval standards. The State Department of
Social Services or pilot county may allow a pilot program-affiliated
individual to transfer his or her subsequent arrest notification if
the individual moves from one pilot county to another pilot county,
as speci fied in subdivision (h) of Section 1522 of the
Health and Safety Code.
(m)
(l) A resource family approved under this pilot program
and who moves to a nonparticipating pilot program county shall lose
the status as a resource family. The new county of residence shall
deem this family approved for licensing, relative and nonrelated
extended family member approval, guardianship, and adoption purposes,
if the new building and grounds, outdoor activity areas, and storage
areas meet applicable standards , unless the resource family is
subject to a corrective action plan .
(n)
(m) Implementation of the pilot program shall be
contingent upon the continued availability of federal Social Security
Act Title IV-E (42 U.S.C. Sec. 670) funds for costs associated with
placement of children with resource families assessed and approved
under the program.
(o)
(n) Notwithstanding Section 11402, a child placed with
a resource family shall be eligible for AFDC-FC payments. A resource
family shall be paid an AFDC-FC rate pursuant to Sections 11460 and
11461. Sharing ratios for nonfederal expenditures for all costs
associated with activities related to the approval of relatives and
nonrelated extended family members shall be in accordance with
Section 10101.
(p) Neither the Department of Justice nor the State Department of
Social Services may charge any additional fee for the criminal
records clearance required pursuant to this section.
(o) The Department of Justice shall charge fees sufficient to
cover the cost of initial or subsequent criminal offender record
information and Child Abuse Central Index searches, processing, or
responses, as specified in this section.
(q)
(p) Approved resource families under this pilot program
shall be exempt from all of the following:
(1) Licensure requirements set forth under the Community Care
Facilities Act, commencing with Section 1500 of the Health and Safety
Code and all regulations promulgated thereto.
(2) Relative and nonrelated extended family member approval
requirements set forth under Sections 309, 361.4, and 362.7, and all
regulations promulgated thereto.
(3) Adoptions approval and reporting requirements set forth under
Section 8712 of the Family Code, and all regulations promulgated
thereto.
(r)
(q) The pilot program shall be authorized to continue
through the end of the 2009-10 fiscal year, or through the end of the
third full fiscal year following the date that funds are made
available for its implementation, whichever of these dates is later.