BILL ANALYSIS
AB 488
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 488 (Torres and Hagman)
As Amended July 14, 2009
Majority vote
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |72-0 |(May 14, 2009) |SENATE: |39-0 |(August 24, |
| | | | | |2009) |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: HUM. S.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the Department of Social Services (DSS) to
renew or extend for up to an additional three years specified
performance agreements with private nonprofit agencies that
serve children, which may waive regulations governing foster
care payments or the operation of group homes. Establishes
requirements for evaluating and reporting on the results of the
waiver.
The Senate amendments :
1)Require that, for waivers entered into prior to January 1,
2010, the county provide a report to DSS six months prior to
the end of the agreement period.
2)Require that, for waivers entered into on or after January 1,
2010, the county or the private nonprofit agency fund an
independent evaluation of the waiver, with a report of the
results due to DSS six months prior to the end of the
three-year waiver period.
3)Make additional conforming changes concerning conditions for
approving waiver extensions.
EXISTING LAW :
1)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, and limits
these agreements to a period of up to three years.
2)Requires counties to provide reports on the agreements to DSS
within three months of the end of an agreement.
AB 488
Page 2
3)Requires the Director of DDS to make those reports available
to the Legislature upon request.
4)Authorizes the Director of DDS 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.
5)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.
6)Requires the Director of DDS to notify policy and fiscal
committees of the Legislature of when and why a waiver of
regulations was granted.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill authorized DSS to renew or
extend, for up to an additional three years, performance
agreements with private nonprofit agencies that serve children.
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." According to the
Senate Appropriations Committee, one-time costs for the
additional independent evaluation and report of the waiver.
"The cost will not be shared by the state."
COMMENTS : The Senate amendments do not substantially change the
Assembly version of this bill. The amendments change the time
for reporting on existing agreements and, commencing January 1,
2010, add to the reporting requirements for renewal or
extensions of performance agreements and waivers, requiring that
counties or private nonprofit agencies fund an independent
evaluation and report of the waiver. The independent evaluation
and report must include the details of the agreement, the
results achieved during its operation, and the applicability of
the approach to a wider population.
Analysis Prepared by : Eric Gelber / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089
AB 488
Page 3
FN: 0002125