BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2573
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 29, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Mark Stone, Chair
AB 2573 (Stone) - As Amended: April 21, 2014
SUBJECT : Foster care: Transition jurisdiction
SUMMARY : Provides that the juvenile court may assume or resume
transition jurisdiction of a former nonminor dependent (NMD)
without consideration of whether the rehabilitative goals of the
nonminor have been met, as specified.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes the California Fostering Connections to Success
Act of 2010 (AB 12, Chapter 559, Statutes of 2010)which, among
other provisions:
a) Provides for the extension of transitional foster care
to eligible youth up to age 21 as a voluntary program for
youth who meet specified work and education participation
criteria; and,
b) Requires changes to the Kin-GAP program in order to
allow for federal financial participation in the program.
2)Defines a "nonminor dependent" as a current or former foster
child between the ages of 18 and 21 who is in foster care
under the responsibility of the county welfare department,
county probation department, or Indian Tribe, and is
participating in a transitional independent living plan. (WIC
11400(v))
3)Provides that any minor may be rendered a ward of the court
under juvenile jurisdiction, if he or she:
a) Is beyond the control of his or her parents, as
specified (WIC 601(a));
b) Violates any local or state curfew requirement, as
specified (WIC 601(a));
c) Is a truant; defined as a minor with four or more
unexcused school absences within a school year, as
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specified (WIC 601(b)); and
d) Violated any federal, state or local law, except for
minors who are 14 years of age or older who have committed
murder, a sex offense, rape, spousal rape, a forcible sex
offence, an act or forcible act of a lewd and lascivious
nature upon a child under 14 years of age, as specified,
forcible sexual penetration, or sodomy or oral copulation,
as specified. (WIC 602)
4)Provides the juvenile court the authority to place a minor,
who has been found to have committed specified acts that could
render him or her a ward of the court, on probation rather
than adjudging the minor to be a ward of the court. (WIC 725)
5)Requires a minor who is placed on probation to comply with
conditions related to his or her probation, as outlined in his
or her case plan, unless otherwise specified. (WIC 725)
6)Provides that a minor or nonminor may be placed under the
transition jurisdiction of the juvenile court who meets the
following criteria:
a) The minor is between 17 years five months of age and
under 18 years of age or is a nonminor, as defined, and is
in a foster care placement (WIC 450(a)(1)(A) and (B));
b) The minor or nonminor was either removed from the
physical custody of his or her parents and placed into a
foster care placement, or was a dependent of the court with
an order for a foster care placement and was later adjudged
to him or her to become a wad of the juvenile court (WIC
450(a)(2)(A) and (B)); and
c) The rehabilitative goals of the minor or nonminor, as
set forth in the case plan, have been met, and juvenile
court jurisdiction over the minor or nonminor as a ward is
no longer required. (WIC 450(a)(3))
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
California Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2010 : AB 12
(Beall & Bass) Chapter 559, Statutes of 2010, was a landmark
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piece of child welfare legislation in California opting the
state into two provisions of the federal Fostering Connections
to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (Fostering
Connections Act) (P.L. 110-351). Specifically, the California
Fostering Connections to Success Act:
1)Re-enacted California's existing state and county-funded
Kin-GAP program to align it with new federal requirements and
allow the state to bring federal financial participation into
our kinship guardian assistance program for the first time;
and,
2)Provides transitional foster care support to qualifying foster
youth ages 18 to 21, phased-in over three years, beginning in
2012.
The goal of AB 12 is to assist foster youth, or "nonminor
dependents" as they are referred to in statute, in their
transition to adulthood by providing them with the opportunity
to create a case plan alongside their case worker tailored to
their individual needs, which charts the course towards
independence through incremental levels of responsibility. It
is a voluntary program grounded in evidence of how the option of
continued support to age 21 can counter the dismal outcomes
faced by youth who are forced to leave the foster care system at
age 18, including high rates of homelessness, incarceration,
reliance on public assistance, teen pregnancy, and low rates of
high school and postsecondary graduation.
In essence, AB 12 seeks to mirror the type of continued guidance
and assistance most young adults receive from their parents and
families in their late teens and early twenties. Following this
paradigm, AB 12 provides nonminors with the option to petition
to reenter care if they opt out of extended care and want to
return before age 21, provided they meet the eligibility
criteria set forth in federal and state law.
In order to be eligible to continue foster care benefits up to
age 21, a nonminor dependent youth must: continue under the
jurisdiction of the juvenile court; sign a mutual agreement
which commits both the nonminor and the placing agency to
certain responsibilities; reside in an approved, supervised
placement; work alongside their caseworker to prepare and
participate in their transitional independent living case plan;
and have their status reviewed every six months. In addition,
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pursuant to the federal Fostering Connections Act, a youth must
meet one of the following five work or education-related
eligibility criteria:
1)Is completing secondary education or a program leading to an
equivalent credential;
2)Is enrolled in an institution which provides postsecondary or
vocational education;
3)Is participating in a program or activity designed to promote,
or remove barriers to employment;
4)Is employed for at least 80 hours per month; or
5)Is incapable of doing any of the activities described above
due to a medical condition.
Need for the bill : The California Fostering Connections to
Success Act (FCSA) of 2010 was landmark child welfare
legislation; however, it was also substantial in size, amounting
to 207 pages at the time of adoption. Due to the complexity and
fundamental improvements this act made to the state's welfare
system, follow up legislation has been needed since its adoption
to help ensure its successful implementation.
Since its passage, the Legislature has passed and the state has
adopted three successive measures to this effect; AB 212 (Beall)
from 2011, AB 1712 (Beall) from 2012, and AB 787 (Stone) from
2013. Like its predecessors, AB 2573, although much more
limited, continues the Legislature's efforts to ensure the FCSA
is properly implemented to provide necessary and integral
support services to foster youth as they prepare and transition
into adulthood.
Re-entry for former NMDs : Current law provides opportunities
for the court to resume jurisdiction of a former nonminor
dependent or ward of the court for specified reasons. In these
cases, a youth who was receiving foster care services when they
turned 18 may opt to re-enter foster care so that he or she may
remain in a healthy and safe environment and draw down services
to help him or her transition into adulthood. However, this
same opportunity was inadvertently left out of previous FCSA
measures for NMDs under the delinquency jurisdiction of the
court who are being exited from foster care because they have
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been alleged to have not met their rehabilitative goals.
Although rare, this has resulted in some NMDs being left without
the ability to voluntarily re-enter foster care.
There are a number of unique scenarios that could result in a
NMD being dismissed by the juvenile court, however, none is more
prevalent than the current epidemic the state faces with
commercially and sexually exploited children (CSEC). It is not
uncommon for a young person to come to the attention of the
juvenile court after being arrested for solicitation.
Oftentimes, rather than progressing through dependency
jurisdiction, juvenile courts have been placing CSEC under
delinquency jurisdiction and placing them into restrictive
probation placements. This can result in the further
victimization of an already victimized youth. Cases are coming
to light where CSEC in such placements, demonstrating symptoms
of Stockholm syndrome, are running away from the placement to
return to their abusers only to realize that returning to the
abuser is not the right decision. However, because the youth
ran way, they can be labeled 'absent without leave' (AWOL), and
therefore determined not to have met their rehabilitative goals.
As a result, in these cases, the state is witnessing some CSEC
being exited prematurely from the state's foster care system.
Rather than close the door to re-entry into foster care, this
measure would allow it to remain open by amending Section 388 of
the Welfare and Institutions Code to allow for the voluntary
re-entry of NMDs into foster care through the request of the NMD
and agreement by the court that it is in the NMDs' best interest
to re-enter foster care, despite whether the NMD has met his or
her rehabilitative goals.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME)
California Alliance of Child and Family Services
Executive Committee of the Family Law Section (FLEXCOM)
Opposition
None on file.
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Analysis Prepared by : Chris Reefe / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089