BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 2001 (Ammiano) - Homeless youth: child welfare services.
Amended: July 2, 2014 Policy Vote: JUD 6-0; HS 4-0
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: August 4, 2014
Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 2001 would:
Require the Department of Social Services (DSS) to establish a
working group to develop policy and practice recommendations
to ensure that homeless, unaccompanied minors have access to
appropriate placements and services through the state's child
welfare system.
Authorize one or more waiver counties to establish a pilot
program to develop and implement alternative child welfare
services (CWS) to meet the individual needs of homeless youth.
Require the DSS to conduct an evaluation of the pilot programs
and submit the evaluation results to the Legislature no later
than January 1, 2019.
State the Legislature's intent that law enforcement agencies
work with local child protective services (CPS) agencies to
identify the appropriate placement for homeless youth,
including placement in a homeless youth shelter, as specified.
Require a social worker to interview a minor who is in a
runaway and homeless youth shelter or any other community care
facility, as defined, and requires the commencement of
juvenile court proceedings within five judicial days in
specified cases.
Require a county child welfare agency, upon temporary
placement of a homeless youth in a homeless youth shelter, to
provide case management services, identify appropriate
long-term housing placement opportunities and wraparound
services for the youth, and make a recommendation as to
whether the youth should continue to receive long-term
intensive support services, as specified.
Requires the DSS in consultation with the County Welfare
Directors Association (CWDA) to develop specified standards
and criteria for the pilot program by March 31, 2015.
AB 2001 (Ammiano)
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Fiscal Impact:
One-time significant costs potentially in excess of $300,000
(General Fund) to DSS to conduct the workgroup, develop policy
recommendations, report to the Legislature, develop pilot
standards and criteria, and evaluate the pilot.
Ongoing potentially major state costs (General Fund)* for
increased county social worker activities, including
interviews, assessments, and services to homeless youth in
runaway and homeless youth shelters or other community care
facilities. For every ten percent (20,000) of the estimated
200,000 youth under the age of 18 estimated to be homeless
each year that require an interview, costs for a 30-minute
interview would cost in excess of $700,000.
Potentially significant state-reimbursable costs (General
Fund) for local law enforcement agencies to work with county
and local CPS agencies to identify the appropriate placement
for youth who come to the attention of law enforcement because
they are homeless. Although the pilot is optional for county
child welfare services departments, the mandate on law
enforcement agencies to work with local CPS agencies is not.
Unknown, potentially major costs to pilot counties to provide
alternative long-term intensive support services to homeless
youth such as wrap around services, case management services,
including permanent housing, independent living skills, and
workforce training opportunities.
*Pursuant to Proposition 30 (November 2012) any legislation
enacted after September 30, 2012, that has an overall effect of
increasing the costs already borne by a local agency for
programs or levels of service mandated by realignment (including
child welfare services) only apply to local agencies to the
extent that the state provides annual funding for the cost
increase.
Background: Existing law provides that unless certain exceptions
apply, the primary objective of the juvenile dependency system
is reunification of the minor with his or her family, and the
court must order the social worker to provide services to
reunify children legally removed from a parent.
Under existing law, a child is within the jurisdiction of the
court when he or she has suffered, or is at a substantial risk
of suffering, serious abuse, or neglect, including:
The failure or inability of his or her parent or
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guardian to adequately supervise or protect the child.
The willful or negligent failure of the parent or
guardian to provide the child with adequate food, clothing,
shelter, of medical treatment, or
The inability of the parent or guardian to provide
regular care for the child due to the parent's or
guardian's mental illness, developmental disability, or
substance abuse.
This bill would provide that a child residing in a runaway and
homeless youth shelter, as defined, may come within the
jurisdiction of the court, despite having access to temporary
shelter, and seeks to better provide services and protection to
homeless minors through the child welfare system and would
create a pilot program and a work group to develop
recommendations and policies to better support healthy youth
development.
Proposed Law: This bill would provide that a child who resides
in a runaway and homeless youth shelter, as defined, may be
found to come within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court if
the that finding is supported by other evidence of abuse or
neglect. In addition, this bill:
Requires a social worker to interview a child in a
runaway and homeless youth shelter, and provides that if
the social worker employs team decision making or a similar
process to determine whether to commence juvenile court
proceedings in a case involving a child at least 12 years
old, the process shall include the child, as well as
individuals the child identifies as important to him or
her.
Requires the DSS to establish a working group to
develop policy and practice recommendations regarding
necessary changes to both policy and practice, to ensure
that homeless, unaccompanied minors have timely, reliable
access to appropriate placements and services trough CWS.
Provides for specified questions for the working group
to consider in developing the recommendations.
Requires the working group to meet no later than April
1, 2015, and submit a report of the recommendations to the
Legislature no later than January 1, 2016.
Authorizes counties participating in the Title IV-E
waiver capped allocation demonstration project to establish
a pilot program, with the approval of DSS, to develop and
AB 2001 (Ammiano)
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implement alternative child welfare services to meet the
individual needs of homeless youth in order to reduce
homelessness among children.
Provides that each pilot program shall conclude no later
than July 1, 2019.
Provides that each pilot program may include methods for
the identification of homeless youth for purposes of
temporary placement into a licensed homeless youth shelter.
Requires the DSS to conduct an evaluation of the pilot
programs and submit the evaluation results to the
Legislature no later than January 1, 2019.
States legislative intent that local law enforcement
agencies work with county and local child protective
service agencies to identify the appropriate placement,
including placement in a homeless youth shelter.
Upon temporary placement into a homeless youth shelter,
requires the county child welfare agency to provide case
management services, identify appropriate long-term housing
placement opportunities and wraparound services for the
youth, and make a recommendation as to whether the youth
should continue to receive long-term intensive support
services, as specified.
Requires the DSS in consultation with the County Welfare
Directors Association (CWDA) to develop specified standards
and criteria for the pilot program by March 31, 2015.
Staff Comments: The provisions of this bill will result in
significant one-time costs for the DSS to conduct a workgroup to
develop policy recommendations regarding necessary changes to
both policy and practice, to ensure that homeless, unaccompanied
minors have timely, reliable access to appropriate placements
and services through California's child welfare system.
The DSS will incur additional costs to develop standards and
criteria for the pilot program in consultation with CWDA by
March 31, 2015 (within three months of the effective date of
this bill). The costs to evaluate the pilot program(s) developed
to implement alternative child welfare services to meet the
individual needs of homeless youth will be dependent on the
number of participating counties and the number of homeless
youth served in those counties during the pilot period.
By requiring social workers to conduct interviews of youth in
runaway and homeless youth shelters and other community care
AB 2001 (Ammiano)
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facilities, this bill creates a state-mandated local program
that could require a subvention of funds from the state as
specified under Proposition 30 (2012). For every ten percent
(20,000) of the estimated 200,000 youth under the age of 18
estimated to be homeless each year that require an interview,
costs for a 30-minute interview would cost in excess of
$700,000. This bill also requires, with regard to an application
by a person to commence juvenile court proceedings, the court to
either affirm a decision by a social worker or order him or her
to commence juvenile proceedings within five judicial days. This
timeframe places additional workload pressure on social workers
to be prepared to commence juvenile court proceedings within
five days.
Prior to Fiscal Year (FY) 2011-12, the state and counties
contributed to the non-federal share of various social service
programs. AB 118 (Committee on Budget) Chapter 40/2011 and ABX1
16 Chapter 13/2011 realigned state funding to the counties
through the 2011 Local Revenue Fund (LRF) for various programs,
including foster care and child welfare services. As a result,
beginning in FY 2011-12 and for each fiscal year thereafter,
non-federal funding and expenditures for these activities
including foster care and child welfare services are funded
through the LRF.
Proposition 30, passed by the voters in November 2012, among
other provisions, eliminated any potential mandate funding
liability for any new program or higher level of service
provided by counties related to the realigned programs. Although
the provisions of this bill are a mandate on social workers, any
increased costs would not appear to be subject to reimbursement
by the state. Rather, Proposition 30 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, the provisions shall apply to
local agencies only to the extent that the state provides annual
funding for the cost increase.
By mandating that local law enforcement agencies work with
county and local CPS agencies to identify the appropriate
placement for youth who come to the attention of law enforcement
because they are homeless, this bill imposes a state-mandated
local program, the cost of which could be determined by the
Commission on State Mandates to be reimbursable by the state.
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Although the pilot is optional for county child welfare services
departments, the mandate on law enforcement agencies to work
with local CPS agencies is not.
Recommended Amendments: This bill requires amendments to avoid
chaptering out a specified provision in WIC � 300 enacted by SB
855 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) Chapter 29/2014, the
Human Services budget trailer bill.