BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Elaine K. Alquist, Chair
BILL NO: AB 2194
A
AUTHOR: Bass and Maze
B
VERSION: June 20, 2006
HEARING DATE: June 27, 2006
2
FISCAL: Appropriations
1
9
CONSULTANT:
4
McCarthy
SUBJECT
Independent living programs
SUMMARY
To the extent funds are available, continues foster care
independent living program (ILP) services for foster care
youth placed with nonrelative guardians and expands ILP
services to include foster adopted after 14 years of age.
ABSTRACT
Current law
1. Establishes statewide standards for the implementation
and administration of the federal independent living
program (ILP) for foster youth preparing to age out of the
foster care system.
2. Allows foster youth living with guardians who are
relatives and who are recipients of KinGap program services
to request and receive ILP services.
3. Requires each county participating in ILP to produce an
annual report that includes an accounting of federal and
Continued---
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state funds used to further the goals of the program.
4. Establishes the Adoption Assistance Program, which
provides financial benefits to individuals willing to
become the legal, permanent family for eligible children
who otherwise would remain in long-term foster care.
This bill
1. Makes foster care youth who are adopted at 14 years of
age or older eligible for ILP if they would have been
eligible if still in foster care.
2. Ensures youth placed in non-relative guardianships are
eligible for ILP services.
FISCAL IMPACT
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, funding
for ILP is a relatively stable amount ($38 million proposed
for 2006-07) and is not sufficient to provide services for
all eligible foster youth. Adding additional eligible
youth to the ILP caseload does not guarantee counties will
be able to provide services for them. Counties may choose
to provide fewer services thus allowing funding to stretch
farther to cover more eligible youth. If the ILP funding
were to increase proportionally to account for the new
eligible youth, it would likely cost approximately $3.5
million.
An amendment taken after the Assembly Appropriations'
analysis states that services required by this bill shall
only be provided to the extent resources are available.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Youth placed with nonrelative guardians
The author states that this bill is needed to extend ILP
services to former foster youth who have been placed with a
nonrelative guardian. Counties have historically offered
ILP services to this group. However, according to the
County Welfare Directors Association, the state Department
of Social Services has within the past year clarified a
previous change in state regulations making nondependent
nonrelative guardianships ineligible for ILP services.
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The solution offered by this bill is to clarify state law
to allow counties to continue to provide services to these
youth. The author contends federal law makes this group of
youth eligible.
Youth adopted after age 14
The author states that prospective adoptive parents are
sometimes fearful of having to meet all of the additional
transition related expenses for older youth they might
otherwise adopt. Older youth in foster care are a group
for which counties struggle to find adoptive parents. The
solution offered by the bill is to allow foster youth
adopted after age 14 to be eligible for ILP services to the
extent they are offered by the county.
According to the author, this bill will encourage adoption
as well as guardianships, both permanent family settings
that are the best for youth and for the state.
Background -- ILP and the Adoption Assistance Program
ILP services are provided by counties to current and former
foster youth to assist in the transition to independent
living. Services vary greatly by county. Among other
services, ILP services may include job placement,
assistance with employment training and education, classes
on budgeting and housekeeping, and help accessing health
care and housing. Foster youth typically become eligible
to receive ILP services sometime between age 16 and the
date of emancipation from foster care, usually at age 18,
depending on the services provided by the county. Federal
ILP funds may be used for youth still in foster care and
between the ages of 16 and 21, plus 14 and 15 year olds who
are deemed likely to emancipate.
Under current law, if a foster child is placed with a
non-relative family and the child is placed in a
nonrelative guardianship, the county is not obligated to
provide ILP services. The Legislature has recognized wards
placed with relative-guardians are eligible for ILP
services under the KinGap program. (KinGap is a program
that provides foster care payments when a child is placed
with a relative). This bill would continue eligibility for
ILP services for youth in nonrelative guardianships.
Similarly, if a youth is adopted prior to his or her 16th
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birthday -- regardless of the length of time he or she
spent in foster care -- the youth is not eligible for ILP
services. However, children adopted on or after their 16th
birthday are eligible to receive ILP services. This bill
would expand eligibility to include youth adopted at 14 or
older.
The author states that the bill is consistent with the
policy in current law of providing services to adoptive
parents of older former foster care youth. Under existing
law, the Adoption Assistance Program allows prospective
adoptive parents to pursue adoption of a difficult to place
child (e.g., older, disabled, part of a sibling group)
without concern over potential additional expenses, as the
child is eligible for Medi-Cal health care and the adoptive
parents may receive a monthly monetary benefit (limited to
the relevant monthly foster family home care rate).
Each year 3,500 to 4,000 foster youth emancipate out of the
state's foster care system to live independently. ILP
services ease the difficulty of that transition. ILP
services are provided in an attempt to prevent the poor
outcomes that have been documented for many emancipating
youth without ILP services -- outcomes such as
homelessness, unemployment and incarceration.
Approximately, half of all foster youth do not complete
high school and almost a third become homeless within the
first year of emancipation.
Prior vote history
Assembly Floor 67-12
Assembly Appropriations 13-- 5
Assembly Human Services 6-- 0
POSITIONS
Support: American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees
(AFSCME)
California Association of Adoption Agencies
County Welfare Directors Association
National Association of Counsel for Children,
Los Angeles Affiliate
Oppose: None received
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