AB 1164: Teachers: recruitment and retention: computer science.
- Session Year: 2017-2018
- House: Assembly
- Latest Version Date: 2018-08-23
Existing law establishes the California Educator Development (CalED) Program as a grant program designed to enhance the states efforts to address teacher recruitment and retention issues throughout the state by assisting local educational agencies with attracting and supporting the preparation and continued learning of teachers, principals, and other school leaders. Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, in conjunction with the California Center on Teaching Careers, to develop a competitive grant program, as provided, and requires the California Center on Teaching Careers, in consultation with the commission, to issue a request for proposals to all school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education in the state to solicit applications for the CalEd Program. Existing law requires a specified amount of funding that is allocated to grant recipients to be used for activities that result in new credentials authorizing teachers to provide instruction in special education, mathematics, science, and bilingual education, pursuant to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act.
This bill would specify that the authorized specified amount of funding that is allocated to grant recipients to be used for activities that result in new credentials authorizing teachers to provide instruction in, among other subjects, science includes computer science, as provided.
(1)Existing law, unless the school district is granted an exemption, limits the amount of the combined assigned or unassigned ending fund balance contained in a school districts annual budget in any fiscal year immediately after a fiscal year in which a transfer is made into the Public School System Stabilization Account, and establishes a formula for calculating the maximum amount allowable for school districts with less than 400,000 units of average daily attendance, and a formula for school districts with more than 400,000 units of average daily attendance, as specified.This bill would instead make that limitation applicable in a fiscal year immediately after a fiscal year in which the amount of moneys in the Public School System Stabilization Account are equal to or exceed 3% of the combined total of General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts and allocated local proceeds of taxes, as specified, for that fiscal year. The bill would instead provide that the school districts budget shall not contain a combined assigned or unassigned ending general fund balance, as defined, in excess of 10% of those funds. The bill would exclude from the requirements of those provisions basic aid school districts, as defined, and small school districts, as defined. To the extent the bill would impose additional duties on school districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to notify school districts and county offices of education whenever the conditions specified above are met. The bill would also require the Superintendent to notify school districts and county offices of education when those conditions no longer exist.(2)Existing law requires, if the average daily attendance of the schools and classes maintained by a county superintendent of schools is 250 pupils or more, each person who, after being employed for 2 complete consecutive school years by a county superintendent of schools in a teaching position in schools or classes maintained by the county superintendent of schools requiring certification qualifications, is reelected for the next succeeding school year to a teaching position to be classified as a permanent employee of the county superintendent of schools. Existing law requires an employee of a school district with an average daily attendance of 250 pupils or more who, after having been employed by the school district for 2 complete consecutive school years in a position or positions requiring certification qualifications, is reelected for the next succeeding school year to a position requiring certification qualifications, at the commencement of the succeeding school year, to be classified as a permanent employee of the school district. Existing law establishes the California Peer Assistance and Review Program for Teachers to assist teachers by setting forth performance goals, providing multiple observations of the teacher during periods of classroom instruction, and encouraging a cooperative relationship between the consulting teacher and the principal with respect to a process of peer assistance and review.This bill would instead authorize a county superintendent of schools and the governing board of a school district to offer an employee in a position or positions requiring certification qualifications a 3rd complete consecutive school year as a probationary employee if certain requirements are met. The bill would require the governing board of a school district and a county superintendent of schools that decides to offer a 3rd complete consecutive school year of probationary employment to refer the probationary employee to a California Peer Assistance and Review Program for Teachers. The bill would require each governing board of a school district and each county superintendent of schools to annually report to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing on the number of probationary employees offered a 3rd year of probationary employment and the number of 3rd year probationary employees dismissed during the school year, and would require the commission to annually compile and submit this information in a single report to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature, the Governor, and the Legislative Analysts Office by August 1. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The bill would provide that, to the extent these provisions conflict with any provision of a collective bargaining agreement entered into before January 1, 2018, by a public school employer and an exclusive bargaining representative, these provisions shall not apply until the expiration or renewal of that collective bargaining agreement.(3)Existing law establishes separate procedures for the dismissal of probationary certificated employees whose probationary period commenced before the 198384 fiscal year. Existing law requires, among other things, that a determination not to reemploy a probationary certificated employee whose probationary period commenced before the 198384 fiscal year for the ensuing school year be for cause only.This bill would apply these provisions governing the dismissal of probationary certificated employees whose probationary period commenced before the 198384 fiscal year to 3rd year probationary employees of a school district or county superintendent of schools. The bill would authorize, notwithstanding this provision, a county superintendent of schools or the governing board of a school district with an average daily attendance of 250 pupils or more who employs a 3rd year probationary employee to establish, upon mutual agreement of the public school employer and an exclusive bargaining representative, an alternative process through which a 3rd year probationary employee may challenge his or her nonreelection to certificated employment, as specified.(4)This bill would also make conforming changes and various nonsubstantive changes.(5)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.(1)Existing law, unless the school district is granted an exemption, limits the amount of the combined assigned or unassigned ending fund balance contained in a school districts annual budget in any fiscal year immediately after a fiscal year in which a transfer is made into the Public School System Stabilization Account, and establishes a formula for calculating the maximum amount allowable for school districts with less than 400,000 units of average daily attendance, and a formula for school districts with more than 400,000 units of average daily attendance, as specified.
This bill would instead make that limitation applicable in a fiscal year immediately after a fiscal year in which the amount of moneys in the Public School System Stabilization Account are equal to or exceed 3% of the combined total of General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts and allocated local proceeds of taxes, as specified, for that fiscal year. The bill would instead provide that the school districts budget shall not contain a combined assigned or unassigned ending general fund balance, as defined, in excess of 10% of those funds. The bill would exclude from the requirements of those provisions basic aid school districts, as defined, and small school districts, as defined. To the extent the bill would impose additional duties on school districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to notify school districts and county offices of education whenever the conditions specified above are met. The bill would also require the Superintendent to notify school districts and county offices of education when those conditions no longer exist.
(2)Existing law requires, if the average daily attendance of the schools and classes maintained by a county superintendent of schools is 250 pupils or more, each person who, after being employed for 2 complete consecutive school years by a county superintendent of schools in a teaching position in schools or classes maintained by the county superintendent of schools requiring certification qualifications, is reelected for the next succeeding school year to a teaching position to be classified as a permanent employee of the county superintendent of schools. Existing law requires an employee of a school district with an average daily attendance of 250 pupils or more who, after having been employed by the school district for 2 complete consecutive school years in a position or positions requiring certification qualifications, is reelected for the next succeeding school year to a position requiring certification qualifications, at the commencement of the succeeding school year, to be classified as a permanent employee of the school district. Existing law establishes the California Peer Assistance and Review Program for Teachers to assist teachers by setting forth performance goals, providing multiple observations of the teacher during periods of classroom instruction, and encouraging a cooperative relationship between the consulting teacher and the principal with respect to a process of peer assistance and review.
This bill would instead authorize a county superintendent of schools and the governing board of a school district to offer an employee in a position or positions requiring certification qualifications a 3rd complete consecutive school year as a probationary employee if certain requirements are met. The bill would require the governing board of a school district and a county superintendent of schools that decides to offer a 3rd complete consecutive school year of probationary employment to refer the probationary employee to a California Peer Assistance and Review Program for Teachers. The bill would require each governing board of a school district and each county superintendent of schools to annually report to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing on the number of probationary employees offered a 3rd year of probationary employment and the number of 3rd year probationary employees dismissed during the school year, and would require the commission to annually compile and submit this information in a single report to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature, the Governor, and the Legislative Analysts Office by August 1. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would provide that, to the extent these provisions conflict with any provision of a collective bargaining agreement entered into before January 1, 2018, by a public school employer and an exclusive bargaining representative, these provisions shall not apply until the expiration or renewal of that collective bargaining agreement.
(3)Existing law establishes separate procedures for the dismissal of probationary certificated employees whose probationary period commenced before the 198384 fiscal year. Existing law requires, among other things, that a determination not to reemploy a probationary certificated employee whose probationary period commenced before the 198384 fiscal year for the ensuing school year be for cause only.
This bill would apply these provisions governing the dismissal of probationary certificated employees whose probationary period commenced before the 198384 fiscal year to 3rd year probationary employees of a school district or county superintendent of schools. The bill would authorize, notwithstanding this provision, a county superintendent of schools or the governing board of a school district with an average daily attendance of 250 pupils or more who employs a 3rd year probationary employee to establish, upon mutual agreement of the public school employer and an exclusive bargaining representative, an alternative process through which a 3rd year probationary employee may challenge his or her nonreelection to certificated employment, as specified.
(4)This bill would also make conforming changes and various nonsubstantive changes.
(5)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law, the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, requires foster care providers to be paid a per-child per-month rate, established by the State Department of Social Services, for the care and supervision of the child placed with the provider. Existing law defines care and supervision to include, among others, food, clothing, shelter, and daily supervision.This bill would establish the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children (bridge program). The bill would authorize, contingent upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act for these purposes, county welfare departments to administer the bridge program and distribute vouchers, or payment, for child care for an eligible child who is placed with an approved resource family, a licensed or certified foster family, or an approved relative or nonrelative extended family member, or who is the child of a young parent involved in the child welfare system. The bill would require, for counties that choose to participate, that county welfare departments determine eligibility for the bridge program and provide monthly payment either directly to the family or to the child care provider or provide a monthly voucher for child care, in an amount that is commensurate with the regional market rate, for up to 6 months following the childs placement or for up to 6 months for a child whose parent is in foster care, unless the child and family are able to access long-term, subsidized child care prior to the end of the 6-month period. The bill would allow eligibility for a child care payment or voucher to be extended for 6 months, at the discretion of the county welfare department, if the child and family have been unable to access long-term, subsidized child care during the initial 6-month period. The bill would require that each child receiving a monthly child care payment or voucher be provided with a child care navigator, as specified, and would authorize the county to establish local priorities in the implementation of the bridge program.Existing law establishes the California Child Care Initiative Project for certain purposes, including increasing the availability of qualified child care programs in the state and establishing child care resource and referral programs to serve a defined geographic area.This bill would require, contingent upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act for these purposes, each child care resource and referral program to provide a child care navigator to support children in foster care, children previously in foster care upon return to their home of origin, and children of parents involved in the child welfare system. The bill would also require, contingent upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, the child care resource and referral program to provide trauma-informed training and coaching to child care providers working with children and the children of parenting youth in the foster care system.Existing law, the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, requires foster care providers to be paid a per-child per-month rate, established by the State Department of Social Services, for the care and supervision of the child placed with the provider. Existing law defines care and supervision to include, among others, food, clothing, shelter, and daily supervision.
This bill would establish the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children (bridge program). The bill would authorize, contingent upon an appropriation of $11,000,000 in the 201718 fiscal year and $22,000,000 annually thereafter, in the annual Budget Act for these purposes, county welfare departments to administer the bridge program and distribute vouchers, or payment, for child care and development services for an eligible child who is placed with an approved resource family, a licensed or certified foster family, or an approved relative or nonrelative extended family member, or who is the child of a young parent involved in the child welfare system. The bill would require, for counties that choose to participate, that county welfare departments determine eligibility for the bridge program and provide monthly payment either directly to the family or to the child care provider or provide a monthly voucher for child care, in an amount that is commensurate with the regional market rate, for up to 6 months following the childs initial placement, placement or for up to 6 months for a child whose parent is in foster care, unless the child and family are able to access long-term, subsidized child care prior to the end of the 6-month period. The bill would allow eligibility for a child care payment or voucher to be extended for 6 months, at the discretion of the county welfare department, if the child and family have been unable to access long-term, subsidized child care during the initial 6-month period. The bill would require that each child receiving a monthly child care payment or voucher be provided with a child care navigator, as specified, and would authorize the county to establish local priorities in the implementation of the bridge program.
Existing law establishes the California Child Care Initiative Project for certain purposes, including increasing the availability of qualified child care programs in the state and establishing child care resource and referral programs to serve a defined geographic area.
This bill would require, contingent upon an appropriation of $2,500,000 in the 201718 fiscal year and $5,000,000 annually thereafter, in the annual Budget Act for these purposes, each child care resource and referral program to provide a child care navigator to support children in foster care, children previously in foster care upon return to their home of origin, and children of parents involved in the child welfare system. The bill would also require, contingent upon an appropriation of $2,000,000 in the 201718 fiscal year and $4,000,000 annually thereafter, in the annual Budget Act, the child care resource and referral program to provide trauma-informed training and coaching to child care providers working with children and the children of parenting youth in the foster care system.
Existing law, the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, requires foster care providers to be paid a per-child per-month rate, established by the State Department of Social Services, for the care and supervision of the child placed with the provider. Existing law defines care and supervision to include, among others, food, clothing, shelter, and daily supervision.
This bill would establish the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children (bridge program). The bill would authorize, contingent upon an appropriation of $11,000,000 in the 201718 fiscal year and $22,000,000 annually thereafter, county welfare departments to administer the bridge program and distribute vouchers to vouchers, or payment, for child care and development services for an eligible child who is placed with an approved resource family, a licensed or certified foster family, or an approved relative or nonrelative extended family member, or who is the child of a young parent involved in the child welfare system. The bill would require, for counties that choose to participate, that county welfare departments determine eligibility for the bridge program and provide monthly payment either directly to the family or to the child care provider or provide a monthly voucher for child care, in an amount that is commensurate with the regional market rate, for up to 6 months following the childs initial placement, unless the child and resource family are able to access long-term, subsidized child care prior to the end of the 6-month period. The bill would allow eligibility for a child care payment or voucher to be extended for 6 months, at the discretion of the county welfare department, if the child and resource family have been unable to access long-term, subsidized child care during the initial 6-month period. The bill would require that each child receiving a monthly child care payment or voucher be provided with a child care navigator, as specified, and would authorize the county to establish local priorities in the implementation of the bridge program.
Existing law establishes the California Child Care Initiative Project for certain purposes, including increasing the availability of qualified child care programs in the state and establishing child care resource and referral programs to serve a defined geographic area.
This bill would require, contingent upon an appropriation of $2,500,000 in the 201718 fiscal year and $5,000,000 annually thereafter, each child care resource and referral program to provide a child care navigator to support children in foster care and care, children previously in foster care upon return to their home of origin. origin, and children of parents involved in the child welfare system. The bill would also require, contingent upon an appropriation of $2,000,000 in the 201718 fiscal year and $4,000,000 annually thereafter, the child care resource and referral program to provide trauma-informed training and coaching to child care providers working with children in the foster care system.
Existing law, the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, requires foster care providers to be paid a per-child per-month rate, established by the State Department of Social Services, for the care and supervision of the child placed with the provider. Existing law defines care and supervision to include, among others, food, clothing, shelter, and daily supervision.
This bill would establish the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children (bridge program). The bill would authorize, contingent upon an appropriation of $22,000,000 annually, $11,000,000 in the 201718 fiscal year and $22,000,000 annually thereafter, county welfare departments to administer the bridge program and distribute vouchers to children between birth and 4 years of age, an eligible child who is placed with an approved resource family or family, a licensed or certified foster family, or an approved relative or nonrelative extended family member, or who is the child of a young parent involved in the child welfare system. The bill would require, for counties that choose to participate, that county welfare departments determine eligibility for the bridge program and provide monthly payment either directly to the family or to the child care provider or provide a monthly voucher for child care care, in an amount that is commensurate with the regional market rate, for up to 6 months following the childs initial placement, unless the child and resource family are able to access long-term, subsidized child care prior to the end of the 6-month period. The bill would allow eligibility for a child care payment or voucher to be extended for 6 months, at the discretion of the county welfare department, if the child and resource family have been unable to access long-term, subsidized child care during the initial 6-month period. The bill would require that each child receiving a monthly child care payment or voucher be provided with a child care navigator, as specified. specified, and would authorize the county to establish local priorities in the implementation of the bridge program.
The bill would provide that daily supervision, for purposes of payments to foster care providers, may include licensed child care if work responsibilities preclude a resource family from being at home when the child for whom they have care and responsibility is not in school. The bill would make other conforming changes.Existing law establishes the California Child Care Initiative Project for certain purposes, including increasing the availability of qualified child care programs in the state and establishing child care resource and referral programs to serve a defined geographic area.
This bill would require, contingent upon an appropriation of $4,000,000 annually, $2,500,000 in the 201718 fiscal year and $5,000,000 annually thereafter, each child care resource and referral program to provide a child care navigator to support children in foster care and children previously in foster care upon return to their home of origin. The bill would also require, contingent upon an appropriation of $5,000,000 annually, $2,000,000 in the 201718 fiscal year and $4,000,000 annually thereafter, the child care resource and referral program to provide trauma-informed training and coaching to child care providers working with children in the foster care system.
Existing law, the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, requires foster care providers to be paid a per-child per-month rate, established by the State Department of Social Services, for the care and supervision of the child placed with the provider. Existing law defines care and supervision to include, among others, food, clothing, shelter, and daily supervision.
This bill would establish the Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children (bridge program). The bill would authorize, contingent upon an appropriation of $22,000,000 annually, county welfare departments to administer the bridge program and distribute vouchers to children between birth and 4 years of age, placed with an approved resource family or the child of a young parent involved in the child welfare system. The bill would require, for counties that choose to participate, that county welfare departments determine eligibility for the bridge program and provide a monthly voucher for child care for up to 6 months following the childs initial placement, unless the child and resource family are able to access long-term, subsidized child care prior to the end of the 6-month period. The bill would allow eligibility for a child care voucher to be extended for 6 months, at the discretion of the county welfare department, if the child and resource family have been unable to access long-term, subsidized child care during the initial 6-month period. The bill would require that each child receiving a monthly child care voucher be provided with a child care navigator, as specified.
The bill would provide that daily supervision, for purposes of payments to foster care providers, may include licensed child care if work responsibilities preclude a resource family from being at home when the child for whom they have care and responsibility is not in school. The bill would make other conforming changes.
Existing law establishes the California Child Care Initiative Project for certain purposes, including increasing the availability of qualified child care programs in the state and establishing child care resource and referral programs to serve a defined geographic area.
This bill would require, contingent upon an appropriation of $4,000,000 annually, each child care resource and referral program to provide a child care navigator to support children in foster care and children previously in foster care upon return to their home of origin. The bill would also require, contingent upon an appropriation of $5,000,000 annually, the child care resource and referral program to provide trauma-informed training and coaching to child care providers working with children in the foster care system.
(a)The California Educator Development (CalED) Program is hereby established as a grant program designed to enhance the states efforts to address teacher recruitment and retention issues throughout the state by assisting local educational agencies with attracting and supporting the preparation and continued learning of teachers, principals, and other school leaders.
(b)Subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or another statute for purposes of this section, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, in conjunction with the California Center on Teaching Careers, established in Section 45 of Chapter 29 of the Statutes of 2016 (Senate Bill 828 of the 201516 Regular Session), shall develop a competitive grant program that assists local educational agencies with the recruitment and retention of effective school leaders and educators pursuant to the requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6611(c)(3) and (4)).
(c)The California Center on Teaching Careers, in consultation with the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, shall issue a request for proposals to all school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education in the state to solicit applications for the CalED Program. The California Center on Teaching Careers shall issue one-time grants to successful applicants through a competitive process, and shall ensure all of the following:
(1)An amount equal to the maximum amount allowable by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6611(c)(3)) is allocated to grant recipients for activities that support principals and other school leaders.
(2)The remaining amount is allocated to grant recipients for activities that result in new credentials authorizing teachers to provide instruction in special education, mathematics, science, computer science, and bilingual education, pursuant to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6611(c)(4)).
(3)At least 30 grants are awarded statewide. Grants shall be in amounts not less than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), and not more than one million two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($1,250,000), per grant.
(d)A grant recipient shall consist of one or more, or any combination, of the following:
(1)School districts.
(2)County offices of education.
(3)Charter schools.
(e)A grant recipient may partner with any or all of the following:
(1)Private or public postsecondary educational institutions, as defined in Section 66010 of the Education Code.
(2)Private, nonprofit organizations that specialize in attracting, or supporting the preparation and continued learning of, teachers, principals, and other school leaders.
(f)As a condition of receiving a grant, a grant recipient shall do all of the following:
(1)Provide an equal match of resources for any funding received from this program to supplement the grant award.
(2)Ensure activities proposed in the grant application conform to the activities in the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6611(c)(3) and (4)).
(3)Agree to report data to the California Center on Teaching Careers to allow for an evaluation of the effectiveness of the CalED Program.
(g)When determining grant recipients, the California Center on Teaching Careers, in consultation with the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, shall do all of the following:
(1)Give positive consideration to all of the following characteristics of an applicant:
(A)Having one or more of the following:
(i)A demonstrated need for teachers authorized to provide instruction in special education, mathematics, science, computer science, or bilingual education.
(ii)A demonstrated need for school leadership development.
(iii)A demonstrated record of working with current science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals to obtain a teaching credential to work in schools in need of STEM teachers.
(B)Serving unduplicated pupils, as defined in Section 42238.02. 42238.02 of the Education Code.
(C)Operating within a rural area.
(D)Operating using a high number of teachers with emergency permits to staff classrooms.
(E)Applying as part of a consortium of local educational agencies.
(F)A demonstrated need to improve equitable access of all pupils to effective educators.
(G)A geographic location that will promote an equitable distribution of grants statewide.
(2)Give positive consideration to applications that propose to do any of the following:
(A)Recruit, train, and support new or existing educators to earn a credential that authorizes the holder of the credential to provide instruction in special education, mathematics, science, computer science, or bilingual education.
(B)Provide activities to support the development of principals and other school leaders.
(C)Provide high-quality new teacher and principal induction and mentoring.
(D)Engage in regional collaboration with postsecondary educational institutions, as defined in Section 66010 of the Education Code, or other local educational agencies.
(E)Participate in recruitment and hiring activities in coordination with the California Center on Teaching Careers.
(h)When determining grant recipients, the California Center on Teaching Careers, in consultation with the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, shall give greatest weight to the application characteristics identified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (g).
(i)The California Center on Teaching Careers, in consultation with the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, shall review grant applications, select grant recipients, award grants, collect data, and report outcomes to the chairpersons and vice chairpersons of the budget committees of each house of the Legislature, the Legislative Analysts Office, and the Department of Finance by October 1 of each year.
All matter omitted in this version of the bill appears in the bill as amended in the Senate July 6, 2017. (JR11)(a)(1)If the average daily attendance of the schools and classes maintained by a county superintendent of schools is 250 pupils or more, each person who, after being employed for three two complete consecutive school years by the county superintendent of schools in a teaching position in those schools or classes requiring certification qualifications and whose salary is paid from the county school service fund, is reelected for the next succeeding school year to such a this type of position in those schools or classes, classes shall be classified as and become a permanent employee of the county superintendent of schools. schools, unless the county superintendent of schools offers that employee a third complete consecutive school year of employment as a probationary employee pursuant to paragraph (2).
This subdivision shall apply only to probationary employees whose probationary period commenced prior to the 198384 fiscal year. Such an employee shall have the same rights and duties as employees of school districts to which Section 44882 applies. Sections 44841, 44842, 44882, 44948.3, and 44948.5 are applicable to these employees. (b) If the average daily attendance of the schools and classes maintained by a(2)The county superintendent of schools is 250 shall notify the employee, on or more, each person who, after being employed for two before March 15 of the employees second complete consecutive school years year of employment by the county superintendent of schools in a teaching position in those schools or classes maintained by the county superintendent of schools requiring certification qualifications and whose salary is paid from qualifications, of the county school service fund, is reelected decision to reelect or not reelect the employee for the next succeeding school year to such a this type of position in those schools schools, or classes, shall be classified as and become a permanent employee of the county superintendent of schools. of the decision to offer a third complete consecutive school year of employment as a probationary employee.
The(3)(A)The county superintendent of schools shall notify the a probationary employee offered a third complete consecutive school year of employment as a probationary employee, on or before March 15 of the probationary employees second third complete consecutive school year of employment by the county superintendent of schools in a teaching position in schools or classes maintained by the county superintendent of schools requiring certification qualifications, of the decision to reelect or not reelect the employee for the next succeeding school year to such a this type of position in those schools. In the event that the county superintendent does not give notice pursuant to this section on or before March 15, the employee shall be deemed reelected for the next succeeding school year.
(B)An employee who is reelected following a third complete consecutive school year of employment as a probationary employee shall, at the commencement of the succeeding school year, be classified as and become a permanent employee of the county superintendent of schools.
(4)If the county superintendent of schools does not give notice pursuant to this section on or before March 15, the employee shall be deemed reelected for the next succeeding school year as a permanent employee.
Such an(5)An employee described in paragraph (1) shall have the same rights and duties as employees of school districts to which Section 44882 44929.21 applies. Sections 44841, 44842, 44882, 44929.21, 44948.3, and 44948.5 are applicable apply to these employees.
(b)(1)The county superintendent of schools may offer an employee of the county superintendent of schools in a teaching position in schools or classes maintained by the county superintendent of schools requiring certification qualifications to continue for up to three complete consecutive school years as a probationary employee only if both of the following requirements are met:
(A)The probationary employee has received unsatisfactory evaluations during his or her first and second complete consecutive school years as a probationary employee.
(B)The probationary employee has, during his or her first and second years as an employee of the county superintendent of schools in a teaching position in schools or classes maintained by the county superintendent of schools requiring certification qualifications, participated in a program of beginning teacher induction as provided for in subdivision (c) of Section 44259, if the employee does not already possess a clear teaching credential.
(2)Before offering a third complete consecutive school year of employment as a probationary employee to an employee of the county superintendent of schools in a teaching position in schools or classes maintained by the county superintendent of schools requiring certification qualifications, the county superintendent of schools shall provide the probationary employee with written notice that includes, at a minimum, specific information on what performance-related improvements the probationary employee must achieve in order to obtain permanent employment status after the third year of probationary status. The information provided in the written notice shall be based on evaluations or reviews conducted by a permanent employee designated to conduct the evaluations or reviews pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement or by a school administrator.
(3)An employee described in paragraph (1) shall have the same rights and duties as employees of school districts to which Section 44929.21 applies. Sections 44842, 44929.21, 44948.5, and 44948.6 apply to these employees.
(c)(1)A county superintendent of schools who decides to offer a third complete consecutive school year of probationary employment pursuant to this section shall refer the probationary employee to a California Peer Assistance and Review Program for Teachers in accordance with Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 44500) of Chapter 3 of Part 25 of Division 3 of Title 2, for the purpose of providing the probationary employee with individualized coaching, assistance, and professional development.
This subdivision(2)Each county superintendent of schools shall apply only annually report to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing on, at a minimum, the number of probationary employees whose offered a third year of probationary period commenced employment pursuant to this section and the number of third year probationary employees dismissed during the 198384 fiscal school year or any fiscal year thereafter. pursuant to Section 44948.5. The Commission on Teacher Credentialing shall annually compile this information together with the information received pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 44929.21 in a single report and provide it to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature, the Governor, and the Legislative Analysts Office by August 1 of each year.
(d)To the extent that this section as amended by the act adding this subdivision conflicts with a provision of a collective bargaining agreement entered into by a public school employer and an exclusive bargaining representative before January 1, 2018, pursuant to Chapter 10.7 (commencing with Section 3540) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government Code, the changes made to this section by the act adding this subdivision shall not apply until the expiration or renewal of that collective bargaining agreement.
(c)(e)As used in this section, teaching position means any certificated position designated as of January 1, 1983, by the county board of education or the county superintendent of schools as a teaching position for the purpose of granting probationary or permanent status.
SEC. 2.Section 42127.01 of the Education Code is amended to read:42127.01.(a)In a fiscal year immediately after a fiscal year in which a transfer is made into the amount of moneys in the Public School System Stabilization Account, Account are equal to or exceed 3 percent of the combined total of General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 41202 and allocated local proceeds of taxes pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 41202 for that fiscal year, a school district budget that is adopted or revised pursuant to Section 42127 shall not contain a combined assigned or unassigned ending general fund balance that is in excess of the following: 10 percent of those funds.
(1)For school districts with fewer than 400,000 units of average daily attendance, the sum of the school districts applicable minimum recommended reserve for economic uncertainties adopted by the state board pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 33128, multiplied by two. (2)For school districts with more than 400,000 units of average daily attendance, the sum of the school districts applicable minimum recommended reserve for economic uncertainties adopted by the state board pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 33128, multiplied by three.(b)A county superintendent of schools may grant a school district under its jurisdiction an exemption from the requirements of subdivision (a) for up to two consecutive fiscal years within a three-year period if the school district provides documentation indicating that extraordinary fiscal circumstances, including, but not limited to, multiyear infrastructure or technology projects, substantiate the need for a combined assigned or unassigned ending general fund balance that is in excess of the minimum recommended reserve for economic uncertainties. amount described in subdivision (a). As a condition of receiving an exception, exemption, a school district shall do all of the following:
(1)Provide a statement that substantiates the need for an assigned and unassigned ending general fund balance that is in excess of the minimum recommended reserve for economic uncertainties. amount described in subdivision (a).
(2)Identify the funding amounts in the budget adopted by the school district that are associated with the extraordinary fiscal circumstances.
(3)Provide documentation that no other fiscal resources are available to fund the extraordinary fiscal circumstances.
(c)This section shall become operative on December 15, 2014, only if Assembly Constitutional Amendment No. 1 of the 201314 Second Extraordinary Session is approved by the voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election. If Assembly Constitutional Amendment No. 1 of the 201314 Second Extraordinary Session is not approved by the voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, this section shall not become operative and is repealed on January 1, 2015. apply to a basic aid school district or to a small school district.
(d)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Basic aid school district has the same meaning as in Section 42238.02.
(2)Combined assigned or unassigned ending general fund balance refers to assigned and unassigned moneys in the general fund accounts of school districts, including assigned and unassigned moneys in the Special Fund for Other Than Capital Outlay.
(3)Small school district means a school district with fewer than 2,501 units of average daily attendance.
(e)The Superintendent shall notify school districts and county offices of education whenever the conditions specified in subdivision (a) are met, and shall notify school districts and county offices of education when those conditions no longer exist.
SEC. 3.Section 44500 of the Education Code is amended to read:44500.(a)There is hereby established the California Peer Assistance and Review Program for Teachers. The governing board of a school district and the exclusive representative of the certificated employees in the school district may develop and implement a program authorized by this article that meets local conditions and conforms with the principles set forth in subdivision (b).
(b)The following principles, at a minimum, shall be included in a locally developed program authorized by this article:
(1)A teacher participant shall satisfy both of the following criteria:
(A)Be a permanent employee or a probationary employee in his or her third complete consecutive school year of employment as provided in Sections 1296 and 44929.21 in a school or classes governed by a county superintendent of schools or a school district with 250 or greater units of average daily attendance or be a permanent or probationary employee in a school district with fewer than 250 units of average daily attendance.
(1) A teacher participant shall be a permanent employee in a school district with 250 or greater units of average daily attendance or a permanent or probationary employee in a school district with fewer than 250 units of average daily attendance and volunteer to participate in the program or be referred for participation in the program(B)Volunteer to participate in the program or be referred for participation in the program pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 1296, pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 44929.21, or as a result of an evaluation performed pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 44664. In addition, teachers receiving assistance may be referred pursuant to a collectively bargained agreement.
(2)Performance goals for an individual teacher shall be in writing, clearly stated, aligned with pupil learning, and consistent with Section 44662.
(3)Assistance and review shall include multiple observations of a teacher during periods of classroom instruction.
(4)The program shall expect and strongly encourage a cooperative relationship between the consulting teacher and the principal with respect to the process of peer assistance and review.
(5)The school district shall provide sufficient staff development activities to assist a teacher to improve his or her teaching skills and knowledge.
(6)The program shall have a monitoring component with a written record.
(7)The final evaluation of a teachers participation in the program shall be made available for placement in the personnel file of the teacher receiving assistance.
SEC. 4.Section 44929.21 of the Education Code is amended to read:44929.21.(a)(1)Every employee of a school district of any type or class having an average daily attendance of 250 pupils or more who, after having been employed by the school district for three two complete consecutive school years in a position or positions requiring certification qualifications, is reelected for the next succeeding school year to a position requiring certification qualifications shall, at the commencement of the succeeding school year year, be classified as and become a permanent employee of the district. school district, unless the governing board of the school district offers that employee a third complete consecutive school year of employment as a probationary employee pursuant to paragraph (2).
This subdivision shall apply only to probationary employees whose probationary period commenced prior to the 198384 fiscal year.(b) Every employee(2)The governing board of a school district of any type shall notify the employee, on or class having an average daily attendance before March 15 of 250 or more who, after having been employed by the district for two employees second complete consecutive school years year of employment by the school district in a position or positions requiring certification qualifications, is reelected of the decision to reelect or not reelect the employee for the next succeeding school year to a position requiring certification qualifications shall, at this type of position, or of the commencement of the succeeding decision to offer a third complete consecutive school year be classified of employment as and become a permanent employee of the district. probationary employee.
The(3)The governing board of a school district shall notify the a probationary employee offered a third complete consecutive school year of employment as a probationary employee, on or before March 15 of the probationary employees second third complete consecutive school year of employment by the school district in a position or positions requiring certification qualifications, of the decision to reelect or not reelect the employee for the next succeeding school year to the this type of position. In the event that the governing board does not give notice pursuant to this section on or before March 15, An employee who is reelected following a third complete consecutive school year of employment as a probationary employee shall, at the employee shall be deemed reelected for the next succeeding school year. commencement of the succeeding school year, be classified as and become a permanent employee of the school district.
(4)If the governing board of the school district does not give notice pursuant to this section on or before March 15, the employee shall be deemed reelected for the next succeeding school year as a permanent employee.
(b)(1)The governing board of a school district may offer an employee of the school district in a position or positions requiring certification qualifications to continue for up to three complete consecutive school years as a probationary employee only if both of the following requirements are met:
(A)The probationary employee has received unsatisfactory evaluations during his or her first and second complete consecutive school years as a probationary employee.
(B)The probationary employee has, during his or her first and second years as an employee of the school district in a teaching position in schools or classes maintained by the school district requiring certification qualifications, participated in a program of beginning teacher induction as provided for in subdivision (c) of Section 44259, if the employee does not already possess a clear teaching credential.
(2)Before offering a third complete consecutive school year of employment as a probationary employee to an employee of the school district in a teaching position in schools or classes maintained by the school district requiring certification qualifications, the governing board of the school district shall provide the probationary employee with written notice that includes, at a minimum, specific information on what performance-related improvements the probationary employee must achieve in order to obtain permanent employment status after the third year of probationary status. The information provided in the written notice shall be based on evaluations or reviews conducted by a permanent employee designated to conduct the evaluations or reviews pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement or by a school administrator.
(c)(1)The governing board of a school district that decides to offer a third complete consecutive school year of probationary employment pursuant to this section shall refer the probationary employee to a California Peer Assistance and Review Program for Teachers in accordance with Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 44500) of Chapter 3, for the purpose of providing the probationary employee with individualized coaching, assistance, and professional development.
(2)Each governing board of a school district shall annually report to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing on, at a minimum, the number of certificated employees offered a third year of probationary employment pursuant to this section and the number of third year probationary employees dismissed during the school year pursuant to Section 44948.5. The Commission on Teacher Credentialing shall annually compile this information together with the information received pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 1296 in a single report and provide it to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature, the Governor, and the Legislative Analysts Office by August 1 of each year.
This(d)To the extent that this section as amended by the act adding this subdivision shall apply only conflicts with a provision of a collective bargaining agreement entered into by a public school employer and an exclusive bargaining representative before January 1, 2018, pursuant to probationary employees whose probationary period commenced during Chapter 10.7 (commencing with Section 3540) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the 198384 fiscal year Government Code, the changes made to this section by the act adding this subdivision shall not apply until the expiration or any fiscal year thereafter. renewal of that collective bargaining agreement.
SEC. 5.Section 44948.3 of the Education Code is amended to read:44948.3.(a)First and second year probationary employees may be dismissed during the school year for unsatisfactory performance determined pursuant to Article 11 (commencing with Section 44660) of Chapter 3, or for cause pursuant to Section 44932. Any dismissal pursuant to this section shall be in accordance with all of the following procedures:
(1)The superintendent of the school district or the superintendents designee shall give 30 days prior written notice of dismissal, not later than March 15 in the case of second year probationary employees. The notice shall include a statement of the reasons for the dismissal and notice of the opportunity to appeal. In the event of a dismissal for unsatisfactory performance, a copy of the evaluation conducted pursuant to Section 44664 shall accompany the written notice.
(2)The probationary employee shall have 15 days from receipt of the notice of dismissal to submit to the governing board of the school district a written request for a hearing. The governing board of the school district may establish procedures for the appointment of an administrative law judge to conduct the hearing and submit a recommended decision to the governing board. The failure of an a probationary employee to request a hearing within 15 days from receipt of a dismissal notice shall constitute a waiver of the right to a hearing.
(b)The governing board, board of the school district, pursuant to this section, may suspend a probationary employee for a specified period of time without pay as an alternative to dismissal.
(c)This section applies only to probationary employees whose probationary period commenced during the 198384 fiscal year or any fiscal year thereafter, and does not apply to probationary employees in a school district having an average daily attendance of less than 250 pupils. pupils or third year probationary employees of a school district or county superintendent of schools with an average daily attendance of 250 pupils or more.
SEC. 6.Section 44948.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:44948.5.(a)This section applies only to (1) probationary the following persons:
(1)Probationary employees of a school district with an average daily attendance of less than 250 pupils, or (2) those persons currently employed as probationary employees whose probationary period commenced prior to the 198384 fiscal year. pupils.
(2)Probationary employees of a school district with an average daily attendance of 250 pupils or more employed for a third complete consecutive school year of employment by a school district in a position or positions requiring certification qualifications.
(3)Probationary employees of schools maintained by a county superintendent of schools with an average daily attendance of 250 pupils or more employed for a third complete consecutive school year by the county superintendent of schools in a teaching position in a school or classes requiring certification qualifications.
(b)(1)No later than March 15 and before a probationary employee is given notice by the governing board of a school district or the county superintendent of schools that his or her services will not be required for the ensuing year for reasons other than those specified in Section 44955, the governing board of the school district or the county superintendent of schools and the employee shall be given written notice by the county superintendent of schools or the superintendent of the school district or his or her designee, or, in the case of a school district which that has no superintendent, by the clerk or secretary of the governing board, board of the school district, that it has been recommended that the notice be given to the employee, and stating the reasons therefor.
If(2)If the probationary employee has been in the employ of the school district or the county superintendent of schools for less than 45 days on March 15, the giving of the notice may be deferred until the 45th day of employment and all time period and deadline dates prescribed by this subdivision shall be coextensively extended.
Until(3)Until the employee has requested a hearing as provided in subdivision (c) or has waived his or her right to a hearing, the notice and the reasons therefor shall be confidential and shall not be divulged by any person, except as may be necessary in the performance of duties. However, the violation of this requirement of confidentiality, in and of itself, shall not in any manner be construed as affecting the validity of any hearing conducted pursuant to this section.
(c)The employee may request a hearing to determine if there is cause for not reemploying him or her for the ensuing year. A request for a hearing shall be in writing and shall be delivered to the person who sent the notice pursuant to subdivision (b), on or before a date specified in that subdivision, which shall not be less than seven days after the date on which the notice is served upon the employee. If an employee fails to request a hearing on or before the date specified, his or her failure to do so shall constitute a waiver of his or her right to a hearing. The notice provided for in subdivision (b) shall advise the employee of the provisions of this subdivision.
(d)In the event a hearing is requested by the employee, the proceeding shall be conducted and a decision made in accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code and the governing board of a school district or the county superintendent of schools shall have all the power granted to an agency therein, except that all of the following shall apply:
(1)The respondent shall file his or her notice of defense, if any, within five days after service upon him or her of the accusation and he or she shall be notified of this five-day period for filing in the accusation.
(2)The discovery authorized by Section 11507.6 of the Government Code shall be available only if request is made therefor within 15 days after service of the accusation, and the notice required by Section 11505 of the Government Code shall so indicate.
(3)(A)The hearing shall be conducted by an administrative law judge who shall prepare a proposed decision, containing findings of fact and a determination as to whether the charges sustained by the evidence are related to the welfare of the schools and the pupils thereof. The proposed decision shall be prepared for the governing board of a school district or the county superintendent of schools and shall contain a determination as to the sufficiency of the cause and a recommendation as to disposition. However, the governing board of the school district or the county superintendent of schools shall make the final determination as to the sufficiency of the cause and disposition. None of the findings, recommendations, or determinations contained in the proposed decision prepared by the administrative law judge shall be binding on the governing board. board of the school district or the county superintendent of schools. Nonsubstantive procedural errors committed by the school district or district, the governing board of the school district district, or the county superintendent of schools shall not constitute cause for dismissing the charges unless the errors are prejudicial errors. Copies of the proposed decision shall be submitted to the governing board of the school district or the county superintendent of schools and to the employee on or before May 7 of the year in which the proceeding is commenced. All expenses of the hearing, including the cost of the administrative law judge, shall be paid by the county superintendent of schools or the governing board of the school district from the county office of education funds or the school district funds. funds, respectively.
The(B)The governing board of a school district or the county superintendent of schools may adopt from time to time such rules and procedures not inconsistent with provisions of this section as may be necessary to effectuate this section.
(e)The governing boards or county superintendents determination not to reemploy a probationary employee for the ensuing school year shall be for cause only. The determination of the governing board of a school district or the county superintendent of schools as to the sufficiency of the cause pursuant to this section shall be conclusive, but the cause shall relate solely to the welfare of the schools and the pupils thereof. The decision made after the hearing shall be effective on May 15 of the year the proceeding is commenced.
(f)Notice to the probationary employee by the governing board of a school district or the county superintendent of schools that his or her service will not be required for the ensuing year, shall be given no later than May 15.
(g)If a governing board of a school district or the county superintendent of schools notifies a probationary employee that his or her services will not be required for the ensuing year, the governing board or the county superintendent of schools shall, within 10 days after delivery to it of the employees written request, provide the employee with a statement of its reasons for not reemploying him or her for the ensuing school year.
(h)Any notice or request shall be deemed sufficient when it is delivered in person to the employee to whom it is directed, or when it is deposited in the United States registered mail, postage prepaid and addressed to the last known address of the employee.
(i)In the event that the governing board of a school district or the county superintendent of schools does not give notice provided for in subdivision (e) on or before May 15, the employee shall be deemed reemployed for the ensuing school year.
(j)If after request for hearing pursuant to subdivision (c) any continuance is granted pursuant to Section 11524 of the Government Code, the dates prescribed in subdivisions (d), (e), (f), and (i) which that occur on or after the date of granting the continuance shall be extended for a period of time equal to the continuance.
SEC. 7.Section 44948.6 is added to the Education Code, to read:44948.6.(a)Notwithstanding Section 44948.5 or any other law, a county superintendent of schools or the governing board of a school district with an average daily attendance of 250 pupils or more who employs a probationary employee for a third complete consecutive school year of employment pursuant to Section 1296 or 44929.21 may establish, upon mutual agreement with an exclusive bargaining representative pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 3543.2 of the Government Code, an alternative process through which a third year probationary employee may challenge his or her nonreelection to certificated employment. The alternative dismissal process shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following elements:
(1)A reasonable timeline for the rules, procedures, and notification to all parties as part of the dismissal process.
(2)A process for written documentation to be reviewed and considered as part of the dismissal process.
(b)The public school employer and the exclusive representative shall not adopt a for cause standard different from that set forth in subdivision (e) of Section 44948.5.
(c)If the public school employer and the exclusive representative do not reach mutual agreement on an alternative dismissal process pursuant to this section, Section 44948.5 shall apply.
SEC. 8.Section 3543.2 of the Government Code is amended to read:3543.2.(a)(1)The scope of representation shall be limited to matters relating to wages, hours of employment, and other terms and conditions of employment. Terms and conditions of employment mean health and welfare benefits as defined by Section 53200, leave, transfer and reassignment policies, safety conditions of employment, class size, procedures to be used for the evaluation of employees, organizational security pursuant to Section 3546, procedures for processing grievances pursuant to Sections 3548.5, 3548.6, 3548.7, and 3548.8, the layoff of probationary certificated school district employees, pursuant to Section 44959.5 of the Education Code, and alternative compensation or benefits for employees adversely affected by pension limitations pursuant to former Section 22316 of the Education Code, as that section read on December 31, 1999, to the extent deemed reasonable and without violating the intent and purposes of Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code.
(2)A public school employer shall give reasonable written notice to the exclusive representative of the public school employers intent to make any change to matters within the scope of representation of the employees represented by the exclusive representative for purposes of providing the exclusive representative a reasonable amount of time to negotiate with the public school employer regarding the proposed changes.
(3)The exclusive representative of certificated personnel has the right to consult on the definition of educational objectives, the determination of the content of courses and curriculum, and the selection of textbooks to the extent those matters are within the discretion of the public school employer under the law.
(4)All matters not specifically enumerated are reserved to the public school employer and may not be a subject of meeting and negotiating, except that this section does not limit the right of the public school employer to consult with any employees or employee organization on any matter outside the scope of representation.
(b)Notwithstanding Section 44944 of the Education Code, the public school employer and the exclusive representative shall, upon request of either party, meet and negotiate regarding causes and procedures for disciplinary action, other than dismissal, including a suspension of pay for up to 15 days, affecting certificated employees. If the public school employer and the exclusive representative do not reach mutual agreement, Section 44944 of the Education Code shall apply.
(c)Notwithstanding Section 44955 of the Education Code, the public school employer and the exclusive representative shall, upon request of either party, meet and negotiate regarding procedures and criteria for the layoff of certificated employees for lack of funds. If the public school employer and the exclusive representative do not reach mutual agreement, Section 44955 of the Education Code shall apply.
(d)Notwithstanding Section 45028 of the Education Code, the public school employer and the exclusive representative shall, upon request of either party, meet and negotiate regarding the payment of additional compensation based upon criteria other than years of training and years of experience. If the public school employer and the exclusive representative do not reach mutual agreement, Section 45028 of the Education Code shall apply.
(e)Pursuant to Section 45028 of the Education Code, the public school employer and the exclusive representative shall, upon the request of either party, meet and negotiate a salary schedule based on criteria other than a uniform allowance for years of training and years of experience. If the public school employer and the exclusive representative do not reach mutual agreement, the provisions of Section 45028 of the Education Code requiring a salary schedule based upon a uniform allowance for years of training and years of experience shall apply. A salary schedule established pursuant to this subdivision shall not result in the reduction of the salary of a teacher.
(f)Notwithstanding Section 44948.5 of the Education Code, the public school employer and the exclusive representative shall, upon request of either party, meet and negotiate regarding the procedures by which a third year probationary employee may challenge his or her nonreelection by the public school employer, though by such negotiations the public school employer and the exclusive representative shall not adopt a standard different than the for cause standard set forth in subdivision (e) of Section 44948.5 of the Education Code. If the public school employer and the exclusive representative do not reach mutual agreement, Section 44948.5 of the Education Code shall apply.
SEC. 9.If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
All matter omitted in this version of the bill appears in the bill as amended in the Assembly, May 26, 2017. (JR11)(a)For purposes of this article, child care resource and referral programs, established to serve a defined geographic area, shall provide the following services:
(1)Identification of the full range of existing child care services through information provided by all relevant public and private agencies in the areas of service, and the development of a resource file of those services which shall be maintained and updated at least quarterly. These services shall include, but not be limited to, family day care homes, public and private day care programs, full-time and part-time programs, and infant, preschool, and extended care programs.
The resource file shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(A)Type of program.
(B)Hours of service.
(C)Ages of children served.
(D)Fees and eligibility for services.
(E)Significant program information.
(2)(A)Establishment of a referral process which responds to parental need for information and which is provided with full recognition of the confidentiality rights of parents. Resource and referral programs shall make referrals to licensed child day care facilities. Referrals shall be made to unlicensed care facilities only if there is no requirement that the facility be licensed. The referral process shall afford parents maximum access to all referral information. This access shall include, but is not limited to, telephone referrals to be made available for at least 30 hours per week as part of a full week of operation. Every effort shall be made to reach all parents within the defined geographic area, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(i)Toll-free telephone lines.
(ii)Office space convenient to parents and providers.
(iii)Referrals in languages which are spoken in the community.
Each child care resource and referral program shall publicize its services through all available media sources, agencies, and other appropriate methods.
(B)(i)Provision of information to any person who requests a child care referral of his or her right to view the licensing information of a licensed child day care facility required to be maintained at the facility pursuant to Section 1596.859 of the Health and Safety Code and to access any public files pertaining to the facility that are maintained by the State Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division.
(ii)A written or oral advisement in substantially the following form will comply with the requirements of clause (i):
State law requires licensed child day care facilities to make accessible to the public a copy of any licensing report pertaining to the facility that documents a facility visit or a substantiated complaint investigation. In addition, a more complete file regarding a child care licensee may be available at an office of the State Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division. You have the right to access any public information in these files.
(3)Maintenance of ongoing documentation of requests for service tabulated through the internal referral process. The following documentation of requests for service shall be maintained by all child care resource and referral programs:
(A)Number of calls and contacts to the child care information and referral program or component.
(B)Ages of children served.
(C)Time category of child care request for each child.
(D)Special time category, such as nights, weekends, and swing shift.
(E)Reason that the child care is needed.
This information shall be maintained in a manner that is easily accessible for dissemination purposes.
(4)Provision of technical assistance to existing and potential providers of all types of child care services. This assistance shall include, but not be limited to:
(A)Information on all aspects of initiating new child care services including, but not limited to, licensing, zoning, program and budget development, and assistance in finding this information from other sources.
(B)Information and resources that help existing child care services providers to maximize their ability to serve the children and parents of their community.
(C)Dissemination of information on current public issues affecting the local and state delivery of child care services.
(D)Facilitation of communication between existing child care and child-related services providers in the community served.
Services prescribed by this section shall be provided in order to maximize parental choice in the selection of child care to facilitate the maintenance and development of child care services and resources.
(5)(A)(i)Contingent upon an appropriation of two million five hundred thousand dollars ($2,500,000) in the 201718 fiscal year and five million dollars ($5,000,000) annually thereafter in the annual Budget Act for purposes of this subparagraph, provision of a child care navigator to support children in foster care, children previously in foster care upon return to their home of origin, and children of parents involved in the child welfare system, including the children of nonminor dependents. The navigator shall work with the childs resource family, licensed or certified foster family, or family with whom he or she is placed in an emergency or for a compelling reason, as described in Section 16519.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and family, as described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 11461.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the childs social worker and worker, and the child and family team to assess child care opportunities appropriate to the childs age and needs, assist the family in identifying potential opportunities for an ongoing child care subsidy, assist the caregiver in completing appropriate child care program applications, and develop an overall, long-term child care plan for the child.
(ii)As a condition of receiving funds pursuant to this subparagraph, each resource and referral program shall develop and enter into a memorandum of understanding, contract, or other formal agreement with the county child welfare agency in order to facilitate interagency communication and, to the maximum extent possible, to leverage federal funding, including administrative funding, available pursuant to Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, to enhance the navigation support authorized under this subparagraph, or the resource and referral program shall explain, in writing, annually, why entering into a memorandum of understanding, contract, or other formal agreement with the county child welfare agency is not practical or feasible. Navigator services provided pursuant to this subparagraph shall be made available to any child in foster care, any child previously in foster care who has returned to his or her home of origin, and any child of parents involved in the child welfare system, including any child who meets the eligibility criteria for the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children established pursuant to Section 11461.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Eligibility for navigator services shall not be contingent on a childs receipt of a child care payment or voucher.
(B)(i)Contingent upon an appropriation of two million dollars ($2,000,000) in the 201718 fiscal year and four millions dollars ($4,000,000) annually thereafter in the annual Budget Act for purposes of this subparagraph, provision of trauma-informed training and coaching to child care providers working with children and the children of parenting youth in the foster care system. Training shall include, but not be limited to, infant and toddler development and research-based, trauma-informed best care practices. Child care providers shall be provided with coaching to assist them in applying training techniques and strategies for working with children and the children of parenting youth in foster care.
(ii)As a condition of receiving funds pursuant to this subparagraph, each resource and referral program, in coordination with the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network, shall develop and enter into a memorandum of understanding, contract, or other formal agreement with the county child welfare agency in order to, to the maximum extent possible, leverage federal funding, including training funds, available pursuant to Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, to enhance the training support authorized under this subparagraph, or the resource and referral agency shall explain, in writing, annually, why entering into a memorandum of understanding, contract, or other formal agreement with the county child welfare agency is not practical or feasible.
(b)(1)A program operating pursuant to this article shall, within two business days of receiving notice, remove a licensed child day care facility with a revocation or a temporary suspension order, or that is on probation from the programs referral list.
(2)A program operating pursuant to this article shall, within two business days of receiving notice, notify all entities, operating a program under Article 3 (commencing with Section 8220) and Article 15.5 (commencing with Section 8350) in the programs jurisdiction, of a licensed child day care facility with a revocation or a temporary suspension order, or that is on probation.
SEC. 2.Section 11460 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:11460.(a)(1)Foster care providers shall be paid a per child per month rate in return for the care and supervision of the AFDC-FC child placed with them. The department is designated the single organizational unit whose duty it shall be to administer a state system for establishing rates in the AFDC-FC program. State functions shall be performed by the department or by delegation of the department to county welfare departments or Indian tribes, consortia of tribes, or tribal organizations that have entered into an agreement pursuant to Section 10553.1.
(2)(A)Foster care providers that care for a child in a home-based setting described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (g) of Section 11461, or in a certified home or an approved resource family of a foster family agency, shall be paid the per child per month rate as set forth in subdivision (g) of Section 11461.
(B)The basic rate paid to either a certified family home or an approved resource family of a foster family agency shall be paid by the agency to the certified family home or approved resource family from the rate that is paid to the agency pursuant to Section 11463.
(b)Care and supervision includes food, clothing, shelter, daily supervision, school supplies, a childs personal incidentals, liability insurance with respect to a child, reasonable travel to the childs home for visitation, and reasonable travel for the child to remain in the school in which he or she is enrolled at the time of placement. Reimbursement for the costs of educational travel, as provided for in this subdivision, shall be made pursuant to procedures determined by the department, in consultation with representatives of county welfare and probation directors, and additional stakeholders, as appropriate.
(1)A child who meets the eligibility criteria of the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children, as established by Section 11461.6, may be provided with a voucher for child care services for the child for up to six months immediately following the childs placement or for up to six months for a child whose parent is in foster care as well as a child care navigator to assist the child and resource family, licensed or certified foster family, or family with whom the child is placed in an emergency or for a compelling reason, as described in Section 16519.5, the family, as described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 11461.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, in accessing long-term subsidized child care.
(2)For a child or youth placed in a short-term residential therapeutic program or a group home, care and supervision shall also include reasonable administration and operational activities necessary to provide the items listed in this subdivision.
(3)For a child or youth placed in a short-term residential therapeutic program or a group home, care and supervision may also include reasonable activities performed by social workers employed by the program provider that are not otherwise considered daily supervision or administration activities.
(4)The department, in consultation with the California State Foster Parent Association, and other interested stakeholders, shall provide information to the Legislature, no later than January 1, 2017, regarding the availability and cost for liability and property insurance covering acts committed by children in care, and shall make recommendations for any needed program development in this area.
(c)It is the intent of the Legislature to establish the maximum level of financial participation in out-of-state foster care group home program rates for placements in facilities described in subdivision (h) of Section 11402.
(1)The department shall develop regulations that establish the method for determining the level of financial participation in the rate paid for out-of-state placements in facilities described in subdivision (h) of Section 11402. The department shall consider all of the following methods:
(A)Until December 31, 2016, a standardized system based on the rate classification level of care and services per child per month.
(B)The rate developed for a short-term residential therapeutic program pursuant to Section 11462.
(C)A system that considers the actual allowable and reasonable costs of care and supervision incurred by the out-of-state program.
(D)A system that considers the rate established by the host state.
(E)Any other appropriate methods as determined by the department.
(2)Reimbursement for the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care rate to be paid to an out-of-state program described in subdivision (h) of Section 11402 shall only be paid to programs that have done all of the following:
(A)Submitted a rate application to the department, which shall include, but not be limited to, both of the following:
(i)Commencing January 1, 2017, unless granted an extension from the department pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 11462.04, the equivalent of the mental health program approval required in Section 4096.5.
(ii)Commencing January 1, 2017, unless granted an extension from the department pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 11462.04, the national accreditation required in paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) of Section 11462.
(B)Maintained a level of financial participation that shall not exceed any of the following:
(i)The current fiscal years standard rate for rate classification level 14 for a group home.
(ii)Commencing January 1, 2017, the current fiscal years rate for a short-term residential therapeutic program.
(iii)The rate determined by the ratesetting authority of the state in which the facility is located.
(C)Agreed to comply with information requests, and program and fiscal audits as determined necessary by the department.
(3)Except as specifically provided for in statute, reimbursement for an AFDC-FC rate shall only be paid to a group home or short-term residential therapeutic program organized and operated on a nonprofit basis.
(d)A foster care provider that accepts payments, following the effective date of this section, based on a rate established under this section, shall not receive rate increases or retroactive payments as the result of litigation challenging rates established prior to the effective date of this section. This shall apply regardless of whether a provider is a party to the litigation or a member of a class covered by the litigation.
(e)Nothing shall preclude a county from using a portion of its county funds to increase rates paid to family homes, foster family agencies, group homes, and short-term residential therapeutic programs within that county, and to make payments for specialized care increments, clothing allowances, or infant supplements to homes within that county, solely at that countys expense.
(f)Nothing shall preclude a county from providing a supplemental rate to serve commercially sexually exploited foster children to provide for the additional care and supervision needs of these children. To the extent that federal financial participation is available, it is the intent of the Legislature that the federal funding shall be utilized.
SEC. 3.Section 11461.6 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:11461.6.(a)The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(1)When a child is first placed in foster care he or she is in crisis and in immediate need of a stable placement with a loving resource family.
(2)Chapter 773 of the Statutes of 2015 and Chapter 612 of the Statutes of 2016, commonly known as Continuum of Care Reform, reinforces Californias need for foster care placements and demands that we address the major barriers to parent recruitment.
(3)A major barrier to finding resource families for children, especially young children, is the difficulty they experience in accessing subsidized child care for the foster child. Accessing subsidized child care can also be a barrier for parenting youth in foster care who are attempting to work or attend school.
(4)The difficulty accessing subsidized child care care, including at the time of placement, in addition to being a barrier to stability, can also lead to delayed placement, subsequent placement changes, or sibling separation, all of which retraumatize foster children.
(b)The Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children is hereby established, to be implemented at the discretion of each county, for the purpose of stabilizing foster children with families at the time of initial placement by providing a payment or voucher for child care and development services for up to six months immediately following the childs placement or for up to six months for a child whose parent is in foster care and by providing the family with a child care navigator to assist the family in accessing long-term subsidized child care.
(c)Contingent upon appropriation of eleven million dollars ($11,000,000) in the 201718 fiscal year and twenty-two million dollars ($22,000,000) annually thereafter in the annual Budget Act for the purposes of this section, the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children shall be administered by county welfare departments that choose to participate in the program.
(d)(1)As determined by the county welfare department, and consistent with guidance issued jointly by the State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Education, counties may establish local priorities and may either provide payment directly to the family or child care provider, or contract with a local alternative payment program to distribute vouchers for child care.
(2)Counties that elect to provide payment directly to a family or child care provider shall pay commensurate with the regional market rates, as described in Section 8357 of the Education Code.
(3)For counties that elect to contract with a local alternative payment agency, as described in Section 8220 of the Education Code, to distribute child care vouchers, the vouchers shall be in an amount commensurate with the regional market rates, as described in Section 8357 of the Education Code and the contract shall not displace, or result in the reduction of, an existing contract with a current local alternative payment program.
(e)(1)Participating county welfare departments shall determine eligibility of a child for the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children using the criteria outlined in paragraphs (2) and (3).
(2)Family placements eligible to receive payment or a voucher for child care and developmental services include all of the following:
(A)Approved resource families and families that have a child placed with them in an emergency or for a compelling reason, as described in Section 16519.5.
(B)Currently licensed or certified foster care providers, as defined in Sections 1502 and 1506.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
(C)Currently approved relatives or nonrelative extended family members as described in Sections 309, 361.4, and 362.7.
(D)Parents under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, including, but not limited to, nonminor dependent parents.
(3)A participating county welfare department may provide a payment or voucher if work or school responsibilities preclude resource families from being at home when the child for whom they have care and responsibility is not in school or for periods when the resource family, licensed or certified foster family, or family with whom the child is placed in an emergency or for a compelling reason, as described in Section 16519.5 family, as described in paragraph (2), is required to participate, without the child, in activities associated with parenting a child in foster care that are beyond the scope of ordinary parental duties, including, but not limited to, attendance at administrative or judicial reviews, case conferences, and family training.
(f)Each child receiving a monthly child care payment or voucher shall be provided with a child care navigator, pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 8212 of the Education Code, who shall work directly with the childs family, social worker, and the child and family team to assist in accessing child care at the time of placement as well as long-term, subsidized child care for the child, as necessary.
(g)Each child receiving a monthly child care payment or voucher shall be eligible to receive the payment or voucher for up to six months. If the child and family access long-term, subsidized child care prior to the end of the six-month period covered by the payment or voucher, eligibility for the monthly payment or voucher shall terminate upon enrollment in long-term, subsidized child care.
(h)Eligibility for the monthly payment or voucher may be extended beyond the initial six-month period for an additional six-month period, not to exceed 12 months in total, at the discretion of the county welfare department, if the child and family have been unable to access long-term, subsidized child care during the initial six-month period.
(i)The department shall seek all federal approvals necessary to claim federal reimbursement under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act in order to maximize state and local funding for child care.
(j)This section shall not be interpreted to create an entitlement to child care payment or voucher.
(k)The program established pursuant to this section is intended to complement county child welfare agency efforts to recruit, retain, and support resource families as described in Section 16003.5, and any funding provided to counties pursuant to this section shall supplement those county activities to support the goals of Chapter 773 of the Statutes of 2015 and Chapter 612 of the Statutes of 2016.
(a)For purposes of this article, child care resource and referral programs, established to serve a defined geographic area, shall provide the following services:
(1)Identification of the full range of existing child care services through information provided by all relevant public and private agencies in the areas of service, and the development of a resource file of those services which shall be maintained and updated at least quarterly. These services shall include, but not be limited to, family day care homes, public and private day care programs, full-time and part-time programs, and infant, preschool, and extended care programs.
The resource file shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(A)Type of program.
(B)Hours of service.
(C)Ages of children served.
(D)Fees and eligibility for services.
(E)Significant program information.
(2)(A)Establishment of a referral process which responds to parental need for information and which is provided with full recognition of the confidentiality rights of parents. Resource and referral programs shall make referrals to licensed child day care facilities. Referrals shall be made to unlicensed care facilities only if there is no requirement that the facility be licensed. The referral process shall afford parents maximum access to all referral information. This access shall include, but is not limited to, telephone referrals to be made available for at least 30 hours per week as part of a full week of operation. Every effort shall be made to reach all parents within the defined geographic area, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(i)Toll-free telephone lines.
(ii)Office space convenient to parents and providers.
(iii)Referrals in languages which are spoken in the community.
Each child care resource and referral program shall publicize its services through all available media sources, agencies, and other appropriate methods.
(B)(i)Provision of information to any person who requests a child care referral of his or her right to view the licensing information of a licensed child day care facility required to be maintained at the facility pursuant to Section 1596.859 of the Health and Safety Code and to access any public files pertaining to the facility that are maintained by the State Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division.
(ii)A written or oral advisement in substantially the following form will comply with the requirements of clause (i):
State law requires licensed child day care facilities to make accessible to the public a copy of any licensing report pertaining to the facility that documents a facility visit or a substantiated complaint investigation. In addition, a more complete file regarding a child care licensee may be available at an office of the State Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division. You have the right to access any public information in these files.
(3)Maintenance of ongoing documentation of requests for service tabulated through the internal referral process. The following documentation of requests for service shall be maintained by all child care resource and referral programs:
(A)Number of calls and contacts to the child care information and referral program or component.
(B)Ages of children served.
(C)Time category of child care request for each child.
(D)Special time category, such as nights, weekends, and swing shift.
(E)Reason that the child care is needed.
This information shall be maintained in a manner that is easily accessible for dissemination purposes.
(4)Provision of technical assistance to existing and potential providers of all types of child care services. This assistance shall include, but not be limited to:
(A)Information on all aspects of initiating new child care services including, but not limited to, licensing, zoning, program and budget development, and assistance in finding this information from other sources.
(B)Information and resources that help existing child care services providers to maximize their ability to serve the children and parents of their community.
(C)Dissemination of information on current public issues affecting the local and state delivery of child care services.
(D)Facilitation of communication between existing child care and child-related services providers in the community served.
Services prescribed by this section shall be provided in order to maximize parental choice in the selection of child care to facilitate the maintenance and development of child care services and resources.
(5)(A)(i)Contingent upon an appropriation of two million five hundred thousand dollars ($2,500,000) in the 201718 fiscal year and five million dollars ($5,000,000) annually thereafter for purposes of this subparagraph, provision of a child care navigator to support children in foster care, children previously in foster care upon return to their home of origin, and children of parents involved in the child welfare system, including the children of nonminor dependents. The navigator shall work with the childs resource family, social worker, licensed or certified foster family, or family with whom he or she is placed in an emergency or for a compelling reason, as described in Section 16519.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and the childs social worker and child and family team to assess child care opportunities appropriate to the childs age and needs, assist the resource family in identifying potential opportunities for an ongoing child care subsidy, assist the caregiver in completing appropriate child care program applications, and develop an overall, long-term child care plan for the child.
(ii)As a condition of receiving funds pursuant to this subparagraph, each resource and referral agency program shall develop and enter into a memorandum of understanding, contract, or other formal agreement with the county child welfare agency in order to facilitate interagency communication and, to the maximum extent possible, to leverage federal funding, including administrative funding, available pursuant to Title IVE of the Social Security Act, to enhance the navigation support authorized under this subparagraph, or the resource and referral agency program shall explain, in writing, annually, why entering into a memorandum of understanding, contract, or other formal agreement with the county child welfare agency is not practical or feasible. This section shall not limit the provision of child care navigation support to children who are in the foster care system, including children who are eligible for the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children established pursuant to Section 11461.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Navigator services provided pursuant to this subparagraph shall be made available to any child in foster care, any child previously in foster care who has returned to his or her home of origin, and any child of parents involved in the child welfare system, including any child who meets the eligibility criteria for the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children established pursuant to Section 11461.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Eligibility for navigator services shall not be contingent on a childs receipt of a child care payment or voucher.
(B)(i)Contingent upon an appropriation of two million dollars ($2,000,000) in the 201718 fiscal year and four millions dollars ($4,000,000) annually thereafter for purposes of this subparagraph, provision of trauma-informed training and coaching to child care providers working with children in the foster care system. Training shall include, but not be limited to, infant and toddler development and research-based, trauma-informed best care practices. Child care providers shall be provided with coaching to assist them in applying training techniques and strategies for working with children in foster care.
(ii)As a condition of receiving funds pursuant to this subparagraph, each resource and referral agency, program, in coordination with the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network, shall develop and enter into a memorandum of understanding, contract, or other formal agreement with the county child welfare agency in order to, to the maximum extent possible, leverage federal funding, including training funds, available pursuant to Title IVE of the Social Security Act, to enhance the training support authorized under this subparagraph, or the resource and referral agency shall explain, in writing, annually, why entering into a memorandum of understanding, contract, or other formal agreement with the county child welfare agency is not practical or feasible.
(b)(1)A program operating pursuant to this article shall, within two business days of receiving notice, remove a licensed child day care facility with a revocation or a temporary suspension order, or that is on probation from the programs referral list.
(2)A program operating pursuant to this article shall, within two business days of receiving notice, notify all entities, operating a program under Article 3 (commencing with Section 8220) and Article 15.5 (commencing with Section 8350) in the programs jurisdiction, of a licensed child day care facility with a revocation or a temporary suspension order, or that is on probation.
SEC. 2.Section 11460 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:11460.(a)(1)Foster care providers shall be paid a per child per month rate in return for the care and supervision of the AFDC-FC child placed with them. The department is designated the single organizational unit whose duty it shall be to administer a state system for establishing rates in the AFDC-FC program. State functions shall be performed by the department or by delegation of the department to county welfare departments or Indian tribes, consortia of tribes, or tribal organizations that have entered into an agreement pursuant to Section 10553.1.
(2)(A)Foster care providers that care for a child in a home-based setting described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (g) of Section 11461, or in a certified home or an approved resource family of a foster family agency, shall be paid the per child per month rate as set forth in subdivision (g) of Section 11461.
(B)The basic rate paid to either a certified family home or an approved resource family of a foster family agency shall be paid by the agency to the certified family home or approved resource family from the rate that is paid to the agency pursuant to Section 11463.
(b)Care and supervision includes food, clothing, shelter, daily supervision, school supplies, a childs personal incidentals, liability insurance with respect to a child, reasonable travel to the childs home for visitation, and reasonable travel for the child to remain in the school in which he or she is enrolled at the time of placement. Reimbursement for the costs of educational travel, as provided for in this subdivision, shall be made pursuant to procedures determined by the department, in consultation with representatives of county welfare and probation directors, and additional stakeholders, as appropriate.
(1)A child who meets the eligibility criteria of the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children, as established by Section 11461.6, may be provided with a voucher for child care services for the child for up to six months immediately following the childs placement as well as a child care navigator to assist the child and resource family family, licensed or certified foster family, or family with whom the child is placed in an emergency or for a compelling reason, as described in Section 16519.5, in accessing long-term subsidized child care.
(2)For a child or youth placed in a short-term residential therapeutic program or a group home, care and supervision shall also include reasonable administration and operational activities necessary to provide the items listed in this subdivision.
(3)For a child or youth placed in a short-term residential therapeutic program or a group home, care and supervision may also include reasonable activities performed by social workers employed by the program provider that are not otherwise considered daily supervision or administration activities.
(4)The department, in consultation with the California State Foster Parent Association, and other interested stakeholders, shall provide information to the Legislature, no later than January 1, 2017, regarding the availability and cost for liability and property insurance covering acts committed by children in care, and shall make recommendations for any needed program development in this area.
(c)It is the intent of the Legislature to establish the maximum level of financial participation in out-of-state foster care group home program rates for placements in facilities described in subdivision (h) of Section 11402.
(1)The department shall develop regulations that establish the method for determining the level of financial participation in the rate paid for out-of-state placements in facilities described in subdivision (h) of Section 11402. The department shall consider all of the following methods:
(A)Until December 31, 2016, a standardized system based on the rate classification level of care and services per child per month.
(B)The rate developed for a short-term residential therapeutic program pursuant to Section 11462.
(C)A system that considers the actual allowable and reasonable costs of care and supervision incurred by the out-of-state program.
(D)A system that considers the rate established by the host state.
(E)Any other appropriate methods as determined by the department.
(2)Reimbursement for the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care rate to be paid to an out-of-state program described in subdivision (h) of Section 11402 shall only be paid to programs that have done all of the following:
(A)Submitted a rate application to the department, which shall include, but not be limited to, both of the following:
(i)Commencing January 1, 2017, unless granted an extension from the department pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 11462.04, the equivalent of the mental health program approval required in Section 4096.5.
(ii)Commencing January 1, 2017, unless granted an extension from the department pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 11462.04, the national accreditation required in paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) of Section 11462.
(B)Maintained a level of financial participation that shall not exceed any of the following:
(i)The current fiscal years standard rate for rate classification level 14 for a group home.
(ii)Commencing January 1, 2017, the current fiscal years rate for a short-term residential therapeutic program.
(iii)The rate determined by the ratesetting authority of the state in which the facility is located.
(C)Agreed to comply with information requests, and program and fiscal audits as determined necessary by the department.
(3)Except as specifically provided for in statute, reimbursement for an AFDC-FC rate shall only be paid to a group home or short-term residential therapeutic program organized and operated on a nonprofit basis.
(d)A foster care provider that accepts payments, following the effective date of this section, based on a rate established under this section, shall not receive rate increases or retroactive payments as the result of litigation challenging rates established prior to the effective date of this section. This shall apply regardless of whether a provider is a party to the litigation or a member of a class covered by the litigation.
(e)Nothing shall preclude a county from using a portion of its county funds to increase rates paid to family homes, foster family agencies, group homes, and short-term residential therapeutic programs within that county, and to make payments for specialized care increments, clothing allowances, or infant supplements to homes within that county, solely at that countys expense.
(f)Nothing shall preclude a county from providing a supplemental rate to serve commercially sexually exploited foster children to provide for the additional care and supervision needs of these children. To the extent that federal financial participation is available, it is the intent of the Legislature that the federal funding shall be utilized.
SEC. 3.Section 11461.6 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:11461.6.(a)The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(1)When a child is first placed in foster care he or she is in crisis and in immediate need of a stable placement with a loving resource family.
(2)Chapter 773 of the Statutes of 2015 and Chapter 612 of the Statutes of 2016, commonly known as Continuum of Care Reform, aggravates Californias shortage of reinforces Californias need for foster care placements and demands that we address the major barriers to parent recruitment.
(3)A major barrier to finding resource families for children, especially young children, is the difficulty they experience in accessing subsidized child care for the foster child.
(4)The difficulty accessing subsidized child care at the time of placement, in addition to being a barrier to stability, can also lead to delayed placement, subsequent placement changes, or sibling separation, all of which retraumatize foster children.
(b)The Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children is hereby established, to be implemented at the discretion of each county, for the purpose of stabilizing foster children with families at the time of initial placement by providing a payment or voucher for child care and development services for up to six months immediately following the childs placement and by providing the resource family with a child care navigator to assist the family in accessing long-term subsidized child care.
(c)Contingent upon appropriation of eleven million dollars ($11,000,000) in the 201718 fiscal year and twenty-two million dollars ($22,000,000) annually thereafter for the purposes of this section, the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children shall be administered by county welfare departments that choose to participate in the program.
(d)(1)As determined by the county welfare department, and consistent with guidance issued jointly by the State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Education, counties may establish local priorities and may either provide payment directly to the resource family or child care provider, or contract with a local alternative payment agency program to distribute vouchers for child care.
(2)Counties that elect to provide payment directly to a family or child care provider or to distribute vouchers shall pay commensurate with the regional market rates, as described in Section 8357 of the Education Code.
(3)For counties that elect to contract with a local alternative payment agency, as described in Section 8220 of the Education Code, to distribute child care vouchers, the vouchers shall be in an amount commensurate with the regional market rates, as described in Section 8357 of the Education Code and the contract shall not displace, or result in the reduction of, an existing contract with a current local alternative payment program.
(e)(1)Participating county welfare departments shall determine eligibility of a child for the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children. Children using the criteria outlined in paragraphs (2) and (3).
(2)Family placements eligible to receive payment or a voucher for child care and developmental services include all of the following:
(A)Approved resource families and families that have a child placed with them based on in an emergency or for a compelling reason, as described in Section 16519.5.
(B)Currently licensed or certified foster care providers, as defined in Sections 1502 and 1506.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
(C)Currently approved relatives or nonrelative extended family members as described in Sections 309, 361.4, and 362.7.
(D)Parents under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, including, but not limited to, nonminor dependent parents.
(3)A participating county welfare department may provide a payment or voucher if work responsibilities preclude resource families from being at home when the child for whom they have care and responsibility is not in school or for periods when the resource family family, licensed or certified foster family, or family with whom the child is placed in an emergency or for a compelling reason, as described in Section 16519.5 is required to participate, without the child, in activities associated with parenting a child in foster care that are beyond the scope of ordinary parental duties, including, but not limited to, attendance at administrative or judicial reviews, case conferences, and resource family training.
(f)Each child receiving a monthly child care payment or voucher shall be provided with a child care navigator, pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 8212 of the Education Code, who shall work directly with the childs family, social worker, and the child and family team to assist in accessing child care at the time of placement as well as long-term, subsidized child care for the child, as necessary.
(g)Each child receiving a monthly child care payment or voucher shall be eligible to receive the payment or voucher for up to six months. If the child and family access long-term, subsidized child care prior to the end of the six-month period covered by the payment or voucher, eligibility for the monthly payment or voucher shall terminate upon enrollment in long-term, subsidized child care.
(h)Eligibility for the monthly payment or voucher may be extended beyond the initial six-month period for an additional six-month period, not to exceed 12 months in total, at the discretion of the county welfare department, if the child and family have been unable to access long-term, subsidized child care during the initial six-month period.
(i)The department shall seek all federal approvals necessary to claim federal reimbursement under Title IVE of the Social Security Act in order to maximize state and local funding for child care.
(j)This section shall not be interpreted to create an entitlement to child care payment or voucher.
(k)The program established pursuant to this section is intended to complement county child welfare agency efforts to recruit, retain, and support resource families as described in Section 16003.5, and any funding provided to counties pursuant to this section shall supplement those county activities to support the goals of Chapter 773 of the Statutes of 2015 and Chapter 612 of the Statutes of 2016.
(a)For purposes of this article, child care resource and referral programs, established to serve a defined geographic area, shall provide the following services:
(1)Identification of the full range of existing child care services through information provided by all relevant public and private agencies in the areas of service, and the development of a resource file of those services which shall be maintained and updated at least quarterly. These services shall include, but not be limited to, family day care homes, public and private day care programs, full-time and part-time programs, and infant, preschool, and extended care programs.
The resource file shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(A)Type of program.
(B)Hours of service.
(C)Ages of children served.
(D)Fees and eligibility for services.
(E)Significant program information.
(2)(A)Establishment of a referral process which responds to parental need for information and which is provided with full recognition of the confidentiality rights of parents. Resource and referral programs shall make referrals to licensed child day care facilities. Referrals shall be made to unlicensed care facilities only if there is no requirement that the facility be licensed. The referral process shall afford parents maximum access to all referral information. This access shall include, but is not limited to, telephone referrals to be made available for at least 30 hours per week as part of a full week of operation. Every effort shall be made to reach all parents within the defined geographic area, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(i)Toll-free telephone lines.
(ii)Office space convenient to parents and providers.
(iii)Referrals in languages which are spoken in the community.
Each child care resource and referral program shall publicize its services through all available media sources, agencies, and other appropriate methods.
(B)(i)Provision of information to any person who requests a child care referral of his or her right to view the licensing information of a licensed child day care facility required to be maintained at the facility pursuant to Section 1596.859 of the Health and Safety Code and to access any public files pertaining to the facility that are maintained by the State Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division.
(ii)A written or oral advisement in substantially the following form will comply with the requirements of clause (i):
State law requires licensed child day care facilities to make accessible to the public a copy of any licensing report pertaining to the facility that documents a facility visit or a substantiated complaint investigation. In addition, a more complete file regarding a child care licensee may be available at an office of the State Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division. You have the right to access any public information in these files.
(3)Maintenance of ongoing documentation of requests for service tabulated through the internal referral process. The following documentation of requests for service shall be maintained by all child care resource and referral programs:
(A)Number of calls and contacts to the child care information and referral program or component.
(B)Ages of children served.
(C)Time category of child care request for each child.
(D)Special time category, such as nights, weekends, and swing shift.
(E)Reason that the child care is needed.
This information shall be maintained in a manner that is easily accessible for dissemination purposes.
(4)Provision of technical assistance to existing and potential providers of all types of child care services. This assistance shall include, but not be limited to:
(A)Information on all aspects of initiating new child care services including, but not limited to, licensing, zoning, program and budget development, and assistance in finding this information from other sources.
(B)Information and resources that help existing child care services providers to maximize their ability to serve the children and parents of their community.
(C)Dissemination of information on current public issues affecting the local and state delivery of child care services.
(D)Facilitation of communication between existing child care and child-related services providers in the community served.
Services prescribed by this section shall be provided in order to maximize parental choice in the selection of child care to facilitate the maintenance and development of child care services and resources.
(5)(A)(i)Contingent upon an appropriation of four million dollars ($4,000,000) annually two million five hundred thousand dollars ($2,500,000) in the 201718 fiscal year and five million dollars ($5,000,000) annually thereafter for purposes of this subparagraph, provision of a child care navigator to support children in foster care, and children previously in foster care upon return to their home of origin. origin, and children of parents involved in the child welfare system, including the children of nonminor dependents. The navigator shall work with the childs resource family, social worker, and child and family team to assess child care opportunities appropriate to the childs age and needs, assist the resource family in identifying potential opportunities for an ongoing child care subsidy, assist the caregiver in completing appropriate child care program applications, and develop an overall, long-term child care plan for the child.
(ii)As a condition of receiving funds pursuant to this subparagraph, each resource and referral agency shall develop and enter into a memorandum of understanding, contract, or other formal agreement with the county child welfare agency in order to facilitate interagency communication and, to the maximum extent possible, to leverage federal funding, including administrative funding, available pursuant to Title IVE of the Social Security Act, to enhance the navigation support authorized under this subparagraph, or the resource and referral agency shall explain, in writing, annually, why entering into a memorandum of understanding, contract, or other formal agreement with the county child welfare agency is not practical or feasible. This section shall not limit the provision of child care navigation support to children who are in the foster care system, including children who are eligible for the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children established pursuant to Section 11461.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(B)(i)Contingent upon an appropriation of five million dollars ($5,000,000) annually two million dollars ($2,000,000) in the 201718 fiscal year and four millions dollars ($4,000,000) annually thereafter for purposes of this subparagraph, provision of trauma-informed training and coaching to child care providers working with children in the foster care system. Training shall include, but not be limited to, infant and toddler development and research-based, trauma-informed best care practices. Child care providers shall be provided with coaching to assist them in applying training techniques and strategies for working with children in foster care.
(ii)As a condition of receiving funds pursuant to this subparagraph, each resource and referral agency, in coordination with the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network, shall develop and enter into a memorandum of understanding, contract, or other formal agreement with the county child welfare agency in order to, to the maximum extent possible, leverage federal funding, including training funds, available pursuant to Title IVE of the Social Security Act, to enhance the training support authorized under this subparagraph, or the resource and referral agency shall explain, in writing, annually, why entering into a memorandum of understanding, contract, or other formal agreement with the county child welfare agency is not practical or feasible.
(b)(1)A program operating pursuant to this article shall, within two business days of receiving notice, remove a licensed child day care facility with a revocation or a temporary suspension order, or that is on probation from the programs referral list.
(2)A program operating pursuant to this article shall, within two business days of receiving notice, notify all entities, operating a program under Article 3 (commencing with Section 8220) and Article 15.5 (commencing with Section 8350) in the programs jurisdiction, of a licensed child day care facility with a revocation or a temporary suspension order, or that is on probation.
SEC. 2.Section 11460 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:11460.(a)(1)Foster care providers shall be paid a per child per month rate in return for the care and supervision of the AFDC-FC child placed with them. The department is designated the single organizational unit whose duty it shall be to administer a state system for establishing rates in the AFDC-FC program. State functions shall be performed by the department or by delegation of the department to county welfare departments or Indian tribes, consortia of tribes, or tribal organizations that have entered into an agreement pursuant to Section 10553.1.
(2)(A)Foster care providers that care for a child in a home-based setting described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (g) of Section 11461, or in a certified home or an approved resource family of a foster family agency, shall be paid the per child per month rate as set forth in subdivision (g) of Section 11461.
(B)The basic rate paid to either a certified family home or an approved resource family of a foster family agency shall be paid by the agency to the certified family home or approved resource family from the rate that is paid to the agency pursuant to Section 11463.
(b)Care and supervision includes food, clothing, shelter, daily supervision, school supplies, a childs personal incidentals, liability insurance with respect to a child, reasonable travel to the childs home for visitation, and reasonable travel for the child to remain in the school in which he or she is enrolled at the time of placement. Reimbursement for the costs of educational travel, as provided for in this subdivision, shall be made pursuant to procedures determined by the department, in consultation with representatives of county welfare and probation directors, and additional stakeholders, as appropriate.
(1)(A)A child who meets the eligibility criteria of the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children, as established by Section 11461.6, may be provided with a voucher for child care services for the child for up to six months immediately following the childs placement as well as a child care navigator to assist the child and resource family in accessing long-term subsidized child care.
(B)Daily supervision includes licensed child care if work responsibilities preclude resource families from being at home when the child for whom they have care and responsibility is not in school. It also includes child care for periods when the resource family is required to participate, without the child, in activities associated with parenting a child in foster care that are beyond the scope of ordinary parental duties, including, but not limited to, attendance at administrative or judicial reviews, case conferences, and resource family training.(2)For a child or youth placed in a short-term residential therapeutic program or a group home, care and supervision shall also include reasonable administration and operational activities necessary to provide the items listed in this subdivision.
(3)For a child or youth placed in a short-term residential therapeutic program or a group home, care and supervision may also include reasonable activities performed by social workers employed by the program provider that are not otherwise considered daily supervision or administration activities.
(4)The department, in consultation with the California State Foster Parent Association, and other interested stakeholders, shall provide information to the Legislature, no later than January 1, 2017, regarding the availability and cost for liability and property insurance covering acts committed by children in care, and shall make recommendations for any needed program development in this area.
(c)It is the intent of the Legislature to establish the maximum level of financial participation in out-of-state foster care group home program rates for placements in facilities described in subdivision (h) of Section 11402.
(1)The department shall develop regulations that establish the method for determining the level of financial participation in the rate paid for out-of-state placements in facilities described in subdivision (h) of Section 11402. The department shall consider all of the following methods:
(A)Until December 31, 2016, a standardized system based on the rate classification level of care and services per child per month.
(B)The rate developed for a short-term residential therapeutic program pursuant to Section 11462.
(C)A system that considers the actual allowable and reasonable costs of care and supervision incurred by the out-of-state program.
(D)A system that considers the rate established by the host state.
(E)Any other appropriate methods as determined by the department.
(2)Reimbursement for the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care rate to be paid to an out-of-state program described in subdivision (h) of Section 11402 shall only be paid to programs that have done all of the following:
(A)Submitted a rate application to the department, which shall include, but not be limited to, both of the following:
(i)Commencing January 1, 2017, unless granted an extension from the department pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 11462.04, the equivalent of the mental health program approval required in Section 4096.5.
(ii)Commencing January 1, 2017, unless granted an extension from the department pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 11462.04, the national accreditation required in paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) of Section 11462.
(B)Maintained a level of financial participation that shall not exceed any of the following:
(i)The current fiscal years standard rate for rate classification level 14 for a group home.
(ii)Commencing January 1, 2017, the current fiscal years rate for a short-term residential therapeutic program.
(iii)The rate determined by the ratesetting authority of the state in which the facility is located.
(C)Agreed to comply with information requests, and program and fiscal audits as determined necessary by the department.
(3)Except as specifically provided for in statute, reimbursement for an AFDC-FC rate shall only be paid to a group home or short-term residential therapeutic program organized and operated on a nonprofit basis.
(d)A foster care provider that accepts payments, following the effective date of this section, based on a rate established under this section, shall not receive rate increases or retroactive payments as the result of litigation challenging rates established prior to the effective date of this section. This shall apply regardless of whether a provider is a party to the litigation or a member of a class covered by the litigation.
(e)Nothing shall preclude a county from using a portion of its county funds to increase rates paid to family homes, foster family agencies, group homes, and short-term residential therapeutic programs within that county, and to make payments for specialized care increments, clothing allowances, or infant supplements to homes within that county, solely at that countys expense.
(f)Nothing shall preclude a county from providing a supplemental rate to serve commercially sexually exploited foster children to provide for the additional care and supervision needs of these children. To the extent that federal financial participation is available, it is the intent of the Legislature that the federal funding shall be utilized.
SEC. 3.Section 11461.6 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:11461.6.(a)The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(1)When a child is first placed in foster care he or she is in crisis and in immediate need of a stable placement with a loving resource family.
(2)Chapter 773 of the Statutes of 2015 and Chapter 612 of the Statutes of 2016, commonly known as Continuum of Care Reform, aggravates Californias shortage of foster care placements and demands that we address the major barriers to parent recruitment.
(2)(3)A major barrier to finding resource families for children, especially young children, is the difficulty they experience in accessing subsidized child care for the foster child.
(3)(4)The difficulty accessing subsidized child care at the time of placement, in addition to being a barrier to stability, can also lead to delayed placement, subsequent placement changes, or sibling separation, all of which retraumatize foster children.
(b)The Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children is hereby established established, to be implemented at the discretion of each county, for the purpose of stabilizing foster children with resource families at the time of initial placement by providing a payment or voucher for child care and development services for up to six months immediately following the childs placement and by providing the resource family with a child care navigator to assist the family in accessing long-term subsidized child care.
(c)Contingent upon appropriation of eleven million dollars ($11,000,000) in the 201718 fiscal year and twenty-two million dollars ($22,000,000) annually thereafter for the purposes of this section, the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children shall be administered by county welfare departments for counties that choose to participate in the program to distribute vouchers to eligible children. These funds may be encumbered to a local alternative payment agency pursuant to Section 8220.1 of the Education Code. If the county chooses to contract with the local alternative payment agency to provide alternative payment services, this contract shall not displace, or result in the reduction of an existing contract with, a current alternative payment program.
(d)(1)As determined by the county welfare department, and consistent with guidance issued jointly by the State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Education, counties may establish local priorities and may either provide payment directly to the resource family or child care provider, or contract with a local alternative payment agency to distribute vouchers for child care.
(2)Counties that elect to provide payment directly to a child care provider or to distribute vouchers shall pay commensurate with the regional market rates, as described in Section 8357 of the Education Code.
(3)For counties that elect to contract with a local alternative payment agency, as described in Section 8220 of the Education Code, to distribute child care vouchers, the vouchers shall be in an amount commensurate with the regional market rates, as described in Section 8357 of the Education Code and the contract shall not displace, or result in the reduction of, an existing contract with a current local alternative payment program.
(d)(e)(1)Participating county welfare departments shall determine eligibility of a child for the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children and provide an eligible child between birth and four years of age placed with an approved resource family or the child of a young parent involved in the child welfare system, including a nonminor dependent, with a monthly voucher for child care commensurate with regional market rate requirements, as specified in Section 8357 of the Education Code, upon and for up to six months following the childs initial placement. Children.
(2)Family placements eligible to receive payment or a voucher for child care and developmental services include all of the following:
(A)Approved resource families and families that have a child placed with them based on an emergency or for a compelling reason, as described in Section 16519.5.
(B)Currently licensed or certified foster care providers, as defined in Sections 1502 and 1506.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
(C)Currently approved relatives or nonrelative extended family members as described in Sections 309, 361.4, and 362.7.
(D)Parents under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, including, but not limited to, nonminor dependent parents.
(3)A participating county welfare department may provide a payment or voucher if work responsibilities preclude resource families from being at home when the child for whom they have care and responsibility is not in school or for periods when the resource family is required to participate, without the child, in activities associated with parenting a child in foster care that are beyond the scope of ordinary parental duties, including, but not limited to, attendance at administrative or judicial reviews, case conferences, and resource family training.
(e)(f)Each child receiving a monthly child care payment or voucher shall be provided with a child care navigator, pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 8212 of the Education Code, who shall work directly with the childs resource family, social worker, and the child and family team to assist in accessing child care at the time of placement as well as long-term, subsidized child care for the child, as necessary.
(f)(g)Each child receiving a monthly child care payment or voucher shall be eligible to receive child care pursuant to the payment or voucher for up to six months. If the child and resource family access long-term, subsidized child care prior to the end of the six-month period covered by the payment or voucher, eligibility for the monthly payment or voucher shall terminate upon enrollment in long-term, subsidized child care.
(g)(h)Eligibility for the monthly payment or voucher may be extended beyond the initial six-month period for an additional six-month period, not to exceed 12 months in total, at the discretion of the county welfare department, if the child and resource family have been unable to access long-term, subsidized child care during the initial six-month period.
(h)Assistance of a child care navigator, pursuant to subdivision (e), shall be available until the child and family procures long-term, subsidized child care.(i)The department shall seek all federal approvals necessary to claim federal reimbursement under Title IVE of the Social Security Act in order to maximize state and local funding for child care.
(j)This section shall not be interpreted to create an entitlement to child care payment or voucher.
(k)The program established pursuant to this section is intended to complement county child welfare agency efforts to recruit, retain, and support resource families as described in Section 16003.5, and any funding provided to counties pursuant to this section shall supplement those county activities to support the goals of Chapter 773 of the Statutes of 2015 and Chapter 612 of the Statutes of 2016.
(a)For purposes of this article, child care resource and referral programs, established to serve a defined geographic area, shall provide the following services:
(a)(1)Identification of the full range of existing child care services through information provided by all relevant public and private agencies in the areas of service, and the development of a resource file of those services which shall be maintained and updated at least quarterly. These services shall include, but not be limited to, family day care homes, public and private day care programs, full-time and part-time programs, and infant, preschool, and extended care programs.
The resource file shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(1)(A)Type of program.
(2)(B)Hours of service.
(3)(C)Ages of children served.
(4)(D)Fees and eligibility for services.
(5)(E)Significant program information.
(b)(1)(2)(A)Establishment of a referral process which responds to parental need for information and which is provided with full recognition of the confidentiality rights of parents. Resource and referral programs shall make referrals to licensed child day care facilities. Referrals shall be made to unlicensed care facilities only if there is no requirement that the facility be licensed. The referral process shall afford parents maximum access to all referral information. This access shall include, but is not limited to, telephone referrals to be made available for at least 30 hours per week as part of a full week of operation. Every effort shall be made to reach all parents within the defined geographic area, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(A)(i)Toll-free telephone lines.
(B)(ii)Office space convenient to parents and providers.
(C)(iii)Referrals in languages which are spoken in the community.
Each child care resource and referral program shall publicize its services through all available media sources, agencies, and other appropriate methods.
(2)(A)(B)(i)Provision of information to any person who requests a child care referral of his or her right to view the licensing information of a licensed child day care facility required to be maintained at the facility pursuant to Section 1596.859 of the Health and Safety Code and to access any public files pertaining to the facility that are maintained by the State Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division.
(B)(ii)A written or oral advisement in substantially the following form will comply with the requirements of subparagraph (A): clause (i):
State law requires licensed child day care facilities to make accessible to the public a copy of any licensing report pertaining to the facility that documents a facility visit or a substantiated complaint investigation. In addition, a more complete file regarding a child care licensee may be available at an office of the State Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division. You have the right to access any public information in these files.
(c)(3)Maintenance of ongoing documentation of requests for service tabulated through the internal referral process. The following documentation of requests for service shall be maintained by all child care resource and referral programs:
(1)(A)Number of calls and contacts to the child care information and referral program or component.
(2)(B)Ages of children served.
(3)(C)Time category of child care request for each child.
(4)(D)Special time category, such as nights, weekends, and swing shift.
(5)(E)Reason that the child care is needed.
This information shall be maintained in a manner that is easily accessible for dissemination purposes.
(d)(4)Provision of technical assistance to existing and potential providers of all types of child care services. This assistance shall include, but not be limited to:
(1)(A)Information on all aspects of initiating new child care services including, but not limited to, licensing, zoning, program and budget development, and assistance in finding this information from other sources.
(2)(B)Information and resources that help existing child care services providers to maximize their ability to serve the children and parents of their community.
(3)(C)Dissemination of information on current public issues affecting the local and state delivery of child care services.
(4)(D)Facilitation of communication between existing child care and child-related services providers in the community served.
Services prescribed by this section shall be provided in order to maximize parental choice in the selection of child care to facilitate the maintenance and development of child care services and resources.
(5)(A)Contingent upon an appropriation of four million dollars ($4,000,000) annually for purposes of this subparagraph, provision of a child care navigator to support children in foster care, and children previously in foster care upon return to their home of origin. The navigator shall work with the childs resource family, social worker, and child and family team to assess child care opportunities appropriate to the childs age and needs, assist the resource family in identifying potential opportunities for an ongoing child care subsidy, assist the caregiver in completing appropriate child care program applications, and develop an overall, long-term child care plan for the child.
(B)Contingent upon an appropriation of five million dollars ($5,000,000) annually for purposes of this subparagraph, provision of trauma-informed training and coaching to child care providers working with children in the foster care system. Training shall include, but not be limited to, infant and toddler development and research-based, trauma-informed best care practices. Child care providers shall be provided with coaching to assist them in applying training techniques and strategies for working with children in foster care.
(e)(b)(1)A program operating pursuant to this article shall, within two business days of receiving notice, remove a licensed child day care facility with a revocation or a temporary suspension order, or that is on probation from the programs referral list.
(2)A program operating pursuant to this article shall, within two business days of receiving notice, notify all entities, operating a program under Article 3 (commencing with Section 8220) and Article 15.5 (commencing with Section 8350) in the programs jurisdiction, of a licensed child day care facility with a revocation or a temporary suspension order, or that is on probation.
SEC. 2.Section 11460 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:11460.(a)(1)Foster care providers shall be paid a per child per month rate in return for the care and supervision of the AFDC-FC child placed with them. The department is designated the single organizational unit whose duty it shall be to administer a state system for establishing rates in the AFDC-FC program. State functions shall be performed by the department or by delegation of the department to county welfare departments or Indian tribes, consortia of tribes, or tribal organizations that have entered into an agreement pursuant to Section 10553.1.
(2)(A)Foster care providers that care for a child in a home-based setting described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (g) of Section 11461, or in a certified home or an approved resource family of a foster family agency, shall be paid the per child per month rate as set forth in subdivision (g) of Section 11461.
(B)The basic rate paid to either a certified family home or an approved resource family of a foster family agency shall be paid by the agency to the certified family home or approved resource family from the rate that is paid to the agency pursuant to Section 11463.
(b)Care and supervision includes food, clothing, shelter, daily supervision, school supplies, a childs personal incidentals, liability insurance with respect to a child, reasonable travel to the childs home for visitation, and reasonable travel for the child to remain in the school in which he or she is enrolled at the time of placement. Reimbursement for the costs of educational travel, as provided for in this subdivision, shall be made pursuant to procedures determined by the department, in consultation with representatives of county welfare and probation directors, and additional stakeholders, as appropriate.
(1)(A)A child who meets the eligibility criteria of the Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children, as established by Section 11461.6, may be provided with a voucher for child care services for the child for up to six months immediately following the childs placement as well as a child care navigator to assist the child and resource family in accessing long-term subsidized child care.
(B)Daily supervision includes licensed child care if work responsibilities preclude resource families from being at home when the child for whom they have care and responsibility is not in school. It also includes child care for periods when the resource family is required to participate, without the child, in activities associated with parenting a child in foster care that are beyond the scope of ordinary parental duties, including, but not limited to, attendance at administrative or judicial reviews, case conferences, and resource family training.
(1)(2)For a child or youth placed in a short-term residential therapeutic program or a group home, care and supervision shall also include reasonable administration and operational activities necessary to provide the items listed in this subdivision.
(2)(3)For a child or youth placed in a short-term residential therapeutic program or a group home, care and supervision may also include reasonable activities performed by social workers employed by the program provider that are not otherwise considered daily supervision or administration activities.
(3)(4)The department, in consultation with the California State Foster Parent Association, and other interested stakeholders, shall provide information to the Legislature, no later than January 1, 2017, regarding the availability and cost for liability and property insurance covering acts committed by children in care, and shall make recommendations for any needed program development in this area.
(c)It is the intent of the Legislature to establish the maximum level of financial participation in out-of-state foster care group home program rates for placements in facilities described in subdivision (h) of Section 11402.
(1)The department shall develop regulations that establish the method for determining the level of financial participation in the rate paid for out-of-state placements in facilities described in subdivision (h) of Section 11402. The department shall consider all of the following methods:
(A)Until December 31, 2016, a standardized system based on the rate classification level of care and services per child per month.
(B)The rate developed for a short-term residential therapeutic program pursuant to Section 11462.
(C)A system that considers the actual allowable and reasonable costs of care and supervision incurred by the out-of-state program.
(D)A system that considers the rate established by the host state.
(E)Any other appropriate methods as determined by the department.
(2)Reimbursement for the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care rate to be paid to an out-of-state program described in subdivision (h) of Section 11402 shall only be paid to programs that have done all of the following:
(A)Submitted a rate application to the department, which shall include, but not be limited to, both of the following:
(i)Commencing January 1, 2017, unless granted an extension from the department pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 11462.04, the equivalent of the mental health program approval required in Section 4096.5.
(ii)Commencing January 1, 2017, unless granted an extension from the department pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 11462.04, the national accreditation required in paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) of Section 11462.
(B)Maintained a level of financial participation that shall not exceed any of the following:
(i)The current fiscal years standard rate for rate classification level 14 for a group home.
(ii)Commencing January 1, 2017, the current fiscal years rate for a short-term residential therapeutic program.
(iii)The rate determined by the ratesetting authority of the state in which the facility is located.
(C)Agreed to comply with information requests, and program and fiscal audits as determined necessary by the department.
(3)Except as specifically provided for in statute, reimbursement for an AFDC-FC rate shall only be paid to a group home or short-term residential therapeutic program organized and operated on a nonprofit basis.
(d)A foster care provider that accepts payments, following the effective date of this section, based on a rate established under this section, shall not receive rate increases or retroactive payments as the result of litigation challenging rates established prior to the effective date of this section. This shall apply regardless of whether a provider is a party to the litigation or a member of a class covered by the litigation.
(e)Nothing shall preclude a county from using a portion of its county funds to increase rates paid to family homes, foster family agencies, group homes, and short-term residential therapeutic programs within that county, and to make payments for specialized care increments, clothing allowances, or infant supplements to homes within that county, solely at that countys expense.
(f)Nothing shall preclude a county from providing a supplemental rate to serve commercially sexually exploited foster children to provide for the additional care and supervision needs of these children. To the extent that federal financial participation is available, it is the intent of the Legislature that the federal funding shall be utilized.
SEC. 3.Section 11461.6 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:11461.6.(a)The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(1)When a child is first placed in foster care he or she is in crisis and in immediate need of a stable placement with a loving resource family.
(2)A barrier to finding resource families for children, especially young children, is the difficulty they experience in accessing subsidized child care for the foster child.
(3)The difficulty accessing subsidized child care at the time of placement, in addition to being a barrier to stability, can also lead to delayed placement, subsequent placement changes, or sibling separation, all of which retraumatize foster children.
(b)The Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children is hereby established for the purpose of stabilizing foster children with resource families at the time of initial placement by providing a voucher for child care and development services for up to six months immediately following the childs placement and by providing the resource family with a child care navigator to assist the family in accessing long-term subsidized child care.
(c)Contingent upon appropriation of twenty-two million dollars ($22,000,000) annually for the purposes of this section, the Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children shall be administered by county welfare departments for counties that choose to participate in the program to distribute vouchers to eligible children. These funds may be encumbered to a local alternative payment agency pursuant to Section 8220.1 of the Education Code. If the county chooses to contract with the local alternative payment agency to provide alternative payment services, this contract shall not displace, or result in the reduction of an existing contract with, a current alternative payment program.
(d)Participating county welfare departments shall determine eligibility of a child for the Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children and provide an eligible child between birth and four years of age placed with an approved resource family or the child of a young parent involved in the child welfare system, including a nonminor dependent, with a monthly voucher for child care commensurate with regional market rate requirements, as specified in Section 8357 of the Education Code, upon and for up to six months following the childs initial placement.
(e)Each child receiving a monthly child care voucher shall be provided with a child care navigator, pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 8212 of the Education Code, who shall work directly with the childs resource family, social worker, and the child and family team to assist in accessing child care at the time of placement as well as long-term, subsidized child care for the child, as necessary.
(f)Each child receiving a monthly child care voucher shall be eligible to receive child care pursuant to the voucher for up to six months. If the child and resource family access long-term, subsidized child care prior to the end of the six-month period covered by the voucher, eligibility for the monthly voucher shall terminate upon enrollment in long-term, subsidized child care.
(g)Eligibility for the monthly voucher may be extended beyond the initial six-month period for an additional six-month period, not to exceed 12 months in total, at the discretion of the county welfare department, if the child and resource family have been unable to access long-term, subsidized child care during the initial six-month period.
(h)Assistance of a child care navigator, pursuant to subdivision (e), shall be available until the child and family procures long-term, subsidized child care.
|
Date
|
Status
|
|---|---|
| Aug 23, 2018 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on ED. |
| Jul 12, 2017 | In committee: Set, second hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. |
| Jul 6, 2017 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on ED. |
| Jul 3, 2017 | In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. |
| Jun 22, 2017 | In committee: Hearing postponed by committee. |
| Jun 14, 2017 | Referred to Coms. on ED. and HUMAN S. |
| Jun 1, 2017 | In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. |
| May 31, 2017 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 1939.) |
| May 30, 2017 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| May 26, 2017 | From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 16. Noes 0.) (May 26). |
| May 3, 2017 | In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file. |
| Apr 19, 2017 | Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Apr 18, 2017 | Read second time and amended. |
| Apr 17, 2017 | From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (April 4). |
| Mar 28, 2017 | Re-referred to Com. on HUM. S. |
| Mar 27, 2017 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on HUM. S. Read second time and amended. |
| Mar 9, 2017 | Referred to Com. on HUM. S. |
| Feb 19, 2017 | From printer. May be heard in committee March 21. |
| Feb 17, 2017 | Read first time. To print. |
|
Date
|
Description
|
Location
|
Votes
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 2017 | AB 1164 THURMOND Assembly Third Reading | Assembly Floor |
Passed |
|
| May 26, 2017 | Do pass as amended. | Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Apr 4, 2017 | Do pass as amended, and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar | Assembly Standing Committee on Human Services |
Passed |
This list shows positions taken on this bill by organizations on the date displayed, which is linked to the original source.
Positions by individuals are not included.
|
Organization
|
Position
|
Date
|
|---|---|---|
| Advancement Project | ** Support | Mar 31, 2017 |
| AdvoKids | ** Support | Mar 31, 2017 |
| Alliance for Children's Rights | ** Support | Mar 31, 2017 |
| Alliance for Childrens Rights | ** Support | Mar 31, 2017 |
| American Academy Of Pediatrics, California | ** Support | Mar 31, 2017 |
| Association Of California School Administrators | ** Against | Jul 12, 2017 |
| California Alliance of Care Givers | ** Support | Mar 31, 2017 |
| California Alliance Of Child And Family Services | ** Support | Mar 31, 2017 |
| California Association Of School Business Officials | ** Against | Jul 12, 2017 |
| California Association of Suburban Schools | ** Against | Jul 12, 2017 |
| California Child Care Resource and Referral Network | ** Support | Mar 31, 2017 |
| California County Superintendents Educational Services Association | ** Against | Jul 12, 2017 |
| California Teachers Association | ** Support | Jul 12, 2017 |
| Child Care Alliance of Los Angeles | ** Support | Mar 31, 2017 |
| Child Care Law Center | ** Support | Mar 31, 2017 |
| Child Care Resource Center | ** Support | Mar 31, 2017 |
| Children Now | ** Support | Mar 31, 2017 |
| Children's Advocacy Institute | ** Support | Mar 31, 2017 |
| Children'S Law Center Of California | ** Support | Mar 31, 2017 |
| Childrens Advocacy Institute | ** Support | Mar 31, 2017 |
| ChildrenS Law Center Of California | ** Support | Mar 31, 2017 |
| County of Santa Cruz Human Services Department | ** Support | Mar 31, 2017 |
| County Welfare Directors Association of California | ** Support | Mar 31, 2017 |
| Edvoice | ** Against | Jul 12, 2017 |
| First Place for Youth | ** Support | Mar 31, 2017 |
| Hillsides | ** Support | Mar 31, 2017 |
| Kern County Superintendent Of Schools | ** Against | Jul 12, 2017 |
| Orange County Department Of Education | ** Against | Jul 12, 2017 |
| Riverside County Department of Public Social Services | ** Support | Mar 31, 2017 |
| Riverside County Office Of Education | ** Against | Jul 12, 2017 |
| San Joaquin County Office Of Education | ** Against | Jul 12, 2017 |
| Small School Districts Association | ** Against | Jul 12, 2017 |
| The Association Of Career And College Readiness Organizations | ** Against | Jul 12, 2017 |
| The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors | ** Support | Mar 31, 2017 |
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Benjamin Allen, Chair
2017 - 2018 Regular
Bill No: AB 1164 Hearing Date: July 12, 2017
Author: | |||
Version: | July 6, 2017 | ||
Urgency: | No | Fiscal: | Yes |
Consultant: | Ian Johnson | ||
Subject: Public school administration.
NOTE: This bill has been amended to replace its contents and this is the first time the bill is being heard in its current form.
SUMMARY
This bill: (1) extends the probationary period up to three years for certificated employees in school districts and teachers in county offices of education with an average daily attendance(ADA) greater than 250 pupils, and (2) increases the cap on school district reserves, changes the conditions that must be met for the cap to be triggered, and exempts small and basic aid school districts from the cap.
BACKGROUND
Existing law related to probationary employees and teachers:
- Requires that a certificated employee of a school district or a teacher at a county office of education (COE) having an ADA of 250 or more who, after having been employed for two complete consecutive school years, is reelected for the next succeeding school year, at the commencement of the succeeding school year be classified as and become a permanent employee.
- Requires the governing board or the county superintendent to notify the employee, on or before March 15 of the employee’s second complete consecutive school year of employment, of the decision to reelect or not reelect the employee for the next succeeding school year to the position. In the event that the governing board or the county superintendent does not give notice on or before March 15, the employee shall be deemed reelected for the next succeeding school year. This applies only to probationary employees whose probationary period commenced during the 1983–84 fiscal year or any fiscal year thereafter.
- Requires every employee of a school district of any type or class having an ADA of 250 or more who, after having been employed by the district for three complete consecutive school years in a position or positions requiring certification qualifications, is reelected for the next succeeding school year to a position requiring certification qualifications shall, at the commencement of the succeeding school year be classified as and become a permanent employee of the district. Specifies this applies only to probationary employees whose probationary period commenced prior to the 1983–84 fiscal year.
- Establishes the Stull Act, enacted in 1971, which governs certificated employee evaluations and requires school districts to evaluate and assess teacher performance as it reasonability relates to pupil performance on criterion- referenced tests, teacher technique and strategies, curricular objectives, and the maintenance of a suitable learning environment. Specifies that in the development and adoption of evaluation guidelines and procedures, the governing board shall avail itself of the advice of the certificated instructional personnel in the district's organization of certificated personnel pursuant to collective bargaining statutes. Specifies that a school district may, by mutual agreement between the exclusive representative of the certificated employees of the school district and the governing board of the school district, include any objective standards from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards or any objective standards from the California Standards for the Teaching Profession. Specifies that teacher evaluations shall be made on a continuing basis at least once each school year for probationary personnel; at least every other year for personnel with permanent status; and, at least every five years for personnel with permanent status who have been employed at least 10 years with the school district, are highly qualified, if those personnel occupy positions that are required to be filled by a highly qualified professional, and whose previous evaluation rated the employee as meeting or exceeding standards, if the evaluator and certificated employee being evaluated agree. Specifies that an employee who receives an unsatisfactory rating in the area of teaching methods or instruction may be required to participate in a program designed to improve appropriate areas of the employee's performance; and, requires if a school district participates in the Peer Assistance and Review Program for Teachers (PAR), employees who receive an unsatisfactory rating shall participate in PAR.
- Authorizes a first and second-year probationary employee to be dismissed during the school year for unsatisfactory performance; and, specifies that any dismissal shall be in accordance with all of the following procedures:
- The superintendent of the school district or the superintendent’s designee shall give 30 days’ prior written notice of dismissal, not later than March 15 in the case of a probationary employee in the second complete consecutive school year of probationary employment. The notice shall include a statement of the reasons for the dismissal and notice of the opportunity to appeal. In the event of a dismissal for unsatisfactory performance, a copy of the evaluation conducted pursuant to Section 44664 shall accompany the written notice.
- The probationary employee shall have 15 days from receipt of the notice of dismissal to submit to the governing board of the school district a written request for a hearing. The governing board of the school district may establish procedures for the appointment of an administrative law judge to conduct the hearing and submit a recommended decision to the governing board. The failure of a probationary employee to request a hearing within 15 days from receipt of a dismissal notice shall constitute a waiver of the right to a hearing.
Existing law related to school district reserves:
- Places a cap on school district reserves in years following a deposit in the Public School System Stabilization Account (PSSSA), established by Proposition 2 (2014). Additionally, districts are required to disclose certain information about their reserves each year. Specifically, in a fiscal year immediately after a fiscal year in which a transfer is made to the PSSSA, a school district budget that is adopted or revised may not have a combined assigned or unassigned ending fund balance that is in excess of the following:
- For school districts with fewer than 400,000 units of average daily attendance (ADA), the sum of the school district’s applicable minimum recommended reserve for economic uncertainties adopted by the State Board of Education (SBE), as specified, multiplied by two.
- For school districts with more than 400,000 units of ADA, the sum of the school district’s applicable minimum recommended reserve for economic uncertainties adopted by the SBE, as specified, multiplied by three.
- Authorizes a county superintendent of schools to grant a school district under its jurisdiction an exemption from the cap for up to two consecutive fiscal years within a three-year period if the school district provides documentation indicating that extraordinary fiscal circumstances, including, but not limited to, multi-year infrastructure or technology projects, substantiate the need for a combined assigned or unassigned ending fund balance that is in excess of the minimum recommended reserve for economic uncertainties. As a condition of receiving an exemption, a school district shall do all of the following:
- Provide a statement that substantiates the need for an assigned and unassigned ending fund balance that is in excess of the minimum recommended reserve for economic uncertainties.
- Identify the funding amounts in the budget adopted by the school district that are associated with the extraordinary fiscal circumstances.
- Provide documentation that no other fiscal resources are available to fund the extraordinary fiscal circumstances.
ANALYSIS
This bill:
- Authorizes a county superintendent of schools (CS) with an ADA greater than 250 pupils to classify teachers as permanent employees after the teacher's second complete consecutive school year, unless the CS offers that employee a third complete consecutive school year of employment as a probationary employee.
- Requires the CS to notify a teacher on or before March 15 of the teacher's second complete consecutive school year of the decision to reelect or not reelect the teacher for the next school year, or offer a third year of probation.
- Requires the county superintendent of schools (CS) to notify a teacher on or before March 15 of the teacher's third complete consecutive school year of the decision to reelect or not reelect the teacher for the next school year.
- Requires, if the CS does not give notice on or before March 15, the teacher shall be deemed reelected for the next succeeding school year and, at the commencement of the succeeding school year, be classified as and become a permanent employee.
- Specifies employees shall have the same rights and duties as employees of school districts to which Education Code (EC) Section 44929.21 applies. EC Sections 44842, 44929.21, 44948.3, and 44948.5 apply to these employees.
- Specifies that the CS may offer an employee up to three complete consecutive school years as a probationary employee only if: (1) the employee has received unsatisfactory evaluations during his or her first and second complete consecutive school years as a probationary employee, and (2) the employee participated in a program of beginning teacher induction, if the employee does not already possess a clear teaching credential.
- Specifies that, before offering a third complete consecutive school year of employment as a probationary employee, the CS shall provide the employee with written notice that includes, at a minimum, specific information on what performance-related improvements the probationary employee must achieve to obtain permanent employment status.
- Requires a CS that offers a third complete consecutive school year of probationary employment to refer the employee to a California Peer Assistance and Review Program for Teachers (PAR), for the purpose of providing the probationary employee with individualized coaching, assistance, and professional development.
- Specifies that teacher participants in PAR are permanent or probationary employees and volunteers or those referred to the program.
- Authorizes school districts with an average daily attendance greater than 250 pupils to classify employees as permanent employees after the employee's second complete consecutive school year, unless the school district offers that employee a third complete consecutive school year of employment as a probationary employee.
- Requires the governing board of a school district to notify a certificated employee on or before March 15 of the employee's second complete consecutive school year of the decision to reelect or not reelect the employee for the next school year, or offer a third year of probation.
- Requires the school district to notify a teacher on or before March 15 of the teacher's third complete consecutive school year of the decision to reelect or not reelect the employee for the next school year.
- Requires, if the school district does not give notice on or before March 15, the certificated employee shall be deemed reelected for the next succeeding school year and, at the commencement of the succeeding school year, be classified as and become a permanent employee.
- Specifies that the school district may offer an employee up to three complete consecutive school years as a probationary employee only if: (1) the employee has received unsatisfactory evaluations during his or her first and second complete consecutive school years as a probationary employee, and (2) the employee participated in a program of beginning teacher induction, if the employee does not already possess a clear teaching credential.
- Specifies that, before offering a third complete consecutive school year of employment as a probationary employee, the school district shall provide the employee with written notice that includes, at a minimum, specific information on what performance-related improvements the probationary employee must achieve to obtain permanent employment status.
- Requires a school district that offers a third complete consecutive school year of probationary employment to refer the employee to a California Peer Assistance and Review Program for Teachers (PAR), for the purpose of providing the probationary employee with individualized coaching, assistance, and professional development.
- Requires each county superintendent of schools (CS) and school district to annually report to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) on, at a minimum, the number of probationary employees offered a third year of probationary employment and the number of third-year probationary employees dismissed during the school year. The CTC shall annually compile this information into a single report and provide it to the Legislature, the Governor, and the Legislative Analyst’s Office by August 1 of each year.
- Specifies to the extent that this measure conflicts with a provision of a collective bargaining agreement entered into by a public school employer and an exclusive bargaining representative before January 1, 2018, pursuant to Chapter 10.7 (commencing with Section 3540) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government Code, the changes made to this section by the act adding this subdivision shall not apply until the expiration or renewal of that collective bargaining agreement.
- Clarifies that the existing procedures for a probationary employee that is dismissed during the school year for unsatisfactory performance apply to third- year probationary employees.
- Applies the current due process dismissal procedures provided for probationary employees of school districts with less than 250 pupils to probationary employees of school districts and schools maintained by a county superintendent of schools with 250 pupils or more employed for a third complete consecutive school year. A county superintendent of schools or a school district with 250 pupils or more who employ a probationary employee for a third complete consecutive school year may collectively bargain an alternative process through which a third-year probationary employee may challenge his or her nonreelection to certificated employment.
- Provides that the cap on local school district reserves will be imposed whenever the level of funding in the Public School System Stabilization Account (PSSSA) is equal to or exceeds 3 percent of the combined total General Fund revenues and local proceed of taxes for school districts for that fiscal year.
- Increases the cap on school district reserves up to 10 percent.
- Clarifies that the cap applies to the total of assigned and unassigned ending balances in the general fund accounts of school districts, including in the Special Fund for Other Than Capital Outlay.
- Exempts basic aid districts and small school districts from the cap.
- Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to notify school districts and county superintendents of schools when the conditions for imposing the reserve cap have been met and when they are no longer in effect.
STAFF COMMENTS
- Need for the bill. As it relates to probationary employees, supporters of this measure state that “California has one of the shortest probationary periods of any state, with the deadline for notification of "reelection" of March 15th of the second year of teaching. If an additional three months are deducted for summer break where most teachers are out of the classroom, the total time a teacher has to develop and demonstrate their classroom effectiveness – and for administrators to evaluate it - is only around fifteen months. Research supports a longer probationary period as teachers on an upward trajectory will show notable growth in years two through five, with associated gains in student outcomes. Decisions coming at the 18-month mark would only capture first year gains, however, making it difficult to determine if a teacher is on an upward trajectory. Longer probationary periods are now the norm nationally. Forty-two states provide teachers three to five years to demonstrate classroom success and earn permanent status. AB 1220 provides a commonsense fix by giving teachers an extra year to develop and demonstrate – and for administrators to assess - classroom effectiveness."
As it relates to school district reserve caps, supporters of this measure state that “Neither the Department of Finance nor the Legislative Analyst forecast that the reserve cap will be in effect in the foreseeable future. However, if imposed, a cap could impose a hardship on small districts, which have small budgets. A 6 percent cap on such districts would result in a small dollar reserve that may not provide adequate protection against economic uncertainty.
The cap could also pose a unique hardship for basic aid districts, which do not receive Local Control Funding Formula allocations from the state. This means there is no statutory mechanism to transfer funds from the PSSSA to basic aid districts should the need arise, so the Public School System Stabilization Account (PSSSA) does not necessarily provide them with the same level of protection against funding shortfalls.
Finally, under existing law, the cap takes effect whenever a transfer is made into the PSSSA, regardless of the amount. This may not provide a sufficient reserve to protect districts from low revenue years.”
- What do teachers say about tenure and the current system? As part of their 2015 publication “Raising the Bar: The Views of California Teachers on Tenure, Layoffs, and Dismissal”, Teach Plus noted that “Judges and lawyers are just one set of actors in a large cast of stakeholders who have a significant public voice in how teachers are hired, retained and dismissed. Legislators, school and district administrators, state department of education officials, researchers, parents and assorted policy experts and school reformers have all stepped to the metaphorical microphone to weigh in with an opinion. Yet the voice that has arguably been the least present is that of actual practicing public school teachers.”
For this publication, Teach Plus conducted an online survey of over 500 California traditional K-12 public school teachers. The composition of the responding teachers included 15 percent with five or fewer years of teaching experience, 21 percent with six to 10 years of experience, 34 percent with 11 to 19 years of experience and 30 percent with 20 or more years of experience. The key findings from the publication are:
- Teachers highly value tenure but strongly support making tenure a more performance-based, professional benchmark.
- Teachers believe that classroom performance should be an important element in any layoff decision.
- The current system needs to better support struggling teachers while setting a clear time frame for exiting persistently ineffective teachers from the profession.
- Teachers must play a central role in both the development of policy around tenure, layoff, and dismissal systems and in the execution of these policies.
Another particularly notable finding related to this bill is that teachers strongly support a period of time beyond the current 18 months for an administrator to determine whether or not a teacher should be granted tenure. In fact, 72 percent of teachers believe that 18 months is not enough time for an administrator to make a tenure determination. A separate question found that, on average, teachers believe that five years is the appropriate length of time before an administrator makes a decision about whether or not a teacher should be granted tenure. Only 15 percent of teachers believed that the appropriate amount of time should be two years or less.
- Extending the probationary period. This bill allows the probationary period for certificated staff and teachers to last for three years, which is an increase of one year over the existing two-year period. For the third year of probation, school districts and county superintendents would be required to (1) provide unsatisfactory evaluations during the employee’s first and second school years, (2) ensure the employee participated in a program of beginning teacher induction, (3) provide specific information on what performance-related improvements the probationary employee must achieve to obtain permanent employment status, and (4) refer the employee to a California Peer Assistance and Review Program for Teachers (PAR). Further, if the employee is not reelected after the third year, the employee would be afforded due process rights, including a hearing with an administrative law judge.
Currently, during the two-year probationary period, the law does not require a school district or county superintendent to demonstrate cause or provide due process for employees that are not reelected within this period. This would change significantly for the third year of probation under this measure. While providing specific information related to nonelection, professional development, and due process would help struggling teachers, the Committee should consider whether including all of these as baseline conditions for extending the current probationary period will be overly burdensome for schools.
- Research on the Peer Assistance and Review Program for Teachers. The PAR Program for teachers was established in statute in 1999. The program was developed to assist teachers whose bi-annual personnel reviews were not satisfactory. Assistance and support are provided by exemplary teachers and include subject matter knowledge, teaching strategies, or both. While school districts no longer receive dedicated state funding to administer PAR, they can continue to support the program with discretionary funding under the Local Control Funding Formula.
A 2011 report by SRI International and J. Koppich and Associates titled “Peer Review: Getting Serious About Teacher Support and Evaluation” examined the PAR programs in the Poway and San Juan school districts in California. After evaluating these districts’ programs, which are known to be of high quality, the report included two key conclusions:
- Peer support and evaluation can and should exist as a more effective approach to improving instructional practice than isolating teachers.
- PAR is a rigorous alternative to traditional forms of teacher evaluation and development, with research showing that peer review is far superior to principals’ evaluations in terms of rigor and comprehensiveness. Equally important, peer review offers a possible solution to the lack of capacity of the current system to both provide adequate teacher support and conduct thorough performance evaluations.
The report also included the following key recommendations for the state, and districts and their local unions to consider:
- The state should eliminate current statutory barriers to comprehensive PAR programs, including expanding the programs to non-tenured teachers.
- Local districts and unions interested in the PAR model should reexamine their teacher evaluation policies. This reexamination should have an eye toward implementing the kinds of in-depth support and evaluation that are the hallmarks of these exemplary programs in Poway and San Juan.
- Local districts and their unions should use lessons learned from the work of the Poway and San Juan Governance Boards to improve labor-management collaboration. They can work to form cooperative union-management partnerships authorized to make decisions about high-stakes matters.
- Vergara v. California. The Vergara case was filed here in California by nine public school children from around the state in May 2012. The case challenges various state employment provisions of the education code related to the way the teacher workforce is managed, including seniority and last in, first out statutes, and whether they protect incompetent teachers and disproportionately hurt low-income and minority children. The plaintiffs argue that these laws play out in classrooms and schools in ways that violate students’ rights to access equal education under the California constitution. A decision was reached in August 2014 with the plaintiffs prevailing. However, the decision was appealed and the state appeals court reversed the trial court’s decision on April 14, 2016. The plaintiffs subsequently filed a petition for review with the Supreme Court, which was denied on August 22, 2016, validating many of the arguments made by educators and civil rights groups that the state statutes affirming educator rights do not harm students.
- Existing conditions for reserve cap requirement unlikely to be met in the near term. The reserve cap requirement is triggered once the state makes a deposit into the Public School System Stabilization Account, which only occurs when certain conditions are met. Among these conditions, Test 1 must be the applicable Proposition 98 test level and the state must have paid off all maintenance factor created before 2014-15. According to multi-year forecasts published as part of the 2017-18 Governor’s Budget, no Test 1 operative years are projected through 2020-21, making a state deposit very unlikely in the near term.
- Exemptions for school districts from reserve caps already in law? To the extent that school districts are concerned about the potential impact the cap would have on their ability to maintain adequate reserve levels and save for future and unanticipated expenditures, existing law provides two types of exemptions for school districts. First, school districts can change the way in which they treat their reserves, increasing the amount of their committed reserves and decreasing the amount of assigned and/or unassigned reserves. Reserves become committed for a specific purpose upon a vote of the district governing board. Second, a county superintendent of schools is authorized to grant a school district under its jurisdiction an exemption if a school district is able to provide documentation that demonstrates extraordinary fiscal circumstances.
- Related legislation.
AB 235 (O’Donnell) adds a minimum fund balance in the Public School System Stabilization Account (PSSSA) to the conditions that must be met for the cap on school district reserves to be triggered and exempts small and basic aid school districts from the reserve cap requirement.
AB 1220 (Weber) extends the probationary period up to three years for certificated employees in school districts and teachers in county offices of education with an average daily attendance greater than 250 pupils.
SB 590 (Moorlach) repeals the current maximum reserve level school districts are allowed to maintain in any year following a deposit being made into the PSSSA. The measure was held by this Committee.
SB 751 (Hill and Glazer) increases the cap on school district reserves, exempts small and basic aid school districts from the reserve cap requirement, and specifies that only unassigned general fund and a portion of special reserve fund ending balances are counted for purposes of the reserve cap requirement. The measure is currently pending before the Assembly Education Committee.
SUPPORT
California Teachers Association
OPPOSITION
Association of California School Administrators
California Association of School Business Officials
California Association of Suburban Schools
California County Superintendents Educational Services Association
EdVoice
Kern County Superintendent of Schools
Orange County Department of Education
Riverside County Office of Education
San Joaquin County Office of Education
Small School Districts Association
The Association of Career and College Readiness Organizations
-- END --
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
ATR Bill Id:AB 1164
Author:(Thurmond)
As Amended Ver:May 26, 2017
Majority vote
Committee | Votes | Ayes | Noes |
Human Services | 7-0 | Rubio, Choi, Arambula, Gonzalez Fletcher, Maienschein, Mark Stone, Thurmond | |
Appropriations | 16-0 | Gonzalez Fletcher, Bigelow, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonta, Brough, Calderon, McCarty, Quirk, Fong, Friedman, Gallagher, Eduardo Garcia, Gray, Muratsuchi, Reyes |
SUMMARY: Establishes the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children to facilitate access to child care for foster youth and the families with whom they are placed through the provision of child care vouchers and/or payments, navigator services, and trauma-informed training and coaching for child care providers. Specifically, this bill:
- Makes a number of Legislative findings and declarations related to the need for immediate, accessible child care for families who provide placements for foster youth and for parenting foster youth, and the barriers that lack of such child care can create in recruiting and retaining resource families.
- Establishes the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children, to be implemented at the discretion of each county, in order to stabilize foster children with families at the time of placement by providing:
- A payment or voucher for child care and development services for up to six months immediately following placement or for up to six months for a child whose parent is in foster care; and
- A child care navigator to assist the family in accessing long-term subsidized child care.
- Requires county welfare departments that choose to participate to administer the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children, contingent upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act.
- Permits counties to establish local priorities and to provide payments directly or through contracts with alternative payment programs (APPs) to distribute vouchers, as specified, and further, requires that:
- Counties that elect to provide direct payments to a family or child care provider pay commensurate with the regional market rates (RMRs), as specified; and
- For counties that elect to contract with a local APP to distribute vouchers, the vouchers be in an amount commensurate with the RMRs and the contract not displace, or result in the reduction of, an existing contract with a current local APP, as specified.
- Requires participating county welfare departments to determine the eligibility of a child for the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children, and specifies that family placements eligible to receive a payment or voucher under this program include all of the following:
- Approved resource families and families that have a child placed with them based on an emergency or for a compelling reason, as specified;
- Currently licensed or certified foster care providers, as specified;
- Currently approved relatives or nonrelative extended family members, as specified; and
- Parents under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, including, but not limited to, nonminor dependent parents.
- Authorizes participating counties to provide a payment or voucher to a family if work or school responsibilities or activities associated with parenting a child in foster care prevent that family from being at home with the child for whom they have care and responsibility, as specified.
- Requires each child receiving a monthly child care payment or voucher to be provided with a child care navigator, as specified.
- Requires each child receiving a monthly child care payment or voucher to be eligible to receive that payment or voucher for up to six months and further, specifies that, if the child and family access long-term subsidized child care prior to the end of that six-month period, eligibility for the monthly payment or voucher shall terminate upon enrollment in the long-term, subsidized child care.
- Authorizes a county welfare department, at its discretion, to extend eligibility for a monthly payment or voucher for an additional six months, not to exceed 12 months in total, if the child and family have been unable to access long-term, subsidized child care during the initial six-month period.
- Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to seek all federal approvals necessary to claim federal reimbursement under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act in order to maximize state and local funding for child care.
- Prohibits the provisions of this bill that establish the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children from being interpreted as creating an entitlement to a child care payment or voucher.
- Specifies that the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children established pursuant to provisions of this bill is intended to complement county child welfare agency efforts to recruit, retain, and support resource families and that any funding provided to counties pursuant to these provisions shall supplement county activities, as specified.
- Requires child care resource and referral programs, contingent upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, to be responsible for the provision of a child care navigator to support children in foster care, children previously in foster care upon return to their home of origin, and children of parents in the child welfare system, as specified.
- Requires the child care navigator to work with the child's family, as defined, social worker, and child and family team (CFT) to, as specified: assess child care opportunities, identify opportunities for an ongoing child care subsidy, assist in the completion of child care program applications, and develop a long-term child care plan for the child.
- Requires each resource and referral agency to, as a condition of receiving funding for providing navigation services pursuant to provisions of this bill, develop and enter into a formal agreement with the county child welfare agency so as to facilitate interagency communication and, to the maximum extent possible, leverage federal funding, as specified. Alternatively, requires the resource and referral agency to annually provide a written statement explaining why entering into such a formal agreement is not practical or feasible.
- Requires navigator services provided pursuant to provisions of this bill to be made available to any child in foster care, any child previously in foster care who has returned to his or her home of origin, and any child of parents involved in the child welfare system, as specified, and further, stipulates that eligibility for navigator services shall not be contingent upon a child's receipt of a child care payment or voucher.
- Requires child care resource and referral programs, contingent upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, to be responsible for the provision of trauma-informed training and coaching, as specified, to child care providers working with children and the children of parenting youth in the foster care system.
- Requires each resource and referral agency to, as a condition of receiving funding for providing navigation services pursuant to provisions of this bill and in coordination with the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network, develop and enter into a formal agreement with the county child welfare agency so as to, to the maximum extent possible, leverage federal funding, as specified. Alternatively, requires the resource and referral agency to annually provide a written statement explaining why entering into such a formal agreement is not practical or feasible.
- Authorizes a child who meets the eligibility criteria of the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children to be provided with:
- A voucher for child care services for up to six months immediately following a child's placement or for up to six months for a child whose parent is in foster care; and
- A child care navigator to assist the child and family, as specified, in accessing long-term subsidized child care.
EXISTING LAW:
- Establishes the Child Care and Development Services Act to provide child care and development services as part of a coordinated, comprehensive, and cost-effective system serving children from birth to 13 years old and their parents, and including a full range of supervision, health, and support services through full- and part-time programs. (Education Code Section (EDC) 8200 et seq.)
- Provides for child care resource and referral programs to be established to serve a defined geographic area with: identification of the full range of existing child care services and development and maintenance of a resource file of those services; establishment of a referral process that responds to parental need for information, as specified, that affords parents maximum access to all referral information; provision of technical assistance to existing and potential providers of all types of child care services, as specified; and other specified services. (EDC 8210 et seq.)
- To allow for maximum parental choice, authorizes the operation of Alternative Payment Programs (APPs) and provision of alternative payments and support services to parents and child care providers by local government agencies or non-profit organizations that contract with CDE. (EDC 8220)
- States that the purpose of foster care law is to provide maximum safety and protection for children who are currently being physically, sexually, or emotionally abused, neglected, or exploited, and to ensure the safety, protection, and physical and emotional well-being of children who are at risk of harm. (Welfare and Institutions Code Section (WIC) 300.2)
- Defines "nonminor dependent" as a current or former foster youth who is between18 and 21 years old, in foster care under the responsibility of the county welfare department, county probation department, or Indian Tribe, and participating in a transitional independent living plan, as specified. (WIC 11400)
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill may result in the following costs:
- This bill is contingent upon a total appropriation of $15.5 million in Fiscal Year 2017-18 and $31 million annually each year thereafter. Because the program is optional for counties, it is unknown whether this is an appropriate amount to cover the requirements of the bill should the appropriation occur; and
- To the extent that working with a child care navigator would increase a county social worker's duties or the duties of the child and family team, there could be a local assistance cost pressure that is not reimbursable under the appropriation.
Committee staff notes that both Houses approved $31 million for this purpose in their respective Budget Subcommittees.
COMMENTS:
Child Welfare Services: The purpose of California's Child Welfare Services (CWS) system is to protect children from abuse and neglect and provide for their health and safety. When children are identified as being at risk of abuse, neglect or abandonment, county juvenile courts hold legal jurisdiction and children are served by the CWS system through the appointment of a social worker. Through this system, there are multiple opportunities for the custody of the child, or his or her placement outside of the home, to be evaluated, reviewed and determined by the judicial system, in consultation with the child's social worker, to help provide the best possible services to the child. The CWS system seeks to help children who have been removed from their homes reunify with their parents or guardians, whenever appropriate, or unite them with other individuals they consider to be family. There are currently over 64,000 children and youth in California's child welfare system. Of those youth, 16,892 (26.1%) have been in foster care for over three years, 11,800 (18.3%) have been in care for over 4 years, and 8,842 (13.7%) have been in care for over 5 years.
Subsidized child care: California's subsidized child care system is designed to provide assistance to parents and guardians who are working, in training, seeking employment, incapacitated, or in need of respite. This child care is available through a number of programs; additionally, California offers State Preschool Programs to eligible three-and four-year-olds. Parents participating in CalWORKs, as well as families transitioning off of and no longer receiving CalWORKs aid, can be eligible for child care, which is offered in three "stages." The Department of Social Services (DSS) administers Stage 1, and the California Department of Education (CDE) administers Stages 2 and 3. CDE also administers non-CalWORKs child care. The largest programs are: General Child Care, which includes contracted centers and family child care homes; the California State Preschool Program, which provides developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate curriculum to eligible three- and four-year olds; and APPs, which provide vouchers that can be used to obtain child care in a center, family child care home, or from a license-exempt provider. Waitlists for non-CalWORKs child care are common.
Resource and referral agencies: Resource and Referral (R&R) agencies, located in every county in the state, provide a wide range of services for parents, providers, and local communities. Services are free, accessible to all parents and child care providers, and include, among other things: helping parents to locate child care that best suits the needs of their family; maintaining databases of local child care providers; tracking providers' licensure status, age groups served, schedules, languages spoken, and number and type of spaces available; and providing training to providers.
Need for this bill: The Association of Community Human Service Agencies (ACHSA), which represents over 85 nonprofit community agencies that provide a variety of child welfare, mental health, and juvenile justice services in Los Angeles County, conducted an online survey in October 2015 of foster family agencies (FFAs) regarding foster children's access to subsidized child care. Findings from that survey, which received responses from 15 FFAs in Los Angeles County, included the following: all FFAs surveyed responded that concerns about child care had impacted recruitment of certified foster parents, with two-thirds stating that it has "significantly" impacted recruitment efforts and one-third stating that it had "somewhat" done so; and all FFAs surveyed responded that concerns about child care had impacted foster parent willingness to accept children into their care, with 60% saying it had significantly impacted willingness, and 40% saying it had somewhat done so.
According to the author, "Increasing access to child care would enable a larger pool of families to become foster parents, providing a stable home for more children in need. The childcare system was not designed to be an emergency response system and this bill will help both systems work together to better support the needs of our foster youth."
Analysis Prepared by: Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089 FN: 0000901
Date of Hearing: May 3, 2017
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, Chair
ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1164
Author:(Thurmond) – As Amended Ver:April 18, 2017
Policy Committee: | Human Services | Vote: | 7 - 0 |
|
| ||
|
|
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY: This bill establishes the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children to facilitate access to child care for foster youth and the families with whom they are placed through the provision of child care vouchers and/or payments, navigator services, and trauma-informed training and coaching for child care providers. Specifically, this bill:
- Establishes the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children, to be implemented at the discretion of each county, in order to stabilize foster children with families at the time of placement by providing:
- A payment or voucher, for up to six months immediately following placement, for child care and development services; and
- A child care navigator to assist the family in accessing long-term subsidized child care.
- Requires county welfare departments that choose to participate to administer the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children, contingent upon an appropriation of $11 million in FY 2017-18, and $22 million each year thereafter.
- Requires child care resource and referral programs, contingent upon an appropriation of $2.5 million in FY 2017-18, and $5 million each year thereafter, to be responsible for the provision of a child care navigator to support children in foster care, children previously in foster care upon return to their home of origin, and children of parents in the child welfare system, as specified.
- Requires child care resource and referral programs, contingent upon an appropriation of $2 million in FY 2017-18, and $4 million each year thereafter, to be responsible for the provision of trauma-informed training and coaching, as specified, to child care providers working with children in the foster care system.
FISCAL EFFECT:
- This bill is contingent upon a total appropriation of $15.5 million in FY 2017-18 and $31 million annually each year thereafter. Because the program is optional for counties, it is unknown whether this is an appropriate amount to cover the requirements of the bill should the appropriation occur.
- To the extent that working with a child care navigator would increase a county social worker's duties or the duties of the child and family team, there could be a local assistance cost pressure that is not reimbursable under the appropriation.
COMMENTS:
- Purpose. According to the author, “Increasing access to child care would enable a larger pool of families to become foster parents, providing a stable home for more children in need. The childcare system was not designed to be an emergency response system and this bill will help both systems work together to better support the needs of our foster youth.”
- Background. Immediately following a child’s removal from their home, one of the top barriers to finding a placement is the lack of access to child care. Foster parents, including relative caregivers, often struggle to access child care because state-funded child care programs usually operate at full capacity. Many of these programs sign up children during short enrollment windows that may not align with a child’s placement into foster care. In a survey of emergency shelter workers charged with finding placements for the foster children in their care, an estimated 25 percent of placement denials were due to the lack of child care. This means that caregivers who work or are in school are not easily available to take in a child without significant disruptions.
The Department of Social Services (DSS) submitted a report to the Legislature in January 2015 that contained a number of recommendations intended to reform the foster care system and reduce California’s reliance on group homes as a viable placement for foster youth. These efforts are named the “Continuum of Care Reform” (CCR) to reflect the need to strengthen the state’s system of home-based care and supports while decreasing reliance on group homes. AB 403 (Stone), Chapter 773, Statutes of 2015, and AB 1997 (Stone), Chapter 612, Statutes of 2016, adopted many of the CCR report recommendations into law.
The Resource Family Approval (RFA) program is a child-centered approval process for all families seeking to care for a foster youth, regardless of whether or not the youth is related to the family. The RFA process replaces foster parent licensing and certification, relative approval, guardianship approval, and adoption. Per the RFA program, which went statewide as a part of CCR, all caregivers of children and youth will be approved to be “resource families” who can be an emergency, temporary, and/or permanent family for a youth. A key component of CCR is the recruitment and retention of a sufficient number of resource families capable of providing care and support for youth in the child welfare services system as the state moves away from reliance on group homes.
This bill seeks to make it easier for counties to recruit resource families and for existing foster families to take in a child on an emergency or temporary basis.
Analysis Prepared by: Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
Date of Hearing: April 4, 2017
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Blanca Rubio, Chair
ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1164 (
Author:Thurmond) – As Amended Ver:March 27, 2017
SUBJECT: Foster care placement: funding
SUMMARY: Establishes the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children to facilitate access to child care for foster youth and the families with whom they are placed through the provision of child care vouchers and/or payments, navigator services, and trauma-informed training and coaching for child care providers.
Specifically, this bill:
- Makes a number of Legislative findings and declarations related to the need for immediate, accessible child care for resource families who provide placements for foster youth, and the barriers that lack of such child care can create in recruiting and retaining resource families.
- Establishes the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children, to be implemented at the discretion of each county, in order to stabilize foster children with families at the time of placement by providing:
- A payment or voucher, for up to six months immediately following placement, for child care and development services; and
- A child care navigator to assist the family in accessing long-term subsidized child care.
- Requires county welfare departments that choose to participate to administer the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children, contingent upon an appropriation of $11 million in the 2017-18 fiscal year and $22 million each year thereafter.
- Permits counties to establish local priorities and to provide payments directly or through contracts with alternative payment programs (APPs) to distribute vouchers, as specified, and further, requires that:
- Counties that elect to provide direct payments to a child care provider or distribute vouchers pay commensurate with the regional market rates (RMRs), as specified; and
- For counties that elect to contract with a local APP to distribute vouchers, the vouchers be in an amount commensurate with the RMRs and the contract not displace, or result in the reduction of, an existing contract with a current local APP.
- Requires county welfare departments to determine the eligibility of a child for the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children.
- Specifies that family placements eligible to receive a payment or voucher under this program include all of the following:
- Approved resource families and families that have a child placed with them based on an emergency or for a compelling reason, as specified;
- Currently licensed or certified foster care providers, as specified;
- Currently approved relatives or nonrelative extended family members, as specified; and
- Parents under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, including, but not limited to, nonminor dependent parents.
- Authorizes participating counties to provide a payment or voucher to a resource family if work responsibilities or activities associated with parenting a child in foster care prevent that family from being at home with the child for whom they have care and responsibility, as specified.
- Requires each child receiving a monthly child care payment or voucher to be provided with a child care navigator, as specified.
- Requires each child receiving a monthly child care payment or voucher to be eligible to receive that payment or voucher for up to six months and further, specifies that, if the child and family access long-term subsidized child care prior to the end of that six-month period, eligibility for the monthly payment or voucher shall terminate upon enrollment in the long-term, subsidized child care.
- Authorizes a county welfare department, at its discretion, to extend eligibility for a monthly payment or voucher for an additional six months, not to exceed 12 months in total, if the child and family have been unable to access long-term, subsidized child care during the initial six-month period.
- Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to seek all federal approvals necessary to claim federal reimbursement under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act in order to maximize state and local funding for child care.
- Prohibits the provisions of this bill that establish the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children from being interpreted as creating an entitlement to a child care payment or voucher.
- Specifies that the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children established pursuant to provisions of this bill is intended to complement county child welfare agency efforts to recruit, retain, and support resource families and that any funding provided to counties pursuant to these provisions shall supplement county activities, as specified.
- Requires child care resource and referral programs, contingent upon an appropriation of $2.5 million in the 2017-18 fiscal year and $5 million each year thereafter, to be responsible for the provision of a child care navigator to support children in foster care, children previously in foster care upon return to their home of origin, and children of parents in the child welfare system, as specified.
- Requires the child care navigator to work with the child’s resource family, social worker, and child and family team (CFT) to, as specified: assess child care opportunities, identify opportunities for an ongoing child care subsidy, assist in the completion of child care program applications, and develop a long-term child care plan for the child.
- Requires each resource and referral agency to, as a condition of receiving funding for providing navigation services pursuant to provisions of this bill, develop and enter into a formal agreement with the county child welfare agency so as to facilitate interagency communication and, to the maximum extent possible, leverage federal funding, as specified. Alternatively, requires the resource and referral agency to annually provide a written statement explaining why entering into such a formal agreement is not practical or feasible.
- Prohibits the provisions of this bill related to resource and referral agencies from limiting the provision of child care navigation support to children who are in the foster care system, as specified.
- Requires child care resource and referral programs, contingent upon an appropriation of $2 million in the 2017-18 fiscal year and $4 million each year thereafter, to be responsible for the provision of trauma-informed training and coaching, as specified, to child care providers working with children in the foster care system.
- Requires each resource and referral agency to, as a condition of receiving funding for providing navigation services pursuant to provisions of this bill and in coordination with the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network, develop and enter into a formal agreement with the county child welfare agency so as to, to the maximum extent possible, leverage federal funding, as specified. Alternatively, requires the resource and referral agency to annually provide a written statement explaining why entering into such a formal agreement is not practical or feasible.
- Authorizes a child who meets the eligibility criteria of the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children to be provided with:
- A voucher for child care services for up to six months immediately following a child’s placement; and
- A child care navigator to assist the child and resource family in accessing long-term subsidized child care.
EXISTING LAW:
- Establishes the Child Care and Development Services Act to provide child care and development services as part of a coordinated, comprehensive, and cost-effective system serving children from birth to 13 years old and their parents, and including a full range of supervision, health, and support services through full- and part-time programs. (EDC 8200 et seq.)
- Defines “child care and development services” to mean services designed to meet a wide variety of children’s and families’ needs while parents and guardians are working, in training, seeking employment, incapacitated, or in need of respite. (EDC 8208)
- States the intent of the Legislature that all families have access to child care and development services, through resource and referral where appropriate, and regardless of demographic background or special needs, and that families are provided the opportunity to attain financial stability through employment, while maximizing growth and development of their children, and enhancing their parenting skills through participation in child care and development programs. (EDC 8202)
- Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer general child care and development programs to include, among other things as specified, age- and developmentally-appropriate activities, supervision, parenting education and involvement, and nutrition. Further allows such programs to be designed to meet child-related needs identified by parents or guardians, as specified. (EDC 8240 and 8241)
- Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to adopt rules and regulations regarding eligibility, enrollment, and priority of services. (EDC 8263)
- Provides for child care resource and referral programs to be established to serve a defined geographic area with: identification of the full range of existing child care services and development and maintenance of a resource file of those services; establishment of a referral process that responds to parental need for information, as specified, that affords parents maximum access to all referral information; provision of technical assistance to existing and potential providers of all types of child care services, as specified; and other specified services. (EDC 8210 et seq.)
- To allow for maximum parental choice, authorizes the operation of Alternative Payment Programs (APPs) and provision of alternative payments and support services to parents and child care providers by local government agencies or non-profit organizations that contract with CDE. (EDC 8220)
- Establishes rules and requirements for APPs and providers, as contracted agencies with CDE, to observe, including but not limited to accounting and auditing requirements, attendance monitoring requirements, referral requirements where applicable, and reimbursement and payment procedures. (EDC 8220 et seq.)
- Requires the Superintendent to adopt rules, regulations, and guidelines to facilitate funding and reimbursement procedures for subsidized child care. (EDC 8269)
- States that the purpose of foster care law is to provide maximum safety and protection for children who are currently being physically, sexually, or emotionally abused, neglected, or exploited, and to ensure the safety, protection, and physical and emotional well-being of children who are at risk of harm. (WIC 300.2)
- Declares the intent of the Legislature to, whenever possible, preserve and strengthen a child’s family ties and, when a child must be removed from the physical custody of his or her parents, to give preferential consideration to placement with relatives. States the intent of the Legislature to reaffirm its commitment to children who are in out-of-home placement to live in the least restrictive family setting and as close to the child’s family as possible, as specified. Further states the intent of the Legislature that all children live with a committed, permanent, nurturing family and states that services and supports should be tailored to meet the specific needs of the individual child and family being served, as specified. (WIC 16000)
- Requires out-of-home placement of a child in foster care to be based upon selection of a safe setting that is the least restrictive family setting that promotes normal childhood experiences and the most appropriate setting that meets the child’s individual needs, as specified. Further requires the selection of placement to consider, in order of priority, placement with: relatives, nonrelated extended family members, and tribal members; foster family homes, resource families, and nontreatment certified homes of foster family agencies; followed by treatment and intensive treatment certified homes of foster family agencies or multidimensional treatment foster care homes or therapeutic foster care homes; group care placements in the order of short-term residential treatment centers, group homes, community treatment facilities, and out-of-state residential treatment, as specified. (WIC 16501.1)
- Provides for extended foster care funding for youth until age 21, as well as adopts other changes to conform to the federal Fostering Connections to Success Act. (WIC 241.1, 303, 366.3, 388, 391, 450, 11400, 11402, 11403)
- Defines “nonminor dependent” as a current or former foster youth who is between18 and 21 years old, in foster care under the responsibility of the county welfare department, county probation department, or Indian Tribe, and participating in a transitional independent living plan, as specified. (WIC 11400)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS:
Child Welfare Services: The purpose of California’s Child Welfare Services (CWS) system is to protect children from abuse and neglect and provide for their health and safety. When children are identified as being at risk of abuse, neglect or abandonment, county juvenile courts hold legal jurisdiction and children are served by the CWS system through the appointment of a social worker. Through this system, there are multiple opportunities for the custody of the child, or his or her placement outside of the home, to be evaluated, reviewed and determined by the judicial system, in consultation with the child's social worker, to help provide the best possible services to the child. The CWS system seeks to help children who have been removed from their homes reunify with their parents or guardians, whenever appropriate, or unite them with other individuals they consider to be family. There are currently over 64,000 children and youth in California’s child welfare system. Of those youth, 16,892 (26.1%) have been in foster care for over three years, 11,800 (18.3%) have been in care for over 4 years, and 8,842 (13.7%) have been in care for over 5 years.
Subsidized child care: California’s subsidized child care system is designed to provide assistance to parents and guardians who are working, in training, seeking employment, incapacitated, or in need of respite. This child care is available through a number of programs; additionally, California offers State Preschool Programs to eligible three-and four-year-olds.
Parents participating in CalWORKs, as well as families transitioning off of and no longer receiving CalWORKs aid, can be eligible for child care, which is offered in three “stages.” The Department of Social Services (DSS) administers Stage 1, and the California Department of Education (CDE) administers Stages 2 and 3. CDE also administers non-CalWORKs child care. The largest programs are: General Child Care, which includes contracted centers and family child care homes; the California State Preschool Program, which provides developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate curriculum to eligible three- and four-year olds; and APPs, which provide vouchers that can be used to obtain child care in a center, family child care home, or from a license-exempt provider. Waitlists for non-CalWORKs child care are common.
Resource and referral agencies: Resource and Referral (R&R) agencies, located in every county in the state, provide a wide range of services for parents, providers, and local communities. Services are free, accessible to all parents and child care providers, and include, among other things: helping parents to locate child care that best suits the needs of their family; maintaining databases of local child care providers; tracking providers’ licensure status, age groups served, schedules, languages spoken, and number and type of spaces available; and providing training to providers.
Continuum of Care Reform: SB 1013 (Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter 35, Statutes of 2012, realigned child welfare services to counties, placed a moratorium on the licensure of new group homes, and directed DSS to convene a working group to examine the use of group homes in California. This culminated in DSS submitting a report to the Legislature in January 2015 that contained a number of recommendations intended to reform the foster care system and reduce California’s reliance on group homes as a viable placement for foster youth. These efforts were initially named “Congregate Care Reform,” but were later renamed “Continuum of Care Reform” (CCR) to reflect the need to strengthen the state’s system of home-based care and supports while decreasing reliance on group homes. AB 403 (Stone), Chapter 773, Statutes of 2015, and AB 1997 (Stone), Chapter 612, Statutes of 2016, adopted many of the CCR report recommendations into law, including enacting a sunset for existing licensure, rate-setting, and other provisions for group homes and providing for a new licensure category of Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Programs (STRTPs) to offer temporary housing and intensive up-front services for youth prior to placing them with a family.
The Resource Family Approval (RFA) program is a child-centered approval process for all families seeking to care for a foster youth, regardless of whether or not the youth is related to the family. The RFA process replaces foster parent licensing and certification, relative approval, guardianship approval, and adoption. Per the RFA program, which went statewide as a part of CCR, all caregivers of children and youth will be approved to be “resource families” who can be an emergency, temporary, and/or permanent family for a youth. A key component of CCR is the recruitment and retention of a sufficient number of resource families capable of providing care and support for youth in the child welfare services system as the state moves away from reliance on group homes.
Need for this bill: The Association of Community Human Service Agencies (ACHSA), which represents over 85 nonprofit community agencies that provide a variety of child welfare, mental health, and juvenile justice services in Los Angeles County, conducted an online survey in October 2015 of foster family agencies (FFAs) regarding foster children’s access to subsidized child care. Findings from that survey, which received responses from 15 FFAs in Los Angeles County, included the following:
- All FFAs surveyed responded that concerns about child care had impacted recruitment of certified foster parents, with two-thirds stating that it has “significantly” impacted recruitment efforts and one-third stating that it had “somewhat” done so; and
- All FFAs surveyed responded that concerns about child care had impacted foster parent willingness to accept children into their care, with 60% saying it had significantly impacted willingness, and 40% saying it had somewhat done so.
Individual comments by FFA respondents to the survey included:
- “If subsidized child care were available, more families would become certified…especially families with two parents working”;
- Child care is “a huge barrier to recruitment and placement” and “the biggest barrier”; and
- Many parents are unable to accept foster children under five “due to the high cost of child care.”
According to the author, “Increasing access to child care would enable a larger pool of families to become foster parents, providing a stable home for more children in need. The childcare system was not designed to be an emergency response system and this bill will help both systems work together to better support the needs of our foster youth.”
Writing in support of this bill, Children Now states that:
“County child welfare agencies rely on the commitment of countless resource families to provide children, who have been abused and neglected, with safe and loving homes. Unfortunately, many willing resource parents cannot provide homes for foster children because they lack access to child care. Although foster children are eligible for state child care subsidies, one of the main barriers to accessing child care is a ‘timing gap.’ When children are removed, they are in crisis and prospective resource parents – often relatives – instantly need to access child care in order to care for their new family member and keep their jobs. Yet, child care programs typically operate at full capacity, with short enrollment windows, that rarely align with a child’s placement into foster care. This makes it nearly impossible for caregivers who work to take in young children. This proposal addresses this ‘timing gap’ so that children can be promptly placed and stabilized with loving relatives or with the right resource family.
…The success of the Continuum of Care Reform (CCR) depends on increased recruitment, retention and support of resource families. Many counties continue to struggle with declines in the available number of caregivers, in part due to positive outcomes as children exit to adoption and guardianship, and difficulty in recruiting working families. In Los Angeles County alone, state-licensed homes have declined by over half, from more than 8,000 in 2005 to fewer than 4,000 in 2015. The child welfare system cannot succeed in its mission to provide loving foster homes for our most vulnerable children unless this barrier to recruiting caregivers is addressed. In addition, we know that, for all the benefits that high-quality child care has for young children, the impact can be far more dramatic for children who have experienced the trauma of abuse, neglect and removal from their homes.”
Recommended amendments: Committee staff recommends the following technical amendments, including amendments that clarify that eligible families may include those providing emergency placements and those still converting to resource families during CCR transition:
Beginning on line 14 of page 5 of the bill:
5
(5) (A) (i) Contingent upon an appropriation of four million
6
dollars ($4,000,000) annually two million five hundred thousand
7
dollars ($2,500,000) in the 2017–18 fiscal year and five million
8
dollars ($5,000,000) annually thereafter for purposes of this
9
subparagraph, provision of a child care navigator to support
10
children in foster care, and children previously in foster care upon
11
return to their home of origin. origin, and children of parents
12
involved in the child welfare system, including the children of
13
nonminor dependents. The navigator shall work with the child’s
14
resource family, licensed or certified foster family, or family with a placement based on an emergency or for a compelling reason as described in WIC 16519.5, and social worker, and child and family team to assess
15
child care opportunities appropriate to the child’s age and needs,
16
assist the resource family in identifying potential opportunities for
17
an ongoing child care subsidy, assist the caregiver in completing
18
appropriate child care program applications, and develop an overall,
19
long-term child care plan for the child.
20
(ii) As a condition of receiving funds pursuant to this
21
subparagraph, each resource and referral program agency shall develop
22
and enter into a memorandum of understanding, contract, or other
23
formal agreement with the county child welfare agency in order
24
to facilitate interagency communication and, to the maximum
25
extent possible, to leverage federal funding, including
26
administrative funding, available pursuant to Title IV–E of the
27
Social Security Act, to enhance the navigation support authorized
28
under this subparagraph, or the resource and referral program agency shall
29
explain, in writing, annually, why entering into a memorandum
30
of understanding, contract, or other formal agreement with the
31
county child welfare agency is not practical or feasible. This
32
section shall not limit the provision of child care navigation support
33
to children who are in the foster care system, including children
34
who are eligible for the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program
35
for Foster Children established pursuant to Section 11461.6 of
36
the Welfare and Institutions Code. Navigator services provided pursuant to this subparagraph shall be made available to any child in foster care, child previously in foster care who returns to his or her home of origin, and child of parents involved in the child welfare system, including any child who meets the eligibility criteria for the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children established by Section 11461.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Eligibility for navigator services shall not be contingent upon a child’s receipt of a child care payment or voucher.
Beginning on line 9 of page 6 of the bill:
8
(ii) As a condition of receiving funds pursuant to this
9
subparagraph, each resource and referral program agency, in coordination
10
with the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network,
11
shall develop and enter into a memorandum of understanding,
12
contract, or other formal agreement with the county child welfare
13
agency in order to, to the maximum extent possible, leverage
14
federal funding, including training funds, available pursuant to
15
Title IV–E of the Social Security Act, to enhance the training
16
support authorized under this subparagraph, or the resource and
17
referral agency shall explain, in writing, annually, why entering
18
into a memorandum of understanding, contract, or other formal
19
agreement with the county child welfare agency is not practical
20
or feasible.
Beginning on line 28 of page 7 of the bill:
23
(1) (A) A child who meets the eligibility criteria of the
24
Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children, as
25
established by Section 11461.6, may be provided with a voucher
26
for child care services for the child for up to six months
27
immediately following the child’s placement as well as a child
28
care navigator to assist the child and resource family, licensed or certified foster family, or family with a placement based on an emergency or for a compelling reason as described in WIC 16519.5 in accessing
29
long-term subsidized child care.
Beginning on line 11 of page 10 of the bill:
9
(2) Chapter 773 of the Statutes of 2015 and Chapter 612 of the
10
Statutes of 2016, commonly known as Continuum of Care Reform,
11
aggravates reinforces California’s shortage of need for foster care placements and
12
demands that we address the major barriers to parent recruitment.
Beginning on line 28 of page 10 of the bill:
22
(b) The Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster
23
Children is hereby established established, to be implemented at
24
the discretion of each county, for the purpose of stabilizing foster
25
children with resource families at the time of initial placement by
26
providing a payment or voucher for child care and development
27
services for up to six months immediately following the child’s
28
placement and by providing the resource family with a child care
29
navigator to assist the family in accessing long-term subsidized
30
child care.
Beginning on line 7 of page 11 of the bill:
3
(d) (1) As determined by the county welfare department, and
4
consistent with guidance issued jointly by the State Department
5
of Social Services and the State Department of Education, counties
6
may establish local priorities and may either provide payment
7
directly to the resource family or child care provider, or contract
8
with a local alternative payment program agency to distribute vouchers for
9
child care.
10
(2) Counties that elect to provide payment directly to a family or child
11
care provider or to distribute vouchers shall pay commensurate
12
with the regional market rates, as described in Section 8357 of the
13
Education Code.
14
(3) For counties that elect to contract with a local alternative
15
payment agency, as described in Section 8220 of the Education
16
Code, to distribute child care vouchers, the vouchers shall be in
17
an amount commensurate with the regional market rates, as
18
described in Section 8357 of the Education Code and the contract
19
shall not displace, or result in the reduction of, an existing contract
20
with a current local alternative payment program.
21
(d)
22
(e) (1) Participating county welfare departments shall determine
23
eligibility of a child for the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program
24
for Foster Children and provide an eligible child between birth
25
and four years of age placed with an approved resource family or
26
the child of a young parent involved in the child welfare system,
27
including a nonminor dependent, with a monthly voucher for child
28
care commensurate with regional market rate requirements, as
29
specified in Section 8357 of the Education Code, upon and for up
30
to six months following the child’s initial placement. Children using the criteria outlined in paragraphs (2) and (3).
Beginning on line 7 of page 12 of the bill:
3
(3) A participating county welfare department may provide a
4
payment or voucher if work responsibilities preclude resource
5
families from being at home when the child for whom they have
6
care and responsibility is not in school or for periods when the
7
resource family, licensed or certified foster family, or family with a placement based on an emergency or for a compelling reason as described in WIC 16519.5 is required to participate, without the child, in
8
activities associated with parenting a child in foster care that are
9
beyond the scope of ordinary parental duties, including, but not
10
limited to, attendance at administrative or judicial reviews, case
11
conferences, and resource family training.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Advancement Project
Advokids
Alliance for Children’s Rights
Alliance for Men and Boys of Color, Sigma Beta Xi
American Academy of Pediatrics, California
California Alliance of Care Givers
California Alliance of Child and Family Services
California Child Care Resource and Referral Network
Child Care Alliance of Los Angeles
Child Care Law Center
Child Care Resource Center
Children Now
Children’s Advocacy Institute
Children’s Law Center of California
County of Santa Cruz Human Services Department
County Welfare Directors Association of California
First Place for Youth
Hillsides
Riverside County Department of Public Social Services
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by: Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089
Discussed in Hearing
View Older Hearings
Bill Author
Bill Co-Author(s):