BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2187
Page A
Date of Hearing: April 29, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Mark Stone, Chair
AB 2187 ( Cooley) - As Amended: April 21, 2014
SUBJECT : County children's trust funds
SUMMARY : Maintains birth certificate fees collected for child
abuse prevention and intervention services in the county in
which a newborn child will reside rather than the county in
which the child is born if the child is born outside of the
county in which his or her mother resides.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Deletes the requirement that a portion of birth certificate
fees goes to a county children's trust fund in the county in
which a child is born but will not reside unless a child is
born outside of a mother's county of residence due to the
county of residence not having a licensed health facility that
provides maternity services.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes a structure of fees required of applicants
requesting certified copies of birth certificates, including
$12 to be paid by an agency applicant, as specified, and $18
to be paid by any other applicant, $4 of which is to be paid
to either a county children's trust fund or to the State
Children's Trust Fund, as specified. (H&S 103625(b))
2)Authorizes a board of supervisors to designate a voluntary
commission or council to establish a county children's trust
fund, which shall consist of moneys collected from birth
certificate fees, grants, gifts, or bequests from private
sources to be used for child abuse and neglect prevention and
intervention programs, and any funds appropriated by local
governmental entities or the Legislature. (WIC 18966)
3)Requires a county treasurer to transmit moneys collected from
birth certificate fees for its county children's trust fund
that pertain to the birth certificate of a child whose mother
was a resident of another county at the time of birth to the
treasurer of the county of the mother's residence if that
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county has an established county children's trust fund and
does not have a licensed health facility that provides
maternity services. (WIC 18966)
4)Requires the money in a county's children's trust fund to be
used to fund child abuse and neglect prevention and
intervention programs that are recommended by the commission
or council and chosen by the county board of supervisors, as
specified. (WIC 18967)
5)Establishes the state Office of Child Abuse Prevention within
the Department of Social Services (DSS), which administers the
State Children's Trust Fund and funds and coordinates local
services that help strengthen and preserve families and carry
out activities related to child abuse and neglect prevention
and intervention. (WIC 18952)
6)Establishes in the State Treasury the State Children's Trust
Fund, consisting of moneys transmitted from counties without a
county children's trust fund, personal income tax donations,
grants, gifts, or bequests made to the state from private
sources to be used for innovative and distinctive child abuse
and neglect prevention and intervention projects, and money
appropriated by the Legislature for that purpose. (WIC 18969)
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Office of
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS : This bill seeks to ensure that the portion of a
child's birth certificate fees collected for the purpose of
funding child abuse and neglect prevention and intervention
programs goes to the county in which the child lives.
Children's trust funds : The State Children's Trust Fund was
established in 1983 specifically for the purpose of funding
child abuse and neglect prevention efforts. Funds are
administered by the Office of Child Abuse Prevention, and
include a portion of specialty license plate revenue from the
Child Health and Safety Fund, voluntary income tax donations,
and a portion of birth certificate fees. The primary goal of
the Fund is to allocate resources for large-scale public
awareness, education, and campaigns around child abuse
prevention. Similarly, county children's trust funds are a
resource for local, more targeted child abuse prevention and
intervention efforts, such as facilitating community education
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and awareness and coordinating prevention programs among
multiple entities.
Child abuse numbers and effects : Data provided through
California's Child Welfare Services/Case Management System
(CWS/CMS) reveals that 81,381 allegations of child abuse
reported in 2013 were substantiated, while another 89,193 were
determined to be inconclusive, and 15,321 are still pending a
final determination.<1> According to information from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), child
maltreatment, including physical abuse, sexual abuse and
neglect, among other detrimental experiences, causes stress that
can disrupt early brain development. When this stress turns
into chronic stress, the development of a child's nervous and
immune systems can be compromised, which results in a higher
risk for physical and mental health problems when the child
becomes an adult. The CDC notes that these problems include
alcoholism, depression, drug abuse, eating disorders, obesity,
high-risk sexual behaviors, smoking, suicide, and certain
chronic diseases.
Need for this bill : Under current law, a portion of the fees
paid to acquire certified copies of birth certificates goes to
either a county children's trust fund, or to the State
Children's Trust Fund if a county doesn't have one established.
The structure for the deposit of funds in a county children's
trust fund is meant to be proportional to the number of children
born in the county. Statute is based on the assumption that a
pregnant woman will have her child in her county of residence
unless the county lacks a maternity facility, which is why a
portion of the fees paid for her child's birth certificate goes
to the children's trust fund for the county in which her child
is born. This can result in reduced revenue sources for child
abuse prevention and intervention efforts for the children
they're intended to serve.
According to the author:
---------------------------
<1>Needell, B., Webster, D., Armijo, M., Lee, S., Dawson, W.,
Magruder, J., Exel, M., Cuccaro-Alamin, S., Putnam-Hornstein,
E., Sandoval, A., Yee, H., Mason, F., Benton, C., Lou, C., Peng,
C., King, B., & Lawson, J. (2014). CCWIP reports. Retrieved
4/18/2014, from University of California at Berkeley California
Child Welfare Indicators Project website. URL:
http://cssr.berkeley.edu/ucb_childwelfare
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"Given the current nature of health care delivery, in which
health insurance parameters may dictate what delivery facilities
that are in a patient's "network," some patients may opt to
deliver outside of the county in which they live. To ensure
that each county receives the funds for the children it provides
programs and services for, it is vital that the fee for requests
of copies of a child's birth certificate should follow the
child, regardless of where the child's mother gives birth."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Family Resource Association
The Child Abuse Prevention Center (CAP Center) (sponsor)
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089