BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1761|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1761
Author: Hall (D)
Amended: 3/28/14 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 4-0, 6/10/14
AYES: Beall, DeSaulnier, Liu, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/24/14
AYES: Jackson, Anderson, Corbett, Lara, Leno, Monning, Vidak
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 8/14/14
AYES: De Le�n, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters, Gaines
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/23/14 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Dependent children: placement
SOURCE : Children's Law Center of California
DIGEST : This bill permits a social worker to place a child
who has been removed from the custody of his/her parents in the
home of a relative or non-relative extended family member
(NREFM) after the detention hearing and pending the
dispositional hearing. Additionally, this bill clarifies
legislative intent that a social worker may place a child in the
home of an appropriate relative or NREFM pending the
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consideration of other relatives who request preferential
consideration.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Establishes the criteria by which a child who has suffered, or
is at risk of suffering, significant abuse or harm shall fall
within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court which may
adjudge that person to be a dependent child of the court.
2.Permits the juvenile court to remove a child from the physical
custody of his/her parents or guardian upon clear and
convincing evidence there is substantial danger to the health,
safety, protection, or physical or emotional well-being of the
minor, the parent or guardian is unwilling to have physical
custody, the minor is suffering severe emotional damage, the
minor or a sibling has been sexually abused, or the minor has
been left without any provision for his/her support.
3.Requires, following a court order to remove a child from
parental custody, the court to order the care, custody,
control and conduct of the child to be under the supervision
of the social worker and permits a social worker to place the
child in a specified home or facility.
4.Defines "nonrelative extended family member" as an adult
caregiver who has an established familial relationship with a
relative or a familial or mentoring relationship with the
child, as verified by the county welfare department through
interviews.
5.Defines "relative" as an adult who is related to the child by
blood, adoption, or affinity within the fifth degree of
kinship, including step relatives, relatives whose status is
preceded with "great," "great-great" or "grand" or the spouse
of any of these persons. Provides that only grandparents,
aunts, uncles or siblings shall be eligible for preferential
consideration for placement.
6.Permits a social worker to immediately release a child to the
custody of a relative, except as specified, and permits a
child to be placed with a relative or NREFM upon the
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assessment of the home's suitability, a criminal background
check, and a check of child abuse records of all adults in the
home. Additionally, provides that the standards used to
determine suitability shall be the same standards used for
foster family homes, except as specified.
This bill:
1.Permits a social worker to place a child who has been removed
from the custody of his/her parents in the home of a relative
or NREFM after the detention hearing and pending the
dispositional hearing.
2.Clarifies legislative intent that a social worker may place a
child in the home of an appropriate relative or NREFM pending
the consideration of other relatives who request preferential
consideration.
3.Rewords the preferential consideration granted to sibling
placements to state that placement with siblings and
half-siblings shall receive preferential consideration "unless
that placement is found to be contrary to the safety and
well-being of any of the siblings" instead of "if that
placement is found to be in the best interest of each of the
children."
Background
Placement decisions within the child welfare system . The child
welfare system is designed to ensure safety and protection for
children who are, or are at risk of being, abused, neglected, or
exploited, while at the same time maintaining a focus on family
reunification and family continuity for the child.
Existing law permits a social worker to take a minor into
"temporary custody" if it is suspected that a child is being, or
is at risk of being, abused or neglected but the abuse has not
yet been validated, the child has not yet been adjudged to be a
dependent of the court, and parental rights have not been
formally limited. The authority for the juvenile dependency
system to limit parental authority over children is subject to a
series of rigorous and lengthy hearings and extensive court
oversight designed to ensure that parental rights are only
limited to the extent necessary to protect the children and to
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promote the possibility of family reunification, or if
reunification is not possible, family continuity for the child.
NREFMs . AB 1695 (Assembly Human Services Committee, Chapter
653, Statutes of 2001) clarified state law to conform with the
Federal Adoptions and Safe Families Act of 1997 by establishing
NREFMs as an approved placement for children in foster care.
The bill clarified that both relative and NREFM placements are
subject to being "approved" while all foster family homes are
licensed as a Community Care Facility. Under both state and
federal law, relative and NREFM caregivers are required to be
approved by the caseworker using the same standards as licensed
homes as defined. The law also clarifies that granting of an
approved status does not entitle the caregiver to placement of a
specific child; instead placement is based on each individual
child's needs and best interests. Thus, approval enables a
NREFM to be considered for placement without undergoing formal
licensure, but existing law does not provide a guarantee, or a
preference, over any other approved or licensed provider for
placement.
Determinations of the best interests of a child . Existing law
provides that when an agency has placed a child with a relative
caregiver, a NREFM, a licensed foster family home, or a group
home, the agency shall ensure placement in the home that best
meets the day-today needs of the child. This standard is
defined as:
The child's caregiver is able to meet the day-to-day health,
safety, and wellbeing needs of the child.
The child's caregiver is permitted to maintain the least
restrictive and most family- like environment that serves the
day-to-day needs of the child.
The child is permitted to engage in reasonable,
age-appropriate day-to-day activities that promote the most
family-like environment for the foster child.
Comments
According to the author's office, existing law is unclear
regarding immediate placement of a child with a relative in the
first few months of a child's time in foster care and that
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children often linger in foster care awaiting lengthy
assessments of appropriate relatives. In addition, the author's
office states that existing provisions do not give guidance
regarding how a social worker should proceed when more than one
relative is interested in providing foster care to a child. The
author's office states that existing law allows a county social
worker to temporarily place a child with a relative pending a
detention hearing, and that this bill allows a social worker to
temporarily place a child with a relative or NREFM after the
detention hearing or pending a disposition hearing, and
clarifies that a county social worker may place a child with an
appropriate relative or NREFM pending the assessment of other
relatives.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, there are
potentially significant state costs (General Fund*) for county
social workers to conduct additional assessments of relatives
and NREFMs that have requested placement of a child after the
detention hearing and pending a dispositional hearing. Assuming
two to four hours per assessment, annual costs to provide
assessments for 10% of the 8,500 relative placements annually
would cost in the range of $125,000 to $250,000 annually.
*Proposition 30 (November 2012) specifies that for legislation
enacted after September 30, 2012, that has an overall effect of
increasing the costs already borne by a local agency for
realigned programs, including child welfare services, the
provisions shall apply to local agencies only to the extent that
the state provides annual funding for the cost increase.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/15/14)
Children's Law Center of California (source)
East Bay Children's Law Offices
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/23/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dababneh,
Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,
Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell,
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Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer,
Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Olsen, Pan, Patterson,
Perea, John A. P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonilla, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Melendez,
Nestande, V. Manuel P�rez, Vacancy
JL:k 8/15/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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