BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1751
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 17, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Mike Feuer, Chair
AB 1751 (Pan) - As Introduced: February 17, 2012
SUBJECT : CHILD SUPPORT: ACCESS TO ESTRANGED PARENT'S
INFORMATION
KEY ISSUE : SHOULD COUNTY WELFARE AND PROBATION AGENCIES SEEKING
TO LOCATE THE NONCUSTODIAL PARENTS OF NEGLECTED AND ENDANGERED
CHILDREN BE AUTHORIZED TO OBTAIN THE PARENTS' BASIC PERSONAL
INFORMATION FROM THE STATE'S CHILD SUPPORT INFORMATION SYSTEM
AND OTHER STATE AND LOCAL AGENCIES?
FISCAL EFFECT : As currently in print this bill is keyed fiscal.
SYNOPSIS
This non-controversial measure seeks to authorize county child
welfare and probation agencies responsible for the placement of
abused and neglected children to access information from other
state agencies and the state's child support information system
to obtain the contact information necessary to locate a child's
estranged or noncustodial parent for the purposes of providing
notice to the parent of the child's situation and evaluating the
possibility of placing the child with that parent. The author
and the sponsor, the Children's Advocacy Institute, note that
the measure would save scarce time and resources spent by county
agencies in attempts to locate such parents when abused children
are removed from their homes. In addition, enabling child
welfare and probation departments to identify and locate parents
in a timely manner would facilitate the achievement of
California and federal directives that reflect a preference for
placing abused children with family members if doing so would be
consistent with the child's best interests. This bill would
direct the Department of Social Services to produce a plan for
implementing this bill's requirements in a manner consistent
with federal law. This bill passed the Assembly Human Services
Committee on a 5-0 vote. There is no reported opposition to the
bill.
SUMMARY : Authorizes county welfare and probation agencies to
obtain identifying and contact information for parents of
children subject to juvenile court proceedings pursuant to their
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duty to identify, notify, and assess such parents for placement
of dependent children. Specifically, this bill :
1)Permits the disclosure of information acquired in the process
of child and spousal support enforcement - specifically, the
name, social security number, most recent address, telephone
number, place of employment, or other contact information of a
noncustodial or estranged parent - to county child welfare
agencies and probation departments acting pursuant to their
statutory duties to identify, locate, and notify such parents
of a child's involvement with juvenile court proceedings and
assess the appropriateness of placing children in the care of
noncustodial parents.
2)Requires all state and local agencies to provide information
to county child welfare agencies and probation departments in
order to assist them in their statutory duties to identify,
locate, and notify such parents of a child's involvement with
juvenile court proceedings and assess the appropriateness of
placing children in the care of noncustodial parents.
3)Permits information provided to the California Parent Locator
Service by the Federal Parent Locator Service to be released
to county child welfare and probation agencies administering a
state plan for child welfare service, family support and
reunification, or foster care services pursuant to federal
law, and requires that such information be exchanged through
automated processes to the maximum extent feasible.
4)Requires the Department of Social Services to: a) amend the
state foster care plan in accordance with federal law by
January 30, 2013 to implement access to the California Parent
Locator service by county child welfare and probation
agencies, and b) issue an all-county letter or similar
instruction by July 1, 2013 explaining that county child
welfare agencies and probation departments are entitled to
specified information contained in child and spousal support
records.
5)Permits the Director of Social Services to adopt emergency
regulations implementing the applicable provisions of this
bill if necessary for the immediate preservation of the public
peace, health, safety, or general welfare.
6)Permits the Department of Social Services to develop an
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interagency agreement with the Department of Child Support
Services delineating the terms and conditions of use of the
California Parent Locator services and Central Registry by
county child welfare agencies and probation departments.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Federal Parent Locator Service, which is
authorized to collect specified information concerning parents
and disseminate that information to authorized parties for the
purposes of establishing parentage and establishing,
modifying, or enforcing child support obligations. (42 U.S.C.
� 653.)
2)Establishes the California Parent Locator Service and Central
Registry for the purpose of collecting and disseminating
specified information concerning any parent, putative spouse,
spouse, or former spouse, in order to enable the Department of
Child Support Services and other public agencies to establish
paternity and enforce liability for child or spousal support.
(Family Code � 17506.)
3)Mandates that, when a child is removed from his or her home
due to abuse or neglect, social workers must identify all
adult relatives of the child within 30 days in an attempt to
find a suitable relative for placement, consistent with the
child's best interests, and requires that preferential
consideration shall be given whenever possible to the
placement of the child with a relative as required by law.
(Welf. & Inst. Code �� 16000(a), 361.3, 309(e).)
4)Permits a state parent locator service to disclose specified
information obtained from the Federal Parent Locator Service
to a state agency administering a state plan for child welfare
services, a plan for family support, preservation, or
reunification, or a plan for foster care services, for the
purpose of locating an individual who has or may have parental
rights with respect to a child. (45 C.F.R. �
302.35(a)(2)-(3), (d)(1)-(2).)
Effects Upon State Efforts to Locate Parents in a Timely and
Efficient Manner. This bill would enable county officials
responsible for locating the relatives of an abused or neglected
child to use the state's child support database to access the
basic contact information of the child's noncustodial parent.
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The author notes that the measure would decrease the amount of
time currently spent by county officials in unnecessarily
difficult attempts to locate the parents of abused children
pursuant to state and federal mandates:
With approximately 60,000 children currently in the
state's foster-care system and an ongoing state budget
shortfall, county welfare agencies have fewer resources
than ever to do their jobs. This common-sense bill
would allow local child welfare agencies and probation
officers to access the child support information that
already exists in the state child support database and
to obtain critical contact information such as the
parent's name, social security number, most recent
address, phone number, and place of employment? This, in
turn, will allow the case worker to contact the parent
to see if they want to and can provide a caring
alternative to foster care for the abused or neglected
child. This measure provides county child welfare
agencies, social workers, and probation officers with
the information they need to make timely, appropriate
decisions regarding the placement of abused and
neglected children who have been removed from their
homes.
While implementing this bill's provisions would entail costs to
both state and local agencies, the author notes that placing
children with relatives decreases both the number of children in
the foster care system and the costs associated with prolonged
stays in foster care:
According to the Public Policy Institute of California
(Foster Care in California: Achievements and Challenges,
2010), the number of children in California's foster
care system has declined by 10 percent or more between
2000 and 2009. The report notes an increased number of
placements with relatives among the reasons for this
decline and credits, in part, the creation of the
Kinship Guardian Assistance Program Payment (Kin-GAP)
Progam in 2000. This program incentivizes kinship care
- a form of foster placement that is significantly less
costly to the state than some other options such a group
home placement.
The author also asserts that this bill would remove an
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unnecessary obstacle in the path of often-overwhelmed social
workers:
A recent report commissioned by the Board of Supervisors
of the County of Sacramento concluded that social
workers experienced low levels of morale and high
frustration while they attempted to fulfill excessive
caseloads "in a system that is overly dependent on
paper-based and manual systems rather than making better
use of the technology and data systems" that already
existed (MGT of America, Inc., Review of the Sacramento
Child Protective Services Division, Final Report, 2009.)
Use of this existing resource will make it easier for
already over-burdened social workers to do their job,
all the while reducing the number of children who end up
in "the system," placing them with families and saving
the state and counties scarce financial resources.
Effect Upon Children Faced with Removal from Their Homes. The
author also emphasizes the growing importance of family members
in efforts to improve child welfare and development:
In addition to cost savings to the state, the Child
Welfare League of America notes that the increasing
number of children in out-of-home care, the declining
pool of traditional families, and the numerous benefits
of family care have made kinship care an important
component of the child welfare system.
Even in cases where placing the child with the noncustodial
parent is not feasible, establishing contact with that parent
can lead to relatives, such as grandparents, who are willing and
equipped to provide a stable family environment for the child.
Studies confirm that placement with relatives results in greater
stability for children in the foster care system. (Public
Policy Institute, supra, at 11.) Many have concluded that
"placement instability leads to negative outcomes for children,"
including "behavioral problems . . . and emotional problems,
such as aggression." (Brenda Jones Harden, Safety and Stability
for Foster Children: A Developmental Perspective, 14 Future of
Children 31, 39 (2004).) These findings suggest that
effectively identifying and locating stable, familial settings
for children in the dependency system would positively affect
the development of those children.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Children's Advocacy Institute (sponsor)
County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA)
Junior Leagues of California State Public Affairs Committee
Opposition
None on File
Analysis Prepared by : Drew Liebert and Josh Fox / JUD. / (916)
319-2334