BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 3015|
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                                 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





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             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.








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             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.   







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          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

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