BILL ANALYSIS
AB 131
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 131 (Evans)
As Amended September 1, 2009
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |72-5 |(June 1, 2009) |SENATE: |25-12|(September 3, |
| | | | | |2009) |
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Original Committee Reference: JUD.
SUMMARY : Requires Judicial Council to establish a cost-recovery
program for appointed counsel in dependency cases.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the Judicial Council to establish a cost-recovery
program to collect reimbursements for counsel appointed by the
court to represent parents or their children in juvenile court
cases. Requires the Judicial Council to develop a statewide
standard for determining ability to pay reimbursements for
counsel, as specified. Requires that all funds collected
through this reimbursement program be used to reduce
dependency counsel caseloads.
2)Requires the Judicial Council to adopt policies and procedures
allowing a court to recover from the money collected the costs
associated with collecting delinquent reimbursements. The
policies must, at a minimum, limit the amount of money a court
may recover to a reasonable proportion of the delinquent
reimbursements collected and provide terms and conditions
under which a court may use a third-party to collect
delinquent reimbursements.
3)Allows the court, with the consent of the county and pursuant
to terms and conditions agreed upon by the court and county,
to designate a financial evaluation officer to make financial
evaluations of liability for reimbursement for legal services
rendered to a minor, as provided.
4)States that if either the court or the financial officer
determines that repayment of costs for counsel would harm the
ability of a reunified parent or guardian to support the child
or pose a barrier to reunification for families receiving
reunification services, provides that the financial officer
AB 131
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shall not petition for repayment and the court shall not issue
an order for repayment.
5)Makes technical corrections to court fee reference sections.
The Senate amendments require the Judicial Council to adopt
policies and procedures allowing a court to recover, from the
money collected, the costs associated with collecting delinquent
reimbursements; and require the court to get the consent of the
county before designation of a financial evaluator.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Permits the court to appoint counsel in a dependency case for
a parent or guardian of a dependent child when it appears to
the court that the parent or guardian wants counsel but is
currently unable to afford counsel. Requires the court to
appoint counsel when the child is or may be placed in
out-of-home care, except as specified.
2)Requires the court to appoint counsel for an unrepresented
child in a dependency case, unless the court finds that the
child would not benefit from the appointment of counsel.
Requires appointed counsel to have caseload and training that
ensures adequate representation of the child.
3)Provides that a person liable for support of a minor shall be
liable to the county for the costs of legal services rendered
to the minor by an attorney. Provides that there is no
liability for legal services if the petition to declare the
minor a dependent of the court is dismissed at or before the
jurisdictional hearing.
4)Allows a county board of supervisors to designate a financial
evaluation officer to make financial evaluations of liability
for specified reimbursement programs, including reimbursement
for legal services rendered to a minor, and specifies the
procedure for doing so.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar
to the version approved by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
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COMMENTS : Current law makes parents who have the ability to pay
responsible for the costs of counsel provided in both dependency
and delinquency actions. The county is responsible for paying
for appointed counsel in delinquency cases and the court is
responsible in dependency cases. This bill, sponsored by the
Judicial Council, establishes a program whereby parents who have
the ability to do so would be required to reimburse the cost of
providing counsel to parents and children in dependency actions.
The bill specifically prevents repayment if doing so would harm
the parent's ability to support the child or pose a barrier to
reunification, thus ensuring that the best interests of the
child are paramount. The bill directs that any money collected
under this program be used to reduce caseloads for dependency
counsel.
SB 2160 (Schiff), Chapter 450, Statutes of 2000, directed the
Judicial Council, by July 1, 2001, to promulgate rules to
establish caseload standards, training requirements and
guidelines for appointment of counsel for children in dependency
cases. The Judicial Council promulgated rules that mandated
appointment of counsel for children, at the trial court level,
in almost all cases. In addition, the Administrative Offices of
the Courts contracted with the American Humane Association to
study dependency counsel caseloads and service delivery. In a
June 2004 report, the American Human Association recommended a
maximum caseload per dependency attorney of 141 client cases,
though they suggested that an optimum level would be 77.
The Judicial Council began testing the feasibility of the
standards and recommendations of the report through the
Dependency Representation, Administration, Funding and Training
(DRAFT) pilot program, with the goal of improving representation
of parents and children in dependency cases as cost-effectively
as possible. Ten counties initially began testing the
recommendations through a centralized dependency counsel
administrative model. The DRAFT program has measured the effect
of reduced caseloads and increased compensation for dependency
counsel on improved well-being outcomes for children, with the
average caseload in DRAFT counties at 191 clients per attorney.
According to a report by the Judicial Council, the DRAFT
counties outperformed non-DRAFT counties in improvements in key
outcomes for children, including, decreased time for family
reunification, less reentry into the foster care system,
decreased time to guardianship, and increased placement with at
least some siblings.
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As a result of the DRAFT program, the Judicial Council adopted a
modified caseload standard of 188 clients per dependency
attorney, with a half-time investigator or social worker per
attorney. However, according to Judicial Council, the courts
lack sufficient funding to implement this recommendation. As of
July 2008, dependency counsel had an average caseload of 283
clients. Judicial Council estimates it will cost an additional
$57.1 million to implement the adopted caseload standard.
According to a Judicial Council pilot project in San Joaquin and
Stanislaus Counties, between 7% and 10% of parents could afford
to provide, on average, $850 in reimbursement for dependency
counsel costs, for a total annual cost recovery of $3.3 million
to $4.8 million. While this cost recovery would not bridge the
$57.1 million funding shortfall, it would provide some of the
funding needed to reduce caseloads for dependency counsel. The
bill provides direction to the court for how to divide up the
new funding: Priority is given to courts with the highest
caseloads that have also demonstrated the ability to immediately
improve outcomes for parents and children as the result of lower
caseloads.
In order to ensure that struggling families, who cannot afford
to, are not asked to repay the costs of dependency counsel and
that there is a uniform standard on ability to pay across the
state, the bill requires the Judicial Council to develop a
statewide standard for determining ability to pay reimbursements
for counsel, which shall at a minimum include the family's
income, their necessary obligations, the number of individuals
dependent on this income, and the cost-effectiveness of the
collection.
Analysis Prepared by : Leora Gershenzon / JUD. / (916)
319-2334
FN: 0002878