BILL ANALYSIS
AB 769
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 769 (Torres)
As Amended July 23, 2009
Majority vote
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |79-0 |(May 21, 2009) |SENATE: |30-3 |(August 31, |
| | | | | |2009) |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: ED.
SUMMARY : Expands priority for state-funded preschool programs
to children who have a biological parent who is, or who has been
within the previous six months, a dependent or ward of the
juvenile court.
The Senate amendments specify that the priority enrollment
provided by this bill shall be granted only when slots become
available and shall not displace children currently receiving
care. Amendments also make minor, technical changes.
EXISTING LAW requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
to administer state preschool programs, including part-time day
and preschool appropriate programs for prekindergarten children
three to five years of age.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Legislative Counsel, this bill
is non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : The state provides funding for both part-day and
full-day state preschool programs. The part-day state preschool
programs provide comprehensive developmental programs for three-
to five-year-old children from low-income families. The
programs emphasize parent education and encourage parent
involvement. In addition to preschool education activities that
are developmentally appropriate for the children served, the
state preschool programs (part-day and full-day) provide meals
or snacks to children, referrals to health and social services
for families, and staff development opportunities to employees.
AB 2759 (Jones), Chapter 308, Statutes of 2008, consolidated
preschool programs, including the portions of general child care
programs that serve three and four-year-olds, into one program
called the California State Preschool Program. In fiscal year
(FY) 2008-09, the State Preschool Program received $429 million.
AB 769
Page 2
Preschool Programs Eligibility: Existing law and regulations
give eligibility priority for State Preschool Program services
to neglected and abused children who are recipients of child
protective services, upon written referral from a legal,
medical, or social services agency, or recipients who are at
risk of being neglected or abused, followed by four-year-old
children and three-year-old children. Families with the lowest
adjusted monthly income are admitted first, with an income
ceiling of 75% of the state median income based on family size.
According to the Legislative Analyst's Office, there are 110,000
state preschool slots for children between the ages of three
through five who meet the income eligibility threshold of 75% of
the state median income. According to the county centralized
eligibility list, as of September, 2008, there were 220,069
children on the waiting list for subsidized child care, 87,629
of which were between three to five years of age.
This bill adds children who have a biological parent who is, or
who has been within the previous six months, a dependent or ward
of the juvenile court, to the priority for enrollment.
According to the author, "Children of youth who are in custody,
on probation or in the foster system are at high risk of
developmental delays and other cognitive, social and emotional
difficulties. Even if these children are not being raised by
their biological parents, there is sufficient evidence to
suggest that stressful prenatal experiences--and even the
physical and mental condition of parents prior to
conception--impact brain development and future well-being.
"Studies consistently show that early childhood education has a
positive impact on pupils' future educational success. AB 769
(Torres) would go a long way in furthering successful education
opportunities for the state's at-risk youth."
Delinquency Court: When a minor (under 18) commits a crime, the
minor can be admitted to a juvenile center, where an
investigation takes place and a recommendation can be made to
the District Attorney to file charges. The Delinquency Court
can dismiss the case, put the minor on informal probation, or
make the minor a ward of the court. When a minor is a ward of
the Court, the Court takes over all or some of the
decisionmaking for the minor in regards to the minor's care and
treatment. The Court can send the minor home on probation with
supervision, send the minor to live with a relative, put the
AB 769
Page 3
minor in foster care, a group home or institution, or send the
minor to a local detention facility, ranch or county boot camp.
Juvenile Dependency Court: The Dependency Court hears cases
regarding minors who are abused or neglected and makes decisions
regarding the placement of the minors. Section 300 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code defines this population as
children who have suffered or have a substantial risk of
suffering serious physical harm or illness as a result of the
failure or inability of their parents or guardians to adequately
supervise or protect them, or the willful or negligent failure
of parents or guardians to provide adequate food, clothing,
shelter, or medical treatment; children who are suffering or are
at substantial risk of suffering serious emotional damage;
children who have been or have substantial risk of being
sexually abused; or children freed for adoption due to the
relinquishment or termination of parental rights.
According to the California Department of Education, children of
youths who are dependents or wards of the juvenile court are
likely to be recipients of child protective services and thus
already have priority for enrollment. The sponsor, the Los
Angeles County Office of Education, states that while many of
these children may already be served by the existing structure,
they are a "hidden population". In practice, some of these
youths do not receive priority because they are not known to the
Court or social services systems. There is no data on the
number of children that would have eligibility priority for
state preschool programs specified pursuant to this bill.
Abused and neglected children have priority eligibility for both
general child care and preschool programs. Why limit the bill
to just preschool? The sponsor states that it recognizes the
importance of general child care programs, but wants to
prioritize preschool to ensure that these kids have a chance of
success in kindergarten and beyond. Moreover, SB 244 (Wright),
a similar bill pending in the Assembly, includes priority for
general child care services.
The Chief Probation Officers of California states, "AB 769 helps
ensure that no child is left behind by allowing children who
live in unstable home environments to receive the same
educational opportunities as others. Preschool provides many
fundamental principles to children as it prepares them for
kindergarten, such as enhancing problem solving, socialization,
AB 769
Page 4
and other developmental skills. These essential qualities are
later improved as children continue their education, which means
they are less susceptible of entering into the criminal justice
system."
The sponsor offers the additional following reasons why this
bill is important:
1)Children of incarcerated fathers are four times more likely to
go into the foster system, while children of incarcerated
mothers are five times more likely to go into the foster
system.
2)These children are more likely to experience financial
instability and material hardship, residential mobility,
instability in family relationships, and behavior and school
performance problems.
3)Children who experienced the incarceration of a parent from
the age of six or younger were more than twice as likely to be
convicted of a criminal offense between the ages of 19 and 30
compared with children who did not have a parent incarcerated
during early childhood.
Alternative program: The California School Age Families
Education (Cal-SAFE) program, established by SB 1064 (Johnston),
Chapter 1078, Statutes of 1998, provides community-linked,
school-based support services and child care/development
programs for expectant mothers and teen parents. These programs
are available at school sites, including alternative schools.
While foster care youths and youths who are wards of the courts
would be eligible for this program, the revised FY 2008-09
Budget imposed two year cuts and gave districts flexibility to
spend the funds for other purposes [SB 4 X3 (Ducheny), Chapter
12, Statutes of 2009-10 Third Extraordinary Session]. The
program received $58 million for FY 2008-09 and was reduced by
15.4%, to $49.1 million. The FY 2009-10 allocation will be
$46.4 million, reflecting a 19.8% reduction. It is unclear how
many districts have or will redirect these funds for other
purposes.
Related legislation: SB 244 (Wright), pending in the Assembly,
expands eligibility for, and priority enrollment in, child care
and development program to children who are in relative care,
AB 769
Page 5
formerly in foster care and recently adopted, or has a parent in
the foster system, on probation or parole, or in a correctional
or residential treatment facility.
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0001660