Legislative Advocacy

CalCASA In Action > Legislative Advocacy

CalCASA speaks up for children in foster care, bringing our children’s needs to the attention of both lawmakers and policymakers. When necessary, CalCASA will initiate legislation to ensure the fair and effective functioning of our child welfare system.

CalCASA’s Board of Directors operates a Legislative Advocacy Committee that identifies and analyzes bills that affect foster youth. As a respected authority on child welfare, CalCASA is frequently called on by legislators to provide the CASA perspective.

Every year, numerous laws are proposed that affect the child welfare system. Begin by understanding these proposed laws:

Assembly Bill 12
Now, as always, the juvenile court can retain jurisdiction over a dependent youth until age 21. (Welf. & Inst. Code 303) However, except in certain circumstances (i.e. in school and will graduate by age 19) the federal funding stopped. This meant that the county would be responsible for costs associated with the youth’s foster care maintenance.

Recently, Assembly Bill 12 – the bill that extends federal funding for foster youth until age 21 – was recently passed into law. Advocates hope that by extending federal funding jurisdiction, and thus services, will continue for youth as long as they are in the youth’s best interests. While many of its provisions do not go into effect until 2012, we all have questions now. Here is an AB12 Primer that can help with many of these questions. Click on the image below:

The flyer below is for foster youth, it explains the basic aspects of the California Fostering Connections to Success Act (formerly known as AB 12), which becomes law January 1, 2012. This important new law gives foster youth the option to receive services and supports until age 20. The goal of the law is for foster youth and the adults in their lives to work in new and different ways to help youth achieve their educational, work, health and other goals. Please distribute the flyer to foster youth about to age out and adults who work with and support foster youth.

Download Flyer

Download Memo

2011 Foster Care Legislation

Download List: 2011 Foster Care Legislation

Bill #	Introduced By	Bill Description	CalCASA's Position
AB 39	Assembly Member Beall	If passed, this bill would allot monies for AB 3632 mental health services to youth in school.	WATCH: Seems to shift responsibility from County Mental Health to Schools – which may not be best for children
AB 73	Assembly Member Feuer	If passed, this bill creates a 4 year pilot project whereby Los Angeles, Ventura, and one other county would presumptively open dependency courts to the public. The court would retain the ability to close the proceedings at the beginning or at any time during the case if it is in the minor's best interest to do so. This pilot would only take place if private funding was secured.	Prior to 4/26 Neutral Seek to Amend STATUS: Withdrawn by Author, will be reintroduced next year.
AB 143	Assembly Member Fuentes	If passed, this bill would allow school districts to release pupil records to the minor's counsel in a delinquency or probation action. Also, it requires that those receiving the records verify in writing that that they will not disclose the records except as allowed by law.	SUPPORT IF AMENDED: Does not affect dependency. But may cause confusion – perhaps clarify that 317 attorney gets pupil records. STATUS: Chaptered! New Law effective: 1/1/12
AB 159	Assembly Member Beall	If passed, this bill would extend the requirement that foster family agencies employ at least one social worker supervisor for every eight social workers until the Director of Social Services declares that the foster family agency rate has been restored to at least September 2009 levels.	SUPPORT STATUS: Chaptered! New Law effective: 1/1/12
AB 181	Assembly Members Beall and Portantino	If passed, This bill adds an entirely new section of mental health rights for youth in foster care and who are transition-age foster youth. These aspirational rights would include the right to receive mental health treatment; to interview the therapist before treatment; to discontinue psych meds if approved by a physician; the right to continue with the therapist for one year if the placement changes; the right to receive timely mental health services regardless of county of origin; the right to have mental health treatment outside of the residence; and the right to refuse mental health treatment unless deemed medically necessary by the court; and others.	SUPPORT STATUS: Held in Committee
AB 194	Assembly Member Beall	If passed, this bill would give youth who are up to 24 years of age and currently in foster care, or who emancipated from foster care, priority enrollment in California State Universities and community colleges (and requests UCs do the same).	SUPPORT STATUS: Chaptered!New Law effective: 1/1/12 until 1/1/17
AB 198	Assembly Member Beall	If passed, this bill requires that agencies work together so that prospective foster parents who wish to also apply to adopt do not need to be fingerprinted more than once	SUPPORT STATUS: Held in Committee
AB 212	Assembly Member Beall	If passed, this bill would extend Kin-GAP eligibility for youth who are 18 but enrolled in high school or specified training and is expected to finish by age 19. ALSO, if passed, this bill would specify that non-minor dependents who is over 19 is not a child for purposes of a child support referral. ALSO, if passed, this bill would add that before aging out, the youth shall be provided with an advanced health care directive form. ALSO, this bill would make changes to the adoption assessment report completed by the agency. ALSO, if passed, this bill would make clean up changes to AB 12 (2010).	WATCH STATUS: Chaptered! New Law effective immediately as Urgency Bill
AB 419	Assembly Member Mitchell	If passed, this bill mandates that Community Care Licensing to conduct unannounced visits at least once a year (e.g. to group homes). Family day care centers are to be inspected at least once every two years.	SUPPORT STATUS: Held in Committee
AB 709	Assembly Member Brownley	If passed, this bill would clarify law to ensure that foster youth must be enrolled in school immediately even if lacking immunization records. (AB 490 made this clear, but a provision in the Health & Safety code gave some pause).	SUPPORT STASTUS: Chaptered! New Law effective: 1/1/12
AB 735	Assembly Member Mitchell	If passed, this bill would require state agencies, when hiring for internships and student assistant positions, to give preference to current and former dependent foster youth up to age 26. Also, it would require that social workers notify youth of their eligibility for this preference.	SUPPORT STATUS: Chaptered!New Law effective: 1/1/12
AB 846	Assembly Member Bonilla	If passed, This bill is an attempt to make it easier for social services agencies to check foster youth credit reports when the youth turns 16. The Social Services Agency is authorized to check reports as part of a group instead of individually -- ignoring privacy provisions. This allows the social service agency to refer the youth with credit fraud to a government agency or nonprofit agency.	OPPOSE UNLESS AMENDED: Credit card companies might be able to identify foster youth and perhaps discriminate against them. CalCASA is working with folks to look into this. STATUS: Held in Committee
AB 1015	Assembly Member Charles Calderon	This bill would “require each county to consult with specified stakeholders in developing the county self-assessments and county improvement plans, or similar reports required by any subsequent changes to the system. This bill would also require the county improvement plans to include a separately titled provision that lists and provides the rationale for proposed operational improvements that may be implemented at a cost savings to the county or within existing resources. Prior to 4/6: If passed, this bill creates a county task force to identify and implement improvements in child welfare.	NEUTRAL
AB 1110	Assembly Member Lara	If passed, this bill would require that social service agencies give notice to minors' counsel when applying to be the representative payee for SSI benefits. Also, the bill requires that the social services agency report to the court on any screening, application, and progress made regarding SSI benefits for the child.	SUPPORT STAUTS: Held in Committee
AB 1111	Assembly Members Fletcher and Mitchell	If passed, this bill would make a court wait to collect certain fines from homeless youth until he or she turns 26 years of age.	SUPPORT STATUS: Chaptered!New Law effective: 1/1/12
AB 1147	Assembly Member Yamada	If passed, this bill requires that the social services agency report to the court the child welfare services provided to a minor parent in foster care to allow him or her to provide a safe home.	SUPPORT STATUS: On Governor Brown’s desk
SB 119	Senator Lowenthal	If passed, this bill creates uniform standards for emergency youth shelters in California. Thus increasing youth access to emergency shelter.	SUPPORT STATUS: Withdrawn by Author
SB 123	Senator Liu	If passed, this bill would -- subject to the availability of funds -- have CalEMA work to develop a statewide plan for runaway, homeless, and exploited youth.	SUPPORT STATUS: Held in Committee
SB 368	Senator Liu	If passed, this bill would allow the court in a dependency or delinquency proceeding to limit parents' rights to make developmental services decisions and appoint a responsible adult. (I.e. limit parental rights and appoint a responsible adult to make decisions for purposes of regional center services -- just like with educational decision-making).	SUPPORT STATUS: Chaptered! New Law effective: 1/1/12
SB 578	Senator Negrete McLeod	If passed, this bill would require schools to give full and/or partial credit for courses taken by foster youth such that the youth does not need to repeat course content.	SUPPORT STATUS: Chaptered!New Law effective: 1/1/12
SB 699	Senator Runner	If passed, this bill clarifies that youth and nonminor dependents who change school placements may, if necessary, be exempted from local graduation requirements that are above and beyond the state requirements.	SUPPORT STATUS: Held in Committee
SB 882	Senator Runner	If passed, this bill clarifies provisions of law relating to when an appointed educational rights holder is resigned.	SUPPORT
SB 926	Senator Runner	If passed, this bill requires the court to allow the minor's attorney to reveal certain case facts (i.e. that the child is in custody, the allegations, and the possibility for return or permanent plan) to relatives who may provide a possible placement for the child.	SUPPORT STATUS: Chaptered! New Law effective: 1/1/12
SB 927	Senator Runner	If passed, this bill amends WIC 827 to allow full inspection of a juvenile case file upon a declaration of good cause by the dependency attorney representing a sibling except for "mental health records, counseling reports and mental health evaluations." the child's name, and the name of parents not involved in the case are to be redacted if the documents are to be used in court. Prior to 4/7/11: If passed, this bill amends WIC 827 to allow full inspection of a juvenile case file by the dependency attorney representing a sibling in a jurisdictional and/or dispositional hearing, as well as court officers, probation officers, and law enforcement officers in a criminal and or delinquency matter of the sibling	WATCH Prior to 4/7: Actively Oppose STATUS: Withdrawn by Author