Senate Human Services Committee advances package of bills on foster parents, truancy, homelessness and supportive services

The Senate Human Services Committee on an evening hearing advanced a slate of bills addressing foster youth parenting supports, truancy penalties, in‑home supportive services paperwork, homelessness response in Los Angeles County, domestic‑violence supports in child welfare, savings accounts for people with disabilities, developmental services accountability, guaranteed‑income pilot protections, and LGBTQ+‑inclusive homelessness practices.

Assemblymember Dixon presented AB 349 to index the infant supplemental payment for parenting foster youth to inflation. “This is my third year authoring this bill, which supports teen moms and their babies in the foster care system,” Assemblymember Dixon said. Jill Dominguez, CEO and president of Mary's Path, described clinical and residential care the organization provides and told the committee the infant supplement rate has not been increased since February 2016 and “the cost of diapers has risen 90% over the past 2 years. Formula over 11%.” The committee voted to advance AB 349 to the Appropriations Committee.

Assemblymember Aarons presented AB 461, which would remove criminal penalties and CalWORKs sanctions that can be imposed on parents of chronically truant kindergarten through eighth‑grade students and replace punitive responses with a supportive, noncriminal approach. Aarons said the bill “shifts our approach to chronic truancy from punishment to support.” Testimony from advocates, including representatives from End Child Poverty in California and the Vera Institute for Justice, described disproportionate impacts on low‑income families and immigrant communities. Several senators raised procedural and policy concerns about removing enforcement tools that they said help ensure school attendance; Senator Becker moved the bill and the committee voted to send it to Public Safety.

Assemblymember Nguyen presented AB 346 to broaden which licensed health professionals may sign paramedical services forms required for authorization of certain in‑home supportive services (IHSS) procedures.…