BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Senator Joseph L. Dunn, Chair
2005-2006 Regular Session
SB 500 S
Senator Kuehl B
As Amended April 4, 2005
Hearing Date: April 26, 2005
Health and Safety Code; Welfare and Institutions Code 5
MJM 0
0
SUBJECT
AFDC-FC: Pregnant and Parenting Foster Youth
DESCRIPTION
This bill seeks to address various gaps in current law that
make it difficult for a minor parent in foster care to bond
effectively with his or her child. Specifically, this bill
would clarify that a child of a dependent minor need not be
found to be at risk of neglect or abuse solely because of
the age or dependent status of the parent. This bill would
provide that foster care facilities specifically designed
to address the needs of minor parents and their children
are eligible to receive placement of foster youth. This
bill would also provide that foster care facilities may
receive the full foster care payment rate for both a
dependent minor parent and his or her dependent child when
they are placed together and are receiving reunification
services. Finally, this bill would require the creation of
a shared responsibility plan addressing the expected roles
and responsibilities of the caregiver and the minor
dependent parent when the minor's non-dependent child is
also placed in the same home.
BACKGROUND
Many teenagers in foster care have children of their own.
Depending on the circumstances, the infant may or may not
be determined to be at risk for neglect or abuse and
declared also a dependent. An infant determined to be a
(more)
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dependent may or may not be placed in the same foster care
facility as the dependent parent.
SB 1178 (Kuehl, Chapter 841, Statutes of 2004), the Teen
Parents in Foster Care Act, expressed the Legislature's
intent to preserve and strengthen family relationships
between minor dependent parents and their dependent
children and required the foster care system to treat these
families as a unit rather than as individuals. However,
current law creates financial disincentives to place a
minor parent and his or her child in the same foster care
facility. This bill seeks to build on the Teen Parents in
Foster Care Act by eliminating this disincentive as well as
other barriers to the establishment of an effective family
bond between a minor dependent parent and his or her child.
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
1. Existing law establishes the criteria to be used by the
juvenile courts to determine whether a minor is at risk
of abuse or neglect and should be declared dependent.
This bill would clarify that a juvenile court shall not
consider a child to be at risk of abuse or neglect solely
because the child's parent is a dependent in the foster
care system.
2. Existing law establishes that full AFDC-FC payments may
not be made to a foster care facility that houses both a
dependent minor parent and his or her dependent child.
This bill would provide that full AFDC-FC payments may be
made for a dependent child of a minor parent who is
placed in the same foster care facility.
3. Existing law specifies the range of foster homes eligible
to receive placement of a minor in foster care.
This bill would add "whole family foster care" to the
eligible types of foster care placements.
4. Existing law does not require a plan be implemented
addressing the unique needs created when a minor
dependent parent is placed in a foster care facility with
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his or her non-dependent child.
This bill would provide that a shared responsibility plan
be developed to address the roles and responsibilities of
the minor parent and the caretaker when a minor dependent
parent in foster care has partial or sole custody of a
non-dependent child.
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COMMENT
1. Need for the bill
According to a co-sponsor, County Welfare Directors
Association of California:
Many teens in the foster care system have children of
their own, heightening the social, educational,
economic, and health barriers that already face youth
emancipating from foster care. In the best of cases,
these teens and their children would be able to live
together in the most family-like setting possible,
with a caring foster parent who can act as a mentor,
teaching parenting skills and assisting with their
transition to adulthood.
Unfortunately, current California law unnecessarily
limits the ability of the state and counties to draw
down federal funds to support these young families.
Essentially, California pays foster homes less to take
in a teen parent and their infant together than it
would if the parent and child were placed in separate
homes. These existing laws create unfortunate
situations in which teen parents and their infants are
caught in the middle.
2. This bill would eliminate the financial disincentive for
foster care facilities to accept the placement of a minor
parent and his or her dependent child together
Currently, although dependent minor parents and their
children may be placed in the same foster care facility,
the foster care facility does not receive the full foster
care rate for each of the dependents, creating a
disincentive for a foster care facility to receive both
the minor parent and his or her child together. This
bill would provide that the full foster care rate be paid
for both the minor dependent parent and his or her
dependent child if they are placed in the same facility
and receiving reunification services.
According to the sponsors, by enabling the full foster
care rate to be paid when the minor parent and child are
placed in the same facility and receiving reunification
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services, more foster parents and relatives will be
encouraged to accept these challenging teen/infant
placements.
While providing for full payment if the minor parent and
child are placed together, this bill does not disturb the
current option of placing the minor parent and child
separately when appropriate. If they are placed
separately, both foster care facilities will still
receive full payment.
3. This bill would bring California law into line with
federal law and allow for increased federal funding
According to the sponsors, guidelines by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services have recently
changed to allow for federal funding when a dependent
minor parent and his or her dependent child are placed in
the same foster care facility and are receiving
reunification services. However, current California law
prevents the implementation of this federal program
because the current law requires teen parents and their
dependent infants to be placed separately to receive the
full foster care payment. Allowing foster care
facilities housing both the minor parent and the child to
receive the full foster care payment will permit the
state to take full advantage of all available federal
funding. Thus, the sponsors contend this bill will both
encourage the placement of minor parents and their
children together and allow the state to receive
additional federal funding.
4. This bill would create a new licensing category for
"whole family foster homes"
This bill would permit foster youth to be placed into
"whole family foster homes." These foster homes would
provide foster care for minor parents and their dependent
or non-dependent children. These homes would be
specifically recruited and trained to help minor parents
develop the necessary skills to provide a safe and
nurturing environment for their children. The sponsors
assert that by increasing the placement options for
foster youth in this unique situation, the child welfare
system will be less likely to be forced to rely on large
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congregate care facilities or to separate children from
their minor parents.
5. Shared responsibility plans would provide guidance for
the minor parent and the foster parent
According to the sponsors, when a minor parent and his or
her non-dependent child are placed in a foster home,
confusion invariably arises about the roles and
responsibilities of the minor parent and the caretaker.
Understandably, often neither the minor parent nor the
caretaker is sure who is supposed to be taking care of
the baby. This bill seeks to clarify this confusion by
requiring creation of a shared responsibility plan. The
plan would be developed by the minor parent, the
caregiver, a representative of the agency supervising the
caregiver and others as appropriate. The plan would
address areas of common conflict in these situations,
such as feeding, clothing, hygiene, transportation, and
discipline. The sponsors contend that this plan will
reduce the potential for conflict between the minor
parent and the caregiver, and, as a result, reduce the
number of placements that fail because of these
conflicts.
6. This bill would clarify that a child is not a dependent
solely because of the age or dependency of the parent
This bill would clarify existing law and would provide
that a child of a dependent minor need not be determined
to be at risk solely because of the age or dependent
status of the parent.
Support: Alliance for Children's Rights; California
Commission on the Status of Women; California
National Organization for Women; California State
Association of Counties; Family Law Section of the
State Bar of California; Junior League State Public
Affairs Committee; Los Angeles Affiliate of the
National Association of Counsel for Children;
National Association of Social Workers, California
Chapter
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Opposition:None Known
HISTORY
Source:Children's Law Center of Los Angeles; County Welfare
Directors Association of California
Related Pending Legislation: None Known
Prior Legislation:SB 1178 (Kuehl, Chapter 841, Stats. of
2004), required the foster care system to
treat these families as a unit, rather than
as individual minors.
Prior Vote: Senate Human Services (Ayes 6, Noes 0)
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