Bill Text: CA AB1154 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Assembly Bill 1154

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Juveniles: mentoring programs.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2024-02-01 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB1154 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB1154-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1154

Introduced by Assembly Member Wilson

February 16, 2023

An act to add Section 16501.14 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to juveniles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1154, as introduced, Wilson. Juveniles: mentoring programs.

Existing law generally provides for the placement of foster youth in various placement settings. Existing law requires, for all youth in foster care, a county social worker to create a case plan within a specified timeframe after the child is introduced into the foster care system. Existing law requires, when appropriate, for a child who is 16 years of age or older and for a nonminor dependent, the case plan to include the transitional independent living plan and a written description of the programs and services that will help the child, consistent with the child’s best interests, to prepare for the transition from foster care to successful adulthood.

This bill would authorize a case plan prepared in accordance with the above provisions to include a recommendation that a child be referred for one-to-one mentoring with an adult if the social worker, or the child and family team, find the child will likely experience emotional and social benefit from an adult mentor. The bill would require the court to ask the child at a status hearing whether the child has been offered participation in a mentoring program and whether the child would like to participate in a mentoring program. The bill would authorize a court to refer the child to participate in a one-to-one mentoring program through a nonprofit organization that meets specified criteria, including, among other things, having experience serving foster children and youth. The bill would require a court that recommends or orders mentoring pursuant to these provisions to provide information regarding the child to a mentoring organization pursuant to these provisions in order to facilitate a successful match with a mentor.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to increase stability of children and youth in foster care, and in adoptive, kinship, and guardianship families by increasing the supports provided to these children and youth.

(b) While the number of children and youth in foster care have significantly decreased in recent decades, grim data continues to demonstrate the need for additional supports for children and youth in foster care and those seeking to achieve permanency, including the following data:

(1) Less than one-half of all foster youth in California graduate high school.

(2) Seventy-five percent of young women in foster care report at least one pregnancy by age 21.

(3) Every year approximately 4,000 youth age out of care in California with no place to call home.

(4) One-half of youth who have aged out of foster care end up homeless or incarcerated.

(c) California policymakers have worked diligently to improve and strengthen the state’s foster care services for those in care, in permanent placements, in reunification, and within the juvenile justice system. However, children in foster care and former foster youth outcomes often continue the cycle of poverty, abuse, lack of education, substance abuse, incarceration, and homelessness.

(d) Foster children and youth would benefit from one-to-one mentoring models that provide appropriately screened, trained, and matched adult mentors that bring an approach to building positive relationships, positive experiences, and improved goals and outcomes. While a limited commitment is often required, mentor and mentee relationships often last several years or even a lifetime.

(e) One-to-one mentoring programs have become an increasingly popular strategy for early intervention with at-risk youth. An analysis of 70 mentoring outcome studies conducted between 1975 and 2017, with a sample size of 25,286 youth with average age of 12 years of age, yielded a statistically significant effect of mentoring programs across all youth outcomes.

(f) Researchers examining mentored youth in comparison to unmentored youth after 18 months found that mentored youth were less likely to engage in a variety of risky and unhealthy behaviors, such as using illegal drugs or alcohol, skipping school, and hitting others.

(g) A 2014 report for MENTOR: the National Mentoring Partnership conducted by Civic Enterprising in association with Hart Research Associates stated that youth facing risks with mentors were more likely to aspire to attend and to enroll in college, more likely to report participating in sports and other extracurricular activities, and more likely to report taking on leadership roles in school and extracurricular activities and to regularly volunteer in their communities.

(h) Individuals engaged in assisting children through the child welfare system, including biological parents, foster parents and guardians, adoptive or permanent families, social workers, and the courts, are required to work together to improve outcomes for children in foster care. An individualized plan is established for a foster child and is submitted to the court with recommendations based upon the needs of each foster child.

(i) A social worker’s written court report and a case plan provided to the court under Section 16501.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is integral to the court’s oversight of a dependent child and a nonminor dependent. The report informs the court about a multitude of issues regarding the child or nonminor dependent and serves as the basis of the court’s findings and orders, helping the court make informed decisions regarding a child’s or nonminor dependent’s safety, permanency, well-being, and successful transition to living independently as an adult.

SEC. 2.

Section 16501.14 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

16501.14.

(a) A case plan completed pursuant to Section 16501.1 may recommend that a child be referred for one-to-one mentoring with an adult if the social worker, or the child and family team, find the child will likely experience emotional and social benefit from an adult mentor.

(b) The court shall ask a child at any status hearing whether participation in a mentoring program has been offered to the child and whether the child is interested in participating in a mentoring program.

(c) The court may refer the child to participate in a one-to-one mentoring program through a nonprofit organization that meets all of the following criteria:

(1) Is dedicated to one-to-one mentoring with children and youth.

(2) Has experience serving foster children and youth.

(3) Is experienced in providing trauma-informed training for staff, volunteers and parents, guardians, or caregivers.

(4) Includes established policies and procedures for the protection of youth.

(5) Maintains high standards for effective screening, selection, and training of staff and volunteers, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(A) Background checks for an administrator, employee, or regular volunteer of a youth service organization pursuant to Section 11105.3 of the Penal Code to identify and exclude any persons with a history of child abuse.

(B) Training in child abuse and neglect and training in child abuse and neglect reporting. The training requirement may be satisfied by completing the online mandated reporter training provided by the Office of Child Abuse Prevention.

(C) Policies to ensure comprehensive screening and training of volunteers and parents or guardians, and regular contact with volunteers and parents or guardians.

(6) Has an established system of determining appropriate matches between mentors and mentees, including, to the greatest extent possible, commonalities in background, culture, interests, and life experience.

(7) Has an established professional monitoring system for match relationships.

(d) If a court recommends mentoring for a child or youth in foster care, or orders mentoring for a foster youth who has served time in detention in the juvenile justice system, the court shall consent to providing placement and social worker information to a mentoring organization selected pursuant to this section in order to ensure the most successful match with a mentor as possible in order to facilitate a positive and effective mentoring relationship.