HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 04252006 - C.61 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ,- ------ °•^ Contra
FROM: Danna Fabella, Interim Director
Employment & Human Services Department "[Ian :5 Costa
DATE: April 25, 2006 Sra cou'ti'�
�Y` County.
SUBJECT: SUPPORT AB 2193 (Bass and Cohn) — Improving Child Welfare Outcomes
Through Workload Relief coo
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&I BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATION: SUPPORT AB 2193 (Bass and Cohn) — Improving Child Welfare Outcomes
Through Workload Relief
FINANCIAL IMPACT: Unknown at this time; however, the State and Federal governments reimburse the
County on a percentage basis (depending on the specificity of tasks performed) for Social Workers.
CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT
This action impacts five of the community outcomes: 1) Children Ready for and Succeeding in
School; 2) Children and Youth Healthy and Preparing for Productive Adulthood; 3) Families are
Economically Self-Sufficient; 4) Families that are Safe, Stable and Nurturing; and 5) Communities
are Safe and Provide a High Quality of Life.
BACKGROUND: AB 2193 would implement the recommendations of the SB 2030 Task Force to reduce
child welfare workloads through a five-year phased-in approach. Commencing with FY 2006/07, the
budgeting standard would incrementally change and be fully implemented by the end of FY 2010/11.
The SB 2030 Child Welfare Workload Study, conducted by the American Humane Association in 2002,
found that in most cases the caseloads were twice as high as they should be to meet even basic
requirements.
Unfortunately, the recommendations regarding workload levels were never fully funded. In the
meantime, caseload demands have continued to increase. As a result, California has steadily fallen
behind in addressing social worker cat seloads.
A number of factors have contributed to increased workload. The past 20 years have seen a significant
increase in drug use, family violence land family dysfunction. These issues have exacerbated the
complexity and severity of the problems encountered by children and families served in the child welfare
system. New, often unfunded state laws, regulations and court decisions further strain social workers in
meeting various mandates. As a result, social workers today face tremendous hardship in meeting
workload demands within a complex Ichild welfare system.
AB 2193 complements item No. 52 of the Board's 2006 State Legislative Platform: "SUPPORT
efforts ... (for) funding to implement Children's Child Welfare Workload Study Results, SB
2030."
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: L-5'ES SIGNATURE:
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRAIT
TOR _RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMM..I//ITTTEE
✓APPROVE _OTHER
SIGNATURE(S):
ACTION OF BO RD N D Y� O APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED _OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND CORRECT
COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE
I UNANIMOUS(ABSENT MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE
SHOWN.
AYES: NOES:
ABSENT: ABSTAIN:
ATTESTED:
CONTACT: Karen Mitchoff,,EHSD JOHN B.CULLEN,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
t SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
Y DEPUTY
AMENDED IN ASSEM ILY MARCH 28, 2006
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE-2005-06 REGULAR SESSION
ASSEMBLY BILL No. 2193
Introduced by Assembly Members Bass and Cohn
February 22, 2006
An act to add Section 10609.9 to the Welfare and Institutions Code,
relating to child welfare.
LEGISLATIVE COU'NSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2193, as amended, Bass. Child welfare.
Existing law requires each county to provide child welfare services,
and provides for the administration of various child welfare services
pursuant to regulations and procedures adopted by the State
Department of Social Services.
Existing law requires the department to contract with an appropriate
and qualified entity to conduct an evaluation of the adequacy of
current child welfare services budgeting methodology, and to convene
an advisory group. Pursuant to existing law, the Director of Social
Services has convened an advisory group, the Child Welfare Services
Stakeholders Group, to address concerns facing the child welfare
system.
Existing law declares the intent of the Legislature that the Human
Resources Workgroup of the Child Welfare Services Stakeholders
Group include in its next planned report the core strategies needed to
establish minimum caseload standards under the redesigned child
welfare services system. Existing law declares the further intent of the
Legislature that the Human Resources Workgroup make
recommendations for implementing the new caseload standards.
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AB 2193
This bill would requir , ptusuant to the
to establish regtilations requiring e I punties to implement speeifie
the
state to budget the child welfare services program in accordance with
specified optimal caseload standards recommended by the Child
Welfare Services Stakeholders Group. This bill would require the new
easelead budgeting standards to be phased in over a 5-year period,
commencing with the 2006-07 fiscal year, and to be fully
implemented by the end of the 2010-11 fiscal year. It would require
the department, commencing in January 2007, to annually update the
recommended budgeting standards, as specified. The bill would-a�
require a county t
soeial workers throttgh methods other than easeload reduetion, by
provide
funds sufficient to match the countys base funding allocation for child
welfare services in order to be eligible for the increased funding
provided for by the bill. This bill would require the county to develop
a plan for the use of the additional funds, and would require the
county's system improvement plan, developed pursuant to a specified
provision of existing law, to be modified to include the plan required
by the bill.
By placing new requirements on counties, this bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state.
Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains) costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs sliall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
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-3— AB 2193
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
1 SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2 following:
3 (a) The standards used to determine child welfare social
4 worker caseloads were developed in the mid-1980s and are now
5 over 20 years old.
6 (b) The child welfare—service services workload study
7 conducted by an independent+ contractor pursuant to Section
8 10609.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code concluded that
9 child welfare social workers currently bear caseloads that are far
10 in excess of what is reasonable to meet the requirements of
1 I existing statutory and case law.
12 (c) The findings and recommendations of the child welfare
13 services workload study were highly consistent with the
14 standards established by national child welfare organizations,
15 such as the Child Welfare !League of America, and with
16 numerous standards that have been imposed on states by consent
17 decrees and court orders.
18 (d) Since the 2000 publication of the child welfare services
19 workload study,federal and state governments, and the courts,
20 have increased the workload on child welfare workers.
21 (e)
22 (e) California's child welfare system is now severely
23 understaffed as a result of these out-of-date caseload standards.
24 (d)
25 69 The effects of excessive child welfare worker caseloads on
26 children and their families can be devastating and may include all
27 of the following:
28 (1) Inadequate response to reports of child abuse and neglect.
29 (2) Inability to ensure that out-of-home placements are
30 appropriate.
31 (3) Reduced monitoring of children in out-of-home
32 placements.
33 (4) Reduced service to families attempting to reunify with
34 their children.
35 (5) Poor outcomes for foster youth and their families with
36 children in foster care.
37 SEC. 2. Section 10609.9 is added to the Welfare and
38 Institutions Code,to read:
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AB 2193 —4-
1
4-
1
2 to require,
3
4 .
5 1' .
6 ehildren: one worke
7 .
8 .
9 (D) Faff tily r-pi—lnif I-P-A*'-R4-4- On�q' -W- 1-1�-.- 1.-5.-5 8 ehildren.
10 rker per 23.69 ehildren.
11paragraph (1)
12 , eommeneing in the
13 , so that 20�ereenf of the easeload reduetiafts
14 , and
15 the fiew easeload standards ar-I fid" by the end of
16 the 2010 11 fisett!year
17 ,
18
19 methods other than the ea I selead feduetions required by
20
21 deseribing the ....4 measure that the eouffty Wi4
22
I
23 ,
24 ehildreit's advoeaey Orgaft-Wal'
25
26 eotmfy shall be exempt..Rm*.11F oF subdivision
27 ..,'....tee thfesholds for ottteom-e
28 measures develop.. ptirsumtt to Se
29 10601.2,
30
31 .
32 10609.9. (a) Consistent with the schedule described in
33 subdivision (b), the state shall budget the child welfare services
34 program in accordance with the following optimal caseload
35 standards recommended by the study required by Section
36 10609.5.-
37
0609.5:37 (1) Screening, hotline, and intake: one worker per 68.70
38 cases.
39 (2) Emergency response: one worker per 9.88 cases.
40 (3) Family maintenance:one worker per 10.15 cases.
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—5— AB 2193
1 (4) Family reunification: one worker per 11.94 cases.
2 (5) Permanency planning: one worker per 16.42 cases.
3 (b) The budgeting standards described in subdivision (a) shall
4 be phased in over a five-yea- period, commencing with the
5 2006-07 fiscal year, so that 20 percent of the difference between
6 the 2005-06 fiscal year appropriation and the appropriation
7 based on the optimal caseload standards would be funded, until
8 that difference is eliminated in the 2010–I1 fiscal year.
9 (c) In order to be eligible for its share of the funds described
10 in this section, a county shall do all of the following:
11 (1) Provide county matching funds sufficient to fully match the
12 county's base funding allocation, not including any of the
13 county's child welfare services augmentation funds.
14 (2) In consultation with individuals representing social
15 workers,foster youth, and parents in the child welfare services
16 system, develop a plan for the use of the additional funding in
17 this section to provide social workers with additional time or
18 support to enhance casework and the outcomes for children and
19 families described in Section 10601.2. Plan elements may
20 include, but are not limited to, reduced caseloads of social
21 workers, additional clerical, paraprofessional, and support staff
22 to allow social workers more time for casework and client
23 contact, and additional services for youth and families to assist
24 workers in helping children and families achieve case plan goals
25 and improve outcomes.
26 (3) By January 1, 20071modify the county's system
27 improvement plan developed pursuant to Section 10601.2 to
28 include the county plan required by paragraph (2) and the
29 specific outcomes that the county intends to improve through the
30 implementation of the plan.
31 (4) Annually, or more frequently at the county's option, review
32 its progress on the implementation of the plan required by
33 paragraph (2) and performance on the identified outcomes, and
34 consult with social workers, foster youth, and families in the
35 child welfare system on possible modifications to the plan
36 necessary to achieve improved outcomes.
37 (d) Commencing in January 2007, the department shall
38 annually update the recommended budgeting standards
39 described in subdivision (a) based on statutory, regulatory, and
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i
AB 2193 —6-
1 practice changes that have occurred since the most recent
2 update.
3 (e) In establishingcompliance thresholds for outcomes
4 measured developed pursuant to Section 10601.2, the department
5 shall take into consideration the extent to which the child welfare
6 system is funded to meet the budgeting standards required by this
7 section.
8 SEC. 3. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
9 this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
10 local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
11 pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
12 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
O
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