BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
BILL NO: SB 1319
S
AUTHOR: Liu
B
VERSION: February 23, 2012
HEARING DATE: April 10, 2012
1
FISCAL: Yes
3
1
CONSULTANT: Sara Rogers
9
SUBJECT
Child Welfare
SUMMARY
Provides that licensed foster family homes are not subject
to civil penalties under the California Community Care
Facilities Act. Allows the California Department of Social
Services (CDSS) to renew or extend current performance
agreement waivers with private non-profit agencies serving
children. Removes the sunset date for existing law which
exempts certain community treatment facilities from 24-hour
on site nursing staff requirements.
ABSTRACT
Existing law
1.Enacts the California Community Care Facilities Act which
provides for the licensure and regulation by the State
Department of Social Services (DSS) of community care
facilities, as defined, including foster family agencies
that certify foster family homes and licensed foster
family homes.
Continued---
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 1319 (Liu) Page
2
2.Defines "foster family agency" to mean any 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.
3.Defines "foster family home" to mean any residential
facility providing 24-hour care for six or fewer foster
children that is owned, leased, or rented and is the
residence of the foster parent or parents, including
their family, in whose care the foster children have been
placed.
4.Defines "small family home" to mean any residential
facility, in the licensee's family residence, that
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.
5.Requires the department, in establishing regulations for
foster family homes and certified family homes of foster
family agencies, to consider these homes as private
residences, and to establish regulations for them as a
separate regulation package from regulations for all
other community care facilities.
6.Requires the State Department of Mental Health (DMH) to
establish, by regulation, specified program standards for
any facility licensed as a community treatment facility.
7.Defines "community treatment facility" to mean a
residential facility that provides mental health
treatment services to children in a group setting and
that has the capacity to provide secure containment.
8.Provides that, until January 1, 2013, community treatment
facilities shall not be required by DMH to have 24-hour
onsite licensed nursing staff, but shall retain at least
one full-time registered nurse onsite under certain
conditions.
9.Provides that a county may enter into performance
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 1319 (Liu) Page
3
agreements with nonprofit agencies to encourage
innovation in the delivery of children's services, to
develop services not available in the community, and to
promote change in the child welfare services system.
10.Authorizes DSS to waive regulations relating to foster
care payments and the operation of group homes for a
period of up to 3 years, in order to facilitate these
performance agreements. Existing law authorizes the
department to extend the regulation waivers for up to 3
additional years.
This bill
1.Adds licensed foster family homes to the list of foster
care license categories which are not subject to civil
penalties under the California Community Care Facilities
Act.
2.Deletes the January 1, 2013, expiration date applicable
to the nursing staff requirements for community treatment
facilities, thus making those staffing requirements
permanent.
3.Authorizes DSS to extend a waiver of regulations relating
to foster care payments and the operation of group homes
beyond the current period of up to 3 years, in order to
sustain positive outcomes demonstrated as a result of the
waiver. Provides that the extension shall continue until
rate setting reforms have been adopted.
FISCAL IMPACT
This bill has not been analyzed by a fiscal committee
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Purpose of the bill
According to the author, this bill enacts three minor
statutory changes related to the foster care program which
improve the efficiency of program administration and ensure
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 1319 (Liu) Page
4
the continuation of valuable services and supports provided
to vulnerable children and families.
Civil penalties for county licensed foster homes
The author states that AB 978 (Benoit, Chapter 291,
Statutes of 2008) broadly amended statutes governing the
administration of civil penalties for community care
facilities (CCFs) in response to a California State Auditor
report investigating DSS oversight of licensed child care
facilities. According to the author, small family homes
and foster homes certified by foster family agencies were
exempted from the civil penalties enacted in the bill;
however, licensed foster homes were left out, unbeknownst
to the counties who license these foster homes. The author
states that this bill cleans up the inadvertent exclusion
of county licensed foster homes.
According to the California Welfare Directors Association,
the sponsor for this provision of the bill, foster homes
are generally exempted from community care facility civil
penalties because significant violations of health and
safety standards would lead to the removal of the child
from the foster home rather than civil penalties. The
sponsor points out that there is no policy justification
for exempting small family homes and foster homes certified
by foster agencies from civil penalties, but to exclude
county licensed foster homes from such an exemption. The
California State Association of Counties writes that county
licensed foster homes are a key component of California's
child welfare system and that this bill will make it easier
to recruit and retain foster parents.
Performance Agreement Waiver extension
SB 933 (Thompson, Chapter 311, Statutes of 1998) provided
the initial authorization for counties to enter into
performance agreements with private nonprofit entities to
encourage innovation, develop services for children that
are not available in the community and promote change in
the child welfare system, and provided authority for DSS to
grant waivers upon the request of a county to enact those
performance agreements. The initial legislation provided
that those agreements would remain in effect for three
years. AB 488 (Torres and Hagman, Chapter 445, Statutes of
2009) authorized DSS to renew or extend those waivers for
an additional three years. This bill would permit DSS to
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 1319 (Liu) Page
5
extend the waivers in order to sustain the positive
outcomes demonstrated as a result of the waiver until rate
setting reforms have been adopted.
Boys Republic represents five campuses located in San
Bernadino County and Los Angeles County, and is the only
nonprofit agency operating under this waiver at this time.
However, there is no statutory limitation on the number of
providers. A contract compliance monitoring review of Boys
Republic completed by the Los Angeles County Probation
Department dated August 19, 2011 found minor deficiencies
requiring corrective action but that, "Generally, the
Agency is providing the services as outlined in their
program statement?Overall, the child interviews indicated
that the children are happy at the various Group Home
sites, and the Group Home staff treats them with respect.
They are satisfied with the personal living space as well
as their common living areas. The children report that the
food is good, and they are given sufficient daily snacks."
According to the California Alliance of Child and Family
Services, the Boys Republic facility has been in operation
for more than 100 years and is widely recognized as a model
of rehabilitation for young men and women with significant
behavior issues and with moderate to serious offence
histories. According to the Alliance, this model of care
serves as a placement alternative to locked juvenile
detention facilities and to the State-run Division of
Juvenile Justice. The Alliance further states that this
bill would give the California Department of Social
Services the flexibility to extend waivers it has already
granted to counties, and is essential for Boys Republic to
continue to operate its highly successful program for
delinquent youth.
Nurse staffing requirements for community treatment
facilities
AB 1370 (Yee, Chapter 575, Statutes of 2003) provided that
community treatment facilities are not required by the
Department of Mental Health to have 24-hour onsite licensed
nursing staff, and instead must retain at least one
full-time, or full-time equivalent, registered nurse onsite
if the facility does not use mechanical restraint and only
admits children who have been assessed by a licensed
primary care provider and a licensed psychiatrist, who have
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 1319 (Liu) Page
6
concluded that the child does not require medical services
requiring 24-hour nursing coverage. This bill included a
sunset date of January 1, 2007. AB 2776 (Yee, Chapter 796,
Statutes of 2006) extended the sunset to January 1, 2010.
SB 597 (Liu, Chapter 339, Statutes of 2009) extended the
sunset to January 1, 2013.
According to the California Alliance of Child and Family
Services, the sponsor for this provision of the bill,
Community Treatment Facilities (CTFs) are residential
community care facilities which operate much like high
level RCL 14 residential group homes, but offer more
intensive staffing and provide for a locked perimeter to
assure the safety of emotionally disturbed children. The
sponsor states that this provision has been used
successfully for eight years, and that this issue will have
been considered by the legislature four times should this
measure pass.
Comments
The following technical amendments are suggested to improve
clarity in the statute regarding nurse staffing
requirements for community treatment facilities.
Amendment 1: On page 4, line 18, delete "both" and insert
"all"
Amendment 2: On page 4, line 33, delete "(2)" and insert
"(C)"
Amendment 3: On page 4, line 36, delete "(3)" and insert
"(D)"
Amendment 4: On page 5, line 1, delete "(4)" and insert
"(2)"
POSITIONS
Support:
California Alliance for Child and Family Services - sponsor
California Welfare Directors Association - sponsor
Boys Republic - sponsor
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 1319 (Liu) Page
7
California State Association of Counties
City of Chino
Oppose: none received
-- END --