AB 12 Information

Assembly Bill 12 (AB 12): California Fostering Connections Act was signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on September 30, 2010. This bill, which advocates and stakeholders fought for for 2 years, includes a number of improvements to the Kin-GAP program and extends foster care to age 21. These changes to the foster care system will also require the development of a number of regulations regarding approval and licensing of foster care placements for non-minor dependents, eligibility requirements for maintaining dependency as a non-minor, changes to the existing Independent Living Program, county share of costs, rate-setting for THP-Plus Foster Care, and a bevy of issues related to the new Kin-GAP model.

On this page, you will find resources related to the provisions of AB 12 and updates on the regulation writing process. For more information about AB 12, contact Francisco Alvarado at falvarado@fosteryouthalliance.org.

Resources:

• Assembly Bill No. 12
• The ABC’s of AB12 Poster
• Cafosteringconnections.org
• AB12 fact sheet from CDSS (The CDSS fact sheet provides a basic overview of the goals, basic requirements, placement options and kin-gap eligibility of AB12.)
• AB 12 flow chart (The flow chart shows the impact of AB12 on wards of the court who have met rehabilitative goals)

FAQs:

• AB 12 Question of the Week
• After 18 FAQ (“This is a list of the most frequently asked questions from youth, caregivers and other supportive adults about the new law.”)

Broadcasts AB 12:

• Colloquium on California’s AB12 at UC Berkeley
• Interview with Assembly Member Jim Beall, co-author of AB12

Primer:

• AB12 Primer (released by the co-sponsoring organizations of AB 12)

Workshops/Webinars:

• Educational workshops on the implementation of extended foster care are happening around the state for social workers, probation officers, caregivers, attorneys, judges, CASAs and youth.

Resources for foster youth:

• After 18 Campaign launched! Join the After 18 campaign to spread the word about the new choices available to foster youth
• Aging out of foster care? Things to know and what you need to do
• PowerPoint (Introduction to AB 12 for foster youth)

Resources for Social Workers:

• AB 12 Training Resources: CalSWEC provides online training and manuals about AB 12
• Hypothetical scenarios to help social workers understand who is eligible for extended foster care.
• Eligibility for extended foster care benefits (Ages 18-20)
• Six-month certification of extended foster care participation form: The purpose of this form is for the social worker/probation officer (SW/PO) to certify a nonminor’s participation in extended foster care (EFC) activities and transmit it to the eligibility worker (EW).
• The resources contained here are provided to help professional staff provide relevant, tangible, and accessible resources to young adults

All County Letters (AB12):

• Extension of foster care beyond age 18:  Part one.  The purpose of this ACL is to provide counties with instructions regarding the policies and procedures for the Extended Foster Care (EFC) Program created by AB 12.
• Extension of foster care beyond age 18:  Part two (Placement). The purpose of this ACL is to provide counties with instruction regarding the policies and procedures for the placement of Non-Minor Dependents (NMDs) in the Extended Foster Care (EFC) Program.
• Extension of foster care beyond age 18:  Part three (Probation).  The purpose of this ACL is to provide counties with information regarding probation youth access to the Extended Foster Care (EFC) Program created by AB 12.

FYA’s AB 12 Summary and Implementation Timeline