BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Kevin Murray, Chairman

                                           2195 (Bass)
          
          Hearing Date:  8/7/2006         Amended: 5/26/2006
          Consultant:  John Miller        Policy Vote: Human Svcs 5 - 0
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          BILL SUMMARY: AB 2195 allows for the assessment of a foster  
          child's relative or non-relative extended family member to act  
          as a temporary, emergency placement in the event the child's  
          current foster caregiver is unexpectedly unavailable.  
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                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions         2006-07      2007-08       2008-09     Fund
           Home assessments     No new state costs.                    

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          STAFF COMMENTS: This bill seeks to clarify ambiguous existing  
          law regarding placing a foster child with a relative or extended  
          family member in an emergency.  Current law is interpreted to  
          permit emergency placement with families only in the initial  
          phase of foster care.  This bill clarifies that children can be  
          placed with family members at any point in foster care when  
          there is an unexpected emergency. The bill requires the county's  
          to assess the suitability of the relative's home and criminal  
          history of the family  caregiver by the same standards used for  
          all other foster placements.

          When a child first comes under the custody of the court, a  
          placement can be made in the home of a relative if all specified  
          requirements are met including background check clearance, but  
          allows for emergency placement prior to receipt of the FBI's  
          criminal history information.  But once a child is already in  
          foster care and a foster parent is suddenly unable to care for  
          the child, county social workers cannot make a placement in the  
          home of a relative until the FBI check has been cleared.  This  
          bill would allow for the same emergency placement provision with  
          a relative as when the child first comes into custody of the  
          court.











          The provisions of this bill do not result in any additional  
          costs to local assistance as relative home assessment and  
          background check costs would be incurred with or without the  
          provisions of the bill. AB 2195 will only allow quicker  
          placement with a relative by granting emergency placement  
          procedures.