BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Jim Beall, Chair
BILL NO: AB 578
A
AUTHOR: Dickinson
B
VERSION: June 11, 2014
HEARING DATE: July 24, 2014
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FISCAL: Yes
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CONSULTANT: Sara Rogers
SUBJECT
Crisis nurseries: study
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a two-year pilot project in
Sacramento and Yolo counties for the purpose of evaluating
the effectiveness of crisis nurseries, as specified. This
bill also requires the California Department of Social
Services (CDSS) to conduct a study of the relationship
between crisis respite care and incidents of child abuse.
Additionally, this bill states Legislative intent to
provide state funding for crisis nurseries.
ABSTRACT
Existing Law:
1)Enacts the Community Care Facilities Act, which provides
for the licensure and oversight of out-of-home placements
of abused and neglected children by CDSS. The Act defines
a "crisis nursery" as a facility licensed to provide
short-term, 24-hour residential care and supervision for
children under the age of six who are voluntarily placed
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STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 578 (Dickinson)
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by their parent or guardian due to a family crisis or
stressful situation for not more than 30 days. (HSC 1516)
2)Exempts crisis nurseries from licensure as a child day
care facility under the California Child Care and
Development Services Act. (HSC 1596.792)
3)Establishes the maximum licensed capacity for a crisis
nursery as 14 children and requires each crisis nursery
to collect and maintain information indicating the total
number of children placed in the program, the length of
stay, the reasons given for the use of the crisis
nursery, and the age of each child. (HSC 1516 (d)(1) and
(e))
4)Provides that a crisis nursery may provide child day care
services for children under the age of six at the same
site as the crisis nursery, that each child may receive
services for no more than 30 calendar days in a six month
period and that the child receiving such services shall
be counted against the licensed capacity of the crisis
nursery. (HSC 1516 (f))
This bill:
1)Requires CDSS to implement a two-year pilot project in
Sacramento and Yolo counties for the purpose of
evaluating the effectiveness of crisis nurseries in
lowering the incidence of child abuse in those counties.
2)Conditions implementation of the pilot on the voluntary
participation of all of the crisis nurseries in those
counties and on those counties providing private funding
for one-half of the cost of the project.
3)Requires that the pilot project shall consist of both of
the following:
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A CDSS conducted study of the relationship between
crisis respite care and incidents of reported child
abuse in pilot project counties,
A CDSS report the results of the study to the
Legislature on or before December 31, 2016, as
specified.
1)States Legislative intent to provide state funding for
crisis nurseries in the Budget Act of 2014 in order to
enable crisis nurseries to continue to provide services
to the community and to participate in the pilot project
established by this section.
2)Enacts a sunset on the above provisions on January 1,
2017.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Senate Budget Committee, in an informational
consideration for a similar proposal states that $2.4
million GF, over two years, is requested to fund a pilot
project to evaluate the durability of the December 2006
ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center (NRNRC)
study results by evaluating the Sacramento and Yolo Crisis
Nurseries. The study is contingent on matching private and
local support.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Purpose of the bill:
According the author, Yolo and Sacramento Counties each
have Crisis Nurseries which have been linked to studies
indicating cost savings for the state, and preventing child
abuse. However, now funding has ceased which may prevent
their existence, and documentation of their success.
The author cites a two-year study published in 2006
examining the relationships between crisis respite care and
incidents of reported child abuse. According to the author,
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 578 (Dickinson)
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the study provided evidence that Child Protective Services
(CPS) reports on families that accessed crisis respite were
significantly less likely to be substantiated than CPS
reports on comparison families without crisis respite
available. It found that families receiving respite or
crisis resolution services were half as likely to have a
CPS investigation substantiated than were those who
utilized crisis respite with previous CPS involvement.
Further, when parents were asked what alternative choices
they would have pursued had a crisis nursery not been
available, 26 percent said would have either requested
foster care placement or been unable to provide for their
children.
Crisis Nursery Model
Crisis nurseries first were developed as a grassroots
movement in the 1960's as a temporary or emergency care
model for children at risk of abuse or neglect, and were
initially funded through private donations.<1> In 1986,
Congress passed the Temporary Child Care for Children with
Disabilities and Crisis Nurseries Act, which established
federal funding to create temporary child care
demonstration projects including crisis nursery services.
Beginning in 1988, competitive federal grants were awarded
to private and public agencies across the United States to
assist them in developing crisis nursery services, funding
that has subsequently been eliminated.
Crisis nurseries were created as a separate licensing
category under the Community Care Facilities Act under SB
855 (Machado), Chapter 664, Statutes of 2004, to provide a
temporary and emergency housing and shelter facility option
for parents. The intent of the care model is to provide a
voluntary 24-hour placement option for young children when
their families are facing difficult or extreme financial,
health, or other challenges to prevent the engagement of
-------------------------
<1> Cole, Susan. Crisis nurseries: Important services in a
system of care for families and children. University of
Illinois School of Social Work. September 2004.
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child welfare services. Under the statute, the crisis
nurseries were limited to specified counties and were
intended to serve children under the age of six who were
voluntarily placed by a parent or guardian or, under
limited circumstances, were temporarily placed by a county
child welfare service agency.
Prior to the passage of SB 855, crisis nurseries were
licensed as group homes under the Community Care Facility
Act, although critics argued that those regulations were
excessive and inappropriate for crisis nurseries due to
differences between the care needs of very young children
who were voluntarily placed by a parent and the needs of
children that were removed from parental custody by county
child protective services workers due to abuse or neglect.
The bill at that time included a sunset of January 1, 2008,
which was subsequently extended to January 1, 2014. Due to
concerns that crisis nurseries were serving as temporary
placements for children removed from their homes by county
social workers, SB 1214 (Wolk) Chapter 519, Statutes of
2010 eliminated crisis nurseries as an allowable child
welfare placement, effective January 1, 2012. Following
this agreement, the state eliminated the sunset, allowing
crisis nurseries to exist permanently under SB 1319 (Liu)
Chapter 663, Statutes of 2012.
Currently, there are five crisis nurseries licensed in
California, one each in Concord, Davis, Nevada City and two
in Sacramento. Since 2009, more than 9,000 children have
been served by these nurseries. On average, the lengths of
stay have ranged from eight hours to just over 24 hours
with 44 children staying for the maximum allowable days.
No exemptions have been requested for children to stay
beyond the 30-day limit.
Currently there are no state or federal monies made
available to crisis nurseries, with all five nurseries
relying upon philanthropic support and local funds to
operate (some facilities may receive funding through their
Local First Five Commission). In many instances a related
group home provider will support and manage a local crisis
nursery, usually at a substantial financial loss. As a
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result, crisis nurseries rely substantially on trained
volunteers to meet the staffing requirements.
Crisis Nursery Day Care Services
Currently, in addition to the provision of 24-hour care
provided to children, many crisis nurseries provide respite
day care service to families. In such instances, the crisis
nursery must either count a child receiving day care
services against their maximum licensed capacity of 14
children, or they must be separately licensed as a day
care. However, unlike traditional child care providers,
crisis nurseries are permitted to use volunteers to count
toward the caregiver-child ratios. Crisis nursery staff and
volunteers are subject to the same criminal record
clearance requirements as child care providers and the
education and experience requirements are similar to those
of teachers in child care regulations.<2>
Budget Committee hearing on similar proposal
The Senate Budget Committee heard, as an informational
item, a similar proposal to that proposed under this bill.
The committee declined to take action on the proposal,
deferring to the policy committee process. As background,
the committee provided the following information:
Usage data for the Yolo Crisis Nursery
EMQ Families First Yolo Crisis
Nursery
CY 2009 CY 2010 CY 2011 CY
2012 CY 2013 Total
Respite Day Services
# of 30 day stays per facility 0 0
0 0 0 0
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<2> CCR Title 22 101216.1
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# of kids the facility has served 381 339
368 329 372 1789
Average length of stay per child, per
facility (days) 1.25 1.28
1.19 1.32 1.43 1.29
Overnight Services
# of 30 day stays per facility 0 1
0 0 0
1
# of kids the facility has served 73
88 101 38 6
306
Average length of stay per facility
(nights) 5.45
4.74 3 3.71
3.67 2.93
Budget history of both Sacramento Crisis Nursery and Yolo
Crisis Nursery
Sacramento Crisis Nurseries
o FY 2012- 13, total expense of $2,136,724, with a deficit
of $566,724.
o FY 2013-14 (projected), total expense will be $2,015,452,
with deficit of $500,697.
Yolo Crisis Nursery
o FY 2012-13, total expense was $603,000, with a loss of
$438,000.
o FY 2013-2014 (projected), total expense will be $659,000,
with loss of $480,000.
Crisis Nursery Outcomes
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A 2004 report<3> studying crisis nursery outcomes cites a
literature review from 1980 that identified crisis
nurseries "along with access to counseling for parents as
extremely inexpensive forms of prevention when compared to
the cost of foster care placements."
The report also cites a study that found that "thirty-six
parents reported a decrease in parenting stress for
problems related to their children as well as financial and
housing problems when they accessed crisis nursery services
and that "parents using crisis nursery services also
reported significant improvements in parenting stress based
on pre- and post-test scores on the Parenting Stress
Index/Short Form."
Additionally, the report cites a user survey in which
caregivers reported that "if crisis nursery services were
not available they might choose to leave their children
alone, in the care of an inappropriate caregiver, or have
the child accompany them to a place the parent perceived as
dangerous for the child." However, the report states there
is "limited research addresses the role crisis nurseries
play in strengthening families and developing independence
beyond time-limited crisis intervention."
Related Legislation:
SB 2228 (Cooley) 2014 revises the licensing requirements
for crisis nurseries and onsite day care centers. This bill
is being heard in this committee today.
SB 855 (Machado) Chapter 664, Statutes of 2004 established
Crisis Nurseries as a separate licensing category, with a
sunset date of January 1, 2009.
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<3> Cole, Susan. Crisis nurseries: Important services in a
system of care for families and children. University of
Illinois School of Social Work. September 2004.
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SB 104 (Machado) Chapter 288, Statutes of 2007 extended the
sunset date to January 1, 2011.
SB 1214 (Wolk) Chapter 519, Statutes of 2010 extended the
sunset date to January 1, 2014, but eliminated provisions
permitting Crisis Nurseries to provide emergency respite
care for a limited number of foster children. Effective
July 1, 2012, Crisis Nurseries were only permitted to serve
children placed voluntarily by their parents or legal
guardians.
SB 1319 (Liu) Chapter 663, Statutes of 2012 eliminated the
sunset date.
COMMENTS
This bill states it is the intent of the legislature to
provide state funding in the 2014 Budget Act for the
purposes specified in this bill. This year, though this
item was heard in budget committee, no appropriation was
included.
Staff recommends amending the bill to strike Lines 15-17 on
Page 3 inclusive, referencing intent language referring to
the budget appropriation, as follows:
1517. (a) The department shall implement a two-year pilot
project in the County of Sacramento and the County of Yolo
for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of crisis
nurseries in lowering the incidence of child abuse in those
counties. This pilot project shall be implemented only if
all of the crisis nurseries in those counties voluntarily
participate in the project and provide private funding for
one-half of the cost of the project. The pilot project
shall consist of both of the following:
(1) The department shall conduct a study of the
relationship between crisis respite care and incidents of
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reported child abuse in pilot project counties.
(2) The department shall report the results of the study to
the Legislature on or before December 31, 2016, pursuant to
Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide state
funding for crisis nurseries in the Budget Act of 2014 in
order to enable crisis nurseries to continue to provide
services to the community and to participate in the pilot
project established by this section.
(c) (b) This section shall remain in effect only until
January 1, 2017, and as of that date is repealed, unless a
later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1,
2017, deletes or extends that date.
Additionally, the author has requested to add Senator Wolk
as a principal co-author.
PRIOR VOTES
This version of the bill has not been voted upon. Prior
votes related to language that was stricken and in the
jurisdiction of another committee.
POSITIONS
Support: California Professional Fire Fighters
EMQ Families First
Friends of the Yolo Crisis Nursery
Oppose: None received.
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