Existing law provides that it is the policy of the state that all minors and nonminors in foster care have specified rights, including, among others, the right to attend school and participate in extracurricular, cultural, and personal enrichment activities, consistent with the childs age and developmental level, with minimal disruptions to school attendance and educational stability.

This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, on or before March 1, 2018, to convene a workgroup and would require the workgroup to develop an implementation plan for the California Foster Youth Enrichment Grant Program. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2019, upon appropriation by the Legislature and in consideration of the implementation plan, to establish that program in order to provide grants of $500 or less to qualified foster youth to enable the foster youth to participate in activities that enhance the foster youths skills, abilities, self-esteem, or overall well-being. The bill would specify eligibility criteria for receipt of a grant and the authorized uses of a grant. The bill would require a recipient, within 6 months after receipt of a grant, to submit documentation that describes how the grant was used and the actual cost, supported by copies of receipts, receipts showing the purchase of the program, product, or service, and payment of any directly related costs, costs purchased with the grant. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2022, to submit a report to the Legislature that addresses, among other things, data on the number of applications received and the number of grants awarded. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2023.

Existing law provides that it is the policy of the state that all minors and nonminors in foster care have specified rights, including, among others, the right to attend school and participate in extracurricular, cultural, and personal enrichment activities, consistent with the childs age and developmental level, with minimal disruptions to school attendance and educational stability.

This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, on or before March 1, 2018, to convene a workgroup and would require the workgroup to develop an implementation plan for the California Foster Youth Enrichment Grant Program. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2019, upon appropriation by the Legislature and in consideration of the implementation plan, to establish that program in order to provide grants of $500 or less to qualified foster youth to enable the foster youth to participate in activities that enhance the foster youths skills, abilities, self-esteem, or overall well-being. The bill would specify eligibility criteria for receipt of a grant and the authorized uses of a grant. The bill would require a recipient, within 6 months after receipt of a grant, to submit documentation that describes how the grant was used and the actual cost, supported by copies of receipts, of the program, product, or service, and directly related costs, purchased with the grant. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2022, to submit a report to the Legislature that addresses, among other things, data on the number of applications received and the number of grants awarded. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2023.

Existing law provides that it is the policy of the state that all minors and nonminors in foster care have specified rights, including, among others, the right to attend school and participate in extracurricular, cultural, and personal enrichment activities, consistent with the childs age and developmental level, with minimal disruptions to school attendance and educational stability.

This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, on or before March 1, 2018, to convene a workgroup and would require the workgroup to develop an implementation plan for the California Foster Youth Enrichment Grant Program. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2019, upon appropriation by the Legislature and in consideration of the implementation plan, to establish that program in order to provide grants of $500 or less to qualified foster youth to enable the foster youth to participate in activities that enhance the foster youths skills, abilities, self-esteem, or overall well-being. The bill would specify eligibility criteria for receipt of a grant and the authorized uses of a grant. The bill would require a recipient, within 6 months after receipt of a grant, to submit documentation that describes how the grant was used and the actual cost, supported by copies of receipts, of the program, product, or service, and directly related costs, purchased with the grant. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2022, to submit a report to the Legislature that addresses, among other things, data on the number of applications received and the number of grants awarded. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2023.

Date of Hearing: May 3, 2017

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 754

Author:(Acosta) – As Amended Ver:April 18, 2017

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY: This bill creates, until January 1, 2023, the California Foster Youth Enrichment Grant Program (Program) to provide grants to foster youth to participate in activities that enhance their skills, abilities, self-esteem, or overall well-being. Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS), by March 1, 2018, to convene a workgroup to develop an implementation plan to maximize the grant program’s impact and specifies that the workgroup be composed of members that represent the interests of foster youth.
2. Requires DSS, by January 1, 2019, and upon appropriation by the Legislature, to establish the Program, as specified.
3. Requires grants awarded to be no more than $500 and to fund a program, service, product, or any directly related costs that provide: skill development; academic or school-related assistance; or recreational or social participation to a foster youth.
4. Requires DSS to develop a grant application form and other associated forms for the purpose of data collection.
5. Requires DSS, by January 1, 2022, to submit a report to the Legislature containing specified data and information on the Program and contains a sunset date of January 1, 2023.

FISCAL EFFECT:

1. Total cost of approximately $7.5 million ($2.3 million GF) in FY 2017-18, and $15 million ($10 GF) in FY 2018-19 and ongoing until the program sunsets on January 1 2023. This assumes 30,000 qualified youth take advantage of the maximum grant amount of $500. Staff notes that a $15.25 million GF appropriation for this program is also being requested in the Budget process as a Legislative augmentation. The Assembly Budget Subcommittee (Sub 1) considered the proposal on March 29, 2017, but took no action. The item is pending consideration in the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services (Sub 3).
2. Minor and absorbable costs to DSS to convene a working group and develop an implementation plan.
3. Unknown costs, likely minor, to DSS to compile and submit a report to the Legislature by January 1, 2022.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to the author, “California has been a trailblazer in aligning policy with the needs of foster youth. Specifically in the areas of recognizing the need of the overall health of the youth lies in their ability to feel as normal as possible through the participation of extracurricular and enrichment activities. In recent years the establishment in law of the prudent parent standard and foster care bill of rights provided that all students in foster care should have the right to participate in activities that their peers engage in. The securing of these rights however falls short, in that financial burdens often prevent foster youth from fully engaging in activities which the state says should be rightfully theirs to participate in. [This bill] seeks to rectify the lack of funding for these extracurricular and enrichment activities, and acts upon the growing body of evidence that demonstrates the positive impact that extracurricular enrichment activities such as sports participation, art, music lessons, SAT prep classes, and even school sponsored activities can play in a young person’s academic performance and well-being."
2. “Normalcy” for Foster Youth. A core principle behind “normalcy” is recognizing the right of foster children to engage in extracurricular and social activities on a regular basis. California recognized the need to support the right of foster children to engage in a range of activities, and to call for a prudent parent standard with the adoption of AB 408 (Steinberg), Chapter 813, Statutes of 2003, which stated that, “every child adjudged a dependent child of the juvenile court shall be entitled to participate in age-appropriate extracurricular, enrichment, and social activities,” and that, “caregivers shall use a prudent parent standard in determining whether to give permission for a child residing in foster care to participate in extracurricular, enrichment, and social activities.”

Additionally, the Foster Youth Bill of Rights, adopted in 2001 and amended and enhanced over time to include 27 distinct rights, establishes the right of a foster youth to, “attend school and participate in extracurricular, cultural, and personal enrichment activities, consistent with the child’s age and developmental level, with minimal disruptions to school attendance and educational stability.”

As of October 1, 2016, there were 61,424 children in California’s child welfare system; 39,437 of these children were between the ages of 6 and 21.

1. Prior Legislation.

AB 1984 (Linder), of the 2015-16 Legislative Session, was substantially similar to this bill. That bill was held on Suspense in this Committee.

AB 1067 (Gipson), Chapter 851, Statutes of 2016, required DSS to convene a working group to develop standardized information about the rights of all minors and nonminors in foster care, and expanded requirements regarding the distribution of information regarding these rights.

AB 81 (Strickland), Chapter 76, Statutes of 2009, provided that a foster child who changes residences pursuant to a court order or decision of a child welfare worker is immediately deemed to have met all residency requirements for participation in interscholastic sports or other extracurricular activities.

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 754 (

Author:Acosta) – As Amended Ver:March 23, 2017

SUBJECT: Foster youth: enrichment activities

SUMMARY: Establishes the California Foster Youth Enrichment Grant Program.

Specifically, this bill:

1. Makes Legislative findings and declarations related to foster youth and the benefits that can result from enrichment activities.
2. Creates the California Foster Youth Enrichment Grant Program to provide grants to foster youth to participate in activities that enhance their skills, abilities, self-esteem, or overall well-being.
3. Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS), by March 1, 2018, to convene a workgroup to develop an implementation plan to maximize the grant program’s impact and further specifies that the workgroup shall be composed of members that represent the interests of foster youth.
4. Requires DSS, by January 1, 2019, and upon appropriation by the Legislature, to establish the California Foster Youth Enrichment Grant Program, as specified.
5. Requires grants to be awarded to a foster youth who is all of the following:
   1. In foster care under the placement and care responsibility of a county welfare department, county probation department, Indian tribe, consortium of tribes, or tribal organization, as specified;
   2. Between the ages of 6 and 21; and
   3. Enrolled in an elementary, middle, high school or equivalent, or in a postsecondary educational institution in the state.
6. Requires grants awarded pursuant to this bill to be no more than $500 and to fund a program, service, or product, and any directly related costs, that provides any of the following to a foster youth, as specified:
   1. Skill development;
   2. Academic or school-related assistance; or
   3. Recreational or social participation.
7. Requires DSS to develop a grant application form that contains specified information including, but not limited to, evidence of eligibility and the need for, use of, anticipated cost of and projected benefit to the youth of the program, product or service.
8. Requires DSS to develop a form on which the recipient shall submit, within six months of the grant being awarded, documentation regarding the use of the grant and actual and directly related costs, as specified, and further, prohibits a recipient from being eligible for a subsequent grant until this documentation is received.
9. Requires DSS, by January 1, 2022, to submit a report to the Legislature containing certain data and information on the grant program, as specified.
10. States Legislative intent that the report on the grant program submitted by DSS be used to evaluate options for continuing the program after December 31, 2022.
11. Sunsets the provisions of this bill as of January 1, 2023.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Permits the juvenile court to adjudge a child a dependent of the court for specified reasons, including, but not limited to, if a child has suffered or is at substantial risk of suffering serious physical harm, emotional damage, or sexual abuse, as specified. (WIC 300)
2. 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)
3. 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)
4. 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 therapeutic programs, group homes, community treatment facilities, and out-of-state residential treatment, as specified. (WIC 16501.1(d)(1))
5. Enumerates rights of minors and nonminors in foster care, including but not limited to the right to: live in a safe, healthy, and comfortable home where he or she is treated with respect; be free from physical, sexual, emotional, or other abuse, or corporal punishment; receive adequate and healthy food, adequate clothing, and, for youth in group homes, an allowance; receive medical, dental, vision, and mental health services; be involved in the development of his or her own case plan and plan for permanent placement; and review his or her own case plan and plan for permanent placement, if he or she is 12 years of age or older and in a permanent placement, and receive information about his or her out-of-home placement and case plan, including being told of changes to the plan. (WIC 16001.9)
6. Defines “nonminor dependent” as a current foster youth or ward of the juvenile court, or nonminor under the transition jurisdiction of the court, who is between 18 and 21 years old, in foster care under the responsibility of the county welfare department, county probation department, or Indian Tribe, and has a transitional independent living plan, as specified. (WIC 11400 (v))
7. Defines “reasonable and prudent parent” or “reasonable and prudent parent standard” to mean the standard characterized by careful and sensible parental decisions that maintain the health, safety, and best interests of a child while simultaneously encouraging emotional and developmental growth. Further, requires a caregiver to use this standard when determining whether to permit a child in foster care to participate in age or developmentally appropriate extracurricular, enrichment, cultural, or social activities, as specified. (WIC 362.05 (c)(1))
8. Requires every child adjudged a dependent of the juvenile court to be entitled to participate in age-appropriate extracurricular, enrichment, and social activities and further prohibits state or local regulation or policy from preventing or creating barriers to participation in those activities, as specified. (WIC 362.05)

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. As of October 1, 2016, there were 61,424 children in California’s child welfare system; 39,437 of these children were between the ages of 6 and 21.

The importance of extracurricular and other activities for foster youth: A report by the National Center for Youth Law entitled “Beyond the Basics: How Extracurricular Activities Can Benefit Foster Youth,” reviewed literature on the impacts of extracurricular activities for foster youth and found that benefits of participation could include higher grade point averages, increased likelihood of college enrollment, reduced dropout rates, decreased delinquent behavior, and the ability to work on interpersonal skills.

The Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act (P.L. 113-183), signed by President Obama in September of 2014, adopted changes to Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, having to do with foster care and adoption assistance. Among these changes were measures seeking to assist in creating “normalcy” for youth in foster care. California’s state-level conforming legislation was SB 794 (Senate Committee on Human Services), Chapter 425, Statutes of 2015.

A key tenet of “normalcy” is recognizing the right of foster children to regularly engage in extracurricular and social activities. One tool for facilitating such engagement is the adoption and use of a “reasonable and prudent parent standard” – this standard, while maintaining the expectation that caregivers always seek to ensure a foster youth’s safety, also calls on caregivers to allow foster youth to engage in the same range of activities that other parents allow for their children. California has recognized the need to support the right of foster children to engage in a range of activities, and to call for a prudent parent standard, for some time; AB 408 (Steinberg), Chapter 813, Statutes of 2003, adopted language stating that, “every child adjudged a dependent child of the juvenile court shall be entitled to participate in age-appropriate extracurricular, enrichment, and social activities,” and that, “caregivers shall use a prudent parent standard in determining whether to give permission for a child residing in foster care to participate in extracurricular, enrichment, and social activities.” SB 794 (Senate Committee on Human Services), Chapter 425, Statutes of 2015, further defined California’s reasonable and prudent parent standard to mean the standard characterized by careful and sensible parental decisions that maintain the health, safety, and best interests of a child while simultaneously encouraging emotional and developmental growth. This refinement of the reasonable and prudent parent standard calls on a caregiver to use this standard when determining whether to permit a child in foster care to participate in age or developmentally appropriate extracurricular, enrichment, cultural, or social activities, as specified.

Further recognition of the importance of foster youth participation in extracurricular and other activities is found in the Foster Youth Bill of Rights. Adopted in 2001 and amended and enhanced over time to include 27 distinct rights, the Foster Youth Bill of Rights establishes the right of a foster youth to, “attend school and participate in extracurricular, cultural, and personal enrichment activities, consistent with the child’s age and developmental level, with minimal disruptions to school attendance and educational stability.”

Need for this bill: According to the author:

“California has been a trailblazer in aligning policy with the needs of foster youth. Specifically in the areas of recognizing the need of the overall health of the youth lies in their ability to feel as normal as possible through the participation of extracurricular and enrichment activities. In recent years the establishment in law of the prudent parent standard and foster care bill of rights provided that all students in foster care should have the right to participate in activities that their peers engage in. The securing of these rights however falls short, in that financial burdens often prevent foster youth from fully engaging in activities which the state says should be rightfully theirs to participate in. [This bill] seeks to rectify the lack of funding for these extracurricular and enrichment activities which serve to address the holistic development of Foster Youth and produce improved outcomes. [This bill] acts upon the growing body of evidence that demonstrates the positive impact that extracurricular enrichment activities such as sports participation, art, music lessons, SAT prep classes, and even school sponsored activities can play in a young Person’s academic performance and well-being. Not only have enrichment programs been proven to positively impact a young person’s attendance, motivation, academic achievement, self-esteem and behavior, they are also an essential ingredient for high school students to build a robust and well-rounded college application which could lead to the student being competitive for advancement in higher education.”

Staff comments: This bill’s goal – to facilitate foster youth participation in extracurricular and other enrichment activities – is a laudable one. Both research and common sense point to the many positive benefits that can result from such participation. However, this bill also places a number of administrative burdens on both DSS (and potentially, other entities per the implementation plan to be developed) and the foster youth/resource families. These administrative requirements could have the effect of diverting a significant portion of funds away from supporting the activities and foster youth themselves, and could create a disincentive for participation in the grant program.

This bill requires DSS to: convene a workgroup to develop an implementation plan; establish the California Foster Youth Enrichment Grant Program in consideration of that plan; develop detailed application forms; assess grant applications and award grants in a manner that considers numerous specific criteria related to both the foster youth and the proposed activities to be funded; develop forms to be submitted by grant recipients six months after receipt of the grant; review documentation submitted by the grantee six months after receiving the grant; and compile detailed data on the program, to be submitted in a report to the Legislature by January 1, 2022.

Foster youth and their families are required to complete potentially lengthy applications and submit substantial follow-up documentation that may prove burdensome and even prohibitive.

An alternative approach to facilitating foster youth participation in extracurricular and educational activities that minimizes administrative requirements is found in Colorado, where systemic barriers to participation are addressed via the school system and waiving of fees. Colorado Revised Statute (C.R.S.) 22-32-138 (7) requires that:

“A school district or school in which a student in out-of-home placement is enrolled shall waive all fees that would otherwise be assessed against the student, including but not limited to any general fees, fees for books, fees for lab work, fees for participation in in-school or extracurricular activities, and fees for before-school or after-school programs. The school district or school shall not limit the opportunity of a student in out-of-home placement to participate in in-school and extracurricular activities and before-school and after-school programs due to waiver of the participation fees.”

This Colorado law provides just one example of easing foster youth access to activities. Should this bill move forward, the author may wish to consider how to achieve a more streamlined and efficient process for facilitating foster youth participation in extracurricular and other enrichment activities in a way that minimizes administrative costs and maximizes benefits for children and youth in need.

Recommended amendments: In order to address, in part, the concerns raised above, it would be useful to ease some of the administrative requirements placed on foster youth and their families. While youth and families may reasonably be expected to submit applications for grants which demonstrate the purpose for the request, and receipts substantiating use of funds for that purpose, the subsequent documentation currently required by the bill after expenditure of the grant amount is redundant and potentially onerous for an amount that totals no more than $500. Therefore, committee staff recommends the following amendments beginning on line 7 of page 4 of the bill:

6

(g) Within six months after a grant is awarded, the recipient

7

shall submit documentation, on forms developed by the department,

8

that describes how the grant was used and the actual cost, supported

9

by copies of the receipt or receipts, for purchase of the program, product, or service, and

10

payment of any directly related costs, purchased with the grant. A foster youth

11

shall not be eligible for a subsequent grant until this documentation

12

is all receipts are received.

13

(h) (1) On or before January 1, 2022, the department shall

14

submit a report to the Legislature that addresses, at a minimum,

15

all of the following:

16

(A) Data on the number of applications received, aggregated

17

by year.

18

(B) Data on the number of grants awarded, aggregated by year.

19

(C) Data on the programs, products, or services, and directly

20

related costs, the grants were used to fund, aggregated by year.

21

(D) A description of the documentation a recipient is required

22

to submit pursuant to subdivision (g).

23

(E) (D) Data on the number of recipients who provided the

24

documentation receipts required pursuant to subdivision (g) and who did

25

not provide the documentation receipts required by subdivision (g),

26

aggregated by year.

PRIOR LEGISLATION:

AB 1984 (Linder), 2016, was substantially similar to this bill. It died in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 1067 (Gipson), Chapter 851, Statutes of 2016, required DSS to convene a working group to develop standardized information about the rights of all minors and nonminors in foster care, and expanded requirements regarding the distribution of information regarding these rights.

SB 794 (Senate Committee on Human Services), Chapter 425, Statutes of 2015, adopted a number of changes to bring the state into compliance with the federal Preventing Sex Trafficking, and Strengthening Families Act (Public Law 113-183), and included, among other things, language to conform with federal law regarding reasonable and prudent parent standards.

AB 81 (Strickland), Chapter 76, Statutes of 2009, provided that a foster child who changes residences pursuant to a court order or decision of a child welfare worker is immediately deemed to have met all residency requirements for participation in interscholastic sports or other extracurricular activities.

AB 408 (Steinberg), Chapter 813, Statutes of 2003, made changes in dependency law to help achieve permanency for older foster youth, including providing that caregivers shall use a "prudent parent" standard in determining whether to give permission for a child residing in foster care to participate in age-appropriate extracurricular, enrichment, and social activities.

AB 899 (Liu), Chapter 683, Statutes of 2001, adopted California’s Foster Youth Bill of Rights.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

American Academy of Pediatrics, CA (AAP-CA)

California Alliance of Child and Family Services

California Probation, Parole, and Correctional Association (CPPCA)

John Burton Advocates for Youth

Youth Law Center

Opposition

None on file.

Analysis Prepared by: Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089