BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Carole Migden, Chair
726 (Florez)
Hearing Date: 5/23/05 Amended: 5/17/05
Consultant: Lisa Matocq Policy Vote: Judiciary 6-1
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 726 would enact "Adam's Law", which makes
several changes to the statutes governing the removal of a child
from a home and placement with the noncustodial parent.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 Fund
DSS Minor, absorbable costs
Gen/Fed
Local child welfare agencies Unknown mandated,
potentially Loc/Gen
reimbursable
costs, probably under
$150 annually
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STAFF COMMENTS:
Under current law, a child that is at risk of abuse or neglect
may become a dependent of the juvenile court. The court is
required to place the child with a parent who desires the child
if it determines that this parent was not with the child at the
time of abuse or neglect and that placing the child with this
parent would not be detrimental to the child. In this case, the
court may do one of two things: (1) order that the parent
become legal and physical custodian of the child, or (2) order
that the parent assume custody subject to the supervision of the
juvenile court, in which case the court may also order
reunification services for the family.
This bill adds a third option: that the social worker conduct a
home visit within three months of placing the child with the
noncustodial parent and submit a related report to the court.
The bill also requires the social worker to (1) inform the
noncustodial parent of their right to provide the court with
input regarding the child's placement, and (2) request that the
caregiver provide such information on a specified form.
It is estimated that about 10% of cases per year could be
impacted by the provisions of this bill. Increased mandated,
potentially reimbursable, costs to local child welfare agencies
to comply with the home visit and notification requirements of
the bill are unknown, but probably less than $150,000 annually
if it took each social worker two hours to comply. On the other
hand, to the extent the court ordered option 3 rather than
option 2, and assuming those families would have otherwise
received full reunification services, there could be offsetting
cost savings.
Any increased costs to the courts would probably be minor and
absorbable.
SB 726
Page Two
STAFF NOTES that the Legislative Analyst estimates the state
will owe about $2.8 billion in unpaid mandates by the end of the
2004-05 fiscal year. Proposition 1A, approved by the voters at
the November 2004 election, requires non-school mandates to be
fully funded beginning 2005-06 or suspended.