Bill Text: CA AB1984 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

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

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Bill Title: Foster youth: enrichment activities.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From committee without further action. [AB1984 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AB1984-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 1984	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 31, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Linder

                        FEBRUARY 16, 2016

   An act to add  and repeal  Section 16007 to the Welfare
and Institutions Code, relating to foster youth.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1984, as amended, Linder. Foster youth: enrichment activities.
   Existing law provides that it is the policy of the state that all
minors and nonminors in foster care have specified rights, including,
among others, the right to attend school and participate in
extracurricular, cultural, and personal enrichment activities,
consistent with the child's age and developmental level, with minimal
disruptions to school attendance and educational stability.
   This bill would require the State Department of Social Services,
 on or before May 1, 2017, and after consultation with a
workgroup composed of individuals and groups that represent the
interests of foster youth, to submit a report to the Joint
Legislative Budget Committee that outlines a program to provide
grants to foster youth to enable the foster youth to participate in
enrichment activities. The bill would require the report to address,
among other things, the criteria and review process for youth to
submit applications for grants for enrichment activities. The bill
would require the department, on or before July 1, 2017, an upon
appropriation by the Legislature, to implement the program outlined
in the report.   on or before March 1, 2017, to convene
a workgroup and would require the workgroup to develop an
implementation plan for the California Foster Youth Enrichment Grant
Program. The bill would require the department, on or before January
1, 2018, upon appropriation by the Legislature and in consideration
of the implementation plan, to establish that program in order to
provide grants of $500 or less to qualified foster youth to enable
the foster youth to participate in activities that enhance the foster
youth's skills, abilities, self-esteem, or overall well-being. The
bill would specify eligibility criteria for receipt of a grant and
the authorized uses of a grant. The   bill would require a
recipient, within 6 months after receipt of a grant, to submit
documentation that describes how the grant was used and the actual
cost, supported by copies of re   ceipts, of the program,
product, or service, and directly related costs, purchased with the
grant. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1,
2021, to submit a report to the Legislature the addresses, among
other things, data on the number of applications received and the
number of grants awarded. The bill would repeal these provisions on
January 1, 2022. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 16007 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
   16007.  (a) (1) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (A) California foster youth face many challenges. Approximately
three-fourths of youth in foster care have spent two or more years in
the system between birth and 12th grade. While in foster care, about
70 percent of youth had three or more placements. Less than half of
 all  foster youth complete high school.
   (B) Although the state has seen a reduction in the number of
children in foster care and a decreased reliance on group homes, it
continues to struggle to find stable, fulfilling families for
children.
   (C) Participating in enrichment activities, including, but not
limited to, sports leagues, camps, college preparation courses, arts,
music, and formative social experiences, can greatly contribute to a
foster youth's sense of normalcy and increase the likelihood of a
successful transition to adulthood.
   (2) The purpose of this section is  to create a program
 to  establish the California Foster Youth Enrichment
Grant Program, which will  provide grants to foster youth to
participate in enrichment activities and provide for the
program's transition from public funding and control to private
funding and control.   activities that enhance their
skills, abilities, self-esteem, or overall well-being. 
   (b) On or before  February   March  1,
2017, the State Department of Social Services shall convene a
workgroup composed of individuals and groups that represent the
interests of foster youth.  The workgroup shall develop an
implementation plan to maximize the California Foster Youth
Enrichment Grant Program's impact.  
   (c) On or before May 1, 2017, the State Department of Social
Services, after consultation with the workgroup established pursuant
to subdivision (b), shall submit a report to the Joint Legislative
Budget Committee that outlines a program to provide grants to foster
youth to enable the foster youth to participate in enrichment
activities. The report shall address, at a minimum, all of the
following:  
   (1) The nonprofit organization that will receive the funds
appropriated for the program and serve as administrator of the
program.  
   (2) The criteria and review process for youth to submit
applications for grants for enrichment activities, including a list
of preapproved categories of enrichment activities. 

   (3) The maximum amount of the grant.  
   (4) The means by which grants will be disbursed. 

   (5) A plan to transition the program from public funding to
private funding and control.  
   (d) On or before July 1, 2017, upon an appropriation by the
Legislature, the State Department of Social Services shall implement
the program, as outlined in the report.  
   (c) On or before January 1, 2018, upon appropriation by the
Legislature and in consideration of the plan developed pursuant to
subdivision (b), the State Department of Social Services shall
establish the California Foster Youth Enrichment Grant Program to
provide grants to qualified foster youth to enable the foster youth
to participate in activities that enhance the foster youth's skills,
abilities, self-esteem, or overall well-being.  
   (d) Grant applicants shall meet all of the following criteria
immediately prior to approval of a grant:  
   (1) Be a California foster youth between six years of age and 17
years of age, inclusive, or a California nonminor dependent. 

   (2) Be placed in a foster family home, certified family home, or
group home.  
   (3) Be enrolled in a California school.  
   (e) (1) Grants awarded under this section shall be five hundred
dollars ($500) or less and shall be used to fund a program, service,
or product, and any directly related costs, that provide any of the
following to a foster youth:  
   (A) Skill development, including, but not limited to, lessons in
music, dance, or drama, and the rental or purchase of equipment
needed to further skill development.  
   (B) Academic or school-related assistance, including, but not
limited to, school trips, college campus visits, Advanced Placement
or International Baccalaureate exam fees, test preparation courses or
materials, and books.  
   (C) Recreational or social participation, including, but not
limited to, summer camp attendance, sports league participation,
school-sponsored formal dance attendance, and participation in school
graduation activities.  
   (2) Grants shall not be awarded to fund any activity that does not
directly contribute to the enhancement of an individual foster youth'
s skills, abilities, self-esteem, or overall well-being, including,
but not limited to, either of the following:  
   (A) Child care expenses for the foster youth or his or her child.
 
   (B) A vacation with the foster youth's foster family.  
   (f) Applications for grants under this section shall be on forms
developed by the department, and shall include, at a minimum, all of
the following:  
   (1) Evidence that the applicant meets the eligibility criteria
specified in subdivision (d).  
   (2) A description of the need for and proposed use of the grant,
the anticipated cost of the program, product, or service, and
directly related costs, and the projected benefit to the foster
youth.  
   (3) Any other information that the department determines is
necessary to further the intent of this section.  
   (g) Within six months after a grant is awarded, the recipient
shall submit documentation, on forms developed by the department,
that describes how the grant was used and the actual cost, supported
by copies of receipts, of the program, product, or service, and
directly related costs, purchased with the grant. A foster youth
shall not be eligible for a subsequent grant until this documentation
is received.  
   (h) (1) On or before January 1, 2021, the department shall submit
a report to the Legislature that addresses, at a minimum, all of the
following:  
   (A) Data on the number of applications received, aggregated by
year.  
   (B) Data on the number of grants awarded, aggregated by year.
 
   (C) Data on the programs, products, or services, and directly
related costs, the grants were used to fund, aggregated by year.
 
   (D) A description of the documentation a recipient is required to
submit pursuant to subdivision (g).  
   (E) Data on the number of recipients who provided the
documentation required pursuant to subdivision (g) and who did not
provide the documentation required by subdivision (g), aggregated by
year.  
   (2) The report required pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
 
   (i) It is the intent of the Legislature that the department
explore the feasibility of transitioning the program to private
funding and control.  
   (j) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2022, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2022, deletes or extends
that date.