BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2195|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2195
Author: Bass (D)
Amended: 5/26/06 in Assembly
Vote: 27
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 5-0, 6/27/06
AYES: Alquist, Maldonado, Aanestad, Chesbro, Romero
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 13-0, 8/7/06
AYES: Murray, Aanestad, Alarcon, Alquist, Ashburn, Battin,
Dutton, Escutia, Florez, Ortiz, Poochigian, Romero,
Torlakson
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 80-0, 5/31/06 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Foster caregivers: placement options
SOURCE : County Welfare Directors Association
American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employee
National Association of Social Workers,
California Chapter
DIGEST : This bill establishes procedures for emergency
assessment and approval of relatives or non-relative
extended family members as caregivers when the primary
foster caregiver becomes unable to provide care.
ANALYSIS :
CONTINUED
AB 2195
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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 of 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) for all
adults living in the home, and must cause a check of the
Child Abuse Index for all adults living in the home.
4.Requires that a county may not place the child in a home
if the criminal records check indicates that a person has
been convicted of a crime that would preclude licensure,
unless the county grants an exemption based on
substantial and convincing evidence to support reasonable
belief that the person with the criminal conviction is of
such good character as to justify the placement.
The 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 upon request by the relative or non-relative
extended family member for temporary placement of the
child.
2.Requires that the assessment include:
A. An in-home inspection to assess the safety of
the home and the ability of the relative or
non-relative extended family member to care for the
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child's needs.
B. A criminal records check.
C. A check of allegations of prior child abuse or
neglect.
3.Allows that upon completion of this assessment the child
may be placed in the home.
4.Requires the county welfare department, following the
emergency placement, to evaluate and approve or deny the
assessed home for purposes of eligibility for foster care
payments using the same standards set forth in regulation
for the licensing of foster family homes.
5.Allows that if the adults in the 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 in the home attesting to the fact that he or she
has never been convicted of a crime other than a traffic
infraction.
6.Allows that if, after the approval has been granted, the
county welfare department determines that an adult in the
home has a criminal record, the approval may be
terminated.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2006-07 2007-08
2008-09 Fund
Home assessments No new state costs.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/10/06)
County Welfare Directors Association (source)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employee
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National Associated of Social Workers, California Chapter
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"When an existing caregiver is suddenly unavailable,
counties must move quickly to find another home for the
child preferably with a relative or non-related extended
family member, in the least restrictive and most
family-like setting possible. Placement with a known
relative or extended family member can significantly ease
the trauma that foster children experience when their
placements are unexpectedly disrupted. Recently, 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."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Aghazarian, Arambula, Baca, Bass, Benoit, Berg,
Bermudez, Blakeslee, Bogh, Calderon, Canciamilla, Chan,
Chavez, Chu, Cogdill, Cohn, Coto, Daucher, De La Torre,
DeVore, Dymally, Emmerson, Evans, Frommer, Garcia,
Goldberg, Hancock, Harman, Haynes, Jerome Horton, Shirley
Horton, Houston, Huff, Jones, Karnette, Keene, Klehs,
Koretz, La Malfa, La Suer, Laird, Leno, Leslie, Levine,
Lieber, Lieu, Liu, Matthews, Maze, McCarthy, Montanez,
Mountjoy, Mullin, Nakanishi, Nation, Nava, Negrete
McLeod, Niello, Oropeza, Parra, Pavley, Plescia, Richman,
Ridley-Thomas, Sharon Runner, Ruskin, Saldana, Salinas,
Spitzer, Strickland, Torrico, Tran, Umberg, Vargas,
Villines, Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee, Nunez
CTW:do 8/10/06 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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