BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 1667
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 9, 2006

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                   Judy Chu, Chair

                    SB 1667 (Kuehl) - As Amended:  June 26, 2006 

          Policy Committee:                              Human  
          ServicesVote:5 - 0
                        Judiciary                             8 - 0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              Yes

           SUMMARY  

          This bill allows foster caregivers to attend and provide written  
          evidence at all permanency hearings relating to the adoption or  
          legal guardianship of children in their care. In addition, this  
          bill requires social workers to provide foster caregivers with a  
          copy of the Judicial Council Caregiver Information Form and  
          instructions on how to fill out and file the form with the  
          court.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          The local administrative costs associated with this legislation  
          are minor and absorbable. Requiring social workers to provide  
          caregivers with a copy of the Judicial Council Caregiver  
          Information Form and instructions is an additional duty and  
          therefore constitutes a reimbursable state mandate, though these  
          cost should be minor, potentially in the range of $50,000 to  
          $100,000. 

           COMMENTS  

          1)Rationale  .  This bill seeks to facilitate foster parent  
            involvement by requiring social workers to provide the  
            Judicial Council Caregiver Information Form and instructions  
            for filing that form to foster caregivers. 

            The author states that this bill is needed because, "even  
            though [foster parents] may be in an ideal position to  
            evaluate foster youths' needs and to advocate for their best  
            interests, access to dependency court proceedings is, at best,  








                                                                  SB 1667
                                                                  Page  2

            inconsistent." Supporters, including the Legal Advocates for  
            Permanent Parenting, the American Federation of State, County  
            and Municipal Employees and the Family Law Section, State Bar  
            explain that "lack of input from relatives and foster parents  
            caring for dependent children undermines quality decision  
            making in California juvenile courts." 

           2)Chaptering Amendments Necessary  .  This bill conflicts with SB  
            678 (Ducheny) as both bills would amend Welfare and  
            Institutions Code Section 295.  In addition, this bill  
            conflicts with the recently chaptered Human Services trailer  
            bill (AB 1808) and AB 1774 (Evans), which is currently in the  
            Senate.  The proposed amendments would resolve all three  
            conflicts.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081