BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2195
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 25, 2006
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Noreen Evans, Chair
AB 2195 (Bass) - As Amended: April 17, 2006
SUBJECT : Foster caregivers; placement options.
SUMMARY : Establishes procedures for emergency assessment and
approval of relative or non-relative caregivers when the primary
foster care giver becomes unable to provide care. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Specifies that when the sudden unavailability of a foster
caregiver requires an emergency change in placement for a
dependent child, the assessment of a willing and able relative
or non-relative extended family member shall be initiated.
2)Requires that the assessment include an in-home safety
inspection and a criminal records check on all adults living
in the home.
3)Allows that upon completion of this assessment the child may
be placed in the home.
4)Requires the county welfare department to evaluate and approve
or deny the assessed home for purposes of foster care
eligibility using the same standards set forth in regulation
for the licensing of foster family homes.
5)Allows that if the adults in the assessed home meet all other
conditions for approval except the receipt of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation's criminal history information the
county welfare department may approve the home and document
that approval with a signed statement from each adult
attesting to the fact that he or she has never been convicted
of a crime other than a traffic infraction.
6)Requires the California Department of Social Services (DSS) to
convene a workgroup consisting of licensed foster parents,
relative caregivers, kinship, foster and adoptive parents,
county child welfare agencies, juvenile dependency courts and
the Judicial Council of California.
7)Requires the workgroup to work in consultation with DSS to
AB 2195
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develop a brochure that summarizes caregiver roles and
responsibilities of all participants in the child welfare
system.
8)Requires that the brochure be written in plain language, be
made available to the courts, county child welfare agencies,
social workers, and others involved with children in the
foster care system, and be distributed at all caregiver
orientation and training activities and posted on the DSS
public website.
EXISTING LAW
1)Provides for the placement of dependent children in foster
homes and provides payments to foster care providers on behalf
of the children in foster care.
2)Requires preferential consideration to a request by a relative
of the child for placement of the child with a relative when
the child has been removed from the custody of his or her
parents.
3)Requires that prior to placing a child in the home or a
relative or other person who is a non-licensed or certified
foster parent, the county social worker must ascertain the
appropriateness of the placement, must cause a criminal
records check through the California Law Enforcement
Telecommunications System (CLETS) and must check the Child
Abuse Index for all adults living in the home.
4)Allows a county to grant an exemption if the criminal records
check indicates that the person has been convicted of a crime
that would preclude licensure but convincing evidence supports
a reasonable belief that the person with the criminal
conviction is of such good character as to justify the
placement.
5)Allows a child to be placed in the home of a relative or a
nonrelative extended family member when a child is first
removed from his or her parents if the relative passes the
CLETS check or signs a form that says he or she has never been
convicted of any crimes except a traffic violation.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
AB 2195
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COMMENTS : According to the author, "(c)urrent law is unclear as
to the ability of a county to place a child on an emergency
basis with a relative or non-related extended family member
(NREFM) throughout the child's stay in foster care. Ideally, a
foster child should not experience multiple changes of
placement. Through the concurrent planning process, a foster
child should be placed as early as possible with the caregiver
who will provide a permanent home should reunification fail.
When an emergency occurs and the existing caregiver cannot care
for the child, counties must find another home for the child.
If at all possible, counties prefer to place the child with
another relative or non-related extended family member.
Placement with a known relative or extended family member can
significantly ease the trauma that foster children experience
when their placements are unexpectedly disrupted.
In some cases, the county may need to place the child on an
emergency basis with another relative or non-related extended
family member. Current law provides for emergency placements
with relatives and extended family members as long as they meet
the following requirements in order to ensure child health and
safety: criminal records clearances using CLETS and CACI,
in-home inspection, assessment of caregiver's ability to parent
and provision of caregiver training orientation and personal
rights assurances
According to the bill sponsors, "(r)ecently, the existing law
has been interpreted as allowing counties to make emergency
placements with relatives or non-related extended family members
only at the very beginning of a child's placement into foster
care. If a sudden need arises and the child must be quickly
moved to a new placement later on, emergency placement is not
being allowed."
AB 2195 would clarify existing law to allow the use of emergency
placements throughout a child's stay in foster care. The four
health and safety checks listed above would be required for all
emergency placements, both at the beginning of a case and during
the case. Immediately upon placement of the child with the
relative or non-relative extended family member on an emergency
basis, the county would be required to complete the full
approval process in order for the child to remain in the home on
an ongoing basis.
AB 2195
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This bill also requires creation of a workgroup tasked with
development of a brochure explaining the roles and
responsibilities of child welfare system participants.
According to the author, "(t)he experience that abused and
neglected children have while in foster care is directly tied to
the quality of their caregivers. Foster, kinship and adoptive
families must navigate a series of complex and often confusing
laws and regulations. There are no statewide materials defining
the roles and responsibilities of caregivers and the roles and
responsibilities of child welfare agencies and the courts."
When finished, the brochure will be disseminated to courts and
county child welfare agencies for use with caregivers, social
workers, Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs), service
providers, attorneys and judges. The brochure will also be
distributed at all caregiver orientation and training
activities, posted on the Department's public website and be
available upon request from the department.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
County Welfare Director's Association (sponsor)
Legal Advocates for Permanent Parenting (sponsor)
American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME)
Family Law Section of the State Bar of CA
Family Law Executive Committee
National Association of Social Workers, CA Chapter (CASW-CA)
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Caitlin O'Halloran / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089