BILL NUMBER: AB 2216 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 19, 2006
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bass
FEBRUARY 22, 2006
An act to amend Sections 16160, 16161, and 16163 of, and to add
Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 16540) to Part 4 of Division 9
of, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to foster care.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2216, as amended, Bass Child Welfare Leadership and
Performance Accountability Act of 2006.
(1) Existing law establishes the Office of the State Foster Care
Ombudsperson within the State Department of Social Services, as an
autonomous entity within the California Health and Human Services
Agency, for the purpose of providing children who are placed in
foster care with a means to resolve issues related to their care,
placement, or services.
This bill, instead, would establish the foster care ombudsperson
as an independent entity within the California Health and Human
Services Agency.
(2) Existing law provides for oversight by various state and local
entities of certain populations of children, including those who are
wards of the juvenile court, and those who are in foster care, or
are otherwise under the supervision of county welfare departments.
Existing law provides for a system of child welfare services
administered by each county, with oversight by the State Department
of Social Services.
Existing law also provides for the California Child and Family
Service Review System, in order to review all county child welfare
systems, covering child protective services, foster care, adoption,
family preservation, family support, and independent living.
This bill, the Child Welfare Leadership and Performance
Accountability Act of 2001 2006 , would
establish within the California Health and Human Services
Agency the Child Welfare Council, which would advise
on the management of an advisory body that would be
responsible for improving the collaboration and processes of
the multiple agencies and courts that provide
services to children and youth in contact with courts, and
serve children and youth in the child welfare and foster
care systems. The bill would provide for the composition of the
council, including as co-chairs cochairs
the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court or his or her
designee, and the Child Welfare and Foster Care Leader
Undersecretary , whose office the bill would
also establish and this bill would establish the office of
Child Welfare and Foster Care Leader, who would be
responsible for the statewide leadership and direct oversight and
coordination of child welfare and foster care efforts of state and
county agencies. The bill would also give the Child Welfare and
Foster Care Leader Undersecretary the
responsibility of directing the California Child and Family Service
Review System. The Child Welfare and Foster Care Leader
Undersecretary would ensure that the state and
counties perform various acts in connection with maintaining the
quality of child welfare and foster care services, including county
self-assessments, peer quality case reviews, and system improvement
plans. The bill would establish performance outcome indicators for
purposes of the Child Welfare and Family Services Review System,
including participation rates, safety outcomes, permanency and
stability outcomes, well-being outcomes, and family relationships and
community connections.
This bill would require the Judicial Council to adopt performance
measures consistent with the performance outcome indicators specified
above, by April 1, 2008.
By imposing new requirements on counties with respect to the
operation and evaluation of their child welfare systems, this bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The State of California undertakes the responsibility of
providing a safe environment and developmental opportunities for over
85,000 children and youth who have been removed from their homes and
placed in foster care because of instances of abuse and neglect.
(b) According to the California Performance Review report,
although the state is responsible for ensuring that foster children
and youth receive mandated services through several different
departments, California's services to support its foster children's
basic needs is not nearly sufficient to meet all of their needs. Even
though the incidence of emotional, behavioral, and developmental
problems among foster children and youth is three to six times
greater than among nonfoster children, 25 percent of foster children
and youth are not receiving timely medical care, one-half are not
receiving needed mental health services and one-half are not
receiving dental care. Similarly, 75 percent of foster youth are
working below grade level, nearly one-half do not complete high
school, and as few as 15 percent attend college. Statewide leadership
and coordination between departments and agencies is essential to
addressing these dismal outcomes and providing foster children and
youth with critically needed support and services at the local level.
(c) Even if the state successfully decreases the number of foster
children and youth entering the system, the state must ensure that
current foster youth are self-sufficient at the time they emancipate
from the system. The state is currently failing in this measure.
Unemployment rates for emancipated youth are estimated at 50 percent,
nearly one-third of foster children and youth will become homeless
within one year of emancipating, fewer than 15 percent of foster
youth enroll in college, and approximately one-third of foster youth
will be on public assistance shortly after emancipating.
(d) A recent report from the State Department of Social Services
found the indirect costs of child mistreatment and foster care, such
as juvenile delinquency, adult criminality, and lost productivity to
society, total $95 billion annually. Fiscally sound, long-term
investment in the state's children now should reap future savings for
the state that can be reinvested to keep at-risk children and
families self-sufficient and out of the child welfare system.
Moreover, advocating for more flexible federal funding of our state's
child welfare system will enable resources to be used to better
support families in need and keep more families intact.
(e) In 2001, the Legislature passed the Child Welfare System
Improvement and Accountability Act of 2001 (Chapter 678 of the
Statutes of 2001), which was an important first step toward improving
outcomes for California's foster children and youth. The legislation
provided the legal framework for monitoring the county-run child
welfare service programs through data collection and review of that
data, the ultimate goal being to use the data to improve outcomes for
the children and youth in foster care. The first county reviews and
improvement plans were implemented in 2004.
(f) In addition to providing services to foster youth, the state's
Child Welfare Redesign final report stressed the importance of
providing preventative supports to those families who come in contact
with child welfare services but whose children are not removed from
the home. The goal of these supports is to provide families the tools
to prevent a child's removal. This effort results in stronger
families and decreased foster care placements. However, successful
implementation of preventative services, like foster care, requires a
coordinated oversight among many agencies, programs, and services.
(g) Despite this improved oversight and vision for improvement,
the child welfare system, including the state, the counties, and the
courts, suffers from the lack of a cohesive structure, state
leadership, and communication between agencies serving foster
children and youth. In 2003, the Little Hoover Commission found that
clear leadership and oversight is lacking in California's foster care
program and recommended the designation of new program
leader undersecretary that has the authority to
reform the foster care system. Most recently, the California
Performance Review report decried this lack of cohesion and similarly
concluded that state leadership is needed to repair a foster care
system in crisis. The bipartisan national Pew Commission on Foster
Care in a report issued last year recommended states establish
broad-based commissions on children in foster care to demonstrate
effective collaboration on behalf of children.
(h) Creating a comprehensive structure for statewide leadership to
address the needs of children in the child welfare system will
support and improve the important reform work enacted through the
Child Welfare System Improvement and Accountability Act of 2001 by
providing clarity about the roles and responsibilities of the state,
improving quality assurance and accountability, and facilitating
communication between the many stakeholders involved in the child
welfare system. Most importantly, these changes will help ensure that
California is able to meet the needs of the children and youth in
its care.
(i) An independent and impartial ombudsperson that is readily
available to the public is essential to protecting the well-being of
children, youth, and families.
SEC. 2. This act shall be known and may be cited as the Child
Welfare Leadership and Performance Accountability Act of 2006.
SEC. 3. Section 16160 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
16160. The Legislature finds and declares that the people of
California have benefited from the establishment of a long-term care
ombudsperson pursuant to Section 9710 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code and a child care ombudsperson program pursuant to Section
1596.872a of the Health and Safety Code. It is the intent of the
Legislature to provide similar protections for foster children by
establishing a foster care ombudsperson program. It is the further
intent of the Legislature that the foster care ombudsperson serve as
an independent state officer within the California Health and Human
Services Agency.
SEC. 4. Section 16161 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
16161. (a) The Office of the State Foster
Care Ombudsperson shall be established as an autonomous entity within
the department California Health and Human Services Agency for the
purpose of providing children who are placed in foster care, either
voluntarily or pursuant to Section 300 and Sections 600 and
following, with a means to resolve issues related to their care,
placement, or services.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to strengthen the
independence of the ombudsman and make it more responsive to youth by
doing all of the following:
(1) Establishing an independent ombudsman budget that includes
staff salaries, investigation and travel expenses, and outreach to
educate the public about its services.
(2) Increasing the hours of availability of ombudsman services to
include evenings, weekends, and other times that will facilitate
youth utilizing the ombudsman services.
(3) Revising civil service hiring procedures to encourage and
retain former foster youth as ombudsman staff members.
(4) Authorizing the ombudsman to identify areas of agency partial
compliance or noncompliance with state and federal law, and
permitting the documentation of deficiencies in program
administration.
(5) Authorizing written reports and recommending corrective
actions directly to the public, Governor, Legislature, and Judicial
Council.
SEC. 5. Section 16163 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
16163. The office shall hire the necessary personnel to perform
its functions. Priority shall be given to former foster youth in
hiring decisions.
SEC. 6. Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 16540) is added to
Part 4 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
CHAPTER 5.5. CHILD WELFARE LEADERSHIP AND PERFORMANCE
ACCOUNTABILITY
Article 1. Child Welfare Council
16540. There is hereby created the Child Welfare Council
responsible for collaboratively advising on the management of
multiagencies providing services to children and youth in contact
with the courts and child welfare and foster care systems with
respect to the following: The California Child Welfare
Council is hereby established, which shall serve as an
advisory body responsible for improving the collaboration and
processes of the multiple agencies and the courts that serve the
children and youth in the child welfare and foster care systems. The
council shall monitor and report the extent to which child welfare
and foster care programs and the courts are responsive to
the needs of children in their joint care. The council shall issue
advisory reports whenever it deems appropriate, but in any event, no
less frequently than annually, to the Governor, the Legislature, the
Judicial Council and the public. A report of the Child Welfare
Council shall, at a minimum, include recommendations for all of the
following:
(a) Ensuring that all state child welfare, foster care and
judicial funding and services for children, youth, and families is,
to the greatest extent possible, coordinated to eliminate
fragmentation and duplication of services provided to children or
families who would benefit from integrated multiagency services.
(b) Increasing the quality, appropriateness, and effectiveness of
services program services and judicial
processes delivered to children, youth, and families who would
benefit from integrated multiagency services to achieve better
outcomes for these children, youth, and families.
(c) Promoting consistent program and judicial
excellence across counties to the greatest extent possible while
recognizing the demographic, geographic, and financial differences
among the counties.
(d) Increasing collaboration and coordination between county
agencies, state agencies, federal agencies, and the courts.
(e) Reporting annually to the Governor, the Legislature, and the
public, regarding the child welfare and foster care issues and
recommendations.
(e) Ensuring that all state Title IV-E plans, program improvement
plans, and court improvement plans demonstrate effective
collaboration between public agencies and the courts.
(f) Assisting the Child Welfare and Foster Care Leader
Undersecretary and the chief justice in
formulating policies for the effective administration of the child
welfare and foster care programs and judicial processes.
(g) Providing recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature
regarding the modification of practices, rate
(g) Modifying program practices and
court processes, rate structures, and other system changes
needed to promote and support relative caregivers, family foster
parents, therapeutic placements, and other placements for children
who cannot remain in the family home.
(h) The development of Developi
ng data and information sharing agreements and protocols for
the exchange of aggregate data across program and court
systems that are providing services to children and families in the
child welfare system. These data-sharing agreements shall allow child
welfare agencies and the courts to access data concerning the
health, mental health, special education, and educational status and
progress of children served by county child welfare systems subject
to state and federal confidentiality laws and regulations. They shall
be developed in tandem with the establishment of judicial case
management systems as well as additional or enhanced performance
measures described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of, and
subdivision (f) of, Section 16561.
(i) Developing systematic methods for obtaining policy
recommendations from foster youth about the effectiveness and quality
of program services and judicial processes, and ensuring that the
interests of foster youth are adequately addressed in all policy
development.
(j) Implementing legislative enactments in the child welfare and
foster care programs and the courts, and reporting to the Legislature
on the timeliness and consistency of the implementation.
(k) Monitoring the adequacy of resources necessary for the
implementation of existing programs and court processes, and the
prioritization of program and judicial responsibilities.
16541. The council shall be comprised of the following members:
(a) The Child Welfare and Foster Care Leader
Undersecretary , who shall serve as cochair.
(b) The Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, or his or
her designee, who shall serve as cochair.
(c) Leaders and representatives of all of the following:
(1) State and county child welfare.
(2) Foster care.
(3) Health, education, and mental health agencies and departments.
(4) Child advocacy organizations.
(5) Current and former foster youth, labor.
(6) Other groups and stakeholders who provide benefits, services,
and advocacy to families and children in the child welfare and foster
care systems.
(c) The Superintendent of Public Instruction, or his or her
designee.
(d) The Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, or his or
her designee.
(e) The executive director of the State Board of Education.
(f) The Director of Social Services.
(g) The Director of Health Services.
(h) The Director of Mental Health.
(i) The Director of Alcohol and Drug Programs.
(j) The Director of Developmental Services.
(k) The Director of the Youth Authority.
(l) The Administrative Director of the Courts.
(m) The State Foster Care Ombudsperson.
(n) A representative and three youth members of the California
Youth Connection.
(o) The chairpersons of the Assembly Human Services Committee and
the Assembly Judiciary Committee, or two other Members of the
Assembly as appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
(p) The chairpersons of the Senate Human Services Committee and
the Senate Judiciary Committee, or two other members appointed by the
President pro Tempore of the Senate.
(q) Leaders and representatives of county child welfare, foster
care, health, education, and mental health agencies and departments,
child advocacy organizations; labor organizations, and other groups
and stakeholders that provide benefits, services, and advocacy to
families and children in the child welfare and foster care systems,
as recommended by representatives of these groups and as designated
by the cochairs.
16542. At any time, the council may advise the Governor, the
Legislature, the Child Welfare and Foster Care Leader, or the Chief
Justice of the California Supreme Court regarding actions the state
may take to improve the care and services for children, youth, and
families in the child welfare and foster care systems.
16541.5. The council shall meet no less frequently than each
quarter of the state fiscal year and at the call of the cochairs at a
time and location convenient to the public as it may deem
appropriate. All meetings of the council shall be open to the public.
Members shall serve without compensation, with the exception of
foster youth members who shall be entitled to reimbursement for all
actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their
duties.
16542. The cochairs may appoint committees composed of council
members, experts in specialized fields, foster youth, program
stakeholders, state and county child welfare and foster care staff,
child advocacy organizations, members of the judiciary, foster care
public health nurses, or any combination thereof, to advise the
council on any functions of the council and the services provided
through the child welfare and foster care programs and the courts.
Members of these committees shall receive no compensation from the
state for their services with the exception of foster youth members,
who shall be entitled to reimbursement for all actual and necessary
expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. The committees
may assemble information and make recommendations to the council, but
shall not exercise any of the powers vested in the council. The
council may seek input from groups and individuals as it deems
appropriate including, but not limited to, advisory committees, the
judiciary and child welfare and foster care program stakeholders.
16543. Consistent with state and federal law, the council shall
have access to aggregate data and information concerning the child
welfare and foster care systems held by any state or local
department, agency, or court that serves children, youth, and
families receiving child welfare and foster care services subject to
state and federal confidentiality laws and regulations.
Article 2. Child Welfare and Foster Care Leader
Undersecretary
16550. There shall be a Child Welfare and Foster Care Leader, who
shall be the state leader for child welfare and foster care programs
and shall have the authority to coordinate those activities of state
and local departments and agencies that provide for the needs of
children, youth, and families in child welfare and foster care
programs.
16551. The Child Welfare and Foster Care Leader shall be
responsible for the statewide leadership and direct oversight and
coordination of child welfare and foster care efforts of state and
county agencies.
16550. There shall be a Child Welfare and Foster Care
Undersecretary within the California Health and Human Services Agency
and under the direction of the secretary. He or she shall be
appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. In making the
appointment, the Governor shall consider training, demonstrated
ability, experience, and prior leadership in child welfare and foster
care. His or her salary shall be established pursuant to law. The
undersecretary shall be the state leader for child welfare and foster
care programs and shall exercise the authority to coordinate those
activities of state departments and agencies and to facilitate the
collaborations with the courts and other constitutional officers that
provide for the needs of children, youth, and families in child
welfare and foster care programs. The undersecretary shall also be
responsible for considering and implementing, where appropriate, the
recommendations of the California Child Welfare Council. It is the
intent of the Legislature that the undersecretary exercise leadership
through the directorate of the State Department of Social Services
and the other departments within the California Health and Human
Services Agency that relate to child welfare and foster care issues.
16551. The Child Welfare and Foster Care Undersecretary shall be
responsible for the direct oversight and coordination of child
welfare and foster care efforts across state agencies including, but
not limited to, the following:
(a) Administering all federal and state laws and regulations
pertaining to the administration of child welfare and foster care
programs.
(b) Ensuring that all state child welfare and foster care funding
and services for children and families are coordinated, to the
greatest extent possible, to eliminate fragmentation and duplication
of services provided to children or families who would benefit from
integrated multiagency services.
(c) Increasing the quality, appropriateness, and effectiveness of
services delivered to children or families who would benefit from
integrated multiagency services to achieve better outcomes for these
children and families.
(d) Ensuring that legislative enactments in the child welfare and
foster care programs are implemented in a consistent and timely
manner.
(e) Analyzing county performance outcome data to identify common
problems, common barriers to improvement, and emerging best
practices.
(f) Performing periodic system-wide needs assessments.
Article 3. Performance Outcome Indicators and Data
16560. The Child Welfare and Foster Care Leader
Undersecretary shall be responsible for
directing overseeing the California Child and
Family Service Review System developed pursuant to subdivision (d) of
Section 10601.2 and for ensuring all of the following:
(a) The establishment of the California Child and Family Service
Review System outcome indicators developed pursuant to subdivision
(d) of Section 10601.2.
(b) That the State Department of Social Services issues quarterly
outcome and data reports to county child welfare agencies that
specify the data for each of the established federal and state
outcome measures.
(c) That each county child welfare agency submits a county
self-assessment of its child welfare service program for the time
period and in the format specified by the Child Welfare and Foster
Care Leader Undersecretary .
(d) That each county child welfare agency performs a peer quality
case review for a period and in the format as designated by the Child
Welfare and Foster Care Leader
Undersecretary that, includes specified areas of performance
improvement and a qualitative evaluation by state and other county
child welfare agencies staff.
(e) That each county child welfare agency submits a county system
improvement plan annually in the format as designated by the Child
Welfare and Foster Care Leader Undersecretary
.
(f) That the department monitors all activities required under
this section and provides guidance and technical assistance to the
county child welfare agencies.
(g) That the state is meeting the outcome targets established in
the performance improvement plan submitted pursuant to the federal
Child and Family Services Review.
16561. The performance outcome indicators and data required for
the review in Section 16560 shall include:
(a) Child welfare services participation rates, including the
following:
(1) Number of children under 18 years of age in the population.
(2) Number and percentage of child abuse or neglect referrals.
(3) Number and percentage of children with substantiated
referrals.
(4) Number and percentage of children entering foster care for the
first time.
(5) Number and percentage of children in foster care.
(b) Safety outcomes, including the following:
(1) The percentage of all children with a substantiated allegation
who had another substantiated allegation within six months.
(2) The percentage of all children with a substantiated allegation
who had another substantiated allegation within 12 months.
(3) The percentage of children in foster care who are abused or
neglected while in a foster care placement.
(4) The percentage of children who remained at home after a
substantiated referral who had another substantiated referral within
12 months.
(5) The percentage of children who were the subject of a referral
who had an in-person interview with a caseworker within 24 hours.
(6) The percentage of children in foster care who received at
least a monthly visit from their caseworker.
(c) Permanency and stability outcomes, including the following:
(1) The percentage of all children who were reunified from child
welfare supervised foster care who had been in care for less than 12
months.
(2) The percentage of children adopted from foster care who were
in care for less than 24 months.
(3) The percentage of children in foster care for less than 12
months who have been in no more than two placements.
(4) The percentage of children who have been in care for 12 months
who had no more than two placements.
(5) The percentage of children entering care who were reentering
within 12 months of a previous exit from care.
(6) The percentage of children entering care and were reunified
with their parents who then reentered care within 12 months of
reunification.
(d) Family relationships and community connections, including the
following:
(1) The percentage of all children in child welfare supervised
foster care who were placed with some or all of their siblings.
(2) The percentage of children entering care who were in kinship,
foster, foster family agency (FFA), group, and other placements.
(3) The percentage of children identified as American Indian who
were placed with relatives, nonrelative Indian, and nonrelative
non-Indian families.
(e) Well-being outcomes, including the following:
(1) Number of children ages 16 though 20 years of age in foster
care who are receiving Independent Living Services and received a
high school diploma, enrolled in college, are receiving vocational
training, or are employed.
(2) The Child Welfare and Foster Care Leader shall convene the
workgroup established in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section
10601.2 to develop additional outcomes to measure youth transition to
self-sufficient adulthood, rate of out of county placements,
self-sufficiency skills training provided to youth, foster youth in
the juvenile justice system, foster youth who become parents, school
stability, school attendance, school performance, children's
physical, developmental and mental health status and needs, the
provision of services necessary to achieve adequate physical,
developmental and mental health, housing, participation in
extracurricular and child-appropriate activities, and other relevant
outcomes for the well-being of children and youth emancipating out of
the foster care system. The outcomes shall be established by April
1, 2008.
(f) Any other measures that the Child Welfare and Foster Care
Leader may develop that support the federal outcomes and any program
improvement plan, and promote good health, mental health, behavioral,
educational, and other relevant outcomes for children, youth, and
families in California's child welfare system.
16561. (a) The Child Welfare and Foster Care Undersecretary shall
ensure that all of the federal Child and Family Services Review
outcome measures and all of the California Child and Family Service
Review System outcome indicators, along with any performance goals
and federal outcome standards, are clearly posted on the State
Department of Social Service's Internet Web site. Before any of the
federal goals or any of the California Child and Family Service
Review System outcome indicators are added, deleted, or amended, the
Child Welfare Foster Care Undersecretary shall consult with the Child
Welfare Council and ensure that there has been a public process for
the submission of comments and recommendations.
(b) The Child Welfare and Foster Care Undersecretary shall convene
the workgroup established in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of
Section 10601.2 to develop additional outcomes to measure youth
transition to self-sufficient adulthood, rate of out-of-county
placements, self-sufficiency skills training provided to youth,
foster youth in the juvenile justice system, foster youth who become
parents, school stability, school attendance, school performance,
children's physical, developmental, and mental health status and
needs, the provision of services necessary to achieve adequate
physical, developmental, and mental health, housing, participation in
extracurricular and child-appropriate activities, and other relevant
outcomes for the well-being of children and youth emancipating out
of the foster care system. The outcomes shall be established by April
1, 2008.
16562. By April 1, 2008, the Judicial Council shall adopt,
through rules of court, performance measures designed to complement
and promote those measures specified in subdivision (a) of Section
16561 so that courts are able to measure their performance and track
their own progress in improving safety, permanency, timeliness, and
well-being of children and to inform decisions about the allocation
of court resources. In adopting performance measures, the Judicial
Council shall consult with the council, the Child Welfare and Foster
Care Undersecretary, and the workgroup convened pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 16561. The performance measures shall be
based on data that is available from current or planned data
collection processes and to the greatest extent possible, shall
ensure uniformity of data reporting.
SEC. 7. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.