BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 352|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 352
Author: Dutton (R)
Amended: 5/28/09
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 5-0, 4/14/09
AYES: Liu, Maldonado, Alquist, Runner, Yee
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/28/09
AYES: Leno, Benoit, Cedillo, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg,
Wright
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 13-0, 5/26/09
AYES: Kehoe, Cox, Corbett, Denham, DeSaulnier, Hancock,
Leno, Oropeza, Runner, Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee
SUBJECT : Juvenile offenders: health facilities
SOURCE : County of San Bernardino
DIGEST : This bill makes clarifying statutory changes
related to sharing information about delinquent wards of
the juvenile court placed in licensed community facilities
when placed out of county.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Establishes various residential settings licensed by the
State Department of Social Services (DSS) for wards of
the juvenile court.
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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
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.Clarifies that sexual abuse is a reportable incident for
community care facilities.
2.Clarifies that runaway incidents are included in "all
incidents involving a response by local law enforcement,"
as specified.
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3.Clarifies that known gang affiliation is included in
"dangerous behavior", for the purposes creating a case
plan, determining supervision, and notifying care
facilities, as specified.
4.Requires a probation officer making an out-of-county
placement of a juvenile ward of the court to, in addition
to the current requirement to notify the probation
officer of the receiving county, notify the community
care facility where the ward is being placed 24 hours
prior to receiving the ward. This bill specifies that the
notification can be made in writing, by fax, or
electronically.
Background
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.
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
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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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11
2011-12 Fund
State Mandated Local Program
minor and absorbable General
County Probation
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/28/09)
County of San Bernardino (source)
Riverside County District Attorney
San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors
San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office
San Bernardino County Sheriff Coroner
CTW:nl 5/28/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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