BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
BILL NO: AB 743
A
AUTHOR: Portantino
B
VERSION: May 17, 2010
HEARING DATE: June 10, 2010
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FISCAL: Judiciary; Appropriations
4
3
CONSULTANT:
Park
SUBJECT
Foster care: sibling placement
SUMMARY
Makes changes to the standards for sibling visitation,
interaction, and placement for children who are placed
out-of-home, in foster care, or adoption, to conform with
language in the federal Fostering Connections Act.
Requires placing agencies to notify a dependent child's
attorney of placements and changes in placement, as
specified.
ABSTRACT
Existing law:
1.Provides for the establishment and support of a statewide
child welfare system through the Department of Social
Services (DSS) and county welfare departments.
2.Requires, a social worker, where possible and
appropriate, to place a child, who has been removed from
his or her parents or guardian because of abuse or
neglect, together with his or her siblings or
half-siblings also being removed, or to describe
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continuing efforts to place them together if they are not
initially placed together, or to explain why placing them
together is inappropriate.
3.Requires, when the court has ordered the removal of a
child from his or her parents, to consider whether there
are siblings also under the court's jurisdiction, the
nature of the relationships between the siblings and the
appropriateness of developing or maintaining those
relationships, and the impact of those relationships on
placement and permanency planning.
4.States the intent of the Legislature to ensure that
siblings who are removed from the home will be placed in
foster care together, unless the placement is not in the
best interest of one or more siblings. Recognizes the
importance of sibling relationships and requires the
responsible local agency to develop and maintain sibling
relationships. Requires the responsible local agency to
make diligent effort in all out-of-home placements of
dependent children to develop and maintain sibling
relationships. Requires that, if siblings are not placed
together in the same home, the social worker must explain
why, what efforts are being exerted to place them
together in the same home, or why those efforts are not
appropriate.
5.Requires a placing agency to notify the child's attorney
as soon as possible after the agency makes a decision
regarding a placement or a change of placement for the
child.
6.Requires any order placing a child in foster care to
provide for visitation between a child and any siblings,
unless the court finds by clear and convincing evidence
that sibling interaction is detrimental to either child.
Requires a county adoption agency or DSS to take steps to
facilitate ongoing sibling contact for a dependent child
placed in adoption, except in cases where the court
determines by a preponderance of evidence that sibling
interaction is detrimental to the child.
This bill:
1.Requires a placing agency to notify a dependent child's
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attorney and provide specified information no later than
the close of the following business day of a decision to
place, or change the placement of, the child (instead of
"as soon as possible" under current law).
2.Requires, absent emergency circumstances, a placing
agency to notify the child's attorney and the child's
siblings' attorneys at least 10 calendar days prior to
the change in placement of a dependent child, if the
change will result in the separation of siblings.
Requires a lesser timeline for changes in placement that
are initiated by a foster family agency, group home, or
other foster care provider. Requires, in an emergency, a
placing agency to provide notice as soon as possible, but
no later than the next business day following the change
of placement.
3.Requires a notice that is given after the change in
placement to include information on the child's address,
telephone number, and caregiver. Requires a notice that
is given prior to a change in placement to include this
same information to the extent that the information is
known.
4.Makes changes to the standards for sibling visitation,
interaction, and placement for children who are placed
out-of-home, in foster care, or adoption, in order to
conform with federal law. Specifically, requires court
orders for foster care placement to provide for sibling
visitation, unless the court finds by clear and
convincing evidence that sibling interaction is " contrary
to the safety or well-being " of either child. Applies
the same "contrary to the safety or well-being" of either
child standard to requirements to facilitate sibling
interaction in adoption cases, and to place siblings
together in out-of-home placements. (Current law
sometimes specifies a "detrimental" or "inappropriate"
standard.)
FISCAL IMPACT
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee
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analysis, the bill would result in minimal costs for the
workload associated with notifying siblings' attorneys in
the event of a separation, and potential, unknown cost
pressure due to the requirement that social workers notify
attorneys by the end of the following business day if they
need to change sibling placements. The analysis notes
that, under current law, a social worker is required to
notify the attorneys 'as soon as possible"; however, due to
the under-funding of the child welfare system, this
proposed timeline may result in additional social worker
overtime or in delaying other mandated tasks.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Author's statement
According to the author, maintaining sibling relationships
is critical to foster children's emotional stability, yet
many children in foster care in California are separated
from one or more of their siblings. The author notes that,
for many foster children already suffering the trauma of
the circumstances that brought their family into the child
welfare system, along with the additional trauma of being
removed from their homes, remaining placed with siblings is
a critical lifeline that provides emotional support. The
author believes that the state's obligation to "parent"
vulnerable children goes beyond their physical safety, and
the state should do everything it can to nurture their
emotional well-being and give them every available
opportunity to be connected to the people they love and are
closest to. The author states that the child's attorney is
uniquely positioned to work with all parties involved to
ensure that wherever possible and appropriate the siblings
are able to stay together.
Data on sibling placement
As of October 1, 2009, foster children in California are
placed together with all their siblings in only about half
of all cases. In approximately 73 percent of cases, foster
youth are placed with all or some of their siblings,
leaving about 27 percent of cases, where foster youth are
separated from all of their siblings. (Needell, B.,
Webster, D., Armijo, M., Lee, S., Dawson, W., Magruder, J.,
Exel, M., Cuccaro-Alamin, S., Williams, D., Zimmerman, K.,
Simon, V., Hamilton, D., Putnam-Hornstein, E., Frerer, K.,
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 743 (Portantino) Page
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Lou, C., Peng, C. & Moore, M. (2010). Child Welfare
Services Reports for California. Retrieved from University
of California at Berkeley Center for Social Services
Research.)
Fostering Connections Act
In October 2008, Congress passed and President Bush signed
the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing
Adoptions Act, which promotes permanent families for
children and youth in foster care by providing greater
assistance to relative caregivers and improving incentives
for adoption. The act also extends assistance to foster
children to age 21 and improves education and health care
for children and youth in foster care. Relate to this
measure, the federal act requires states to use "reasonable
efforts" to place siblings together, unless such placement
is contrary to their safety or well-being. If siblings are
not placed together, visitation between the siblings must
occur frequently, unless contrary to their safety or
well-being. (42 USC Section 671(a).)
Arguments in support
The sponsor, Children's Law Center of Los Angeles (CLC),
reports that, often, a sibling group is initially placed
together, but one of the children has difficulties or
demonstrates behavioral issues with which the caregiver
struggles to handle. Many times the remedy sought by the
social worker is to remove that child from that foster
home, thus separating the siblings. CLC believes that with
the intervention of the child's attorney, who may have a
different relationship with the caregiver and/or different
ideas for resources to address the underlying issue, many
of these anticipated separations can be avoided.
Judicial Council of California writes that the measure will
enhance the ability of the juvenile court to carry out its
responsibility to keep siblings placed together whenever
such placement is appropriate. Judicial Council states
that by adopting the enhanced federal standard for sibling
placement, which will clarify that placement of siblings
together is appropriate in any case in which the placement
is not contrary to the safety or well-being of any sibling.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees writes that the bill extends a helping hand to
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the children of California who have lost the most, and
provides an opportunity for recovery through protecting the
remaining bonds between siblings.
Support, if amended
The Juvenile Court Judges of California, a section of the
California Judges Association, writes that it would support
AB 743 if it were amended to avoid competing standards. The
organization writes that, currently, Welfare & Institutions
Code Section 306.5 (which the bill previously addressed)
requires a social worker to place siblings together "to the
extent that it is practical and appropriate." The
organization states that it is unclear how to reconcile
that standard with the bill's provisions, which require a
social worker to make reasonable efforts to place siblings
together unless it is contrary to the safety or well-being
of a sibling.
Related/prior legislation
AB 705 (Steinberg), Chapter 747, Statutes of 2001, ensured
that sibling relationships are considered at all
appropriate hearings and siblings are placed together when
appropriate.
AB 1987 (Steinberg), Chapter 909, Statutes of 2000,
recognized the importance of sibling relationships and
required the court to consider the existence, nature and
impact of a dependent child's sibling relationships on the
child's placement and planning for legal permanence.
AB 740 (Steinberg), Chapter 805, Statutes of 1999,
expedited the procedure for permanent placement of a
sibling group.
PRIOR VOTES
Assembly Floor: 67 - 0
Assembly Appropriations:13 - 0
Assembly Human Services: 7 - 0
Assembly Judiciary: 10 - 0
QUESTIONS & COMMENTS
This bill is double-referred. If passed out of this
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committee, the bill will be heard in the Senate Judiciary
Committee.
The author may wish to address the following:
1. Pursuant to the issue raised in a letter submitted
by the Juvenile Court Judges of California, the author
may wish to address why corresponding language changes
regarding the standard "contrary to the safety or
well-being of any sibling" are not similarly
incorporated to Section 306.5, which also deals with
duties placed upon a social worker regarding the
placement of siblings. A prior version of the bill
contained this language.
2. The author may wish to address the questions below
pertaining to duties on the placing agency.
a. Section 4, pages 5-6, lines 32-10:
(b) Absent exigent circumstances, as soon as a
placing agency
becomes aware of the need for a change in
placement of a dependent
child that will result in the separation of
siblings currently placed
together, the placing agency shall notify the
child's attorney and
the child's siblings' attorney of this proposed
separation
no less than 10 calendar days prior to the
planned change of
placement so that the attorneys may investigate
the circumstances of
the proposed separation. If the placing agency
first becomes
aware, by written notification from a foster
family
agency, group home, or other foster care
provider, of the need for a
change in placement for a dependent child that
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will result in the
separation of siblings currently placed together,
and that the child
or children shall be removed within seven days ,
then notice shall be
provided to the attorneys no fewer than seven
days before the planned
change of placement . In an emergency, the
placing agency shall
provide notice as soon as possible, but no later
than 24
hours from the close of the first business day
following the change of placement. This
notification shall be
deemed sufficient notice for the purposes of
subdivision (a).
1. Does the provision above require
a placing agency to notify attorneys on the
same day that it receives a notice from the
group home/foster family agency/other foster
care provider, i.e., both seven days?
b. Section 4, page 6, lines 11-18:
(c) When the required notice is given prior to a
change in
placement, the notice shall include information
regarding the child's
address, telephone number, and caregiver or any
one or more of these
items of information to the extent that this
information is known at
the time that the placing agency provides notice
to the child's
attorney. When the required notice is given after
the change in
placement, notice shall include information
regarding the child's
address, telephone number, and caregiver.
1. It is unclear how the
subdivision above works in conjunction with
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 743 (Portantino) Page
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the previous subdivisions. The author may
wish to clarify how these requirements are
different than the requirement for a
placing agency to notify the child's
attorney and provide to the child's
attorney information regarding the child's
address, telephone number, and caregiver.
POSITIONS
Support: Children's Law Center of Los Angeles (sponsor)
All Saints Church Foster Care Project
American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees
Aspiranet
California Alliance of Child and Family Services
California Youth Connection
Child Abuse Prevention Council of Contra Costa
County
Children's Advocacy Institute
County Welfare Directors Association of
California
Judicial Council of California
Junior Leagues of California
Juvenile Court Judges of California (if amended)
National Association of Social Workers,
California Chapter
Public Counsel Law Center
State Bar of California, Family Law Section
Oppose: None received
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