Current Legislation, Policy & Advocacy

CYC's 2013 Legislative & Policy Goal:

Pursue and support legislation that further supports youth in placements with caregivers that have been well trained, are well supported, and held accountable for the well-being of children and youth in their care.
 
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• Training: CYC supports legislation that will provide extensive training to foster parents and caregivers including but not limited to: child development, communication, and boundaries. Rationale: Foster parent trainings are an essential tool that is used to prepare and support foster parents in caring for children and youth in foster care. CYC members believe that foster parents should be provided new curriculum and additional hours of training that can assist foster parents with better supporting children and youth in their homes.
 
• Stability: CYC supports legislation that will provide foster parents and caregivers with in-home mediators for conflict resolution between youth and caregivers. Rationale: CYC members believe the system needs to provide more services in the home in order to provide stable placements for children and youth in foster care. In many situations placements could be maintained if caregivers and youth were provided a mediator to assist with in-home conflicts.
 
• Oversight and Accountability: CYC supports legislation that will provide an appropriate evaluation system for foster parents and caregivers, as well as legislation that will enforce income regulations for foster parents on an ongoing basis. Rationale: Recognizing that many foster parents open their loving homes to children and youth in foster care, members of CYC believe the system needs to provide more oversight to identify problem caregivers by creating a formal foster parent evaluation system. Additionally, foster parents only undergo financial screening prior to becoming a licensed foster parent. CYC members believe that this one time screening is not enough to ensure foster care payments are being used to provide for the child’s basic needs.

CYC’s Sponsored Bills

SB 342 (Yee)

When a child is removed from a home and initially placed into foster care, the law mandates that a social worker visit the child at least three times in the first 30 calendar days (including the initial in-person response). Subsequently, the general rule has always been that social workers are legally required to have face-to-face contact with the child on a monthly basis.

However, California regulations have long allowed exceptions (e.g. supervisor-approved waivers when the child’s placement is stable and with a relative, etc.). In response to the positive correlation between frequent caseworker visits and outcomes for children Congress passed the “Child and Family Services Act of 2006” which stated that by 2011 (1) 90% of social worker visits must occur monthly and (2) a majority (51%) of social worker visits must occur in the home[3]. Frequent home visits allow the social worker to see, and if need be, report, conditions in the placement. This bill will clarify that California visits will occur in the home unless otherwise requested by the youth or social worker.  

AB 196 (Mansoor)

Children in foster care, just like all children, need adequate and engaged adults to support their well-being.  Currently, licensing agencies do not have a satisfactory process to oversee that children placed in foster homes and group homes are receiving quality care from their caregivers. Additionally, children in foster care are often placed in homes and facilities where a caseworker must find an open bed, rather than in a home that can best meet that child’s needs.

AB 196 would resolve this important issue by requiring the California Department of Social Services to develop and implement a caregiver evaluation process that would allow licensing agencies to be better informed to match children and youth with the appropriate caregiver. A caregiver evaluation will assist in identifying any issues that can prevent children in foster care from receiving the appropriate care to which they are entitled. This bill would establish an important tool in which foster children would be allowed to contribute their valuable input to improve the quality of foster care and to ensure a child’s well-being.

How can YOU support CYC’s sponsored bills?
Write a letter of support to your legislator or contact your legislator via email or phone to show your support.

Legislative Agenda-

* Our Legislative Committee, which is made up of youth representatives from 5 different regions of California, decided to take a stance on fewer bills in 2013 in order to more actively engage in the legislative process with the bills listed above.  If a bill is not listed above, CYC is remaining neutral on the bill in the 2013 legislative session.

The 2013 Budget
On January 10, 2013 Governor Brown released his 2013 budget. For the first time in years the child welfare services budget has seen an increase (please see realignment section below). The Governor’s budget proposes an additional eight million dollars for the planning and procurement phase of the Child Welfare Services-New System Project, which will eventually replace the existing CWS/CMS (Child Welfare Services Case Management System).

However, foster care youth and advocates were not as lucky in the education budget. For the second year in a row, Governor Brown’s budget will reduce Foster Youth Services by redistributing approximately $1.5 million from programs dedicated to foster youth to school districts through a weighted student formula.  In 2013, CYC is advocating to maintain Foster Youth Services, as well as create a separate weight in the student formula for foster youth. Please click here to read a youth written letter in support in keeping Foster Youth Services. 

Additionally, California Youth Connection is supporting “bridge” funding for implementation of The Affordable Care Act within California.  The Affordable Care Act mandates that all American citizens have access to healthcare.   This funding would allow former foster youth access to MediCal until age 26 starting in July, 2013.

Realignment
In 2011, Assembly Bill 118 was introduced and signed by the Governor.  Realignment shifted responsibility for certain programs, such as child welfare services, from the state to the counties, along with a specified funding source. California Youth Connection chapters are gearing up to engage in local policy efforts in their counties to ensure that these funds remain dedicated to the programs that ensure foster youth success.

For questions about CYC’s 2013 Policy and Legislative Agenda please contact Crys O’Grady at crys@calyouthconn.org.