BILL NUMBER: AB 1712 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Beall
FEBRUARY 16, 2012
An act to amend Sections 366.31 and 11400 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, relating to public social services.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1712, as introduced, Beall. Minors and nonminor dependents:
out-of-home placement.
Existing law, the California Fostering Connections to Success Act,
revises and expands the scope of various programs relating to the
provision of cash assistance and other services to and for the
benefit of certain foster and adopted children, and other children
who have been placed in out-of-home care, including children who
receive Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care
(AFDC-FC), Adoption Assistance Program, California Work Opportunity
and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs), and Kinship Guardianship
Assistance Payment Program (Kin-GAP) benefits. Among other
provisions, the act extends specified foster care benefits to youth
up to 19, 20, and 21 years of age, described as nonminor dependents,
if specified conditions are met, commencing January 1, 2012.
Existing law requires a court that continues dependency
jurisdiction with respect to a nonminor dependent to order
development of a planned permanent living arrangement, under a mutual
agreement, as defined.
This bill would revise the definition of mutual agreement, by
specifying the criteria of these agreements applicable to nonminor
dependents who are in receipt of Kin-GAP and AFDC-FC payments,
respectively. The bill also would make conforming changes to related
provisions and definitions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 366.31 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
366.31. (a) On and after January 1, 2012, with respect to a
nonminor dependent, as defined in subdivision (v) of Section 11400,
who has a permanent plan of long-term foster care that was ordered
pursuant to Section 366.21, 366.22, 366.25, or 366.26 the court may
continue jurisdiction of the nonminor as a dependent of the juvenile
court or may dismiss dependency jurisdiction pursuant to Section 391.
(b) If the court continues dependency jurisdiction of the nonminor
as a dependent of the juvenile court, the court shall order the
development of a planned permanent living arrangement of a
placement nonminor under a mutual agreement, as
described in subdivision (u) of Section 11400, which may include
continued placement with the current caregiver or another licensed or
approved caregiver or in a supervised independent living setting, as
defined in subdivision (w) of Section 11400, consistent with the
youth's transitional independent living case plan.
(c) If the court terminates its dependency jurisdiction over a
nonminor dependent pursuant to subdivision (a), it shall retain
general jurisdiction over the youth pursuant to Section 303. If the
court has dismissed dependency jurisdiction pursuant to subdivision
(d) of Section 391, the nonminor, who has not attained 21 years of
age, may subsequently file a petition pursuant to subdivision (e) of
Section 388 to have dependency jurisdiction resumed and the court may
vacate its previous order dismissing dependency jurisdiction over
the nonminor dependent.
SEC. 2. Section 11400 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
11400. For the purposes of this article, the following
definitions shall apply:
(a) "Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC)"
means the aid provided on behalf of needy children in foster care
under the terms of this division.
(b) "Case plan" means a written document that, at a minimum,
specifies the type of home in which the child shall be placed, the
safety of that home, and the appropriateness of that home to meet the
child's needs. It shall also include the agency's plan for ensuring
that the child receive proper care and protection in a safe
environment, and shall set forth the appropriate services to be
provided to the child, the child's family, and the foster parents, in
order to meet the child's needs while in foster care, and to reunify
the child with the child's family. In addition, the plan shall
specify the services that will be provided or steps that will be
taken to facilitate an alternate permanent plan if reunification is
not possible.
(c) "Certified family home" means a family residence certified by
a licensed foster family agency and issued a certificate of approval
by that agency as meeting licensing standards, and used only by that
foster family agency for placements.
(d) "Family home" means the family residency of a licensee in
which 24-hour care and supervision are provided for children.
(e) "Small family home" means any residential facility, in the
licensee's family residence, which provides 24-hour care for six or
fewer foster children who have mental disorders or developmental or
physical disabilities and who require special care and supervision as
a result of their disabilities.
(f) "Foster care" means the 24-hour out-of-home care provided to
children whose own families are unable or unwilling to care for them,
and who are in need of temporary or long-term substitute parenting.
(g) "Foster family agency" means any individual or organization
engaged in the recruiting, certifying, and training of, and providing
professional support to, foster parents, or in finding homes or
other places for placement of children for temporary or permanent
care who require that level of care as an alternative to a group
home. Private foster family agencies shall be organized and operated
on a nonprofit basis.
(h) "Group home" means a nondetention privately operated
residential home, organized and operated on a nonprofit basis only,
of any capacity, or a nondetention licensed residential care home
operated by the County of San Mateo with a capacity of up to 25 beds,
that provides services in a group setting to children in need of
care and supervision, as required by paragraph (1) of subdivision (a)
of Section 1502 of the Health and Safety Code.
(i) "Periodic review" means review of a child's status by the
juvenile court or by an administrative review panel, that shall
include a consideration of the safety of the child, a determination
of the continuing need for placement in foster care, evaluation of
the goals for the placement and the progress toward meeting these
goals, and development of a target date for the child's return home
or establishment of alternative permanent placement.
(j) "Permanency planning hearing" means a hearing conducted by the
juvenile court in which the child's future status, including whether
the child shall be returned home or another permanent plan shall be
developed, is determined.
(k) "Placement and care" refers to the responsibility for the
welfare of a child vested in an agency or organization by virtue of
the agency or organization having (1) been delegated care, custody,
and control of a child by the juvenile court, (2) taken
responsibility, pursuant to a relinquishment or termination of
parental rights on a child, (3) taken the responsibility of
supervising a child detained by the juvenile court pursuant to
Section 319 or 636, or (4) signed a voluntary placement agreement for
the child's placement; or to the responsibility designated to an
individual by virtue of his or her being appointed the child's legal
guardian.
(l) "Preplacement preventive services" means services that are
designed to help children remain with their families by preventing or
eliminating the need for removal.
(m) "Relative" means an adult who is related to the child by
blood, adoption, or affinity within the fifth degree of kinship,
including stepparents, stepsiblings, and all relatives whose status
is preceded by the words "great," "great-great," or "grand" or the
spouse of any of these persons even if the marriage was terminated by
death or dissolution.
(n) "Nonrelative extended family member" means an adult caregiver
who has an established familial or mentoring relationship with the
child, as described in Section 362.7.
(o) "Voluntary placement" means an out-of-home placement of a
child by (1) the county welfare department, probation department, or
Indian tribe that has entered into an agreement pursuant to Section
10553.1, after the parents or guardians have requested the assistance
of the county welfare department and have signed a voluntary
placement agreement; or (2) the county welfare department licensed
public or private adoption agency, or the department acting as an
adoption agency, after the parents have requested the assistance of
either the county welfare department, the licensed public or private
adoption agency, or the department acting as an adoption agency for
the purpose of adoption planning, and have signed a voluntary
placement agreement.
(p) "Voluntary placement agreement" means a written agreement
between either the county welfare department, probation department,
or Indian tribe that has entered into an agreement pursuant to
Section 10553.1, licensed public or private adoption agency, or the
department acting as an adoption agency, and the parents or guardians
of a child that specifies, at a minimum, the following:
(1) The legal status of the child.
(2) The rights and obligations of the parents or guardians, the
child, and the agency in which the child is placed.
(q) "Original placement date" means the most recent date on which
the court detained a child and ordered an agency to be responsible
for supervising the child or the date on which an agency assumed
responsibility for a child due to termination of parental rights,
relinquishment, or voluntary placement.
(r) "Transitional housing placement facility" means either of the
following:
(1) A community care facility licensed by the State Department of
Social Services pursuant to Section 1559.110 of the Health and Safety
Code to provide transitional housing opportunities to persons at
least 16 years of age, and not more than 18 years of age and, on or
after January 1, 2012, any nonminor dependent who has not attained 19
years of age, as described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of
Section 11403.2, may remain in the facility if it is in their best
interests in order to complete high school or its equivalent, or to
finish the high school year prior to their 19th birthday. These
provisions shall apply to those who are in out-of-home placement
under the supervision of the county department of social services or
the county probation department, and who are participating in an
independent living program.
(2) A facility certified to provide transitional housing services
pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 1559.110 of the Health and
Safety Code.
(s) "Transitional housing placement program" means a program that
provides supervised housing opportunities to eligible youth and
nonminor dependents pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section
16522) of Chapter 5 of Part 4.
(t) "Whole family foster home" means a new or existing family
home, approved relative caregiver or nonrelative extended family
member's home, the home of a nonrelated legal guardian whose
guardianship was established pursuant to Section 366.26 or 360,
certified family home that provides foster care for a minor or
nonminor dependent parent and his or her child, and is specifically
recruited and trained to assist the minor or nonminor dependent
parent in developing the skills necessary to provide a safe, stable,
and permanent home for his or her child. The child of the minor or
nonminor dependent parent need not be the subject of a petition filed
pursuant to Section 300 to qualify for placement in a whole family
foster home.
(u) "Mutual agreement" means a ,
on and after January 1, 2012, any of the following:
(1) A written voluntary agreement
of consent for continued placement and care in a supervised setting
between a minor or , on and after January 1, 2012,
a nonminor dependent, and the county welfare services or probation
department or tribal agency responsible for the foster care
placement, that documents the nonminor's continued willingness to
remain in supervised out-of-home placement under the placement and
care of the responsible county or tribal agency, remain under the
jurisdiction of the juvenile court as a nonminor dependent, and
report any change of circumstances relevant to continued eligibility
for foster care payments, and that documents the nonminor's and
social worker's or probation officer's agreement to work together to
facilitate implementation of the mutually developed supervised
placement agreement and transitional independent living case plan.
(2) An agreement, as described in paragraph (1), between a
nonminor former dependent in receipt of Kin-GAP payments under
Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 11360) or Article 4.7
(commencing with Section 11385), and the agency responsible for the
Kin-GAP benefits, provided that the nonminor former dependent
satisfies the conditions described in Section 11403.01, or one or
more of the conditions described in paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive,
of subdivision (b) of Section 11403.
(3) An agreement, as described in paragraph (1), between a
nonminor former dependent in receipt of AFDC-FC payments under
subdivision (e) or (f) of Section 11405 and the agency responsible
for the AFDC-FC benefits, provided that the nonminor former dependent
described in subdivision (e) of Section 11405 satisfies one or more
of the conditions described in paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, of
subdivision (b) of Section 11403, and the nonminor former dependent
described in subdivision (f) of Section 11405 satisfies the secondary
school or equivalent training or certificate program conditions
described in that subdivision.
(v) "Nonminor dependent" means, on and after January 1, 2012, a
foster child, as described in Section 675(8)(B) of Title 42 of the
United States Code under the federal Social Security Act who is a
current dependent child or ward of the juvenile court, or a nonminor
under the transition jurisdiction of the juvenile court, as described
in Section 450, who satisfies all of the following criteria:
(1) He or she has attained 18 years of age while under an order of
foster care placement by the juvenile court, and is younger than 19
years of age as of January 1, 2012, younger than 20 years of age as
of January 1, 2013, or younger than 21 years of age as of January 1,
2014.
(2) He or she is in foster care under the placement and care
responsibility of the county welfare department, county probation
department, or Indian tribe that entered into an agreement pursuant
to Section 10553.1.
(3) He or she is participating in a transitional independent
living case plan pursuant to Section 475(8) of the federal Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 675(8)), as contained in the federal
Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008
(Public Law 110-351), as described in Section 11403.
(w) "Supervised independent living setting" means, on and after
January 1, 2012, a supervised setting, as specified in a nonminor
dependent's transitional independent living case plan, in which the
youth is living independently, pursuant to Section 472(c)(2) of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 672(c)(2)).
(x) "THP-Plus Foster Care" means, on and after January 1, 2012, a
placement that offers supervised housing opportunities and supportive
services to eligible nonminor dependents at least 18 years of age,
on and after January 1, 2013, 19 years of age, and on and after
January 1, 2014, 20 years of age, and not more than 21 years of age,
who are in out-of-home placement under the placement and care
responsibility of the county welfare department or the county
probation department or Indian tribe that entered into an agreement
pursuant to Section 10553.1, and who are described in paragraphs (3)
and (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 11403.2.
(y) "Transitional independent living case plan" means, on or after
January 1, 2012, the nonminor dependent's case plan, updated every
six months, that describes the goals and objectives of how the
nonminor will make progress in the transition to living independently
and assume incremental responsibility for adult decisionmaking, the
collaborative efforts between the nonminor and the social worker,
probation officer, or Indian tribe to plan for and engage in
specific educational or employment activities, or both, and
the supportive services as described in the
transitional independent living plan (TILP) to ensure active and
meaningful participation in one or more of the eligibility
criteria conditions described in paragraphs
(1) to (5), inclusive, of subdivision (b) of Section 11403,
the nonminor's appropriate supervised placement setting, and the
nonminor's permanent plan for transition to living independently,
which includes maintaining or obtaining permanent connections to
caring and committed adults, as set forth in paragraph (16) of
subdivision (f) of Section 16501.1.
(z) "Voluntary reentry agreement" means a written voluntary
agreement between a former dependent child or ward or a former
nonminor dependent, who has had juvenile court jurisdiction
terminated pursuant to Section 391, 452 or 607.2, and the county
welfare or probation department or tribal placing agency that
documents the nonminor's desire and willingness to reenter foster
care, to be placed in a supervised setting under the placement and
care responsibility of the placing agency, the nonminor's desire,
willingness, and ability to immediately participate in one or more of
the conditions of paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, of subdivision
(b) of Section 11403, the nonminor's agreement to work
collaboratively with the placing agency to develop his or her
transitional independent living case plan within 60 days of reentry,
the nonminor's agreement to report any changes of circumstances
relevant to continued eligibility for foster care payments, and the
nonminor's agreement to participate in the filing of a petition for
juvenile court jurisdiction as a nonminor dependent pursuant to
subdivision (e) of Section 388 within 15 judicial days of the signing
of the agreement and the placing agency's efforts and supportive
services to assist the nonminor in the reentry process.