Bill Text: CA AB1416 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Foster parent evaluations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-02-01 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB1416 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB1416-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1416 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Dababneh
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
An act to add Section 16000.8 to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, relating to foster care.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1416, as introduced, Dababneh. Foster parent evaluations.
Under existing law, it is the policy of the state that all
children in foster care have specified rights, including the right to
live in a safe, healthy, and comfortable home where they are treated
with respect, the right to be free from physical, sexual, emotional,
or other abuse, or corporal punishment, and the right to receive
adequate and healthy food, adequate clothing, and medical, dental,
vision, and mental health services.
This bill would require the State Department of Social Services,
in consultation with the County Welfare Directors Association, foster
parents, caregivers, and current and former foster youth, to develop
and implement a foster parent evaluation process. The bill would
require that evaluation process to include a process to allow foster
youth over 12 years of age and nonminor dependents to provide
feedback on the quality of care received in licensed or certified
foster homes and group homes at least once per year and upon any exit
from those homes. The bill would also require the evaluation process
to include the development of an evaluation tool in partnership with
current and former foster youth and caregivers that allows youth to
provide feedback on the quality of care received, as specified,
including feedback on the caregiver's honoring of the rights of
foster youth. The bill would require the department to implement the
foster parent evaluation process and promulgate all necessary
regulations pursuant to this provision on or before January 1, 2017.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 16000.8 is added to the Welfare and
Institutions Code, to read:
16000.8. (a) The State Department of Social Services, in
consultation with the County Welfare Directors Association, foster
parents, caregivers, and current and former foster youth, shall
develop and implement a foster parent evaluation process.
(b) The evaluation process shall include, but is not limited to,
all of the following:
(1) A process to allow foster youth over 12 years of age and
nonminor dependents to provide feedback on the quality of care
received in licensed or certified foster homes and group homes at
least once per year and upon any exit from those homes.
(2) The development of an evaluation tool in partnership with
current and former foster youth and caregivers that allows the youth
to provide feedback on quality of care received, including, but not
limited to, feedback on all of the following:
(A) The caregiver's participation in implementing the youth's case
plan.
(B) The caregiver's provision of excellent, nurturing parenting,
including incorporating the youth as a full member of the family,
inclusion in family activities, and respect for the youth's culture,
religion, and ethnicity, physical or psychological needs, sexual
orientation, gender identification or expression, and family
relationships.
(C) The caregiver's honoring of the rights of foster youth.
(D) The extent to which the caregiver respects and supports the
youth's ties to his or her biological family, including parents,
siblings, and extended family members, and assists the youth in
visitation and other forms of communication.
(E) The caregiver's advocacy for the youth with the child welfare
system and community agencies, including schools and health and
mental health providers.
(F) The caregiver's participation in the youth's medical,
psychological, and dental care, including scheduling regular health
and mental health exams and coordinating transportation for the
youth.
(G) The caregiver's encouragement and support of the youth's
educational goals and school success, including participation in
school activities and meetings, including individualized education
plan meetings, as appropriate, assisting with school assignments,
tutoring, meeting with teachers, including back to school nights and
other school events, and working with an educational representative
or surrogate, if one has been appointed.
(H) The caregiver's provision of developmentally appropriate
opportunities to allow the youth to learn and practice life skills
and have hands-on experiences in preparation for transition to
adulthood, including participation in family and rulemaking
decisions, cooking and cleaning, conflict resolution, assistance with
job and career exploration and development, assistance with higher
education and financial aid exploration and processes, assistance
accessing community resources, and encouragement to learn principles
of money management and financial planning.
(I) The caregiver's provision of opportunities to develop the
youth's interests and skills, including identifying and supporting
participation in extracurricular and enrichment activities.
(J) The caregiver's efforts to ensure any transition to foster
care respects the youth's developmental stage and psychological
needs, allows for ongoing relationships, and is consistent with court
orders for visitation.
(c) In the development of the foster parent evaluation process,
the department, in consultation with the stakeholders identified in
subdivision (a), shall consider how information gathered from
evaluations can inform the continuous improvement of existing and
future efforts to recruit, train, and retain high-quality foster
parents.
(d) The department shall implement the foster parent evaluation
process and shall promulgate all necessary regulations pursuant to
this section on or before January 1, 2017.
