BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2668
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 29, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Mark Stone, Chair
AB 2668 (Quirk-Silva) - As Introduced: February 21, 2014
SUBJECT : Foster care: nonminor dependent parents
SUMMARY : Permits non-minor dependents (NMD) who are also
parents to enter into a parenting support plan, as specified.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Permits a parenting NMD who is participating in a supervised
independent living plan (SILP) to enter into a parenting
support plan, which may be developed between the NMD, an
identified responsible adult, and a representative of the
county child welfare agency (CWA) or probation department, as
specified.
2)Permits additional input to be provided by any other
individuals identified by the NMD, the other parent of the
child, or other extended family members.
3)Provides that the plan shall be developed as soon as is
practicably possible, and allows the plan to be amended with
additional stakeholder input, as requested by the NMD, if
those stakeholders are not available within the first 30 days
if the NMDs request to enter into the plan.
4)Requires the plan to be designed to preserve and strengthen
the NMD parent family unit, to assist the NMD parent in
providing a healthy and safe environment of his or her child,
and to support the NMD's educational and employment goals.
5)Provides that the plan shall in no way limit the NMD parent's
legal right to make decisions regarding the care, custody and
control of the child.
6)Requires the plan to be written for the express purposes of
identifying additional parenting support to the NMD and shall
outline the responsibilities of how the identified responsible
adult will assist the NMD parent and the types of supportive
services s/he will provide, as specified.
7)Requires the plan to include, but not be limited to,
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transportation to health care appointments, child care, and
school, as appropriate and providing child care and
babysitting.
8)Provides that the plan may not conflict with the NMD parent's
transitional independent living case plan.
9)Requires an additional $200 per month to be paid to a NMD
parent who enters into a parenting support plan.
EXISTING LAW
1)States that the purpose of foster care law is to provide
maximum safety and protection for children who are currently
being physically, sexually, emotionally abused, neglected, or
exploited, and to ensure the safety, protection, and physical
and emotional well-being of children who are at risk of harm.
(W&I Code 300.2)
2)States the intent of the Legislature to preserve and
strengthen a child's family ties whenever possible and to
reunify a foster youth with his or her biological family
whenever possible, or to provide a permanent placement
alternative, such as adoption or guardianship. (W&I Code
16000)
3)Establishes the California Fostering Connections to Success
Act 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.
(AB 12, Chapter 559, Statutes of 2010)
4)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))
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5)Requires a shared responsibility plan for a child of a
parenting minor dependent or NMD, which shall be developed by
the dependent, or NMD, the caregiver, and a representative
from the county CWA or probation department. (WIC 16501.25)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
California Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2010 (FCSA) :
AB 12 (Beall & Bass) Chapter 559, Statutes of 2010, was a
landmark 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
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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,
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 : Stating the need for the bill, the author
writes:
Young parents in the foster care system face both the
challenges of being in foster care as well as the
challenges of being a young, usually single, parent.
Studies of both groups have found that they will experience
higher than average rates of poverty and unemployment and
low educational attainment.
A 2013 Conrad N. Hilton Foundation study revealed that the
rates of abuse and neglect among children born to teens
with a history of maltreatment are 2-3 times higher than
the rates of children whose teen mothers had no child
welfare involvement. This underscores the need to provide
young parents in foster care with adequate support and
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services to overcome the challenges they face, and to
preserve and strengthen the family unit.
The issue of parenting youth in foster care has become more
pressing with the implementation of extended foster care in
California. The foundation study estimated that as many as
one in three female youth may be parenting by the time they
exit the foster care system on their 21st birthday.
Additionally, there are new placement options available to
non-minor dependents remaining in extended foster care,
known as a Supervised Independent Living Placement (SILP),
which enables them to live without a caregiver in an
apartment, rented room, dorm room, etc. While SILP's
provide youth with the independence and autonomy to
properly prepare for life after foster care, an unintended
shortcoming is the lack of support for custodial parenting
non-minor dependents.
Unlike most young parents, foster youth who become parents
at an early age typically cannot turn to their own parents
for emotional support, daily or even occasional assistance
most young parents receive from their families.
Consequently, these young parents are often completely on
their own as they struggle to balance work, school, and
parenting responsibilities. Not surprisingly this stress,
lack of resources, and simple lack of experience makes
these young parents vulnerable and high risk for poor
outcomes.
In support of this measure, the Youth Law Center writes:
Under current law, a "Shared Responsibility Plan" outlines
the duties, rights, and responsibilities of a teen parent
and his/her caregiver with regard to the teen parent's
child, and identifies supportive services to be offered to
the teen parent. Upon the completion of the plan, the
caregiver's foster care payment is increased by $200 each
month. [This bill] would encourage a custodial non-minor
dependent parent living in a SILP to enter into a
"Parenting Support Plan" with an identified responsible
adult, such as a mentor or relative. The plan would
identify ways in which the responsible adult will assist
the youth and his/her baby. Upon completion of the plan,
the custodial non-minor dependent parent's foster care
payment would be increased by $200 each month.
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Staff comments : This measure authorizes a parenting NMD to
participate in a "shared responsibility plan" when placed into a
SILP. SILPS are relatively new placements that are reserved for
older foster youth who are 16 years of age and over. They allow
minor dependents and NMDs to live independently in their own
domicile, but with a nearby caregiving adult to help provide
supervision for the youth, but also to act as a mentor as the
youth transitions into adulthood. With the implementation of
the FCSA, there has been a need to bring various parts of the
child welfare statute into compliance with the evolving
placements that have since become available. This bill simply
allows a parenting NMD who lives independently in accordance
with his or her SILP to participate in a shared responsibility
plan. The purpose this plan is to provide the parenting NMD
with an older caregiver who can help play the 'grandparent' or
older parent role for both the parenting NMD and his or her
child. In essence, it can be viewed as purely a compliance
measure.
However, under the existing shared responsibility plan, the
'identified responsible adult' is the foster caregiver with whom
the parenting minor dependent has been placed. The caregiver in
this arrangement is required to have his or her home certified
as a foster family home and undergo required training and a
criminal background check. In order to bring this measure into
alignment with the existing shared responsibility plan program,
while acknowledging that the parent is a NMD in extended foster
care, there remains a need to ensure that the 'identified
responsible adult' who will serve in the mentoring
pseudo-grandparent role meets a minimum level of qualifications
and criteria to serve in that role.
RECOMMENDED AMENDMENTS : In recognition that there should be a
minimum level of criteria and qualifications expected of an
'identified responsible adult,' the bill should be amended to
require the adult to meet fundamental health and safety
requirements, such as a criminal background check and a health
clearance, such as a tuberculosis test.
The bill should be additionally amended to require DSS to
convene a stakeholder working group to develop guidance via an
All-County Letter as to additional criteria and training an
'identified responsible adult' should comply with prior to being
eligible to serve in that capacity for a parenting NMD in a
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SILP.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Alameda County Foster Youth Alliance
Alliance for Children's Rights
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME)
California Alliance of Child and Family Services
California CASA
California Coalition of Youth (CCY)
Children's Advocacy Institute
Children's Rights Project at Public Counsel
East Bay Children's Law Offices
First Place for Youth
Mission Focused Solutions
Optimist Youth Homes and Family Services
San Francisco Counsel for Families & Children
Youth Law Center
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Chris Reefe / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089