BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1852
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 14, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

              AB 1852 (Portantino) - As Introduced:  February 12, 2010 

          Policy Committee:                              Human  
          ServicesVote:4 - 0 

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill increases the courts' oversight efforts in the area of  
          connecting foster children with appropriate relatives in order  
          to form permanent family connections. Specifically, this bill: 

          1)Requires social workers to include nonrelative extended family  
            members (NREFMs) in their existing relative search process.

          2)Requires the juvenile court to receive and consider  
            information regarding social workers' efforts to locate and  
            connect foster children with relatives and NREFMs at the  
            initial disposition hearing.

          3)Adds social workers who perform activities related to locating  
            and establishing permanent connections with extended family  
            members to the groups of child welfare services personnel who  
            receive practice-relevant training in child welfare services.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)The increased workload to county child welfare departments  
            associated with including NREFMs in the existing relative  
            search process would likely cost in excess of $6 million ($3.5  
            million GF) per year.

          2)Unknown, but significant, workload costs to county child  
            welfare departments for social workers to search for relatives  
            prior to the initial disposition hearing for the child. 

           COMMENTS  









                                                                 AB 1852
                                                                  Page  2

           1)Rationale  . The sponsors, the California Youth Connection, note  
            that California has more than 70,000 children in foster care,  
            and that 4,000 of those youth age out of the system every  
            year. Despite the existence of many loving foster homes, the  
            sponsor notes that many of these children will never  
            experience the support that comes from a stable home life.   
            Strengthening the relative search process, they contend, will  
            provide these children and youth with positive, permanent  
            family connections.

           2)Non-Related Extended Family Members (NREFMs)  are adults who  
            are significant in a child's life, such as godparents,  
            neighbors, family friends, parent's cohabitating partners, or  
            other adults who have formed close relationships with the  
            child but are not related. 
           Analysis Prepared by  :    Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081