BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chair
BILL NO: SB 500
S
AUTHOR: KUEHL
B
VERSION: April 4, 2005
HEARING DATE: April 12, 2005
5
FISCAL: Judiciary; Appropriations
0
0
CONSULTANT:
Sue North
SUBJECT
Pregnant and Parenting Foster Youth
SUMMARY
Creates a new foster care category for "whole family foster
care" designed to maximize available federal funds to
finance a richer foster care model in order to maintain
pregnant and parenting foster mothers with their infants
and children.
ABSTRACT
Current law:
1. establishes under Section 300 of the W&I Code the
dependency standards for the juvenile courts use to
declare any minor as dependent;
2. establishes the specific criteria for AFDC-Foster
Care payments to be made to support a minor under
foster care.
3. defines the range of foster homes for placement
purposes; and
4. requires specific plans for foster children
according to specific elements and timetables.
Continued---
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 500 Page
2
This bill:
1. amends the dependency standards to say that the
juvenile court shall NOT consider a child to be at
risk of abuse or neglect solely because the parent is
a dependent in the foster care system;
2. adds to the criteria for AFDC-FC payments the
dependent child of a minor parent who is otherwise a
dependent in foster care;
3. adds "whole family foster care" to the eligible
types of foster care placements; and
4. requires a shared responsibility plan be developed
when a teen parent has partial or sole custody of a
child in foster care based on specific criteria.
FISCAL IMPACT
The author argues this bill will remove the barrier in
current law which prevents the maximizing of federal funds
to finance the care of foster pregnant and parenting teens.
Recent federal guidelines increase access to federal funds
for these cases.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Prior Legislation
SB 1178 (Kuehl) from 2004 established the legislature's
intent to preserve and strengthen family relationships with
dependent minor parents and their dependent children and by
requiring the foster care system to treat these families as
a unit, rather than as individual minors.
POSITIONS
Support: Children's Law Center of Los Angeles
(Sponsor)
County Welfare Directors Association of
California (Sponsor)
California Alliance of Child and Family
Services
California State Association of Counties
(CSAC)
Family Law Section of the State Bar
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 500 Page
3
Junior Leagues of California
National Center for Youth Law
Oppose: None received
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