BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 388
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 388 (Chesbro)
As Amended August 18, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(May 6, 2013) |SENATE: |34-0 |(August 19, 2014) |
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(vote not relevant)
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|COMMITTEE VOTE: |5-0 |(August 22, 2014) |RECOMMENDATION: | concur |
|(Hum. S.) | | | | |
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Original Committee Reference: HIGHER ED.
SUMMARY : Provides additional clarification on how juvenile courts
may consider a child's status as a dependent minor when determining
whether to place that child into delinquency, as specified, and
requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to make additional
licensing information and monitoring requirements for child welfare
placements, including group homes, available to the public, as
specified.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of the bill, and
instead:
1)State the intent of the Legislature to reduce the frequency of
law enforcement involvement and delinquency petitions of minors
in dependency who are placed in group homes or other non-foster
family placements.
2)Require DSS to make available to interested persons the number,
types, and outcomes of law enforcement contacts made by group
homes, transitional housing placement providers, community
treatment facilities, and runaway and homeless youth shelters.
3)Require group homes, transitional housing placement providers,
community treatment facilities, and runaway and homeless youth
shelters to inform DSS whenever they have an incident that
involves law enforcement and to provide DSS with a report every
six months on each incident, as specified.
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4)Require DSS to conduct annual licensing inspections of group
homes, transitional housing placement providers, community
treatment facilities, and runaway and homeless youth shelters if
it is found that the facility has a greater than average number
of incidences that involve law enforcement.
5)Require the juvenile court to inform the county child welfare
services (CWS) agency and the minor's counsel when a dependent
minor is referred to probation and to afford the dependent minor
of the same rights that would otherwise be afforded to a
non-dependent minor, as specified.
6)If an incident that brings a dependent minor to the attention of
probation occurs in a foster care placement, require the county
probation department and the CWS agency to consult and determine
whether the incident warrants the dependent minor remaining in a
non-probation foster care placement or whether the dependent
minor should be placed into a probation placement in order to
serve the best interests of the child.
7)Provide that the juvenile court may not use a minor's status as a
dependent or the county CWS' inability to provide a placement as
cause to detain the child.
8)Provide that the court's decision to detain a dependent minor
shall not be based upon a finding that the minor's current
placement is contrary to his or her welfare, and if the court
finds that continuance of the dependent minor in his or her
current placement is contrary to the minor's welfare, require the
court to order county CWS to place him or her in another
placement.
9)Require the court to waive a restitution fine of a dependent
minor for conduct occurring under the supervision of a foster
home, group home, or other licensed facility that provides
residential care for minors, and additionally provide that if the
victim is a group home or licensed residential facility in which
the minor was placed, or an employee the facility, restitution
shall be limited to out-of-pocket expenses that are not covered
by insurance and are paid by the facility or employee.
10)Require the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), upon
notification by DSS of any adverse licensing action taken against
a group home that provides mental health treatment services, as
specified, to review its certification of the group home to
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provide those services, as specified.
Require DSS, by January 1, 2016, in consultation with specified
stakeholders and the public, to develop additional performance
standards and outcome measures that require group homes to
implement programs and services to minimize law enforcement
contacts and delinquency petition filings arising from incidents of
allegedly unlawful behavior by minors, as specified.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires county child welfare departments and county probation
departments to jointly develop a written protocol regarding
minors who appear to come within both dependency and delinquency
jurisdiction. (Welfare and Institutions (W&I) Code Section
241.1)
2)Requires the county welfare and county probation departments,
pursuant to the joint protocol, to make a recommendation to the
court regarding which initial status of a minor who appears to
come within both dependency and delinquency jurisdiction would
best serve the interests of the minor and the protection of
society. (W&I Code Section 241.1)
3)Provides for the temporary custody and detention of minors in
specified circumstances, and provides for the court to make its
order releasing the minor from custody after hearing relevant
evidence, as specified. (W&I Code Section 635)
4)Provides that if "the probation officer has reason to believe
that the minor is at-risk of entering foster care placement, then
the probation officer shall submit a written report to the court
containing all of the following: the reasons why the minor has
been removed from the parent's custody; any prior referrals for
abuse or neglect of the minor or any prior filings regarding the
minor; the need, if any, for continued detention; the available
services that could facilitate the return of the minor to the
custody of the minor's parents or guardians; and whether there
are any relatives who are able and willing to provide effective
care and control over the minor." (W&I Code Section 635)
5)Provides the court with authority to make an order, in certain
circumstances, that a minor be detained in the juvenile hall or
other suitable place designated by the juvenile court for a
period not to exceed 15 judicial days, as specified. (W&I Code
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Section 636)
6)Provides that before detaining the minor, the court shall
determine whether continuance in the home is contrary to the
minor's welfare and whether there are available services that
would prevent the need for further detention. The court shall
make that determination on a case-by-case basis and shall make
reference to the documentation provided by the probation officer
or other evidence relied upon in reaching its decision. (W&I
Code Section 636(d))
7)Provides for victim restitution and a victim restitution fine
from minors found to have committed a crime by the juvenile
court. (W&I Code Section 730.6)
8)Provides for the licensure and regulation of community care
facilities, including group homes, by the CDSS and requires that
licensed facilities be subject to unannounced inspections under
specified circumstances. (Health and Safety Code Section 1500)
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill clarified that nothing in the
Student Success and Support Program (created by SB 1456
(Lowenthal), Chapter 624, Statutes of 2012) at the California
Community Colleges (CCC) is intended to preclude CCCs from
providing courses and programs including, but not limited to,
professional development of language skills; and job services for
individuals with disabilities to the extent resources are available
for those purposes.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
1)Significant ongoing costs potentially in the hundreds of
thousands of dollars (General Fund) to DSS to conduct additional
visits to specified facilities triggered by the law enforcement
notification threshold established in this bill.
2)Potentially significant one-time and ongoing local costs (Local)
to county child welfare services departments and county probation
departments to add components to the existing protocol to address
the situation when a minor who is a dependent of the court then
appears to come within delinquency jurisdiction.
3)Negligible impact on the Restitution Fund, as the amount of
restitution received from juvenile offenders is negligible and
not regularly imposed.
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4)Minor ongoing costs to the DHCS to review certifications upon
notification of adverse licensing actions taken by DSS.
5)Potential future cost pressure on [group home] rates (General
Fund) to the extent the workgroup develops performance standards
and outcome measures requiring group homes to implement programs
and services to minimize law enforcement contacts that results in
increased costs to the [group homes], leading to pressure to
increase rates to provide these additional programs and services.
6)Potential future ongoing cost savings (General Fund/Local) in the
criminal justice system to the extent earlier intervention in
these cases precludes minors from transitioning from dependency
to delinquency jurisdiction.
COMMENTS :
Maintaining the Family: Historically, it has been the stated
policy of California that when a child is removed from the home,
first preference should be given to placing the child with another
parent, or with his or her relatives whenever possible and
appropriate. This has helped to preserve and strengthen the social
bedrock of our society, by keeping families together and reducing
society's reliance on its social welfare system.
Child Welfare Services: The purpose of California's Child Welfare
Services (CWS) system is to provide for the protection and the
health and safety of children. Within this purpose, the desired
outcome is to reunite children with their biological parents, when
appropriate, to help preserve and strengthen families. However, if
reunification with the biological family is not appropriate,
children are placed in the best environment possible, whether that
is with a relative, through adoption, or with a guardian, such as a
nonrelated extended family member. In the case of children who are
at risk of abuse, neglect or abandonment, county juvenile courts
hold legal jurisdiction and children are served by the CWS system
through the appointment of a social worker. Through this system,
there are multiple stages where the custody of the child or his or
her placement are evaluated, reviewed and determined by the
judicial system, in consultation with the child's social worker to
help provide the best possible services to the child.
Need for the bill: Stating the need for the bill, the author
writes:
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AB 388 will protect foster youth from being
inappropriately referred to, and detained in, the
juvenile justice system for minor incidents and
typical adolescent behavior solely due to their status
as a foster youth, which in competently parented
family settings would not result in law enforcement
intervention and formal handling in the juvenile
justice system. AB 388 would require policies,
reporting, and monitoring on law enforcement
interventions by community care licensing for foster
youth placed in residential facilities. Foster
children should not be unfairly and disproportionately
arrested, charged, and detained, and pulled ever
deeper into the criminal justice system, due to
typical teen misbehavior that would not trigger such
dire consequences for youth living at home with
parents.
Writing as a co-sponsor of the measure, the Youth Law Center
states:
Children in the foster care system, particularly those
placed in group homes are especially vulnerable to
crossing over to the delinquency system.<1> Group
homes are designed to provide a higher level of care
and supervision to foster youth than the level of care
provided in family-based foster care settings.
Adolescents in the dependency system often end up
placed in group homes by default because of a lack of
other placement resources to meet their needs. Despite
the higher level of care and supervision, some group
homes rely on law enforcement as the primary behavior
management system to respond to minor misconduct such
as fights among peers, threats or conflict with group
home staff, or damage to facility property. Once
arrested, many foster youth are needlessly detained in
juvenile halls for extended periods because they are
without a parent to whom they can be released, a
placement to return to and a child welfare agency
willing to place them in a new foster care setting.
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<1> Ryan, J.P., Marshall, J.M., Herz, D., & Hern�ndez, P. (2008).
Juvenile delinquency in child welfare: Investigating group home
effects. Children and Youth Services Review.
http://www.cwla.org/programs/juvenilejustice/grouphomeeffects.pdf
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Sadly, detention exponentially increases a foster
youth's risk of spiraling deeper and deeper into the
juvenile justice system and experiencing poor
education and employment outcomes after exiting the
system.<2>
Foster youth should not be unfairly subject to arrest,
detention and prosecution for typical teen misbehavior
that would not trigger such dire consequences for
youth living at home with parents. Foster youth are
disproportionately impacted by the negative effects of
the delinquency system simply because of their foster
care status and the system's inability to provide
competent substitute parenting. Children living at
home and referred to the juvenile justice system and,
even if prosecuted, would not be detained in juvenile
hall. For foster youth, a delinquency record can
create not only a lifelong stigma, but significant
barriers to successful transition to adulthood and
independence.<3> AB 388 will allow foster youth the
same opportunities as their peers who have not been
removed from the home to avoid the direct and
collateral consequences of juvenile justice system
involvement.
Analysis Prepared by : Chris Reefe / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089
FN: 0005358
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<2> Mendel, R. (2013), NO PLACE FOR KIDS The Case for Reducing
Juvenile Incarceration, The Annie E. Casey Foundation.
<3> Culhane, D.P., Byrne, T., Metraux, S., Moreno, M., Toros, H.,
Stevens, M. (November 2011). Young Adult Outcomes of Youth Exiting
Dependent or Delinquent Care in Los Angeles, (Foster youth who
crossed over into the delinquency system were twice as likely to
experience unemployment, homelessness, incarceration, mental health
disorders, and lower educational attainment than youth exiting
supervision from either probation or child welfare.)
http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1125&context=de
nnis_culhane
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