BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
BILL NO: SB 1460
S
AUTHOR: Committee on Human Services
B
VERSION: February 25, 2014
HEARING DATE: April 22, 2014
1
FISCAL: Yes
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6
CONSULTANT: Sara Rogers
0
SUBJECT
Child Welfare Services
SUMMARY
This bill addresses state compliance with federal statute
and regulation regarding the Multi Ethnic Placement Act,
use of the Federal Parent Locator Service, the federal
Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions
Act of 2008, and the Adam Walsh Act.
ABSTRACT
Existing Law:
1.Federal Law, pursuant to the Multi Ethnic Placement Act
(MEPA), requires states to have an identifiable process
in place to diligently recruit potential foster parents
and adoptive parents that reflect the ethnic and racial
diversity of children in the state for whom foster and
adoptive homes are needed. (P.L. 103-382)
2.State law requires the California Department of Social
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Services (CDSS) to authorize county welfare departments
to undertake comprehensive recruitments programs, as
specified, to ensure an adequate number of foster homes
are available to meet the child welfare placement needs
in each county. (HSC 1515)
3.Federal Law establishes the Federal Parent Locator
Service (FPLS), a national automated service provided by
the Office of Child Support Enforcement to help states
locate custodial and noncustodial parents for child
support and to establish, modify and enforce child
support obligations. Federal law additionally permits the
service to be utilized for the purpose of finding
non-custodial parents and relatives and children who are
in juvenile dependency proceedings. (45 CFR 302.35)
4.State law establishes the California Parent Locator
Service and Central Registry (CPLS) to collect and
disseminate specified information for the purpose of
administering child and spousal support enforcement. (FC
17506 and 8707.1)
5.Federal law establishes the Fostering Connections to
Success and Increasing Adoption Act of 2008 and requires
that states make diligent efforts to place siblings in
out-of-home care together, unless doing so would be
detrimental to the health and safety of one of the
siblings. (P.L. 110-351)
6.State law requires a social worker to explain why
siblings are not placed together and what efforts the
social worker is making to place the siblings together or
why making those efforts would be contrary to the safety
and well-being of any of the siblings. (WIC 16002)
7.State law provides that a dependent child's attorney and
the attorney for the siblings of the child be notified by
the placement agency if there is a need for a change in
placement that will result in the separation of siblings
currently placed together. (WIC 16010.6)
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8.Federal law establishes the Adam Walsh Act requiring a
fingerprint check of a national criminal records database
as well as a check from the state child abuse and neglect
registries before a prospective foster or adoptive parent
may be approved for placement of a child. (P.L 109-248)
9.State law establishes the Resource Family Approval (RFA)
process, initially as a five county pilot, to replace the
multiple processes that currently exist for licensing
foster family homes, approving relatives and nonrelative
extended family members as foster care providers and
approving adoptive families. (WIC 16519.5)
This bill :
1.Provides that county recruitment of potential foster
parents shall include diligent efforts to recruit
individuals who reflect the ethnic, racial and cultural
diversity of foster children.
2.Provides that a county child welfare agency or county
probation department may request and receive a relative's
name, social security number, most recent address,
telephone number, place of employment or other contact
information to identify, locate and notify relatives of
children who are the subject of juvenile court
proceedings, including all grandparents, adult siblings,
and other adult relatives of the child as specified.
3.Provides that probation offers shall explain why siblings
are not placed together and what efforts the social
worker is making to place the siblings together or why
making those efforts would be contrary to the safety and
well-being of any of the siblings.
4.Provides that a ward's attorney and the attorney for the
siblings of the ward be notified by the placement agency
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Services) Page 4
if there is a need for a change in placement that will
result in the separation of siblings currently placed
together.
5.Provides that a federal criminal offender record check be
received for all adults residing in a resource family
home as a condition of approval.
FISCAL IMPACT
This bill has not been analyzed by a fiscal committee.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Congress has recently enacted a number of changes to
federal law which require corresponding changes to state
statute in order to ensure the uninterrupted flow of
California's Title IV-E allocation for child welfare
services, over $1 billion annually. This bill specifically
addresses federal compliance with the Adam Walsh Act, the
Multiethnic Placement Act, the Fostering Connections to
Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, and use of
the Federal Parent Locator Service.
Federal Multiethnic Placement Act (MEPA)
The Multiethnic Placement Act (MEPA) of 1994 is a federal
law designed to prevent discrimination in the placement of
children on the basis of race, color or national origin; to
facilitate the diligent recruitment of foster and adoptive
parents; and to increase the number of children who are
adopted. The law was enacted to address concerns about the
chronically low placement of children from minority ethnic
or racial groups as a result of the practice of racial and
ethnic matching policies and was intended to increase
transracial adoptions in order to reduce the length of time
that a child from a minority racial or ethnic group
remained in foster care.
Under the law, states are required to engage in diligent
recruitment efforts for prospective foster/adoptive parents
who reflect the race and ethnicity of children currently in
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the state foster care system for whom homes are needed and
to ensure that all children needing placement are served in
a timely and adequate manner. Failure to comply with MEPA
is a violation of title VI of the Civil Rights Act and is
subject to substantial financial penalties and loss of
federal funds.
California statute authorizes counties to operate
recruitment programs to ensure an adequate number of foster
homes are available to meet their child welfare placement
needs. However, statute does not address the recruitment of
foster families who reflect the diversity of children for
whom foster homes are needed, nor require the diligent
recruitment of adoptive homes at all. According to CDSS,
the federal government has specifically inquired as to what
California will do to meet the requirements of MEPA. This
bill explicitly requires that an agency which recruits
foster and adoptive parents undertake diligent efforts to
ensure that recruitments reflect the diversity of the
children needing placement.
The Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS)
The FPLS is a national automated service provided by the
Office of Child Support Enforcement to help states locate
custodial and noncustodial parents for child support and to
establish, modify and enforce child support obligations.
The FPLS and its state-level counterpart, the California
Parent Locator Service (CPLS) provides information about a
parent's address, employment, income, assets, and social
security number information.
State law permits a county child welfare agency or county
probation department to request and receive information to
identify, locate and notify parents of children who are the
subject of juvenile court proceedings, to establish parent
and child relationships, and to assess the appropriateness
of placement of a child with a noncustodial parent. (FC
8707.1 and FC 17506 (c))
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Pursuant to the federal Fostering Connections Act, (AB
1751, Pan, 2012) allowed county child welfare departments
and county probation departments to access the FPLS and
CPLS for the purpose of locating a child's non-custodial
parent. The specific information that may be requested and
received includes a parent's name, social security number,
most recent address, telephone number, place of employment
or other contact information. However, this authority did
not extend to finding other relatives of a child, as
provided for under federal law (45 CFR 302.35). This bill
permits the FPLS and CPLS to be used in the identification
and notification of relatives of a child who is the subject
of a juvenile court proceeding. Additionally, this bill
authorizes child welfare agencies and county probation
departments to access the information for this purpose.
The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing
Adoptions Act of 2008
One provision of the federal Fostering Connections Act
requires states to make diligent efforts to place siblings
in out-of-home care together, unless doing so would be
detrimental to the health and safety of one of the
siblings. Although state statute was revised to conform to
this provision, the changes failed to clearly state that
probation officers are, in addition to social workers,
required to make these efforts as required by federal law.
In practice, probation officers follow the same procedures
as social workers for placing children in foster care.
Since federal law makes no distinction between children in
the care and custody of a county child welfare department
and children in the care and custody of a county probation
department, this bill explicitly applies the federal
requirements to probation officers. (P.L. 110-351)
Resource Family Approval (RFA) Program
The Resource Family Approval (RFA) Program, authorized
through (SB 1013 Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review,
Chapter 35, Statutes of 2012), requires CDSS, in
consultation with county child welfare agencies, foster
parent associations, and other interested community
parties, to implement a unified, family friendly, and
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child-centered resource family approval process to replace
the existing multiple processes for licensing foster family
homes, approving relatives and nonrelative extended family
members as foster care providers, approving guardianships,
and approving adoptive families.
Current state statute regarding caregiver background checks
as part of the RFA process for foster care and adoptive
placements require that state criminal history information
be received and processed for clearance prior to approval.
However, as a result of the previously slow process time
for the federal records check, the RFA background check
process merely requires the federal check be submitted, and
does not require that the results be received, prior to
approval. Federal response times to background check
requests have since significantly improved.
Federal law under the Adam Walsh Act requires that
prospective foster or adoptive parents be subject to and
pass a fingerprint check of a national criminal records
database as well as a check from the state child abuse and
neglect registries before they may be approved for
placement of a child. As a result, state law pertaining to
RFA background checks is in conflict with federal law.
(P.L. 109-248)
POSITIONS
Support: County of San Diego
Oppose: None received.
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