BILL NUMBER: SB 1432INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Senator Steinberg FEBRUARY 24, 2012 An act to amend Section 16122 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to child welfare. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1432, as introduced, Steinberg. Adoption assistance. Existing law provides for the Adoption Assistance Program (AAP), to be established and administered by the State Department of Social Services or the county, for the purpose of benefitting children residing in foster homes by providing the stability and security of permanent homes. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to a provision relating to adoption assistance. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 16122 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read: 16122. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this chapter to provide children who would otherwise remain in long-term foster care with permanent adoptive homes. It is also the intent of this Legislature to encourage private adoption agencies to continue placing these children, and in so doing, to achieve a substantial savings to the state in foster care costs. (b) (1) From any funds appropriated for this purpose, the state shall compensate private adoption agencies licensed pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 1500) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code for costs of placing for adoption children eligible for Adoption Assistance Program benefits pursuant to Section 16120.These(2) The private adoption agencies shall be compensated for otherwise unreimbursed costs for the placement of these children in an amount not to exceed a total of three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500) per child adopted. Half of the compensation shall be paid at the time the adoptive placement agreement is signed. The remainder shall be paid at the time the adoption petition is granted by the court. Requests for compensation shall conform to claims procedures established by the department. This section shall not be construed to authorize reimbursement to private adoption agencies for intercountry adoption services. (c) Effective July 1, 1999, the maximum amount of reimbursement pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be five thousand dollars ($5,000). (d) Effective February 1, 2008, the maximum amount of reimbursement pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be ten thousand dollars ($10,000). This rate increase shall apply only to those cases for which the adoptive home study approval occurred on or after July 1, 2007. (e) Commencing with the budget subcommittee hearings for the 2008-09 fiscal year, the State Department of Social Services shall review the reimbursement methodology for the program and annually provide information to the fiscal committees of the Legislature on all of the following: (1) The costs and savings, to the extent that these can be assessed, associated with increasing the reimbursement rate. (2) Outcome data, including the increased number of adoptive placements and finalized adoptions, and how these outcomes compare to prior years. (3) The progress toward earning federal adoption incentives. (4) The number of new agencies participating in the placement of children pursuant to this section.