THIRD READING 

Bill No: ACR 126

Author: Maienschein (D)

Introduced: 8/15/19

Vote: 21

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-0, 8/22/19 (Consent) - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Court Adoption and Permanency Month

SOURCE: Judicial Council

DIGEST:

This resolution declares November 2019 as Court Adoption and Permanency Month, and encourages the courts and their communities to join in activities to promote permanency.

ANALYSIS: This resolution makes the following legislative findings:

1. Consistent with its commitment to support practices and procedures that promote access to justice and improved case outcomes for California’s children and families, the Judicial Council has recognized November as Court Adoption and Permanency Month every year since 1999.
2. 490,000 incidents of child abuse and neglect are reported each year in California, compared with more than 430,000 reports 20 years ago. Approximately 21,000 children enter child welfare-supervised foster care for the first time, compared to 27,000 children 20 years ago.
3. The number of foster children in California living apart from their families in child welfare-supervised out-of-home care has decreased by 44 percent in the last 20 years. The number of children exiting foster care into a permanent home has increased by 10 percent in the same time period, including a 57-percent increase in the number of those being adopted.
4. While progress has been made, much work is still needed to improve the lives of children and families in the child welfare system.
5. Local courts and communities throughout California have created programs promoting permanency that have resulted in a reduction in the number of children waiting to live in safe, stable, and permanent homes.

This resolution declares November 2019 as Court Adoption and Permanency Month, and encourages the courts and their communities to join in activities to promote permanency.

Related/Prior Legislation

ACR 284 (Thurmond, Resolution Chapter 216, Statutes of 2018) designated November 2018 as Court Adoption and Permanency Month.

ACR 124 (Limón, Resolution Chapter 193, Statutes of 2017) designated November 2017 as Court Adoption and Permanency Month.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No

SUPPORT: (Verified 9/3/19)

Judicial Council (source)

OPPOSITION: (Verified 9/3/19)

None received

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-0, 8/22/19

AYES: Aguiar-Curry, Arambula, Bauer-Kahan, Berman, Bigelow, Bloom, Boerner Horvath, Bonta, Brough, Burke, Calderon, Cervantes, Chau, Chen, Chiu, Choi, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Cunningham, Daly, Diep, Eggman, Flora, Fong, Friedman, Gabriel, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gipson, Gloria, Gonzalez, Grayson, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Kamlager-Dove, Kiley, Lackey, Levine, Limón, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Patterson, Petrie-Norris, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Luz Rivas, Robert Rivas, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Salas, Santiago, Smith, Mark Stone, Ting, Voepel, Waldron, Weber, Wicks, Wood, Rendon

NO VOTE RECORDED: Carrillo, Frazier, Gray, Low, Reyes

Prepared by: Karen Chow / SFA / (916) 651-1520

9/4/19 19:18:12

**** END ****

Date of Hearing: August 19, 2019

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON RULES

Ken Cooley, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:ACR 126 (

Author:Maienschein) – As Introduced Ver:August 15, 2019

SUBJECT: Court Adoption and Permanency Month.

SUMMARY: Declares November 2019 as Court Adoption and Permanency Month and encourages the courts and their communities to join in activities to promote permanency. Specifically, this resolution makes the following legislative findings:

1. Each year in California, 490,000 incidents of child abuse and neglect are reported, compared with more than 430,000 reports 20 years ago. Approximately 21,000 children enter child welfare-supervised foster care for the first time, compared to 27,000 children 20 years ago.
2. The number of foster children in California living apart from their families in child welfare-supervised out-of-home care has decreased by 44 percent in the last 20 years. The number of children exiting foster care into a permanent home has increased by 10 percent in the same time period, including a 57-percent increase in the number of those being adopted.
3. Forty percent of the children in foster care in California still live apart from their families for two or more years; and, 3,300 foster children are placed in congregate care rather than with relatives or in home-like settings.
4. The percentage of foster children over 10 years of age who exit foster care through adoption remains at only 25 percent; and, while progress has been made, much work is still needed to improve the lives of children and families in the child welfare system.
5. Local courts and communities throughout California have created programs promoting permanency that have resulted in a reduction in the number of children waiting to live in safe, stable, and permanent homes.
6. The Judicial Council remains committed to working with the Governor, the Legislature, and local courts and communities to ensure that every abused or neglected child finds a safe, stable, and permanent home with a loving family as quickly as possible.

FISCAL EFFECT: None

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

None on file

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Nicole Willis / RLS. / (916) 319-2800