BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1761
Page A
Date of Hearing: April 29, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Mark Stone, Chair
AB 1761 (Hall) - As Amended: March 28, 2014
SUBJECT : Dependent Children: Placement
SUMMARY : Clarifies existing law relating to the placement
preference of a child with his or her relative. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Clarifies that a minor who is removed from the custody of his
or her parents may be placed with a relative or non-related
extended family member (NREFM) while the child is in temporary
custody and is pending a detention hearing, as specified.
2)Furthers legislative intent through the clarification that a
social worker is not limited to placing a minor with an
appropriate relative when one or more relatives or NREFMs are
under consideration for placement.
EXISTING LAW
1)States that the purpose of foster care law is to provide
maximum safety and protection for children who are currently
being physically, sexually, emotionally abused, neglected, or
exploited, and to ensure the safety, protection, and physical
and emotional well-being of children who are at risk of harm.
(Welfare and Institutions (W&I) Code 300.2)
2)States the intent of the Legislature to preserve and
strengthen a child's family ties whenever possible and to
reunify a foster youth with his or her biological family
whenever possible, or to provide a permanent placement
alternative, such as adoption or guardianship. (W&I Code
16000)
3)Requires a county to file a petition to the court requesting a
detention hearing within 48 hours of placing a child under
temporary custody to determine whether a child should remain
in custody and whether any specific court permissions are
necessary to provide for the health and safety of the child.
(W&I Code 313 and 319)
AB 1761
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4)Requires a social worker, within 30 days of taking a child
into temporary custody or whenever appropriate, to identify
and locate all adults who are related to the child by blood,
adoption, or affinity within the fifth degree of kinship and
provide for the purposes of informing them of their right to
participate in the care and placement of the child, as
specified. (W&I Code 309(e))
5)Requires preferential consideration be given to a request by a
relative to have the child placed with the relative if the
child has been removed from the physical custody of the
child's parent(s). (WIC 361.3(a))
6)Requires a "detention hearing" to be held within 24 hours of
the next court day whenever a detention petition is filed with
the court. (W&I Code 315)
7)Requires a juvenile court to hold a "jurisdictional hearing"
within 15 judicial days of the petition filed to take the
child into temporary custody to determine whether the court
has jurisdiction to adjudicate the child. (W&I Code 334)
8)Requires a juvenile court to hold a "dispositional hearing"
within 60 days of the detention hearing to determine the
appropriate placement for the youth if he or she is
adjudicated to be a dependent of the court. (W&I Code 352(b))
9)For children under the age of three who are placed into foster
care, permits the juvenile court to order family reunification
services, to be provided by a county welfare agency (CWA), for
a period of six months but no longer than 12 months after the
child entered foster care. (WIC 361.5(a)(1)(B))
10)For children over the age of three who are placed into foster
care, permits the juvenile court to order family reunification
services, to be provided by a CWA, for a period of 12 months
after the child entered foster care. (WIC 361.5(a)(1)(A))
11)Permits the juvenile court to extend the provision of family
reunification services beyond 12 months, but no longer than 18
months based upon specified circumstances. (WIC 361.5(a)(3))
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
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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, as
specified. 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.
At the time a child is identified as needing child welfare
services and is in the temporary custody of a social worker, the
social worker is required to identify whether there is a
relative or guardian to whom a child may be released, unless the
social worker believes that the child would be at risk of abuse,
neglect or abandonment if placed with that relative or
guardian.<1> The W&I Code also lays out the conditions under
which a court may deem a child a dependent or ward of the court,
including when the parent has been incarcerated or
institutionalized and is unable to arrange for care for the
child, such as placement with a known relative or nonrelative
extended family member (NREFM). If the child is deemed a
dependent or ward of the court, the court may maintain the child
in his or her home, remove the child from the home but with the
goal of reunifying the child with his or her family, or identify
another form of permanent placement. Unless the child is unable
to be placed with the parent, the court is required to give
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<1> Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 306 and 309
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preference to a relative of the child in order to preserve the
child's association with his or her family. Associated with the
placement, the assigned social worker shall develop a case plan
for the child, which outlines the placement for the child, sets
forth services necessary for the child, and outlines the
provision of reunification services, if necessary and
appropriate.
Custody and out-home-placement of children in foster care : When
it is suspected that a child is a victim of physical, sexual, or
emotional abuse, or neglect or exploitation, any person may
report that abuse or neglect to child protective services.
Additionally certain individuals, such as physicians and
teachers, are mandated under state and federal law to
immediately report any suspicion or identification of child
abuse or neglect to child protective services. After the report
of abuse or neglect is made, a county welfare agency's (CWA)
child protective services social worker is required to
immediately investigate the complaint to determine its validity.
If the complaint is found to be valid, the social worker may
remove the child from the family and place the child into
temporary custody.
This allows for the immediate removal of the child from harm,
while the CWA and the court investigate whether the child should
remain in temporary custody or be ruled a dependent of the
state. Temporary custody does not eliminate all rights of the
parent; rather removal of parental rights depends on what "care,
custody and control" rights the parent(s) may retain, as
determined by the court on a case by case basis. Typically, the
parent retains educational and health rights over the child,
which, again, depends on the ruling of the court.
The timelines and requirements to address custody and the
placement of the child in an out-of-home placement, such as with
the home of a relative, a foster parent or a group home are laid
out in the W&I Code and provide an adjudicatory process that
must be conducted expeditiously to limit, to the extent
possible, any harm to the child. This includes limiting undue
harm due to the removal of the child from the family for health
and safety purposes, as well as avoiding emotional harm to the
child due to separation from his or her parent(s).
As intended by law to limit undue harm and increase the chances
of reunification of the child with his or her parent(s), the
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Family and W&I Codes lay out specific preferential placement
considerations for relatives of the child. Specifically,
current law requires a social worker to, within 30 days of the
child's removal from the home, locate any known adults who are
related to the child by blood, adoption, or affinity within the
fifth degree of kinship<2> and notify them that the child has
been removed from his or her parent's custody. Once identified,
or as relatives come forward, the priority is to place the child
in the home of a relative, unless it is not deemed to be in the
best interest of the child.<3> If no other parent is available
or exists, direct blood relatives are considered, such as the
aunt, uncle, or grandparents. Beyond that, extended relatives
and then NREFMs are considered. NREFMs are persons who have an
established familial or mentoring relationship with a child, and
can be considered an individual with whom a child in foster care
may be placed. They can be a godmother or godfather, a coach, a
close friend of the family, or anyone who has an established
relationship with the child or the family. If no adult who is
related by blood or affinity is identified or comes forward then
foster family homes or group homes are considered for placement.
In cases where a child's relative does not initially come
forward, but identifies him or herself to the social worker or
the court after an initial placement of the child is made, the
social worker is required to conduct an assessment as to the
fitness of the relative and notify and recommend to the court
whether the child should be placed with the relative. This
raises questions as to whether it is in the child's best
interest to remove him or her from an out-of-home placement,
perhaps one that is stable and beneficial to the child, in order
to place him or her with a relative, simply because child
welfare law states that a relative should be provided
preferential consideration for placement. Such scenarios are
considered on a case-by-case basis, which includes an evaluation
by the social worker and the court, and as such encompasses all
parties involved, in order to ensure the best outcome for the
child. This includes an assessment by the social worker, a
correlating notification of the minor's counsel, parent's
counsel, and involvement of the court, with the ultimate
decision being made by the juvenile court judge.
Although a relative may come forward and be approved as an
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<2> Welfare and Institutions Code 319(f)(2)
<3> Family Code 7950
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appropriate placement by the social worker, the court, upon
consideration of all parties involved, could ultimately decide
not to remove the child from a stable non-relative foster care
placement so as not to disrupt the stability of the child. The
converse could also happen. A court could remove a child from a
stable foster care placement, as permitted under law, place him
or her with a relative that could be a less stable placement,
but is reflective of the intent of the state's child welfare law
that preferential consideration be given to known relatives of
the child.
Reunification services : When children are removed from the
home, but the court determines, in consultation with a child's
social worker, that the child would ultimately benefit from
being returned to the family, the court may order reunification
services for the parents. Reunification services are generally
developed on a case-by-case basis to accommodate and respond to
the needs of the child and the parents to better facilitate the
child's reunification with his or her parent(s).
Reunifications services can include family therapy, parenting
classes, drug and alcohol abuse treatment, respite care, parent
support groups, home visiting programs, and other coordinated
and tailored services necessary to assist the child and the
family with reunification. Under current law, reunification
services are offered for six months for children under the age
of three and 12 months for children over the age of three. A
six-month extension may be made if the court finds there is
substantial probability that the child will be returned to the
physical custody of his or her parent(s) within the extended
time period or that reasonable services have not been provided
to the parent(s).<4>
Need for this bill : Stating the need for the bill, the author
writes:
Current law is not clear regarding immediate placement with
a relative in the first few months of a child's time in
foster care. In addition, current provisions do not
provide guidance regarding how a social worker should
proceed when more than one relative is interested in
providing foster care to a child.
AB 1761 would specify that a county social worker may
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<4> Welfare and Institutions Code 361.5
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temporarily place a child with a relative pending
detention, after detention or pending disposition. This
bill would also clarify that a county social worker may
place a child with an appropriate relative pending the
assessment of other relatives and clarify the appropriate
standard with respect to placement of siblings in the same
home.
By preserving family connections, vulnerable children will
be given a needed sense of stability, belonging and
familial support in order to help these young people
through a stressful time in their lives.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Alameda County Foster Youth Alliance
Alliance for Children's Rights
California CASA
Children's Law Center of California (CLC)
East Bay Children's Law Offices
Mission Focused Solutions
San Francisco Counsel for Families and Children
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Chris Reefe / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089