BILL ANALYSIS
SB 945
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 15, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Jim Beall, Jr., Chair
SB 945 (Liu) - As Amended: March 8, 2010
SENATE VOTE : 30-0
SUBJECT : Juvenile court jurisdiction: services and benefits
SUMMARY : Requires a probation or parole officer, depending on
jurisdiction, to provide wards formerly in foster care, or with
dependent status, with notification regarding their eligibility
for services and benefits provided to former foster youth when
the court terminates jurisdiction, or upon release of a ward
from a non-foster care facility. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes various findings and declarations regarding the barriers
to success for dual status children who age out of the
juvenile justice system.
2)Requires that, whenever the juvenile court terminates
jurisdiction and releases a ward from any facility other than
a foster care facility, the probation or parole officer must
provide the youth with both:
a) A written notice stating the person's status as a former
foster youth, and that person's possible eligibility for
services and benefits provided by public and private
programs, including independent living program (ILP)
services, and,
b) Information regarding, and assistance with applying for
state and federal ILP services the person may be eligible
to receive.
3)Specifies that this section applies to any ward previously
adjudged a dependent child pursuant to Welfare and
Institutions Code (WIC) Section 300, or a child placed in
foster care pursuant to WIC Section 727.
4)Provides that should the Commission on State Mandates
determine costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts shall be made.
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EXISTING LAW
1)Provides that the juvenile court may establish jurisdiction
over an abused or neglected child as a dependent of the
juvenile court. WIC 300.
2)Provides that the juvenile court may adjudge a child who has
committed criminal acts, or who is habitually disobedient or
truant, a ward of the court. WIC 601, 602.
3)Establishes a process whereby the juvenile court determines
the appropriate status designation for a child when he or she
appears to come within the description of both ward and
dependent status, with an agreed upon recommendation submitted
to the juvenile court by the county probation department and
child welfare services on which status will serve the best
interests of the child and the protection of society. WIC
241.1.
4)Authorizes the county probation department and child welfare
services department in consultation with the juvenile court,
to develop protocols for designating a child or youth who is
both a ward and dependent of the juvenile court a "dual
status" child. WIC 241.1.
5)Federal law establishes the Independent Living Program (ILP)
which allows states to apply for grants to provide assistance
to former foster youth 18 to 21 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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local:
Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13Fund
State mandate: Likely
minor, potentially reimbursable General
County probation costs
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Independent Living Likely very minor
cost pressure General/Federal
Program (ILP)
COMMENTS :
Need for this bill: According to the author:
Our state has created a number of new policies to
assist foster youth. As a result, foster youth who
age out of the system at 18 can access a variety of
assistance and counseling programs. These programs
help with housing, college planning and financing, and
job and financial counseling.
Unfortunately, a segment of the foster youth
population?are unable to access services because they
cannot prove their status as a former foster
youth?When these children emancipate from the juvenile
delinquency court status, rather than from dependency
court status, they are effectively denied access to
private and non-profit programs designed to assist
former foster youth?
These youth fall between the cracks because foster
care programs identify transitional youth based on
their residency. Young people who are wards of the
court (housed in juvenile court or treatment
facilities) do not reside in homes reserved
specifically for foster youth and therefore not able
to prove their status as a foster youth. Although
probation officers who oversee wards for the court are
expected to advise and assist their wards with access
to transitional living services, there is no clear
process for the probation officers to follow to assist
this population.
In fact, counties, including county probation officers, were
already directed to provide a foster youth "proof of
dependency/wardship document" to all emancipating foster youth
to assist them with applying for financial aid and other
resources. The protocols were set forth in an All County Letter
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(ACL 05-32, November 2, 2005), which clearly outline the
responsibility to ensure this documentation is provided to all
dependents and wards upon termination of the court's
jurisdiction.
This bill would clarify that probation and parole officers are
required to provide wards exiting from a juvenile justice
detention facility with documentation of their status as former
foster youth, and to inform them about their eligibility for
services and benefits available to former foster youth to assist
them with their transition to adulthood.
The "dual status" designation for foster youth is not common in
California. To date, 9 counties (Colusa, Inyo, Modoc, Placer,
Riverside, San Joaquin, Siskyou, Sonoma and Stanislaus) have
developed protocols to assign dual status designations to foster
youth with concurrent ward and dependent status. The majority
of foster youth who fall under both are adjudged either
dependents or wards, based on a recommendation made to the
juvenile court by the county probation and child welfare
services departments. This bill would specifically address that
population of youth adjudged wards who were at some point
dependents of the juvenile court. Given the existing processes
for determining their status, wards likely are not aware that
they are considered former foster youth and entitled under
current law to a variety of public and private services and
supports.
This bill would not change existing eligibility for ILP services
or other services provided to former foster youth.
Support: Public Counsel Law Center writes in support of this
bill:
Under current law, emancipating foster youth are
entitled to transitional services and to assistance
from the youth's Probation Officers or County Social
Workers in obtaining access to such services.
Unfortunately, a segment of this population is
frequently forgotten. More specifically, this segment
consists of former foster youth who enter the juvenile
delinquency system and either are placed in non-foster
care placements or remain in the juvenile halls until
they reach their 18th birthday. As a consequence,
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these youth do not receive information and access to
transitional programs, which they are currently
entitled to receive and would have received had they
been properly identified as former foster youth.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office notes that
providing foster or former foster youth with paperwork to assist
them in obtaining services upon termination of the juvenile
court jurisdiction over the ward will help with reducing adult
and juvenile recidivism.
Comments and Questions:
The Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the State
Bar of California (FLEXCOM) recommends clarifying the proposed
language of this bill in their letter of support. According to
FLEXCOM, the current language specifies that all wards formerly
adjudged dependent children would receive the letter, but not
all dependent children are "former foster children." As such,
FLEXCOM proposes revising WIC Section 607.5(b) as follows to
avoid potential confusion:
This section shall apply to any ward who was
previously adjudged a dependent child of the court
pursuant to Section 300 and placed in foster care , or
any ward who at any time has been placed in foster
care pursuant to Section 727.
What is the status of the recommended amendment?
Prior and related legislation:
This bill is virtually identical to SB 921 (Jones) of 2009 which
passed through the Legislature unanimously, but was vetoed by
Governor Schwarzenegger with the following veto message:
This bill would require county probation officers and
parole officers
to ensure that minors under the jurisdiction of the
juvenile court
be provided with written notification of services and
benefits they
may be eligible for upon termination of court jurisdiction.
This
bill also would require probation officers and parole
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officers to
provide assistance in obtaining those services and
benefits. This
bill would create local mandated costs attributable to the
requirement that county probation officers provide
specified
information and assistance to juvenile wards of the court.
Given the state's severe economic climate and the social
services
reductions being implemented, it is not prudent to expand
requirements imposed on state and local governmental
programs.
AB 129 (Cohn) Chapter 468, Statutes of 2004 allowed counties to
establish "dual status" for children and youth under both the
child welfare and juvenile justice jurisdictions.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Children's Advocacy Institute (sponsor)
Aspiranet
California State PTA
Children's Law Center of Los Angeles
Chief Probation Officers of CA
Family Law Section of the State Bar
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
Public Counsel Law Center
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Michelle Doty Cabrera / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089