BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Tom Torlakson, Chairman
81 (Torrico)
Hearing Date: 8/30/07 Amended: 8/1/07
Consultant: Nora Lynn Policy Vote: Judic 5-0; Pub Saf
4-1
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BILL SUMMARY:
AB 81 would allow the "safe surrender" of a baby of up to 21
days old by a parent or other responsible adult, as specified;
would permit fire agencies to designate safe-surrender sites
with local governing agency approval; and specify safe-surrender
sites and their personnel have no liability for a surrendered
child prior to taking physical custody. AB 81 would require the
provision of information to individuals surrendering custody of
babies about alternatives to surrender, constituting a
state-mandated local program, as well as requiring the
Department of Social Services (DSS) to conduct, to the extent
resources are available, an awareness campaign publicizing the
safe-surrender program and to establish a toll-free number to
provide the public with information and assistance about the
program.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 Fund
Foster care Unknown, likely minor costs LF/FF
DSS: curriculum $1,500 General
State-mandated local program Unknown, potentially major
costs General
(information, training)
DSS: awareness campaign, Minor cost pressures; see
staff comments General
toll-free number
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-1-
AB 81 (Torrico)
Page 2
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
Current law, established in 2000 (SB 1368, Brulte, Chapter 824)
allows an infant to be surrendered by a parent or other
responsible adult to a safe-surrender site, designated in the
bill, within 72 hours of his or her birth. The baby can also be
retrieved within 14 days and the parent would be immune from
prosecution under child abandonment laws.
According to reports on infant surrenders produced by DSS in
2003 and 2005, as infants' ages increase, the likelihood of
their safe surrender decreases: in California, of the 64 infants
surrendered from January 2001 to September 2004, 39 were several
hours old; 16 were one day old; six were two days old; and three
were three days old.
Older babies who would be surrendered to the safe-surrender
program under AB 81 could potentially be placed in county or
private adoption programs under current law. Most surrendered
babies will wind up for some amount of time in the foster care
system, which averages $500 per month per child. Foster care
rates associated with this measure are unknown, but given that
surrender rates tend to decrease as a baby's age increases, it's
unlikely foster care costs will exceed $50,000 annually.
AB 81 would require safe-surrender site personnel to provide the
parent or other responsible adult surrendering custody of an
infant with options to surrender, as specified. Based on this
requirement the Department of Social Services (DSS) estimates
one-time costs of $1.4 million to hire a contractor to develop a
curriculum for local safe-surrender site personnel and $93,000
for one DSS staff person to oversee the training and contract
management. Given the large number of safe-surrender sites
statewide, and the potential for expansion as provided by AB 81,
costs for local site personnel to undergo training and
subsequently provide information to surrendering parents and
adults is unknown, but likely very significant. For purposes of
an estimate, staff assumes each of the state's 58 counties would
designate 10 safe-surrender sites, and AB 81 would require each
of these sites to have 10 staff undergo training in options to
AB 81 (Torrico)
Page 3
surrender. Assuming the training were to last four hours and
overtime costs to backfill staff undergoing training were
averaged at $50 per hour, one-time training costs associated
with this measure would exceed $1 million. Ongoing reimbursable
costs for staff to provide information in connection with safe
surrenders of infants would likely be minor.
AB 81 would further require DSS to conduct a statewide awareness
campaign to publicize the safe-surrender program and establish a
toll-free number to provide education and assistance regarding
safe-surrender sites, to the extent funding is available. DSS
indicates existing informational pamphlets on the program are
currently being redesigned and will be sent out to local
agencies, which it believes will meet the publication
requirements of the measure. Placing requirements to establish a
toll-free number in statute would drive estimated cost pressures
of $18,000 to $35,000, depending on the number of calls
received.
PROPOSED AUTHOR'S AMENDMENTS would strike language requiring
local safe-surrender personnel provide information on voluntary
relinquishment, necessitating DSS training, and insert language
requiring DSS to include voluntary relinquishment language in
its informational pamphlets.