BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1978
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Date of Hearing: May 21, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 1978 (Jones-Sawyer) - As Amended: May 7, 2014
Policy Committee: Human
ServicesVote:5 - 0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill enacts the Child Welfare Social Worker Empowerment and
Foster Child Protection Act to provide protections for county
child welfare social workers. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires counties, when conducting self-assessments and
improvement plans regarding child welfare, to consult with
stakeholders, including county child welfare agencies and
probation agency staff at all levels, current and former
foster children, children's attorneys, and foster care
providers, and at least one county child welfare worker named
by the bargaining unit representing children's social workers.
2)Requires that each county's child welfare improvement plan
include a separately titled provision that lists and provides
the rationale for proposed operational improvements identified
during the stakeholder process that can be implemented at a
cost savings to the county or within existing county
resources.
3)Prohibits a county child welfare agency from retaliating
against a social worker if the social worker has reasonable
cause to believe that a policy, procedure, or practice related
to the provision of child welfare services endangers the
health or well-being of a child or children and the social
worker discloses this information to a government or law
enforcement agency, an appointed or elected official, or the
public.
4)Authorizes county child welfare social workers to comment on a
child welfare case, within the scope of the information
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released, once documents have been released by the custodian
of records.
FISCAL EFFECT
Potential state costs in the range of $50,000 to $100,000 (GF)
for mandated activities on local agencies associated with the
current and future development of county self-assessments and
county improvement plans.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . In response to a series of tragedies, including
child deaths that occurred as a result of abuse and neglect in
Los Angeles and Sacramento Counties, the author and sponsor,
SEIU, assert it is important for county social workers, boards
of supervisors, and child welfare directors to identify and
implement operational improvements to reduce paperwork,
enhance social worker productivity and job satisfaction, and
help ensure abused and neglected children are well looked
after. This bill seeks to improve operations in county child
welfare agencies and give child welfare workers a better
opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns regarding
necessary improvements to the system.
2)Background . AB 636 (Steinberg), Chapter 678, Statutes of 2001,
established the California-Child and Family Services Review
System (C-CFSR), which was implemented in January 2004.
Development of the C-CFSR marked a shift from a regulatory
compliance oversight system to a system centered on outcomes
for children in the child welfare services system measured by
recurrence of maltreatment, number of foster home placements,
length of time to reunification with birth parents and
permanency an additional measures for overall child and family
well-being. The Department of Social Services (DSS) reviews
all counties on a five-year cycle under the C-CFSR to
determine county performance in meeting system requirements
and improving outcomes for children.
The reviews consist of a county self-assessment, a Peer
Quality Case Review, which supplements the self-assessment
with input from peer counties and outside experts, and a
System Improvement Plan (SIP), which identifies annual targets
for improvement in outcomes for children within the local
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child welfare services system. The state encourages counties
to use existing planning processes and community groups to
increase public participation, and most counties work with a
group of core representatives in the development of
self-assessments. DSS approves each county SIP and monitors
compliance using quarterly performance reports.
3)Prior Legislation . This bill is a re-introduction of AB 921
(Jones-Sawyer) from 2013. Initially proposed to also include
civil penalties for specified offenses committed against a
social worker and a requirement for counties to adopt an
ordinance that provides social workers specific additional
authority and protections, its scope was limited as it moved
through the legislative process. The current language in this
measure is similar to the final version of AB 921, which was
vetoed by the Governor.
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081