BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
938 (Feuer)
Hearing Date: 08/27/2009 Amended: 08/19/2009
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Human
Services 5-0
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 938 creates additional notification
requirements to relatives of children in foster care or youth
who have been have been taken into custody and delivered to a
county probation officer. This bill also provides parties a
greater opportunity to participate in the children's dependency
hearings. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires that when a child is removed from his/her parents and
placed in foster care, the child's social worker must conduct
an investigation to identify and locate the child's
grandparents and other adult relatives, as defined, within 30
days.
2)Requires the social worker to provide specified notifications
once a relative is located, except where the relative's
history of domestic violence makes such notification
inappropriate. Notifications must be in writing and either in
person or by telephone. Requires that the notification explain
that the child has been removed and the options available to
participate in the care and placement of the child.
3)Requires similar relative notification procedures be followed
by county probation officers, to locate and inform of a
juvenile's status and options.
4)On and after January 1, 2011, the social worker is also
required to provide these adult relatives with a relative
information form to provide information to the social worker
and the court regarding the needs of the child. The
information will be developed by the Judicial Council in
consultations with stakeholders.
5)Requires each county to create and make public a procedure by
which relatives of a child who has been removed from his or
her parents or guardians may identify themselves and be
provided with the notices required by this bill.
6)Requires the court, at the initial petition hearing, to
inquire as to the efforts made by the social worker to
identify and locate the child's relatives. Requires the
social worker to provide the court and the parties with any
completed relative information forms that have been received
and, as part of any report to the court in advance of the
disposition hearing, to report on the activities undertaken to
identify and locate relatives and the results of those
activities.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
State-mandated local program ***Unknown, potentially
significant General
Social Workers and Probation officers
reimbursable mandate ***
New form - Judicial Council Minor and absorbable
General
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AB 938 (Feuer)
STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE.
This bill imposes several new requirements that expand the
duties of county social workers and county probation officers,
related to finding and notifying relatives when a child is
removed from his or her home. Current practice, when a child is
removed, as specified, the child's social worker attempts to
contact relatives with whom the child might be temporarily
placed. This bill specifies that the social worker attempt to
identify and contact an exceptionally broad range of relatives.
Specifically, it requires the social worker to "conduct an
investigation in order to identify and locate all grandparents,
adult siblings, and other adult relatives of the child, as
defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) of Section 319."
The code identified considers these relatives to be an "adult
who is related to the child by blood, adoption, or affinity
within the fifth degree of kinship, including stepparents,
stepsiblings, and all relatives whose status is preceded by the
words 'great,' 'great-great,' or 'grand,' or the spouse of any
of these persons, even if the marriage was terminated by death
or dissolution." This bill requires that within 30 days, the
social worker must locate these individuals, determine if they
have histories of family or domestic violence that would make
them inappropriate placements, and otherwise notify each of them
in writing and verbally (in person, or by telephone) of the
specified information. After January 1, 2011, social workers
will also be required to provide these relatives with the form
specified in the bill which explains to them their opportunities
for participation the court proceedings and in the child's life.
This bill requires each county to create and make public a
procedure by which relatives of a child who has been removed
from his or her parents or guardians may identify themselves and
be provided with the notices required by this bill. Counties
would have to train their social workers and related staff on
this procedure. This bill tasks county probation officers with a
similar notification procedure and need for similar training. It
also requires county probation officers to provide those
relatives with information about specific social services that
may be beneficial to the juvenile. It is unclear the degree to
which county probation officers have this information and are
euquipped to inform families of their foster care options.
For county social workers, some of these provisions may be
absorbable in certain counties because they similar to
procedures they may implement now. As an expansion of duties,
however, the Commission on State mandates may find this to
constitute a reimbursable mandate, which may result in the state
compensating counties for additional social worker time, and
county training costs. This bill is likely to be a much larger
expansion of duties on county probation officers, and will
likely incur a reimbursable mandate, especially at a time when
county programs and staff are being reduced due to extensive
budget reductions.
The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions
Act of 2008, (Public Law 110 - 351) requires that child welfare
agencies provide notice to all adult grandparents and other
relatives within 30 days of a child's removal from the parents
and placement in foster care. (42 U.S.C. Section 671(a).)
California must implement
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AB 938 (Feuer)
this requirement by January 1, 2010, or risk loss of significant
federal foster care funds. To the extent that this bill
implements new federal requirements, it prevents the state from
losing federal foster care money. This bill may provide
additional savings, to the extent that placements with relatives
are secured more quickly, and children are not placed in more
expensive placement options. The provisions of this bill that
apply to county probation officers are not related to compliance
with this federal law.