BILL ANALYSIS
AB 12
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 12 (Beall and Bass)
As Amended January 25, 2010
Majority vote
HUMAN SERVICES 5-0 APPROPRIATIONS 13-4
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|Ayes:|Beall, Ammiano, Tom |Ayes:|De Leon, Ammiano, |
| |Berryhill, Portantino, | |Bradford, Charles |
| |Torres | |Calderon, Coto, Davis, |
| | | |Fuentes, Hall, John A. |
| | | |Perez, Skinner, Solorio, |
| | | |Audra Strickland, |
| | | |Torlakson |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Conway, Harkey, Miller, |
| | | |Nielsen |
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SUMMARY : Requires California to opt in to federal financial
participation in kinship guardianship assistance payments and
extends transitional foster care services for eligible youth
between 18 and 21 years of age pursuant to the federal Fostering
Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008
(Fostering Connections Act). Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to exercise
its option under federal law to enter into kinship
guardianship assistance agreements with relative guardians of
children who exit foster care. In order to create a federally
funded Kin-GAP program, makes conforming changes which
include, but are not limited to, the following additions or
revisions to existing statutes governing California's
Kinship-Guardianship Assistance Payment Program (Kin-GAP)
program:
a) Establishes eligibility criteria, including but not
limited to, that the child is a sibling of an eligible
child or that the child:
i) Has been removed from home pursuant to a voluntary
placement agreement, or adjudicated as a dependent or
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ward of the juvenile court, and returning home would be
contrary to the child's welfare;
ii) Has been eligible for foster care maintenance
payments while residing in the relative caregiver's home
for at least six months; and,
iii) Demonstrates a strong attachment to the relative,
who has a strong, permanent commitment to caring for the
child.
b) Requires that DSS negotiate and enter into a written
assistance agreement with the relative guardian, which
applies regardless of the guardian's state of residence and
specifies, among other information:
i) The amount of aid, which shall be based on specified
criteria and shall not exceed the rate paid for children
in a foster family home; and,
ii) Additional services and assistance for which the
child and guardian are eligible and a procedure for
applying for additional services, as needed.
c) Requires the state to pay the total cost of nonrecurring
expenses of obtaining legal guardianship of the child, not
to exceed $2,000.
2)Creates a process for converting eligible existing
state-funded Kin-GAP cases to the newly established federally
funded Kin-GAP with minimal disruption to the guardian and
child, and no break in the assistance payments.
3)Requires DSS to negotiate with the federal Department of
Health and Human Services on behalf of the counties
participating in the Child Welfare Demonstration Capped
Allocation Project to ensure that those counties receive
reimbursement for the above- described kinship guardianship
agreements outside of the provisions of their current waiver.
4)Establishes a state-funded Kin-GAP program to continue to
provide benefits on behalf of children who are not eligible
for the federally funded Kin-GAP program described above.
Makes many, but not all, of the same changes, additions or
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revisions to existing statutes governing California's Kin-GAP
program in order to create this state-funded Kin-GAP.
5)Specifies that Kin-GAP payments shall continue after the
filing of a petition pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code
(WIC) Section 388 to change, modify or set aside a court order
unless and until the juvenile court orders the child removed
from the home, terminates guardianship or grants other
requested relief.
6)Requires the federally funded Kin-GAP opt-in begin after the
Director of DSS issues a declaration that increased federal
financial participation under the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA), or subsequent federal legislation is
no longer available.
7)Establishes the intent of the Legislature to exercise the
option afforded states under the federal Fostering Connections
Act to receive federal financial participation for current or
former dependent children or wards of the juvenile court who
receive support up to 21 years of age as follows:
a) Effective January 1, 2012, extends foster care to
eligible youth up to 19 years of age;
b) Effective January 1, 2013, extends foster care to
eligible youth up to 20 years of age; and,
c) Effective January 1, 2014, extends foster care to
eligible youth up to 21 years of age.
8)Defines "nonminor dependents" as current or former dependents
or wards of the juvenile court who are between 18 and 21 years
of age, are in foster care, and are participating in a
transitional independent living case plan (TILP) pursuant to
the federal Fostering Connections Act. Allows for the payment
of aid, following specified procedures and due process
requirements, on behalf of an otherwise eligible nonminor
dependent who also meets at least one of the following five
conditions:
a) Is completing secondary education or an equivalent
credential;
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b) Is enrolled in a postsecondary or vocational education
institution;
c) Is participating in a program designed to promote, or
remove barriers to, employment;
d) Is employed for at least 80 hours per month; or,
e) Is incapable of doing one of the above due to a medical
condition, and that incapability is supported by regularly
updated case plan information.
9)Changes eligibility for the adoption assistance program (AAP)
and Kin-GAP assistance to also include otherwise eligible
youth between the ages of 18 and 21 for whom an adoption
assistance agreement was entered into or Kin-GAP aid began
after the age of 16 and who meet one of the above-described
five conditions.
10)Requires the county welfare or probation department, or
tribe, to notify all foster youth, including those receiving
Kin-GAP and AAP, who attain 16 years of age and are under
their jurisdiction of the existence of the aid described
above.
11)Declares that the juvenile court has within its
"jurisdiction" any nonminor dependent. Authorizes the court
to terminate "dependency or delinquency jurisdiction" over the
nonminor between the ages of 18 and 21. Allows a nonminor
under the age of 21 to petition for the court to resume its
dependency jurisdiction and requires a court hearing on such a
petition. Further requires that the court resume dependency
jurisdiction and order a new TILP within 60 days if it finds
that the nonminor is eligible for dependency jurisdiction.
12)Authorizes the placement of nonminor dependents in
"supervised independent living" (SIL) settings. Defines a SIL
setting as a supervised setting specified in a nonminor
dependent's TILP, pursuant to federal law. Exempts SIL
settings from licensure under the Community Care Facilities
Act. Establishes the rate paid on behalf of youth in SIL
settings as equivalent to the per child, per month rates paid
to foster family homes.
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13)Requires the court, at the last review hearing before a
foster child turns 18, to ensure that the child's TILP
includes a plan for the child to meet one of the criteria for
eligibility as a nonminor dependent and that the child has
been informed of the right to seek termination of dependency
jurisdiction at any time after reaching the age of majority
and before the age of 21. Requires the child welfare or
probation department to report to the court, at the hearing
closest to and before a dependent child's 18th birthday and
each review hearing thereafter whether specified information,
documents and services have been provided.
14)Requires that case plans for nonminor dependents be developed
with, and signed by, the nonminor and include specified
information.
15)Requires that the status of a nonminor dependent be reviewed
periodically. Establishes the frequency of review as
determined by the court, but at least every six months, until
dependency jurisdiction is terminated. Specifies that courts
shall not order hearings to terminate parental rights of a
nonminor dependent's parent(s). Requires the court to hold a
specified hearing before terminating dependency jurisdiction
for a nonminor dependent.
16)Adds nonminor dependents to existing categories of youth who
may retain specified cash resources and remain eligible to
receive specified social services and to those who may receive
CalWORKs while in the approved home of a relative foster
caregiver.
17)Specifies that nothing in the above provisions gives legal
custody of a person who has attained the age of 18 to a county
welfare or probation department or otherwise abrogates rights
that a person who has reached the age of 18 has under state
law. Unless otherwise specified, declares that the rights of
a dependent child and responsibilities of specified
departments and other entities toward them also apply to
nonminor dependents.
18)Requires DSS, by specified dates, to revise or adopt
specified regulations to implement the above provisions. In
some instances, directs DSS to prepare for this implementation
by releasing instructions to apply for set periods prior to
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the adoption of regulations. Authorizes implementation of
regulatory changes via emergency regulations.
19)Makes other related changes.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes a system of child welfare services, including
foster care, for children who have been or are at risk of
being abused or neglected.
2)Establishes the Kin-GAP program to enhance family preservation
and stability by recognizing that many dependent children are
in long-term, stable placements with relatives that allow for
their dependency cases to be dismissed. Sets the rate paid on
behalf of a child in a placement supported by Kin-GAP as
equivalent to the rate paid to foster family homes. WIC
Sections 11360; 11364.
3)Authorizes the juvenile court to retain jurisdiction over a
child who has been adjudicated a dependent because of abuse or
neglect until the ward or dependent child attains the age of
21 years. WIC Section 303.
4)Specifies that Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster
Care (AFDC-FC) benefits and Kin-GAP assistance shall be paid
on behalf of a child in foster care or a guardianship under
the age of 18 who meets additional eligibility criteria. WIC
Sections 11363; 11401. Exempts from this age-based
requirement foster children and children in guardianships
between the ages of 18 and 19 who are pursuing specified
education-related goals. WIC Section11403.
5)Establishes AAP with the intent to reduce the number of
children in foster care and provide stable, secure homes for
children who meet specified eligibility requirements. WIC
Section 16115.5; 16120. Specifies that the amount of adoption
assistance benefit, if any, shall be negotiated based on the
needs of the child and circumstances of the family and
included in an adoption assistance agreement. WIC Sections
16119 (d)(1); 16120.05. Specifies as criteria for receipt of
AAP benefits that the child is under the age of 18, or is
under the age of 21, and has a handicap that warrants the
continuation of assistance. WIC Section 16120.
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FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee extending Foster Care, KinGAP and AAP to age 21, once
fully implemented, will cost between $100 million and $155
million per year ($65 million to $100 million General Fund).
Also, as noted in the May 20, 2009 Appropriations Committee
analysis, the LAO found that, "While there would initially be
increased costs to implementing AB 12, we estimate that by full
program implementation (in 2011-12 and beyond) the net cost of
the program would be in the range of $5 million to $41 million.
We note that the cost of AB 12 would be significantly less in
2009-10 if the date of shifting Kin-GAP to a Title IV-E program
was delayed until the ARRA federal fiscal relief period ends on
September 30, 2010."
Amendments taken in the Appropriations Committee effectively
delay the transition to the federally funded Kin-GAP until after
the increased federal financial participation through ARRA is no
longer available, therefore significantly reducing the cost of
AB 12, as suggested by the LAO. In addition, the staggered
extension of foster care support to age 21 over the course of
three years beginning in 2012 would allow for California's
continued economic recovery, and for no budget year expenses as
a result of AB 12.
COMMENTS : In October, 2008, President Bush signed one of the
most significant pieces of child welfare legislation in recent
history. Along with multiple new requirements for states, the
federal Fostering Connections Act offered states the opportunity
to opt in to new federal funding streams if they choose to
provide kinship-guardianship benefits to relative guardians
and/or foster care to 18 to 21-year-old youth in conformity with
federal law. This bill, enacting the California Fostering
Connections Act, would enable the state to exercise both of
these options. With regard to kinship-guardianship benefits,
this bill would allow California to draw down federal funds for
what has been a state-funded program for over a decade.
With recently revised federal policy instruction for the federal
Fostering Connections Act, provisions of the bill related to the
conversion of California's existing Kin-GAP caseload to the new
federally funded Kin-GAP will no longer apply. The revised
instruction will allow California to draw down federal financial
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participation for its state-funded relative guardianship
program.
According to the author of this bill, the federal Fostering
Connections Act, "provides California with an unprecedented
opportunity to access federal funding to improve the lives of
our state's most vulnerable youth...The [bill's provisions]
represent both fiscally and socially responsible improvements to
California's foster care system. As a result, California would
utilize federal funds to meet costs currently borne by the state
and counties, and realize proven savings from declines in
unemployment, homelessness, teen pregnancy, public assistance,
and the other costly outcomes for young adults who 'age out' of
foster care." These changes would also implement critical
recommendations of the California Judicial Council's Blue Ribbon
Commission on Children in Foster Care.
Analysis Prepared by : Michelle Doty Cabrera / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089
FN: 0003628