BILL NUMBER: AB 1984	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Linder

                        FEBRUARY 16, 2016

   An act to add Section 16007 to the Welfare and Institutions Code,
relating to foster youth.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1984, as introduced, Linder. Foster youth: enrichment
activities.
   Existing law provides that it is the policy of the state that all
minors and nonminors in foster care have specified rights, including,
among others, the right to attend school and participate in
extracurricular, cultural, and personal enrichment activities,
consistent with the child's age and developmental level, with minimal
disruptions to school attendance and educational stability.
   This bill would require the State Department of Social Services,
on or before May 1, 2017, and after consultation with a workgroup
composed of individuals and groups that represent the interests of
foster youth, to submit a report to the Joint Legislative Budget
Committee that outlines a program to provide grants to foster youth
to enable the foster youth to participate in enrichment activities.
The bill would require the report to address, among other things, the
criteria and review process for youth to submit applications for
grants for enrichment activities. The bill would require the
department, on or before July 1, 2017, an upon appropriation by the
Legislature, to implement the program outlined in the report.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 16007 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
   16007.  (a) (1) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (A) California foster youth face many challenges. Approximately
three-fourths of youth in foster care have spent two or more years in
the system between birth and 12th grade. While in foster care, about
70 percent of youth had three or more placements. Less than half of
foster youth complete high school.
   (B) Although the state has seen a reduction in the number of
children in foster care and a decreased reliance on group homes, it
continues to struggle to find stable, fulfilling families for
children.
   (C) Participating in enrichment activities, including, but not
limited to, sports leagues, camps, college preparation courses, arts,
music, and formative social experiences, can greatly contribute to a
foster youth's sense of normalcy and increase the likelihood of a
successful transition to adulthood.
   (2) The purpose of this section is to create a program to provide
grants to foster youth to participate in enrichment activities and
provide for the program's transition from public funding and control
to private funding and control.
   (b) On or before February 1, 2017, the State Department of Social
Services shall convene a workgroup composed of individuals and groups
that represent the interests of foster youth.
   (c) On or before May 1, 2017, the State Department of Social
Services, after consultation with the workgroup established pursuant
to subdivision (b), shall submit a report to the Joint Legislative
Budget Committee that outlines a program to provide grants to foster
youth to enable the foster youth to participate in enrichment
activities. The report shall address, at a minimum, all of the
following:
   (1) The nonprofit organization that will receive the funds
appropriated for the program and serve as administrator of the
program.
   (2) The criteria and review process for youth to submit
applications for grants for enrichment activities, including a list
of preapproved categories of enrichment activities.
   (3) The maximum amount of the grant.
   (4) The means by which grants will be disbursed.
   (5) A plan to transition the program from public funding to
private funding and control.
   (d) On or before July 1, 2017, upon an appropriation by the
Legislature, the State Department of Social Services shall implement
the program, as outlined in the report.