BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
654 (Leno)
Hearing Date: 01/21/2010 Amended: 01/05/2009
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Human
Services 4-1
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 654 extends eligibility for independent living
skills education services to former foster youth placed with
non-related legal guardians, whose guardianship was ordered on
or after the child's eighth birthday.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-11 2012-13 Fund
GF cost pressure from $75 $150
$150 General
increased eligibility
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE
The Independent Living Program (ILP) is a county-administered
resource for youth in foster care, intended to give them skills
for living independently upon aging out of the foster care
system. While services vary by county, ILP programs typically
teach youth skills ranging from writing checks to applying for
jobs and college. They also provide youth with information about
education, training, housing, and other services that are
available in their community.
Eligibility is extended to youth who were or are in foster care
at any time from their 16th to their 19th birthday, or youth who
were or are between the ages of 16 and 18 years of age and
participating in the Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment
Program (Kin-GAP). Youth are eligible for ILP services up to the
day before their 21st birthday. Until about 4 years ago,
eligibility was also extended to youth who met the age
requirements and were placed with a non-relative legal guardian.
Since then, DSS regulations have made them ineligibile, and this
bill would seek to reinstate their eligibility, if they were
placed in foster care after their eighth birthday.
Because the ILP's funding is grant-based, rather than per-child
based, it is a relatively stable amount (about $35 million for
2008-09 in state and federal funds) that will not increase
because of increased eligibility for services. This bill
provides cost pressure, not actual new costs. The likely result
is diminished service for all eligible youth.
If the funding were to increase proportionally to account for
all previously eligible youth (not just those who entered into
foster care after their eighth birthdays), DSS has estimated it
would likely cost approximately $1.2 million. Because this
estimate fails to take into account both the rate of
participation for eligible youth (about 50%) and the counties'
sunk costs incurred for programs and staff by offering services
at all (many of
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SB 654 (Leno)
these services are classes and training offered through programs
at schools and community centers), the CWDA estimate of $300,000
is would be more reasonable for that population. Disaggregated
data by age was unavailable, but if half of the population in
question entered foster care after their eighth birthday, there
would be a cost pressure of about $150,000.
Some counties and children's attorneys suggest that some
non-related foster parents are reluctant to assume guardianship
of their older foster children because that would make them
ineligible for ILP services, and that others have asked to have
guardianship rescinded in order to maintain the youths' ILP
eligibility. Therefore, to the extent that this bill causes some
foster parents to assume legal guardianship, it would save
approximately $3500 per year, per child, in child welfare
services and court room costs. If even 43 children statewide are
remaining in foster care, with its accompanying court and social
worker costs, simply to receive ILP services, their exit from
foster care would save the state the $150,000 cost of the
increased eligibility.