BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1521
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Date of Hearing: August 8, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 1521 (Liu) - As Amended: June 26, 2012
Policy Committee: Human
ServicesVote:6 - 0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill makes federal conformity changes relating to the
provision of services for foster youth to bring state law into
compliance with the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment
Act (CAPTA) of 2010, the Fostering Connections to Success and
Increasing Access to Adoptions Act of 2008 and the Child and
Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act of 2011.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires County Welfare Agencies (CWA) or the Department of
Social Services (DSS) to annually request a free consumer
credit report for a foster youth when s/he turns 16 and for
each year thereafter, and requires the CWA to provide credit
counseling and assistance services to a foster youth.
2)Requires that a foster youth's case plan include an
educational placement assessment to take into account the
educational stability of the child, in accordance with the
federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Access
to Adoptions Act of 2008 and the Child and Family Services
Improvement and Innovation Act of 2011.
3)Prohibits reunification services to a parent or guardian who
has been required to register as a sex offender.
4)Allows peer-to-peer mentoring and support groups for parents
and primary caregivers, including familial visitation services
and activities, in accordance with the Child and Family
Services Improvement and Innovation Act.
5)Deletes and ads reporting elements to the Child Welfare
SB 1521
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Training Program's (CWTP) annual evaluation report, as
specified.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Ongoing costs of approximately $225,000 ($56,250 GF) to DSS to
have county agencies provide annual credit reports to foster
youth age 16 and older, as specified, and require county
welfare departments and probation departments to provide
assistance in interpreting the consumer credit disclosure to
youth on an annual basis.
However, those costs will be greatly reduced if DSS is able to
work with the three major credit reporting agencies to develop
an automated process.
2)Ongoing costs of approximately $195,000 ($48,750 GF) for the
workload associated with requiring that the educational
stability portion of a foster child's educational placement
assessment be updated with every change in placement.
3)The remaining portions of the bill are minor and absorbable
within existing DSS resources.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . This measure predominantly serves as a federal
compliance measure to bring state statute into alignment with
several measures adopted by Congress. As required by federal
law, in order to be eligible for federal funding, states are
required to bring their statutes into compliance with federal
law. Should states be unable to demonstrate or bring their
statutes into compliance, the federal government can reduce or
eliminate federal funding or place sanctions on the state,
depending on the funding requirements and conditions.
This measure brings state statute into compliance with the
federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) of
2010, the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing
Access to Adoptions Act of 2008 and the Child and Family
Services Improvement and Innovation Act of 2011.
2)Related Legislation . AB 846 (Bonilla) contains credit
reporting provisions similar to those contained in this bill.
That bill is currently on the Senate Appropriations suspense
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file.
AB 2985 (Maze; Chapter 387, Statutes of 2006) enacted existing
requirements for county welfare departments to request a
credit report for foster youth, upon turning 16 years of age,
and to refer foster youth to an approved organization that
provides counseling services to victims of identity theft if
identity theft was suspected or discovered.
Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)
319-2081