CTFC and the Pechanga Band of Indians are co-sponsoring Assembly Bill 1378 (Rogers). This bill will increase available funding for tribal programs to prevent Indian children from entering foster care. And now we have hit that time in the legislative process when tribal support letters are needed!
In addition to AB 1378 there are many other child welfare-related bills to watch this Legislative Session including AB 562 (Solache) which attempts to build in accountability mechanisms for county welfare agencies to place Indian children within the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) placement preferences. There are also bills that would increase unsupervised visits for parents, AB 926 (Gipson), and make it easier for parents with a history of violent felonies to reunify with their children, AB 1201 (Jackson). AB 898 (Bryan) would authorize county staff to provide ongoing support to foster children, youth and caregivers who have received mobile response support services and prioritize the statewide hotline calls. AB 308 (Ramos) would authorize County Behavioral Health Directors in conjunction with law enforcement to develop procedures for emergency situations, or crisis incidents, involving individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities or behavioral health conditions. Currently, there is no plan for tribal involvement. Several bills including AB 243 (Ahrens), SB 794 (Ochoa-Bough), and SB 413(Allen) attempt to amend who can access confidential juvenile court case files. Some bills are looking to improve access to services for foster youth, including access to developmental disability services at regional centers AB 1099 (Bryan), prevention legal services SB 452 (Weber-Pierson), and foster care benefits AB 680 (Ahrens).
Read the Coalition’s 2025 Child Welfare Legislation to Watch Memo for more.
