Introduced by Assembly Member Bryan
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Kalra)
When a child is removed from their family, the paren(s then are deemed non-custodial parents and are responsible child welfare agencies are required to pay child support. If the parent is unable to pay, a debt is incurred which must be satisfied prior to reunification. It is the intent of the Legislature to limit the referral of these out-of-home cases to county child support enforcement departments and directs the agencies to prioritize family reunification over the practice of burdening parents and guardians with unnecessary debt.
POSTED: June 10, 2022
STATUS: SenateJudiciary - hearing 6/21/2022
POSITION: SUPPORT
Thoughts for consideration:
Any money collected does not go to support the child or family, but to recoup the child welfare expenses. However, the cost of collection well exceeds any collections.
In many places in California parents are charged for the time their children spend in foster care.
It disproportionally burdens single women of color, and studies have shown that the cost of collections exceeds the debt owed.