BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2129|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2129
Author: Bass (D)
Amended: 8/2/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 4-1, 6/22/10
AYES: Liu, Emmerson, Romero, Yee
NOES: Runner
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-4, 8/12/10
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Leno, Price, Wolk, Yee
NOES: Ashburn, Emmerson, Walters, Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 4/22/10 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Foster care: residentially based services
SOURCE : California Alliance of Child and Family
Services
DIGEST : This bill extends to July 1, 2014, the deadline
for the Department of Social Services (DSS) to develop a
plan to transform the current statewide system of group
homes into a system of residentially based services, and
requires DSS to conduct a review of the county
residentially based services program, as specified, and
allows DSS to terminate the county's participation n the
residentially based services reform project for specified
reasons. This bill provides that voluntary agreements
CONTINUED
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between counties and private nonprofit agencies to test
alternative program design and funding models for
transforming individual group home programs into
residentially based services programs terminate on or
before January 1, 2015.
ANALYSIS :
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.
Includes services related to foster care placement of
dependent children.
2. Requires children removed from their parents for abuse
or neglect to be placed in one of various placements,
including a licensed group home. Provides for the
licensing and regulation of community care facilities,
including group homes, by DSS.
3. Provides for the Aid to Families with Dependent
Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, which provides
for the funding of foster care placements through a
combination of federal, state, and county funds.
Establishes rates of care for children placed in
licensed or approved family homes and group homes.
4. Requires DSS to convene a workgroup of designated public
and private stakeholders to develop a plan for
transforming the current system of group care for foster
children or youth, and for children with serious
emotional disorders into a system of residentially based
services, as defined. Requires DSS, by January 1, 2011,
to provide a copy of the plan developed by the workgroup
to the Legislature.
5. Requires DSS to encourage counties and private nonprofit
agencies to develop voluntary agreements to test
alternative program design and funding models to achieve
specified objectives. Authorizes voluntary agreements
between counties and nonprofit agencies to transfer all
or part of an existing group home program into a
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residentially based services program, if specified
conditions are met, and provides that such agreements
are valid for a period not to exceed five years, from
January 1, 2008.
6. Authorizes DSS to waive otherwise applicable regulatory
provisions and approve alternative funding models, in
order to facilitate implementation of these agreements.
Requires the waiver and alternative funding model to be
cost neutral to the General Fund for payments under the
AFDC-FC program, measured on an annual basis. Permits
higher AFDC-FC payments to be made when children or
youth are initially placed in a residentially based
services program, with savings to be offset through
shorter lengths of stay in foster care or reduction of
reentries into foster care, through pre-discharge and
post-discharge support.
This bill:
1. Extends from January 1, 2011, to July 1, 2014, the
deadline for DSS to develop a plan to transform the
current statewide system of group homes into a system of
residentially based services.
2. Provides that voluntary agreements between counties and
private nonprofit agencies to test alternative program
design and funding models for transforming individual
group home programs into residentially based services
programs terminate on or before January 1, 2015.
3. Requires any upfront costs for the project to be offset
by other program savings identified by DSS to ensure
that there are no net General Fund costs in each fiscal
year, and clarifies that the authority to make higher
AFDC-FC payments for children and youth enrolled in a
residentially based services program is not affected by
changes made to payments to group homes under current
law.
4. Requires DSS to conduct a review of the county
residentially based services program no sooner than 18
months after the first child is enrolled in the program,
to determine whether children are moving from
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residentially based services group residential care
facilities into lower levels of care or exiting from
foster care to permanent families in a timely manner, as
described in the county's approved residentially based
services plan.
5. Allows DSS to terminate the county's participation in
the residentially based services reform project with 60
days advance notice to the county, if DSS determines,
based on its review, that the county is not achieving
timely movement into lower levels of care, or exits from
foster care to permanent families with associated
savings.
6. Allows the State Department of Social Services to fund
various child welfare-related activities by means of
grants from the fund, rather than by contract, and
allows certain grants to be renewed.
Comment
The author's office states that this bill amends provisions
of AB 1453 (Soto), Chapter 466, Statutes of 2007, which was
intended to begin the reform of the role of group homes in
California's foster care system, beginning with the
development of demonstration projects for residentially
based services (RBS) in four counties. The author's office
believes that it is necessary to update the deadlines and
other provisions of the original 2007 legislation, in order
to allow this reform effort to continue to move forward and
to facilitate the implementation of the RBS demonstration
projects.
The author's office notes there was a delay in DSS
developing the proper mechanism for receipt of private
funding, resulting in the delay in starting the project and
the need for additional time to accomplish the project's
goals.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis:
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12
2012-13 Fund
Extends pilots up to $185Potentially
significant costs General
potentially substantial long term
savings* General
Federal/
Local
Extends workgroup deadline Likely minor
General
Private
*Potential offsetting savings from pilot projects after
first year of implementation.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/16/10)
California Alliance of Child and Family Services (source)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees
Aspiranet
County Welfare Directors Association of California
Los Angeles County Office of Education
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California Alliance of Child
and Family Services, the sponsor of this bill, states that
the timeframes in AB 1453, which developed the RBS
demonstration project, were overly optimistic, but the
implementation is now moving ahead rapidly. The County
Welfare Directors Association of California states that
progress is being made on this issue, and it is reasonable
to provide DSS with extra time to ensure a comprehensive
plan is submitted.
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The Los Angeles County Office of Education writes, "the
bill would give the RBS demonstration projects adequate
time to operate and to provide knowledge and experience
upon which to develop an operational plan for the statewide
implementation of these programs. The American Federation
of State, County and Municipal Employees states that the
measure is a step in the right direction, as the state
should begin moving away from placing children in group
homes and emphasize a new vision of care that will focus on
the therapeutic nature of a family-based living
environment."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,
Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore,
Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes,
Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore,
Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Jeffries,
Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello,
Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas,
Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra
Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,
Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Blumenfield, Caballero, Huber, Huffman,
Norby, Vacancy
CTW:do 8/16/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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