Existing law establishes the California Department of Aging within the California Health and Human Services Agency to provide leadership to the area agencies on aging in developing systems of home- and community-based services that maintain individuals in their own homes or least restrictive homelike environments. Existing law requires the Secretary of California Health and Human Services, in coordination with the Director of the California Department of Aging, to lead the development and implementation of the Master Plan for Aging established pursuant to Executive Order N-14-19.

Existing law also establishes the grounds for removal of a dependent child from the custody of the dependent childs parent or guardian and establishes procedures to determine the placement of a dependent child. Existing law requires foster care placement, if possible, to be made in the home of a relative unless the placement would not be in the best interest of the child. Existing law establishes the Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment Program (Kin-GAP), which provides aid on behalf of eligible children who are placed in the home of a relative guardian, and the Kinship Support Services Program to provide community-based support services to relative caregivers and children placed in their homes.

This bill would require the California Department of Aging, in consultation with the Department of Justice and the State Department of Social Services, to conduct a study to examine the issues faced by grandparents who are 60 years of age or older and are primary caregivers for their grandchildren, and requires the California Department of Aging to report the findings of the study to the Legislature.

Existing law establishes the California Department of Aging within the California Health and Human Services Agency to provide leadership to the area agencies on aging in developing systems of home- and community-based services that maintain individuals in their own homes or least restrictive homelike environments. Existing law requires the Secretary of California Health and Human Services, in coordination with the Director of the California Department of Aging, to lead the development and implementation of the Master Plan for Aging established pursuant to Executive Order N-14-19.

Existing law also establishes the grounds for removal of a dependent child from the custody of the dependent childs parent or guardian and establishes procedures to determine the placement of a dependent child. Existing law requires foster care placement, if possible, to be made in the home of a relative unless the placement would not be in the best interest of the child. Existing law establishes the Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment Program (Kin-GAP), which provides aid on behalf of eligible children who are placed in the home of a relative guardian, and the Kinship Support Services Program to provide community-based support services to relative caregivers and children placed in their homes.

This bill would require the California Department of Aging, in consultation with the Department of Justice and the State Department of Social Services, to conduct a study to examine the issues faced by grandparents who are 60 years of age or older and are primary caregivers for their grandchildren, and requires the California Department of Aging to report the findings of the study to the Legislature.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular Session

SB 431 (Nguyen) - Grandparents: caregivers support

Bill Summary:

SB 431 would require the California Department of Aging (CDA) to conduct a study on impacts to individuals who are 60 years of age or older who are primary caregivers for their grandchildren.

Fiscal Impact:

The CDA estimates General Fund costs to be $654,000 - $1,004,000 in 2024-25, and $201,000 each year, 2025-26 through 2028-29, for staff and a contractor to develop the study and report.

Background:

Abused and neglected children who have been removed from their homes fall under the jurisdiction of the county’s juvenile dependency court, while the child is served the state’s Child Welfare System, administered by the Department of Social Services. The state’s goal is to reunify a foster child or youth with their biological family whenever possible. In instances where reunification is not possible, the state’s goal is to provide a permanent placement alternative. State and federal law include a preference to place children in out-of-home care with relatives. “Kinship care” in the California foster care system refers to the care of children by relatives and is also referred to as formal kinship care.

Some grandparents and other kin may be able to get assistance to care for their grandchildren through Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment (Kin-GAP) programs. Kin-GAP programs are state- and federally-funded permanency and payment programs that are meant to promote permanency for children who are dependents or wards of the court. Kin-Gap provides eligible caretaker relatives with a subsidy that is equal to what a child would have received in foster care, based on the age and needs of the child.

The CDA administers community-based programs that serve older adults, adults with disabilities, family caregivers, and residents in long-term care facilities throughout the state. In 2019, the Governor issued an executive order calling for the creation of a Master Plan for Aging. The plan includes five goals: Housing for All Stages and Ages; Health Reimagined; Inclusion and Equity, Not Isolation; Caregiving That Works; and Affording Aging. Although the plan includes caregiving, the caregiving relates to other family members caring for the person aging while also caring for their minor children. The plan does not address grandparents providing caregiving for their grandchildren.

Proposed Law:

Specific provisions of the bill would:

• Require CDA, in consultation with the Department of Justice and the Department of Social Services, to conduct a study to determine all of the following:
  • The financial, emotional, and legal support needed, as well as the resources required, for individuals who are 60 years of age or older and have taken responsibility for their grandchildren.
  • The inequities that may exist in support and offerings for guardianship and adoptions relating to grandparents 60 years of age or older who are raising their grandchildren.
  • What else can be done to expedite the process of placing grandchildren with their grandparents and to assist with the related expenses.
  • Whether this problem should be included in the Master Plan for Aging.
• Require the CDA to report the findings of the study to the Legislature, as provided.
• Sunset the provisions on January 1, 2028.

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SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES

Senator Alvarado-Gil, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

Subject: Grandparents: caregivers support

SUMMARY

This bill requires the California Department of Aging (CDA), in consultation with the California Department of Justice (DOJ) and the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) to conduct a study on impacts to individuals who are 60 years of age or older who are primary caregivers for their grandchildren.

ABSTRACT

Existing Law:

1. Establishes the federal Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers, the RAISE Family Caregiving Advisory Council, and directs the development of the National Strategy to Support Caregivers (NSSC). (Public Law No (P.L.) 115-119, 2017)
2. Establishes the federal Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act. (P.L. 115-196, 2018)
3. Provides that in developing the Master Plan for Aging (MPA) pursuant to Executive Order N-14-19, the Secretary of California Health and Human Services (CHHS) must consider applying, on behalf of the State of California, to join the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities.(WIC 9101.1)
4. Requires the CHHS Secretary to ensure effective coordination among departments of the agency in carrying out mandates, as specified, and to regularly convene meetings concerning services to older individuals that include, but is not be limited to, the State Department of Health Care Services, CDSS, the State Department of Public Health, and CDA, for that purpose. (WIC 9101(f))
5. Requires the CHHS Secretary to also encourage other state entities that have other programs for older individuals to actively participate in periodic joint meetings for the purpose of coordinating service activities, including, but not be limited to, the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Housing and Community Development, Parks and Recreation in the Natural Resources Agency, the Transportation Agency, and the California Arts Council. (WIC 9101(g))
6. Request the University of California to compile into a report to the Legislature by July 1, 2003, the following information: (a) survey existing resources throughout California’s governmental and administrative structure that are available to address the needs of an aging society, including a commentary on existing gaps in these resources, and projections for gaps that may occur, based on existing and future demographic trends; (b) a composite demographic profile of California; (c) development of a plan for a longitudinal database of Californians; and (d) provide findings and recommendations, and steps for their implementation. (WIC 9101.5)
7. Requires CDA, in conjunction with the management information and reporting system, to annually submit by March 1 of each year, to the budget, fiscal, and policy committees of the Legislature, and the Legislative Analyst Office, all of the following information:
   1. The number of persons served statewide in each of the prior and current fiscal years for each state or federally funded program or service administered by the department. This information shall also be provided for each Area Agency on Aging (AAA) service area.
   2. To the extent feasible, the number of unduplicated persons served statewide and in each AAA service area in the prior and current fiscal years for all state or federally funded programs and services administered by the department.
   3. Total estimated statewide expenditures in the prior, current, and budget fiscal years for each state or federally funded program or service administered by the department, including the same information for each AAA service area. (WIC 9102(d))

This Bill:

1. Provides that it is the intent of the Legislature that the relevant agencies conduct a comprehensive review of this issue, placing emphasis on impacts to individuals who are 60 years of age or older and who are primary caregivers for their grandchildren.
2. Requires CDA, in consultation with the DOJ and CDSS, to conduct a study to determine all of the following:
   1. The financial, emotional, and legal support needed, as well as the resources required, for individuals who are 60 years of age or older and have taken responsibility for their grandchildren.
   2. The inequities that may exist in support and offerings for guardianship and adoptions relating to grandparents 60 years of age or older who are raising their grandchildren.
   3. What else can be done to expedite the process of placing grandchildren with their grandparents and to assist with the related expenses.
   4. Whether this problem should be included in the MPA.
3. Requires the CDA to report the findings of the study to the Legislature and to submit the report, as provided.
4. Sunsets the above provisions on January 1, 2028.

FISCAL IMPACT

This bill has not yet been analyzed by a fiscal committee.

BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION

Purpose of the Bill:

According to the author, “As Californians struggled with the COVID-19 Pandemic and other issues including mental health concerns and substance abuse issues, it has become more common for grandparents or older adult relatives to take over the care of grandchildren or other minor youths. Anecdotal evidence demonstrates that as many as 20 percent of school children in California have a grandparent as a guardian/responsible party. Protecting older Californians and at-risk youths is a state-mandated responsibility, but protecting and serving the needs of these two populations when they’re in the same household is an issue area that has yet to be surveyed. There is currently no study that has been conducted that focuses on grandparents or older adults caregiving for their grandchildren or minor youths.”

Grandparent Caregiving

A 2019 Annie E. Casey Foundation report notes that over 2.5 million grandparents nationally are raising their grandchildren and an unknown number of other kin and relative caregivers had primary responsibility for caring for children whose parents were unable to do so. The “Grandparenting Study” by AARP indicates that “one in ten live in the same household as their grandchildren and babysit, and 5 percent of grandparents provide their grandchildren’s primary care, according to the national representative sample.” A 2013 Study by University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) noted that in California, a grandparent taking care of their grandchild would need an income level of at least two time the federal poverty level to afford to care for themselves and their grandchild. This number is likely to be much higher today.

There are many different reasons why a grandparent may become the primary caregiver for their grandchildren. In some cultures, a child may sometimes stay with their grandparent for a period of their lives to learn life skills or simply to spend extended time with them. Other times it may because the child’s parent(s) died or are otherwise unable to care for their children. However, one of the main reasons is related to their removal from their parent’s home for abuse or neglect and as a result were placed into the child welfare services (CWS) system.

Child Welfare Services System

California’s CWS system is an essential component of the state’s safety net. Social workers in each county who receive reports of abuse or neglect, investigate and resolve those reports. When a case is substantiated, a family is either provided with services to ensure a child’s well-being and avoid court involvement, or a child is removed and placed into foster care. In 2022, the state’s child welfare agencies received 440,212 reports of abuse or neglect. Of these, 51,806 reports contained allegations that were substantiated and 19,953 children were removed from their homes and placed into foster care via the CWS system.

Abused and neglected children who have been removed from their homes fall under the jurisdiction of the county’s juvenile dependency court. The dependency court holds legal jurisdiction over the child, while the child is served by a CWS system social worker. This system seeks to ensure the safety and protection of these children, and where possible, preserve and strengthen families through visitation and family reunification. The CWS system provides multiple opportunities for the custody of a foster child, or the child’s 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. It is the state’s goal to reunify a foster child or youth with their biological family whenever possible. In instances where reunification is not possible, it is the state’s goal to provide a permanent placement alternative, such as adoption or guardianship, with other relatives or nonrelative extended family members, or with Resource Families.

Kinship Care

State and federal law include a preference to place children in out-of-home care with relatives. “Kinship care” in the California foster care system refers to the care of children by relatives and is also referred to as formal kinship care. Relatives are the preferred resource for children who are unable to reside with their birth parents because it maintains the children's connections with their families. In the CWS system, a ‘relative’ is defined an adult who is related to the child by blood, adoption, or affinity within the fifth degree of kinship, including stepparents, stepsiblings, and all relatives whose status is preceded by the words ‘great,’ ‘great-great,’ or ‘grand,’ or the spouse of any of these persons, even if the marriage was terminated by death or dissolution. Some grandparents and other kin may be able to get assistance to care for their grandchildren through Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment (Kin-GAP) programs.

Kin-GAP programs, administered by CDSS, are state- and federally-funded permanency and payment programs that are meant to promote permanency for children who are dependents or wards of the court. Kin-Gap provides eligible caretaker relatives with a subsidy that is equal to what a child would have received in foster care, based on the age and needs of the child. The Kin-GAP program was restructured to meet federal requirements contained in the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 – Public Law (P.L.) 110-351 to draw down federal funds and to provide additional benefits to program recipients. There have also been other recent federal actions related to caregiving in the CWS system, specifically for family member caregivers, including grandparents that care for their grandchildren.

Federal Response to Grandparent Caregivers

State and federal laws require that all individuals seeking to provide care for children in the CWS system must meet the same licensing standards to become a resource family (or foster families) regardless of whether the home is with a kin or non-kin placement. On February 18, 2023, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) introduced a new proposed rule to make it easier for child welfare agencies to license caregiver relatives, including grandparents, to foster children by making them eligible for financial resources and support to care for their grandchildren. Specifically, the ACF proposed rule would create separate kinship caregiver licensing standards, with the intent to allow more children to remain with their families when a child faces removal from their parents. The proposed rule is not changing requirements concerning criminal background checks or other child safety provisions.

According to ACF, it is urging child welfare agencies “to place the least amount of restrictions as possible on grandparents and other kin to become licensed, consistent with the health, safety, and well-being of the child.” The ACF further states, “Research shows that children living with family experience higher stability and fewer behavioral problems compared to children living with non-relatives in foster care, in addition to maintaining familial and cultural bonds. ACF believes that child welfare agencies can develop different foster family home licensing or approval standards for kin in a manner that does not compromise child safety and well-being.”^[1] This announcement by ACF aligns with recent Biden-Harris administration’s executive orders on caregiving and are part of the lager federal strategy outlined in the 2022 NSSC.

2022 National Strategy to Support Caregivers

The NSSC was developed by the Advisory Councils established by the RAISE Family Caregiving Act and the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act, with input from family caregivers and other stakeholders. The NSSC includes almost 500 actions that local and state governments and the private sector may adopt “to ensure that family caregivers—who provide the overwhelming majority of long-term care in the United States—have the resources they need to maintain their own health, well-being, and financial security while providing crucial support for others.” The actions relating to grandparent caregiving include: allowing kin and grandparent caregivers who have primary responsibility for a child to claim the federal Child Tax Credit; launching a national public long-term care social insurance program that includes benefits for kin and grandparent caregivers; and extending health care coverage to children in the care of grandparents and kin who are not part of the CWS system.

California Department of Aging (CDA)

The CDA administers community-based programs that serve older adults, adults with disabilities, family caregivers, and residents in long-term care facilities throughout the state. As the federally designated State Unit on Aging, the department administers federal Older Americans Act (OAA) programs, the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP), and two Medi-Cal programs–the Multipurpose Senior Services Program and Community-Based Adult Services. CDA administers most of these programs through contracts with the state's 33 local AAA. At the local level, AAAs contract for and coordinate this array of community-based services to older adults, adults with disabilities, family caregivers, and residents of long-term care facilities. CDA is also the lead department on the state’s MPA, a comprehensive framework to prepare the state for the growth of the 60-and-over population to 10.8 million people by 2030.

Area Agency on Aging (AAA)

AAAs are public or private non-profit agencies designated by the state to address the needs and concerns of all older persons at the regional and local levels. “Area Agency on Aging” is a generic term—specific names of local AAAs may vary. AAAs are primarily responsible for a geographic area that is either a city, a single county, or a multi-county district. CDA provides leadership and direction to the 33 AAAs that coordinate a wide array of services to older adults and adults with disabilities at the community level and serve as the focal point for local aging concerns. AAAs’ goal is to make it possible for older individuals to choose the services and living arrangements that suit them best.

Master Plan on Aging

In June 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an Executive Order calling for the creation of a MPA. The Executive Order affirmed the priority of the health and well-being of older Californians and the need for policies that promote aging with dignity and independence. In January 2021, the Newsom Administration published its MPA, which is intended to be a ten-year blueprint for state government, local government, the private sector, and philanthropy to prepare the state for the coming demographic changes and “continue California’s leadership in aging, disability, and equity.” The MPA outlines five goals, 23 strategies, and over 100 initiatives. The five goals include: Housing for All Stages and Ages, Health Reimagined, Inclusion and Equity, Not Isolation, Caregiving That Works, and Affording Aging. Although the MPA includes caregiving, the caregiving relates to other family members caring for the person aging while also caring for their minor children. The MPA does not address grandparents providing caregiving for their grandchildren.

This bill would require CDA, with CDSS and DOJ to conduct a study on individuals in California who are 60 years of age or older and who have taken responsibility for their grandchildren. According to the California Senior Legislature, the bill’s sponsors, “the number of dependent children being raised by grandparents has increased exponentially. State school enrollments demonstrate that 20-25 percent of children are being raised by grandparents or another family member.” This bill seeks to learn more about this population’s needs and if warranted, if this should be included in the MPA. The bill also seeks to find out what else can be done to expedite the process of placing grandchildren with their grandparents and to assist with the related expenses. This is in line with the recent federal proposed rule.

COMMENTS

The 2022 NSSC was developed by the federal Advisory Councils established by the RAISE Family Caregiving Act and the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act, with extensive input from family caregivers, the people they support and other stakeholders. The NSSC includes almost 500 actions that local and state governments and the private sector may adopt. Currently, there is not a recent or comprehensive California-specific study on the effects of caregiving for a grandchild by a grandparent and this topic was not included in the MPA.

POSITIONS

Support:

California Senior Legislature (Sponsor)

Oppose:

None received

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1. https://acl.gov/news-and-events/announcements/proposed-rule-will-make-more-grandparents-and-other-relatives ↑