Health and Human Services
For more information, contact Kelly Brooks at 916/327-7500, ext. 531, or kbrooks@counties.org or Farrah McDaid Ting at 916/327-7500, ext. 559, or fmcdaid@counties.org.
Child Welfare Legislation
AB 298 (Maze) – Support
AB 298, as amended on March 15 by Assembly Member Bill Maze, would specifically provide that a relative caregiver's preference for legal guardianship rather than adoption under circumstances that do not include an unwillingness to accept legal or financial responsibility for the child may not constitute a basis for recommending removal of the child from the relative caregiver for purposes of adoptive placement. Senate Judiciary Committee will hear AB 298 on June 19.
AB 845 (Bass) – Support
CSAC urges counties to contact your Senators and urge them to support AB 845 by Assembly Member Bass. This measure provides the necessary statutory authority to allow $10.5 million in 2006-07 funds to be spent on the Transitional Housing Program (THP)-Plus.
This bill is necessary to ensure that THP-Plus is 100% state-funded as intended in the 2006-07 budget. Forty-six counties have committed to implementing THP-Plus in the current year (2006-07). However, the budget only includes $4.8 million, which is insufficient to provide services to the eligible youth in these counties. With the $10.5 million increase as outlined in AB 845, the participating counties will be able to provide housing and services to more than 1,200 foster youth.
SB 845 must be passed and signed into law by the Governor before June 30. This measure requires a 2/3 vote. The bill will be heard June 18 in Senate Appropriations Committee. CSAC strongly urges counties to contact their Senators and urge them to vote ‘aye’ on AB 845.
AB 1462 (Adams) – Support
AB 1462, by Assembly Member Anthony Adams, would allow counties to receive federal and state funds for certain children with special behavioral or medical needs, who are placed in a for-profit foster care institution and for whom the county placing agency demonstrates that there are no alternative placement options. This bill would require the county placing agency to review and report to the juvenile court at the six-month case plan update regarding the continuing appropriateness of a child's placement under the bill. The measure was passed by the Senate Human Services Committee on June 12 and now heads to Appropriations.
Health Legislation
AB 13 (Brownley) – Oppose
AB 13, by Assembly Member Brownley, was substantially amended on June 6. The amendments include the language that was formally in AB 520.
AB 13 would require a general acute care, acute psychiatric, or special hospital to adopt a plan or procedure for determining the staffing of professional and technical classifications. The measure would authorize the State Public Health Officer to levy administrative penalties against a health facility for a violation of the staffing provisions.
The measure passed out of the Assembly and is in the Senate awaiting committee assignment.
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION
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