CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill No. 3076

Introduced by Assembly Member Reyes
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Daly)

February 16, 2018

An act to add Section 10553.13 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to child welfare.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 3076, as introduced, Reyes. Indian child welfare: legal services.
Existing federal law, the Indian Child Welfare Act, governs the proceedings for determining the placement of an Indian child when that child is removed from the custody of his or her parent or guardian. Existing provisions of state law govern child custody proceedings, adoption proceedings, and dependency proceedings, including termination of parental rights, the voluntary relinquishment of a child by a parent, and guardianship proceedings. Existing law recognizes that the Indian Child Welfare Act applies if the subject of these proceedings is or may be an Indian child, and specifies conforming procedures in these cases with regard to the right to notice and intervention accorded the child’s tribe and the standard of proof applied in evaluating the evidence submitted, among other things.
Existing law authorizes the Director of Social Services to enter into an agreement with a tribe, consortium of tribes, or tribal organization, regarding the care and custody of Indian children and jurisdiction over Indian child custody proceedings, under specified circumstances. Existing law requires these agreements to provide for the delegation to the tribe, consortium of tribes, or tribal organization the responsibility that would otherwise be the responsibility of the county for the provision of child welfare services or assistance payments under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, under which counties provide payments to foster care providers on behalf of qualified children in foster care, or both.
This bill would, subject to funding in the annual Budget Act, require the State Department of Social Services to provide grants to qualified nonprofit legal services organizations to provide legal services to Indian tribes in, and legal training and technical assistance to eligible nonprofit organizations regarding, child welfare matters under the Indian Child Welfare Act. The bill would require that the grants be provided only to qualified nonprofit legal services organizations that meet specified requirements, including specified years of related experience and meeting the requirements to receive funding from the Trust Fund Program administered by the State Bar of California. The bill would require the department to annually report to the fiscal committees of the Legislature specified information, including the implementation timeline and any further barriers and challenges to Indian tribes in obtaining legal services in these child welfare matters.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 10553.13 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

10553.13.
 (a) Subject to funding in the annual Budget Act, the department shall provide grants to qualified nonprofit legal services organizations, as described in this section.
(b) Grants shall be for the purpose of providing one or both of the following services:
(1) Legal services to Indian tribes in child welfare matters under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act (25 U.S.C. Sec. 1901 et seq.).
(2) (A) Legal training and technical assistance to eligible nonprofit organizations regarding child welfare matters under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act (25 U.S.C. Sec. 1901 et seq.).
(B)  For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(i) “Legal training and technical assistance” includes, but is not limited to, webinars, in-person training, and technical assistance in the form of answering questions via telephone, email, or fax.
(ii) “Eligible nonprofit organization” means an organization that meets the requirements set forth in Section 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), or 501(c)(5) of the United States Internal Revenue Code.
(c) Grants shall be provided only to qualified nonprofit legal services organizations that meet all of the following requirements:
(1) The requirements set forth in Section 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), or 501(c)(5) of the United States Internal Revenue Code.
(2) The requirements to receive funding from the Trust Fund Program administered by the State Bar of California.
(3) Have conducted trainings on the federal Indian Child Welfare Act (25 U.S.C. Sec. 1901 et seq.) for persons beyond their staff.
(4) Except as provided in paragraph (5), have at least three years of experience handling child welfare matters under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act (25 U.S.C. Sec. 1901 et seq.).
(5) For a legal services organization that provides legal training and technical assistance, have at least 10 years of experience conducting legal services for Indian tribes.
(d) Grant recipients shall maintain adequate legal malpractice insurance.
(e) The department shall annually report all of the following information to the fiscal committees of the Legislature:
(1) Implementation timeline.
(2) Number of applications submitted.
(3) Qualified nonprofit legal services organizations that were awarded grants.
(4) Any further barriers and challenges to Indian tribes in obtaining legal services in child welfare matters under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act (25 U.S.C. Sec. 1901 et seq.).