CLC-Sponsored Legislation

Children's Law Center has successfully sponsored several bills in the California legislature that make significant strides in improving the foster care system for the youth we represent. Recent legislation sponsored includes the following:

AB 12 - Fostering Connections to Success (Bass/Beall) (CLC is a co-sponsor) (2 year bill)

• In October 2008, the federal government enacted the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act (Public Law 110-351). This new law gives states the ability to establish relative guardianship programs with federal financial participation in the costs. PL 110-351 also makes federal funds available for foster care, kinship-guardianship, and adoption assistance benefits to youth who meet certain conditions (e.g., employment and education related requirements) until age 21. PL 110-351 provides California with an unprecedented opportunity to access federal funding to improve the lives of our state's most vulnerable youth.
• AB 12 would ensure that California opts into these essential federal funding opportunities. AB 12 would: 1) re-enact our existing Kin-GAP program to align it with new federal requirements and 2) provide transitional support to qualifying foster youth until age 21. These changes represent both fiscally and socially responsible improvements to California's foster care system. As a result, California would utilize federal funds to meet costs currently borne by the state and counties, and would realize proven savings from declines in unemployment, homelessness, teen pregnancy, public assistance, and the other costly outcomes for young adults who "age out" of foster care.
• Status: Passed through the Assembly; currently a two-year bill.

For the full text of the bill, see AB 12
AB 12 Fact Sheet

AB 743 - Keeping Siblings in Foster Care Together (Portantino) (2 year bill)

• Requires the child welfare department to notify the child's attorney of a planned change in placement ten days before the actual change occurs. This will enable the child's attorney, as that child's advocate, to intervene when appropriate to resolve the issue that is prompting the separation- for example, one child in the sibling group is not getting along with the caregiver.
• Brings California in compliance with the federal mandate of P.L. 110-351 (the federal Fostering Connections to Success Act) with regard to the requirement to make reasonable efforts to place siblings together at the outset of the case.
• Status: Passed through the Assembly; referred to Senate Human Services; currently a two-year bill.

For the full text of the bill, see AB 743
AB 743 Fact Sheet

SB 654 - Equal Access to Independent Living Services (Leno)

• SB 654 will ensure that foster youth age eight and above placed with non-related legal guardians have the same access to critical independent living skills education as other foster youth. The ability to maintain these stable placements without court involvement in order to obtain these ILP services will result in a cost savings to our state.
• Currently, foster youth placed with non-related legal guardians are the only group of foster youth precluded from participating in the ILP (Independent Living Program). A system of courses which teaches teens in foster care critical and practical skills such as how to fill out applications for employment or postsecondary education and how to manage a checking account, completing ILP means that the youth is then eligible for further services including financial aid for college, even after court jurisdiction has terminated. The inability to access ILP services also means these youth cannot receive funding for post-secondary education through the Chafee Grants that other former foster youth receive. This important legislation will resolve this inequity.
• Status: Currently a two-year bill; passed through the Senate Judiciary and Human Services Committees, and Appropriations Committees; passed the Senate Floor.

For the full text of the bill, see SB 654
SB 654 Fact Sheet

AB 1655 - Court Oversight and Youth Participation in Approval of Psychotropic Medications for Foster Children (Evans)

• Current law requires the juvenile court to approve psychotropic medications for foster children on the basis of information submitted by the child's social worker and doctor. The child and his or her caregivers have the right to object and ask for a hearing. However, foster youth and their caregivers are often unaware of the right to a hearing, and may not understand why the medication is being prescribed, what side effects it could have, or what to do if the medication is ineffective or the side effects are severe.
• This bill requires that doctors who ask the juvenile court to approve medication requests must have conducted an exam of the youth that meets the standard of care required by state law. In addition, the youth must receive concurrent therapy or other behavioral services when recommended, and the side effects and effectiveness of the medication, as well as the concurrent therapy, must be monitored on an ongoing basis.
• AB 1655 also requires that foster children and their caregivers be informed regarding what the medication is for, its potential side effects, and that they have a right to a hearing if they object. If a hearing is held on medication issues, the foster child must be present unless the child, in consultation with his or her attorney, declines to attend.
• Status: scheduled to be heard in Assembly Human Services in March 2010.

For the full text of the bill, see AB 1655

2008 - Enacted

• Provides teen parents full access to the judicial system by allowing for teen parents to appear in court on behalf of their child(ren) without the appointment of a Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) for the minor parent.
• Calls for Judges in dependency, family law and probate guardianship cases to appoint a GAL only if the teen parent is found to be incapable of understanding the proceedings or of assisting in the preparation of a case.
• SB 1612 reflects the view that because teen parents in dependency and family law cases, as well as in probate guardianship cases, have the same rights and responsibilities as adult parents, they should be able to communicate their desires directly to their attorneys and to the court without a presumption that they are 'incompetent' simply because they are under the age of eighteen. It is an unfair denial of access to the court system - and a waste of scarce public resources - to require appointment of a GAL for minor parents who are able to understand what is at stake in their case and who have the ability to make their own decisions.

For the full text of the bill, see SB 1612

• Ensures that teen parents in foster care have the opportunity to consult with their court-appointed attorneys prior to agreeing to a voluntary placement of their baby in foster care, or to a voluntary family maintenance program, outside of Court jurisdiction.
• Protects young parents and their children, strengthens these young families, prevents unnecessary separation of teen parents and their children and will ensure that where appropriate and needed, supportive services are provided to both the teen parent and the teen's baby.

For the full text of the bill, see AB 2483

• AB 2310 adds a letter verifying the foster youth's prior dependency status to the list of documents to which must be provided to the youth in order for the court to terminate jurisdiction.
• Modifies Section 391 to make it clear that the birth certificate, social security card, health and education summary and identification card are required to be provided to all youth aging out of the foster care system rather than only "if applicable." It is critical that every foster youth aging-out of the system have these identifying documents.
• Requires that foster youth aging-out of the child welfare system are in possession of any and all family photographs and/or tribal information from his or her case file.

For the full text of the bill, see AB 2310

• This bill remedies the inadvertent removal of group home providers as a category of caregivers for foster youth empowered to use a "prudent parent standard" in making normal day to day parenting decisions such as whether the youth should attend a particular extracurricular, enrichment or social activity.
• AB 2096 improves foster children's access to age-appropriate activities and to allow these youth to do things like participate in after-school sports, go to the mall with their friends, and attend birthday parties or school field trips.

For the full text of the bill, see AB 2096

• Gives families their full statutory right to reunify for the full six and twelve month periods specified in California statute.
• Prohibits courts from prematurely terminating reunification services just 2 or 3 months into a 6 month review period absent a noticed hearing and a finding by clear and convincing evidence that (1) new evidence or a change of circumstances which would have resulted in a denial of reunification services at the time the initial disposition orders were entered now exists, or (2) that the action or inaction of the parent creates a substantial likelihood that reunification will not occur.

For the full text of the bill, see AB 2341

2007 - Enacted

AB 298 - Supporting relative caregivers (Maze)

• Clarifies that a relative caregiver's preference for legal guardianship over adoption, so long as it does not mean the relative is unwilling to accept full responsibility for the child, is not a reason to remove the child from the relative's home.
• Changes the order of preference in the statute governing permanent planning hearings, Welf. & Inst. Code § 366.26(b), so that adoption by a current caregiver is still first, but legal guardianship by a current relative caregiver is ranked higher than adoption by an as-yet-unidentified family.
• Allows the juvenile court to approve a relative guardianship without requiring proof of a "compelling" reason not to terminate parental rights.
• Allows relative guardians who experience a crisis in caring for a child to receive family reunification services, to enable the child to return safely to the guardian's home.

For the full text of the bill, see AB 298

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