BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
COMMITTEE ANALYSIS
Senator Deborah V. Ortiz, Chair
BILL NO: AB 2514
A
AUTHOR: Bates
B
AMENDED: June 4, 2002
HEARING DATE: June 19, 2002
2
FISCAL: Appropriations
5
1
CONSULTANT:
4
Margolis/ ak
SUBJECT
Substance abuse review committee: child welfare programs
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Department of Social Services (DSS),
in consultation with the Department of Alcohol and Drug
Programs (DADP), to establish a joint committee to study
issues relating to substance abuse in families in child
welfare programs.
ABSTRACT
Existing law:
1.Establishes within DSS an Office of Child Abuse
Prevention (Office). States legislative intent that the
Office plan, improve, develop, and carry out programs and
activities relating to the prevention, identification and
treatment of child abuse and neglect.
2.Requires the Office to develop plans to fulfill the
requirements of any federal act providing for the
establishment and maintenance of pilot projects for the
prevention, identification, and treatment of child abuse
to facilitate the receipt and allocation of federal funds
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for planning, research, demonstration and special project
grants.
3.States legislative intent to fund child abuse prevention
coordination councils in each county. Requires these
councils to have specified functions, including providing
a forum for interagency cooperation and coordination in
the prevention, detection, treatment, and legal
processing of child abuse cases.
This bill:
1. Requires DSS, in consultation with DADP, to
establish a joint committee (committee) to study
issues relating to substance abuse in families in
child welfare programs.
2. Requires the committee to be co-chaired by the
Directors of DSS and DADP, or their designees.
3. Requires members of the committee to be appointed
by the co-chairpersons, and to include all of the
following:
a. A representative of the County Welfare
Directors Association of California;
b. A representative of the County Alcohol and Drug
Program Administrators Association of California;
c. A child welfare expert and a drug abuse expert
from the University of California
d. A representative of the Judicial Council of
California;
e. A representative of consumers of substance
abuse services; and,
f. A representative of any other entity the
committee deems advisable.
1. Requires the committee to develop a plan that
includes measurable milestones to address issues of
substance abuse facing families in child welfare
programs, and submit it to the Legislature and the
Governor no later than January 1, 2004.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Assembly Appropriations Committee states that the bill
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would result in minor costs associated with staffing the
committee. The bill requires that implementation be done
within existing resources.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
There is a high correlation between substance abuse and
child abuse and neglect. Caseload studies have documented
that between 40% and 70% of the families entering the child
welfare system face substance abuse problems. At the
county level, several different kinds of innovative
practices have been developed, including out-stationing
substance abuse counselors in child welfare agencies, and
joint training of child welfare and treatment agency staff.
A study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance
Abuse (CASA), at Columbia University, in 1999 entitled, "No
Safe Haven: Children of Substance-Abusing Parents," states
that from 1986 to 1997, the number of abused and neglected
children in America jumped from 1.4 million to some 3
million. This increase is more than 8 times faster than
the increase in the children's population during that time
period. CASA's analysis, survey and interviews lead to the
finding that parental substance abuse and addiction are the
chief culprits in at least 70%, and perhaps 90%, of all
child welfare spending. Some of the study's major findings
were that substance abuse and addiction confound the child
welfare system's ability to protect children, that timely
and comprehensive treatment can work for substance-abusing
parents, and that such treatment is cost-effective.
The author argues that there is no infrastructure in place
in California to collect information or outcomes about the
cases that involve the courts, child welfare agencies, and
treatment agencies. The author adds that this bill is not
a study of the problem. This bill requires the development
of a strategic plan involving state and local substance
abuse treatment and child welfare agencies and family
courts to address this critical issue. The strategic plan
would prepare California to take full advantage of proposed
and implemented federal funding and waiver authority, and
would better equip state and local agencies to respond to
the life-long effects of substance abuse on children and
families.
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According to the sponsors of this bill, Children and Family
Futures (CFF), California is facing a critical need to
address the substance abuse problem among families in the
child welfare system with a strategic plan of action.
Although there are local programs in the state that address
some of these issues, there is no statewide plan on how
California is going to move forward with these efforts to
develop best practices, disseminate information on
effective models, sustain new methods of practice and
policy that are urgently needed, and measure the
effectiveness of these efforts across the state. CFF
argues that this bill is an important step in ensuring the
substance abuse recovery of parents, and the safety and
well-being of the children of substance abusers who are
affected by child abuse and/or neglect.
According to the County Welfare Directors Association of
California (CWDA), a significant portion of the families
involved with the child welfare services system are also in
need of substance abuse intervention and treatment.
Children whose parents are incapacitated by addiction to
alcohol and other drugs are at greater risk of abuse and
neglect, poor educational outcomes, and substance abuse
dependency. CWDA argues that it is vital that the linkage
between substance abuse and child well-being be recognized
and addressed, and that county programs receive tools to
identify and respond to families in need of substance abuse
treatment and other assistance.
DSS has expressed concern that this bill creates an
unmanageable workload for the department. DSS is
particularly concerned given that the purpose and intent of
this bill already are part of the mission of the Child
Welfare Stakeholders Group, which includes DADP) as a
member.
Related legislation:
SB 426 (Ortiz, 2001): requires DADP to develop strategies
to protect children exposed to methamphetamine from injury,
abuse, neglect, death or illness; establishes the
Legislature's intent that DADP develop plans for a
statewide summit and establishment of a state resource
center on the relationship between the rising use of
methamphetamine and child welfare; and requires DADP to
submit child protection strategies to the Legislature by
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January 1, 2004. The bill was held on suspense by the
Assembly Appropriations Committee last year.
COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS
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Amendments were requested and taken in the Assembly to
clarify the author's intent by requiring the committee to
develop "measurable milestones" which now include the:
Prevalence of substance abuse in families receiving
child welfare services;
Available options for substance abuse treatment for
families receiving child welfare services; and
Cost to the state related to substance abuse issues
in the child welfare system.
These could be viewed as research questions, rather than
measurable milestones. The author states that it is not
her desire that this bill initiate additional research, but
rather a plan to help the state move forward in addressing
these issues. Would the author like to further clarify the
milestones that the committee should consider in developing
a plan for the state?
Given Senator Ortiz's very similar bill, SB 426, and the
very serious emerging threats to children from the
increasing use of methamphetimine, would the author
consider amending language into the bill which ensures that
the use of methamphetamine and its effects on children are
a high priority for this committee?
PRIOR ACTIONS
Assembly Floor: 75 - 0Pass
Assembly Appropriations: 23 - 0Do pass as amended
Assembly Health: 19 - 0Do pass as amended
POSITIONS
Support: Children and Family Futures (sponsor)
California Alliance of Child and Family
Services
California Coalition for Youth
California Society of Addiction
Medicine
California Association of Alcohol and Drug
Program Executives
County Welfare Directors Association of
California
Mental Health Association in California
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Prototypes
1 individual
Oppose: None received.
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