BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 2668 (Quirk-Silva) - Foster care: nonminor dependent parents.
Amended: June 26, 2014 Policy Vote: Human Services 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 2668 would:
Effective July 1, 2015, provide for an additional $200
monthly payment to a nonminor dependent (NMD) parent,
subject to the development of a parenting support plan
between a NMD parent who resides in a supervised independent
living placement (SILP) and an identified responsible adult,
as specified.
Require the Department of Social Services (DSS) to convene
a working group by February 1, 2015, to develop an
all-county letter (ACL) that specifies the minimum criteria
a person must meet in order to serve as an identified
responsible adult to a NMD parent, and requires the ACL to
be issued to all counties by June 30, 2015.
Fiscal Impact:
Near-term annual costs of about $60,000 to $75,000 (General
Fund*) to provide an additional $200 monthly payment to 25
to 30 NMD parents residing in SILPs.
Unknown net future ongoing fiscal impact (General Fund*) on
foster care placements of NMD parents, to the extent there
is a shift in NMD parent placements from whole foster family
homes to SILPs.
Potential minor ongoing increase in social worker
activities (General Fund*) to participate in the development
of NMD parenting support plans.
One-time costs (General Fund) to DSS to convene the work
group and develop minimum criteria for identified
responsible adults.
Negligible costs (Special Fund**) to the Department of
Justice for background checks of identified responsible
adults, to be offset by the authority to charge fees.
Unknown, potential ongoing increase in DSS or county child
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welfare agency and county probation department
administrative costs (General Fund*) for screening and
oversight of identified responsible adults. Costs would be
dependent on the criteria developed by the workgroup.
*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 and foster care) only apply to local
agencies to the extent that the state provides annual funding
for the cost increase.
**Fingerprint Fee Account
Background: The California Fostering Connections to Success Act
of 2010, enacted by AB 12 (Beall/Bass) Chapter 559/2010,
exercised the state option under the federal Fostering
Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008
(Public Law 110-351) of extending benefits for youth up to age
21 in the Foster Care, Adoption Assistance, and Kinship
Guardianship Assistance Payment (Kin-GAP) programs. AB 12
aligned the state's existing Kin-GAP program with requirements
in order to draw down federal funds and provided for a
three-year phase in of extended benefits up to age 21 that was
intended to reduce the upfront costs of program expansion.
Under existing law, when a child is living with a parent who
receives foster care or Kin-GAP benefits, the rate paid to the
provider on behalf of the parent includes an amount for care and
supervision of the child. Existing law also provides for
specified payments in instances in which a child is living with
a teen parent in a whole family foster home, as defined.
Under existing law, "whole family foster home" means a new or
existing family home, approved relative caregiver or nonrelative
extended family member's home, the home of a nonrelated legal
guardian, certified family home, or a host family home placement
of a transitional housing placement provider, that provides
foster care for a minor or NMD parent and his or her child, and
is specifically recruited and trained to assist the minor or NMD
parent in developing the skills necessary to provide a safe,
stable, and permanent home for his or her child.
Existing law requires, under these circumstances, that a written
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shared responsibility plan be developed between the parent, his
or her caregiver, and a representative of the county or other
agency providing direct supervision to the caregiver. Existing
law requires that once this plan has been completed and provided
to the appropriate agencies, the payment made to the caregiver
be increased by an additional $200 per month to reflect the
increased care and supervision of the child.
Existing law defines "nonminor dependent (NMD)" as a current or
former foster youth who is 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.
Under existing law, "teen parent" is defined to include a NMD
with a child who is living in a whole foster family home and is
eligible for AFDC-FC or Kin-GAP payments. While NMD parents
placed in foster homes are provided with the monthly supplement,
this bill would provide for the provision of the supplement to
NMD parents residing in SILPs, subject to the development of a
parenting support plan.
Proposed Law: This bill would, effective July, 1, 2015,
authorize the development of a parenting support plan between a
NMD parent who resides in a SILP and an identified responsible
adult, as specified, and would provide for an additional $200
monthly payment to the NMD parent following approval of the
plan. Specifically, this bill:
Defines "nonminor dependent parent" as a NMD residing in a
SILP who is a parent.
Provides that when the child of a NMD parent is not
subject to the jurisdiction of the dependency court, but is
in the full or partial custody of the NMD, a written
parenting support plan may be developed between the NMD
parent and an identified responsible adult who has agreed to
act as a parenting mentor to the NMD parent.
Requires the plan, if developed, to be developed between
the NMD parent, the identified responsible adult, and a
representative of the county child welfare agency or
probation department.
Requires the plan to be developed as soon as practicably
possible, however, if one or more stakeholders are not
available to participate in the development of the plan
within the first 30 days of the NMD's request to enter into
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the plan, the NMD parent and identified responsible adult
may enter into a plan for the purposes of fulfilling the
requirements to receive payment, and the plan may be
modified at a later time when other individuals become
available.
Provides that once a NMD parent residing in a SILP
completes and provides the county child welfare agency or
probation department with a copy of the parenting support
plan, the payments are increased by $200 per month.
Provides that the parenting support plan shall be written
for the express purpose of identifying additional support
and assisting the NMD parent in providing the best care plan
for his or her child.
Requires the DSS to convene a workgroup no later than
February 1, 2015, that includes representative from the
County Welfare Directors Association and child welfare
advocates to develop an ACL that specifies minimum criteria
a person must meet in order to serve as an identified
responsible adult to a NMD parent.
Requires the workgroup to issue the letter to all counties
by June 30, 2015.
Related Legislation: AB 1882 (Cooley) 2014 would, among other
provisions, require the payment of a monthly infant supplement,
as specified, under the CalWORKs and Approved Relative Caregiver
Funding Option Programs to a teen parent who is placed with his
or her child in the home of a relative caregiver, as specified.
This bill is scheduled to be heard today by this Committee.
Prior Legislation: AB 12 (Beall/Bass) Chapter 559/2010 enacted
the California Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2010, and
authorized the state to exercise the option of extending
benefits in the Foster Care, Kin-GAP, Fed-GAP, and AAP to age 21
for youth who meet specified criteria. AB 12 also provided for
the alignment of the Kin-GAP program with federal requirements
in order to receive federal financial participation.
AB 212 (Beall) Chapter 459/2011, the follow-up legislation to AB
12, made various technical and substantive changes to law in
order to ensure the proper implementation of the California
Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2010.
AB 1712 (Beall) Chapter 846/2012 expanded the definition of
"relative" for purposes of both the federal and state-funded
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Kin-GAP programs to include guardians who are non-related
extended family members, tribal kin, or current caregivers of
foster children, as specified, and extended eligibility for
non-related legal guardian placements to age 21.
AB 787 (Stone) Chapter 487/2013, among other provisions, allows
re-entry into nonminor dependency for nonminor former dependents
who reached permanency whose guardian died before their 21st
birthday.
Staff Comments: By providing an additional $200 monthly payment
to NMD parents residing in SILPs, this bill is estimated to
result in near-term annual costs of about $60,000 to $75,000 to
provide the monthly payment to 25 to 30 NMD parents. It is
unknown to what extent the provisions of this bill may result in
a future shift in NMD parent placements from whole foster family
homes to SILPs.
This bill requires the development of a parenting support plan
prior to the provision of the monthly supplemental payment to
NMD parents. As the development of the plan requires
participation by the NMD parent, the identified responsible
adult, and the county welfare agency or county probation
department, this bill will result in an ongoing increase in
social worker activities to participate in the development of
the plans. Due to the relatively small estimated caseload, any
additional workload on county social workers is estimated to be
minor.
The DSS will incur one-time costs, potentially in excess of
$50,000 due to the compressed timeframes specified in the bill,
to convene the work group to develop the minimum criteria for
identified responsible adults. Because the criteria has yet to
be determined, it is unknown what administrative activities will
be required to ensure the criteria are met, and what entity will
be responsible for enforcing them. For example, should the
criteria require a review of the criminal records check for
specified crimes/arrests similar to the process for approval or
denial of employees in licensed facilities, an administrative
appeal process and/or exemption process could be required which
would create workload for DSS and/or county agencies for this
process. To the extent the DSS promulgates regulations
subsequent to the issuance of the ACL for this process would
also result in additional workload and costs to DSS.
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Prior to Fiscal Year (FY) 2011-12, the state and counties
contributed to the non-federal share of child welfare services
and foster care expenditures. 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 child welfare services and
foster care. As a result, beginning in FY 2011-12 and for each
fiscal year thereafter, non-federal funding and expenditures for
foster care and child welfare services activities are funded
through the LRF.
Proposition 30 was passed by the voters in November 2012, and
among other provisions, eliminated any potential mandate funding
liability for any new program or higher level of service
mandated on the counties related to realigned programs,
including child welfare services and foster care. Rather,
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
only apply to local agencies to the extent that the state
provides annual funding for the cost increase. Local agencies
are not obligated to provide programs or levels of service
required by legislation above the level for which funding has
been provided.
To the extent it is determined that the provisions of this bill
impose a higher level of service on local agencies or result in
an increase in overall costs already borne by counties for the
provision of child welfare services and foster care, the state
could potentially elect to, but not be required to, provide
funding for the cost increase.
Recommended Amendments: The bill as drafted appears to provide
for the provision of the $200 monthly supplement once the
parenting support plan is completed and provided to the
appropriate county agency, and does not require the county
agency's approval nor ensure that the identified responsible
adults meets the specified criteria. The author may wish to
consider the following amendments with regard to the conditions
under which the monthly payment will be made:
Section 11465(d)(3)(B) A nonminor dependent parent residing in a
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supervised independent living placement, as defined in
subdivision (w) of section 11400, may provide the county child
welfare agency or probation department with a copy of the
parenting support plan developed pursuant to Section 16501.26
and shall advise the county child welfare agency or probation
department of any subsequent changes to the plan. Once the plan
has been completed and provided to the appropriate agencies, the
payment made pursuant to this section shall be increased by an
additional two hundred dollars ($200) per month.
The payment made pursuant to this section shall be increased by
an additional two hundred dollars ($200) per month after all of
the following have been satisfied:
(i) The plan has been completed and provided to the
appropriate county agency.
(ii) The plan has been approved by the appropriate county
agency.
(iii) The county agency has determined that the identified
responsible adult meets the criteria specified in Section
16501.27.