BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
BILL NO: AB 823
A
AUTHOR: Dickinson
B
VERSION: June 27, 2011
HEARING DATE: July 5, 2011
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FISCAL: Appropriations
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3
CONSULTANT:
Hailey
SUBJECT
Children's Cabinet of California
SUMMARY
Establishes an advisory body responsible for improving the
collaboration and processes of the multiple agencies
providing services to children and youth in California
ABSTRACT
Current law
1. Establishes the State Department of Education, the
Health and Human Services Agency, the California Supreme
Court, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation,
the departments of Social Services, Health Care Services,
Public Health, Mental Health, Alcohol and Drug Programs,
Developmental Services, and Child Support Services.
2. Establishes the constitutional offices of the
superintendent of public instruction, elected every four
years, and the chief justice of the California Supreme
Continued---
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Court, appointed by the governor for a 12 year term.
3. Establishes the office of the secretary of the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the
secretary of the Health and Human Services Agency.
4. Provides, in the Constitution, that statute may provide
authority to the governor to assign and reorganize
functions among executive officers and agencies and their
employees, other than elective officers and agencies
administered by elective officers.
5. Establishes a state board of education as the governing
and policy-making body of the State Department of
Education.
6. Establishes a child welfare council, chaired by the
chief justice of the California Supreme Court and the
secretary of the Health and Human Services Agency, to
consider recommendations to improve child and youth
outcomes through increased collaboration and coordination
among the programs, services, and processes administered by
the multiple agencies and courts that serve children and
youth in California's child welfare system. (Sections
16540-16545 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.)
7. Establishes a child development advisory committee to
advise the Legislature, the governor, and the
superintendent of public instruction on policies and
programs for children birth through school age. (Education
Code Section 8286.)
This bill
1. Makes findings and declarations that state agencies and
programs that touch the lives of children, youth, and
families must work in a coordinated and comprehensive
fashion; that the Legislature intends to develop, in
collaboration with the governor, a shared vision to improve
child and family outcomes, and that the Legislature intends
to promote efficiency and improved service delivery by all
government agencies serving children and families.
2. Establishes a children's cabinet within state
government serving as an advisory body to improve
collaboration among agencies serving children and youth in
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California.
3. Directs the cabinet to make recommendations to the
governor and Legislature on ways to improve delivery of
services to children and families.
4. Provides membership on the cabinet to the
superintendent of public instruction, the secretary of the
Health and Human Services Agency, the chief justice (or
designee), the secretary of the Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation (or designee), the directors of the
departments of social services, health care services,
public health, mental health, alcohol and drug programs,
developmental services, and child support services, two
members of the Assembly (appointed by the Speaker) and two
members of the Senate (appointed by the President pro
Tempore).
5. Provides that the superintendent of public instruction
and the secretary of the Health and Human Services Agency
shall serve as co-chairs of the cabinet.
6. Empowers the governor to appoint any other member the
governor deems necessary.
7. Directs the cabinet's co-chairs to share responsibility
for staffing the cabinet to the extent private funds are
available for that purpose.
8. Directs the cabinet's co-chairs to convene an
organizational session by March 1, 2012, and no less
frequently than quarterly thereafter, to appoint committees
as needed, to identify at least staff person within each
department or agency serving on the cabinet - to serve as
liaison between the cabinet and the department or agency,
and to provide recommendations to the governor and
Legislature by October 31 of each even-numbered year.
9. Establishes that members of the cabinet shall receive
no compensation for their services except that they may be
reimbursed for actual travel and related expenses.
10. Stipulates that each cabinet committee shall consist
of at least one cabinet member and may include staff from
upper level management within the agencies and departments
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of the state that provide services for children.
11. Provides that cabinet committees may make
recommendations to the cabinet.
12. Requires the bi-annual report, due by October 31 of
each even-numbered year, to address several priorities
including:
a plan to maximize the state's share of federal
funds for children's programs,
assessing the quality and effectiveness of programs
and services,
articulating a shared and cohesive vision of
integrated services to improve child and family
outcomes,
developing a strategic plan to achieve the shared
vision,
establishing indicators of child well-being,
promoting data sharing, and
supporting a seamless system of services for
children and youth.
13. Directs the cabinet to seek the knowledge, research,
and expertise of the public
14. Permits the Bureau of State Audits to conduct a
performance audit of the cabinet, reporting findings by
January 1, 2018.
15. Stays implementation of the children's cabinet unless
the Department of Finance determines that there are
sufficient federal or private funds to fully support the
activities of the cabinet.
16. Repeals the provisions of this chapter on January 1,
2019 - unless another statute deletes or extends that date.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Assembly Appropriations Committee estimated annual
costs of $500,000 to staff the cabinet and produce the
bi-annual report.
The bill provides that the cabinet shall not begin work
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until a determination by the Department of Finance
determines that there are sufficient federal or private
funds to fully support the activities of the cabinet.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Author's purpose
The author believes that the state's budget crisis and the
effort to realign some state and county services demands
improved coordination to ensure efficient and effective
delivery of services, elimination of duplicate efforts,
maximizing federal funds, establishing priorities, and
using outcome measures for children.
The author states that 18 states, including Florida, Maine,
Rhode Island, and West Virginia, have children's cabinets.
Children's cabinets
The Forum for Youth Investment describes children's
cabinets as cross-agency coordinating bodies established
through legislation or executive order to change the
fragmented ways states may do business for children, youth,
and families. According to the forum, children's cabinets
are "typically made up of heads of government agencies with
child and youth-serving programs, who meet on a regular
basis with the collective goal of coordinating services,
developing a common set of outcomes, and collaboratively
deciding upon and implementing plans to foster the
well-being of young people."
Children's cabinets are found in approximately 20 states
across the country. The National Governors Association
considers the establishment of a children's cabinet a best
practice, and sets forth guiding principles based on the
experience of other states. The association as well as the
forum list gubernatorial leadership as critical to the
success of a cabinet -- as well as a clear mission,
specific objectives, and measurable outcomes. Both
organizations recommend that children's cabinets have
dedicated staff and incorporate the participation of
private sector partners.
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According to the forum, the success of children's cabinets
is difficult to measure, but based on anecdotes, seems
relatively low as bodies lose focus, resources and
momentum.
Only federal or private funds are expended for the purposes
and activities of the cabinet
The bill establishes an advisory cabinet of at least 15
persons who are employees of the state, the Legislature, or
the courts; it calls for staff to be provided by the
superintendent of public instruction and the secretary of
the Health and Human Services Agency; and it directs the
cabinet to work with upper-level management within state
agencies and departments -- in its committees and as
liaisons. The bill requires that the time - of members,
staff, and upper-level management -- be covered by federal
or private funds.
Related legislation
AB 422 (Torres, 2010) . This bill would have required the
secretary of California Health and Human Services to
develop the State Youth and Family Master Plan to set the
general guiding principles the state should follow when
developing policies affecting the state's youth and
families and identifying all state governmental entities
responsible for delivering services to youth and families
and bridging the communication gaps between those entities.
Held in Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 2252 (DeSaulnier, 2008). This bill would have
established in state government the California Commission
on Youth to examine and discuss policy and fiscal issues
affecting the interests, needs, and conditions of the youth
of California, and to formally advise and make
recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor on
specific issues affecting youth. Vetoed.
In his veto message, Governor Schwarzenegger wrote,
I agree that youth offer a unique and
thoughtful perspective on issues that affect
California. However, this bill is duplicative
of efforts currently underway by the Child
Welfare Council established under the Child
Welfare Leadership and Performance
Accountability Act of 2006 and the State Youth
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Council. Furthermore, the Administration and
the Legislature already have the authority to
create councils to advise them, rendering this
bill unnecessary.
Assembly votes
Floor: 52-24
Appropriations:12-5
Human Services: 4-2
COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS
Is the bill too prescriptive and detailed?
The bill is more prescriptive, detailed, and repetitive
than may be useful or necessary for establishing an
advisory committee. Staff recommends that the bill be
amended to establish the membership of the cabinet, to
require public quarterly meetings, to focus cabinet
discussions on improving inter-departmental coordination,
and to require a bi-annual report to the Legislature and
the governor making recommendations for improving programs.
Such a focus would invite creativity without overwhelming
the cabinet by requiring a report that will either be too
large or too general to be of use.
Use of federal or private funds
The committee may want to ask the author if there are
analogous boards, committees, or commissions within
California state government that do not use state funds -
aside from those required by and funded by the federal
government.
The author may also wish to review how the cabinet will
account for the expenditure of no state funds for the time
cabinet members and staff, committee members who are state
employees, and departmental liaisons spend on cabinet
business.
Governor's support
Seeking to put the bill on the governor's desk during the
first year of a two year session - and the first year of a
governor and superintendent's administrations during a
period when their focus has been almost entirely on the
state budget -- may be moving faster than is prudent for
the kind of quality outcomes supporters expect from the
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legislation. The bill may require negotiation with the
principals - the governor or the agency secretary and the
superintendent of public instruction - before going to the
governor for signature. Given the findings of the
National Governors Association - supported by the Forum for
Youth Investment - that the support of a governor is
critical for a cabinet's making a significant contribution,
the author may want to describe the response of the
governor's office and that of the superintendent of public
instruction to the bill.
POSITIONS
Support: Children Now (sponsor)
American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees American Academy of
Pediatrics
ASPIRAnet
Atwater Policy Activities League
Bay Area Council
California Alternative Payment Program
Association
California Children's Health Initiative
California Children's Hospital Association
California Coalition for Youth
California Correctional Peace Officers
Association
California School Health Centers Association
California School Nurses Association
California State Association of Counties
California State PTA
Child Abuse Prevention Center
Children's Defense Fund California
Children's Partnership
Community Social Model Advocates, Inc.
Family Paths, Inc.
Family Violence Law Center
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California
First 5, Santa Clara County
First 5, Los Angeles
Judicial Option.Com
Link to Children
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital
Marin Community Clinics
Marin County Office of Education
Marin Kids
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Merced County Local Child Care and
Development
North Regional SELPA Planning Council
Merced County Office of Education
Mission Focused Solutions
Plumas Court Appointed Special Advocates for
Children
Professional Association for Childhood
Education
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Yolo County Children's Alliance and Child
Abuse Prevention Council
Oppose: None received
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