BILL ANALYSIS
SB 654
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 11, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Jim Beall, Jr., Chair
SB 654 (Leno) - As Amended: January 5, 2010
SENATE VOTE : 23-12
SUBJECT : Independent Living Program
SUMMARY : Extends eligibility for Independent Living Program
services to former foster youth placed with a nonrelative legal
guardian, whose guardianship was ordered on or after the child's
eighth birthday.
Existing Federal law :
1)Establishes the Independent Living Program (ILP) which allows
states to apply for grants to provide assistance to former
foster youth 18 to21 years of age with their efforts to
achieve self-sufficiency and to prepare them with making a
transition from adolescence to adulthood. 42 U.S.C. 677.
Existing State law:
1)Requires the Department of Social Services to permit all
eligible children to be served by ILP until age 21. Welfare
and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 10609.3.
2)Provides ILP eligibility for any child receiving Kinship
Guardianship Assistance Payment (Kin-GAP) Program benefits.
WIC Section 11375.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 20010-11 2011-12 2012-13Fund
GF cost pressure from $300 $300
$300 General
increased eligibility
The Senate Appropriations Committee analysis also noted:
"Because the ILP's funding is grant-based, rather than per-child
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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. The likely
result is diminished service for all eligible youth."
COMMENTS :
Background : The ILP was established under federal law by the
Independent Living initiative (P.L. 99-272) in 1986, which
subsequently was replaced by the John H. Chafee Foster Care
Independence Act (P.L. 106-169). Each California county
administers its own ILP services and programs for former foster
youth 18 to 21 years old in daily living skills, financial
management, education, housing, and employment, among other
topics essential to achieving independence and transitioning to
adulthood. Eligibility criteria require that services be
provided to a youth who was or is in foster care at any point
from their 16th to their 19th birthday, or allow a youth who was
or is in Kin-GAP between 16 and 18 years of age to request
receipt of these services. Eligibility for some ILP-related
services may even be extended to foster youth at 14 or 15 years
of age, if they are likely to age out of foster care.
In addition to the direct and practical benefits of ILP,
participation in the program makes youth eligible for additional
services, including college financial aid, once the court's
jurisdiction has ended.
According to the author:
Four years ago, the California Department of Social
Services reinterpreted eligibility for federal ILP
(Independent Living Program) services to exclude
foster youth placed with non-related guardians. This
unnecessary exclusion left a specific population of
foster youth without access to the benefit of ILP
services, despite the fact that they remain in
state-funded foster care placements, are linked to the
child welfare system, and previously received ILP
services. It is important to note that foster youth
placed with non-related legal guardians are the only
group of foster youth precluded from participating in
ILP.
This bill would require ILP services be provided to former
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foster youth placed with nonrelative legal guardians after eight
years of age. Currently, foster youth placed with nonrelative
legal guardians may receive ILP services provided the child's
court case is kept open, although at an additional, and arguably
unnecessary cost to the state and counties.
Numbers of youth affected by the bill : The County Welfare
Directors Association (CWDA), one of the bill's sponsors,
estimated that 750 youth who could exit the dependency system
have had their cases kept open so that the youth can receive ILP
services.
CWDA further estimates 240 youth would become newly eligible if
this bill becomes law. This number reflects youth who are
placed with non-related legal guardians after eight years of
age, and therefore ineligible for ILP services.
In support of this bill , co-sponsor Children's Law Center of Los
Angeles writes:
Legal guardianship with unrelated caregivers, such a
[sic] former foster parent, can provide stable and
permanent placements for children who might otherwise
find themselves languishing in long term foster care.
Under "Kin-GAP", a successful program in which a youth
placed with a relative guardian may have his or her
case "closed" for purposes of Court review hearings
and monthly visits by a social worker, related
guardians are still eligible for funding and the youth
in their care remain eligible for services through the
Independent Living Program (ILP). However, youth
residing with non-related guardians not eligible for
ILP services unless their court case is kept open - at
considerable expense to the Child Welfare Agency and
the Courts, and at the expense of the youth by way of
the stress and anxiety of continued court involvement
in their lives when otherwise unnecessary?.
As advocates for foster youth, we know that regardless
of whether the foster youth is residing with a
non-related legal guardian or with a relative
guardian, they experience the same stresses,
hardships, and risks as any other young person
preparing for independence. Among other things, they
need assistance with finding housing and jobs,
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applying for college, and accessing funding for
post-secondary education through the Chafee Grants.
Prior Legislation:
AB 2399 (Portantino & Berg) of 2008 was substantially
similar to this bill but extended ILP to all youth placed
with nonrelative legal guardians. AB 2399 was held under
submission in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 184 (Bass) of 2007 was substantially similar to AB 2194.
AB 184 was held under submission in the Senate
Appropriations Committee.
AB 2194 (Bass) of 2006 was substantially similar to this
bill in that it would have extended ILP to all youth placed
with non-related legal guardians, however AB 2194 also
added those youth adopted from foster care at age 14 and
above to the groups eligible for ILP. AB 2194 died in the
Senate Appropriations Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
cwda (sponsor)
Aspiranet
Butte County Department of Employment and Social Services
California Coalition for Youth
California Communities United Institute
California State Association of Counties
California State PTA
Children's Advocacy Institute
Children's Law Center of Los Angeles
City and County of San Francisco
Del Norte County Board of Supervisors
Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services
Junior League of Napa-Sonoma
Junior League of Orange County
Juvenile Court Judges of CA
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services
Marin County Board of Supervisors
Merced County Human Services Agency
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Monterey County
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Riverside County Department of Social Services
San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services
Sonoma County Human Services Department
Ventura County Board of Supervisors
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Michelle Doty Cabrera / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089