Fostering Connections to Success & Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008: California Implementation Legislation

The Foster Youth Alliance has been tracking several bills related to federal foster care legislation enacted last Fall. HR 6893, the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, makes possible several major reforms to the California foster care system. Most of the California bills implementing the provisions of HR 6893 will have to wait until next year, in light of the state's fiscal crisis. Below is a summary of the status of each of the still-active bills. More detailed information is available here.

• AB 12 (Beall) - California Fostering Connections to Success Act—Would extend services to foster youth to age 21, and would draw federal dollars for KinGap. AB 12 has been turned into a 2 year bill: It will be heard again by Assembly Appropriations in January.

• AB 938 (Judiciary Committee) - Would require a social worker to investigate, identify, and locate adult relatives of a detained child and to provide them with information regarding the removal and their options for participation in the care for or placement of that child. AB 938 was amended to narrow its scope, then passed from the Assembly Appropriations Committee Suspense File to an floor vote.

• SB 597 (Liu)—Makes a number of changes to state code to ensure compliance with requirements of the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. SB 597 passed the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 28th, and will be taken up on the Senate Floor the week of June 1.

• AB 743 (Portantino) -Provides for foster children to be placed with their siblings absent a finding that it would be detrimental. AB 743 has been turned into a 2 year bill: it will be heard again by Assembly Appropriations in January.

• AB 154 (Evans) - States that any savings realized from changes in federal funding related to adoption assistance be reinvested in foster care and adoption services. AB 154 was voted out of Assembly Appropriations and moved to a floor vote.