BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 3015| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 3015 Author: Brownley (D) Amended: 5/23/08 in Assembly Vote: 21 SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 3-0, 6/24/08 AYES: Alquist, Romero, Yee NO VOTE RECORDED: Maldonado, Battin SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 48-29, 5/28/08 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Foster care SOURCE : Equality California National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter GSA Network DIGEST : This bill requires several training programs for group home administrators, licensed foster parents and relative caretakers to include basic instruction on the safety of foster youth at school. ANALYSIS : Existing Law 1. Provides that children who have been, or are at CONTINUED AB 3015 Page 2 substantial risk of being, subjected to certain forms of abuse, neglect, exploitation or abandonment may be removed from their parents or guardians and adjudged dependents of the juvenile court. 2. Requires the Director of the Department of Social Services (DSS) to develop and establish a certification program to ensure that group home administrators have appropriate training. 3. Requires foster parents to meet pre-placement and ongoing annual training requirements. Requires community college districts with foster care education programs to make orientations and trainings, as specified, available to relatives or non-relative extended family member caregivers. 4. Specifies that all foster children have rights to fair and equal access to services, placement, care, treatment, and benefits, and to not be subjected to discrimination or harassment on the basis of actual or perceived race, ethnic group identification, ancestry, national origin, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental or physical disability or HIV status. 5. Prohibits discrimination in school programs and activities based on sex, ethnic group identification, race, national origin, religion, mental or physical disability, or any basis that is included in the definition of a hate crime. This bill requires that the following mandatory training programs include basic instruction on existing laws regarding the safety of foster youth at school, including the California Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000: A. Classroom instruction for group home administrator certification programs. B. Pre-placement trainings for licensed foster families. AB 3015 Page 3 C. Trainings by community college districts that have foster care education programs for relative and non-relative extended family member who are caregivers. Comment The Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act, which is a specified subject of the training requirements in this bill, was added to statute by AB 537 (Kuehl), Chapter 587, Statutes of 2000. It prohibits discrimination in school programs and activities based on sex, ethnic group identification, race, national origin, religion, mental or physical disability, or any basis that is included in the definition of a hate crime, which includes many of these same actual or perceived characteristics, as well as sexual orientation. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes SUPPORT : (Verified 8/5/08) Equality California (co-source) GSA Network (co-source) National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter (co-source) California Teachers Association California State PTA County Welfare Directors Association ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, in February, 2008 a 14-year-old entered a classroom at a junior high school in Oxnard and shot a 15-year-old student in the head. The student, who was shot identified himself as gay, sometimes wore make-up and feminine jewelry, and was the target of ridicule and bullying by some of his classmates, including the shooter. The student who was shot was a foster youth who lived at a group home for abused and neglected children. Foster youth, according to the author's office, are more vulnerable to harassment by nature of their familial status and often times, their caregivers are not aware of the existence of education law that protects students from harassment at their schools. AB 3015 Page 4 This bill makes efforts to ensure that foster youth and their caregivers are knowledgeable about how to report and prevent harassment and violence not only in their homes, but in their schools. ASSEMBLY FLOOR : AYES: Arambula, Beall, Berg, Brownley, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeSaulnier, Dymally, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Hancock, Hayashi, Hernandez, Huffman, Jones, Karnette, Krekorian, Laird, Leno, Levine, Lieber, Lieu, Ma, Mendoza, Mullin, Nava, Nunez, Parra, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Solorio, Spitzer, Swanson, Torrico, Wolk, Bass NOES: Adams, Aghazarian, Anderson, Benoit, Blakeslee, Cook, DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Fuller, Gaines, Garcia, Garrick, Horton, Huff, Jeffries, Keene, La Malfa, Maze, Nakanishi, Niello, Plescia, Sharon Runner, Silva, Smyth, Strickland, Tran, Villines, Walters NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Houston, Soto CTW:do 8/5/08 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****