BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
BILL NO: SB 352
S
AUTHOR: Dutton
B
VERSION: April 13, 2009
HEARING DATE: April 14, 2009
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FISCAL: To Public Safety and Appropriations
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CONSULTANT:
Hailey
SUBJECT
Juvenile offenders: health facilities
SUMMARY
Requires counties and licensed foster care settings to make
specific notifications and to maintain specific records
when a ward of the juvenile court is placed in a facility
located in a county other than the placing county.
ABSTRACT
Current law:
1. Establishes various residential settings licensed by
the State Department of Social Services (DSS) for wards of
the juvenile court.
2. Gives authority to various placement agencies -
including county probation departments, county welfare and
social services departments, and county mental health
departments, among others - to place wards of the juvenile
courts in these licensed facilities.
3. Requires placement agencies to notify DSS of known or
suspected incidents that jeopardize the health and safety
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STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 352 (Dutton) Page
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of residents in a licensed facility, including incidents of
physical abuse.
4. Requires a licensed group home, not less than 30 days
prior to the anniversary of the effective date of its
license, if requested, to transmit to the county in which
the facility is located a copy of all incident reports --
that involved a response from local law enforcement or
emergency services -- prepared by the facility for a
placement agency in a county other than the county in which
the facility is located.
5. Requires that a probation officer in a county making a
placement of a ward in a licensed facility in another
county to send that county a notice of the impending
placement, including the name of the ward, his or her
juvenile record, known prior offenses, and the ward's
county of residence.
6. Makes the same notification requirement of a parole
officer of the Youth Authority if a ward is being placed in
a county other than the county of his or her residence.
7. Requires that the placing county shall develop a plan
of supervision and visitation activities for the ward.
This bill:
1. Requires placement agencies, in their notification of
DSS of known or suspected incidents that jeopardize the
health or safety of facility residents, to include
incidents of sexual abuse and to include situations in
which residents are inadequately supervised.
2. Requires a licensed group home to include any runaway
incidents in the report it must provide to the placing
county and, if requested, to the county in which it is
located.
3. Provides that the notification required of county and
Youth Authority personnel, when a ward is being placed in a
county other than his or her county of residence, can be
made in writing, by fax, or by electronic transmittal.
4. Requires that this notification to the receiving county
- from the placing county or the Youth Authority -- be made
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 352 (Dutton) Page
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at least 24 hours prior to the ward's arrival at the
licensed facility.
5. Requires that the licensed facility maintain a copy of
the notice from the probation or parole officer making the
placement.
6. Requires that the plan for the ward, developed by the
sending county, document information regarding known or
suspected gang affiliation or dangerous behavior of the
ward.
7. Requires a licensed facility immediately to transmit a
copy of all incident reports to the probation officer in
the county in which the facility is located when those
incident reports involve a response by local law
enforcement or emergency services personnel.
FISCAL IMPACT
Unknown
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
According to DSS, there are 8,200 California children and
youth who are in a foster-care placement under the
supervision of county probation officers. These wards of
the juvenile court are generally placed in foster group
homes, licensed by DSS.
Of the 8,200 wards, about 4,500 (55 percent) are in
facilities located in the ward's county of residence; 3,500
(43 percent) are placed in other counties. The remaining
two percent are placed out of state.
Los Angeles and Fresno counties find placements in-county
for more than 70 percent of the wards they supervise.
Three other counties place at least half of the wards from
their county within the county boundaries: Calaveras,
Modoc, and San Bernardino. The other 53 counties place a
majority of the wards they supervise in other counties.
Presently, there is no statewide database that tells us in
which counties the 3500 wards live who are not in their
home counties.
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There are several reasons why wards may be placed in
counties other than their county of residence. Some rural
and mountain counties may have no licensed group home
appropriate for the ward in question. In many cases,
according to the author, out-of-county placements are
necessary to take a ward some distance from a gang with
which he or she has an affiliation.
Given the 3,500 out-of-county placements, there is a need
for communication between and among county agencies, there
are required reports from licensed facilities to placement
agencies, and there are provisions whereby a receiving
county can request incident reports from local facilities
regarding incidents involving wards from other counties.
According to the author and sponsor, these communications
should include details about gang affiliation, incidents
involving runaways from the licensed facilities, and should
arrive in the receiving county before the ward does. The
provisions of this bill make those changes in current law.
POSITIONS
Support: Riverside County District Attorney
San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors
San Bernardino County District Attorney's
Office
San Bernardino County Sheriff Coroner
Oppose: None received
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