BILL ANALYSIS
AB 488
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 488 (Torres and Hagman)
As Amended April 21, 2009
Majority vote
HUMAN SERVICES 6-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Beall, Ammiano, Tom |Ayes:|De Leon, Nielsen, |
| |Berryhill, Logue, | |Ammiano, |
| |Portantino, Torres | |Charles Calderon, |
| | | |Krekorian, Duvall, |
| | | |Fuentes, Monning, Harkey, |
| | | |Miller, John A. Perez, |
| | | |Price, Skinner, Solorio, |
| | | |Audra Strickland, |
| | | |Torlakson |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Authorizes the Department of Social Services
(department) to renew or extend for up to an additional three
years specified performance agreements with private, non-profit
agencies that serve children.
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. Establishes foster care placement
options for dependents and wards placed in foster care,
including foster homes, relative and nonrelative extended
family members' homes, Foster Family Agency-supervised homes,
and group homes. Sets rates of financial assistance for
varying caregivers and providers. Requires documentation that
placement is necessary to meet treatment needs of child as
condition of eligibility for placement in group home.
2)Allows counties to enter into performance agreements with
private, nonprofit agencies to encourage innovation, develop
services for children that are not available in the community
and promote change in the child welfare system. Limits these
agreements to a period of up to three years. Requires
counties to provide reports on the agreements to the
AB 488
Page 2
department within three months of the end of an agreement.
Requires the director to make those reports available to the
Legislature upon request. Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC)
Section 18987.61.
3)Authorizes the director to waive regulations, except those
pertaining to health and safety, which govern foster care
payments or the operation of group homes to enable counties to
implement the agreements. Allows waivers under specified
circumstances--when the agreement offers a worthwhile test of
innovation, the regulatory requirement prevents implementation
of the agreement and the county proposes to monitor the waiver
regulation via performance measures. Requires the director to
notify policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature of when
and why a waiver of regulations was granted. WIC Section
18987.62.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, negligible costs associated with this legislation.
Without the extension of the waiver, these children would need
to be placed in other group homes and residential facilities
that require comparable monthly payments.
COMMENTS : Authorization for the performance agreements
addressed by this bill was created by SB 933 (Thompson), Chapter
311, Statutes of 1998. Although the department confirms that
Boys Republic is currently the only provider operating under a
waiver based on this type of agreement, there are no statutory
provisions that limit the agreements to Boys Republic or any
narrow group of providers. SB 933 was a comprehensive bill that
contained many changes to the licensing, oversight, safety and
practice standards, and rates of payment to group homes for
children, in addition to creating the option for performance
agreements and related regulatory waivers addressed by this
bill.
Author's stated purpose for bill: According to the author, the
department approved waiver applications from eight counties that
place youth at the main campus in Chino of a provider called
Boys Republic. Boys Republic states in its letter that this
campus serves 140 youth between the ages of 13 and 17. The
author states that "the overall goal of the waiver project is to
demonstrate that under a more flexible rate framework," youth
with complex needs placed at Boys Republic can satisfy specific
AB 488
Page 3
performance outcome measures, including measures related to
community transition, educational achievement and public safety.
Also according to the author, a secondary goal is to
demonstrate that fewer staff with longer tenure and higher
levels of training is a cost-effective approach to providing
care.
Arguments in support of this bill: Boys Republic states that
this bill is a "short-term but necessary solution to a
longer-term problem. . .", which allows more time for the
adjustment of rate structures under current law that penalize
large campus programs serving older adolescents. As a result,
the organization states that a successful model of serving youth
will not have to be abandoned and higher level placements will
be avoided. In its support of this bill, Los Angeles County's
Probation Department states that it is "extremely pleased with
the results of the performance agreement to date" and views Boys
Republic as "a valued and successful placement resource."
Arguments against this bill: In opposition, the American
Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME),
AFL-CIO states that "under the thin veil of innovation, this
bill seeks to allow private companies to provide children's
services to counties under less regulation than otherwise
allowed. Reducing these regulations will directly affect the
quality of care given to this vulnerable population..."
Analysis Prepared by : Eric Gelber / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089
FN: 0000492