Transcript Highlights:

• youth, and we have a short-term residential... ...and transition-age youth, and we have a short-term
• There are times when a youth needs more wrap intervention for a day or so because of life events, such
• STRTPs are a critical therapeutic intervention for our foster youth who are needing high levels of care
• Research on the relationship between residential youth and foster caregivers and the outcomes for youth
• I heard you talk about foster youth, seniors, most vulnerable youth.

Summary: The Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Human Services held an informational hearing on child welfare, foster care, child support, and related prevention efforts. The chair opened by emphasizing mandated reporting reform, foster care system improvements, and community-based prevention, and noted that no votes would be taken. Public testimony focused first on mandated reporting, where a lived-experience advocate and several organizations argued that the current system overreports families, especially Black, Native, and Latino families, causes trauma, and should be reformed through standardized training, clearer thresholds, and stronger community supports rather than more hotline referrals. Casey Family Programs cited data showing nearly 90% of reports are unsubstantiated, while CDSS said it is already forming a Mandated Reporting Advisory Committee, updating training, and exploring community pathways and possible changes to the list of mandated reporters. CWDA and SEIU supported training and alternative response concepts but stressed child safety, county capacity, funding, and the need for careful implementation and accountability. The committee then discussed a proposal to create a foster care multi-agency office within the California Health and Human Services Agency, led by a chief foster youth advocate with authority to coordinate across departments. Advocates said foster youth often need services from education, health, housing, and behavioral health systems that do not coordinate well, and argued that a central office with real authority could improve placement stability and access to services. CDSS responded that existing structures already provide coordination, including AB 2083 interagency teams, the Child Welfare Council, complex care steering committees, and the foster care ombudsperson, but said it was open to technical assistance. Members raised concerns about whether the new office would have enough authority and funding to avoid becoming another layer of bureaucracy, and the chair emphasized the need for real “teeth” and better interagency action. The final major topic was the continuation and expansion of Promise Neighborhoods. A community leader described strong early results from the state-funded neighborhoods, including improved kindergarten readiness, reduced chronic absenteeism, higher graduation rates, food access, housing supports, and mental health services, but warned that current funding sunsets in June 2025 and that a fiscal cliff could jeopardize staff and services. CDSS said the four funded neighborhoods have reported positive outcomes and valuable flexibility, but also noted challenges with one-time funding, student mental health, and long-term planning. Assemblymember Mia Bonta urged continued investment, saying the place-based model is difficult to rebuild once lost, and the chair asked LAO to help identify the minimum funding needed to preserve the existing infrastructure while evaluation results are still pending.

Transcript Highlights:

• So this is not a new concept and was one of the key recommendations of the working group of youth interventions
• </c><00:09:29.360><c> So,</c><00:09:29.760><c> uh,</c><00:09:29.920><c> in</c> youth interventions.
• So, uh, in youth interventions.
• I'm here in support youth interventions.
• Building off the recommendations of the working group on youth interventions, the Hennepin County Board

Committee: Senate Health and Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• assaults, taking youth to medical appointments, preventing retaliation against youth who file grievances
• While we support increased efforts to make our youth safer, we believe that efforts to decarcerate youth
• Lifelines for Youth, Human Rights Watch, National Center for Youth Law, and others.
• Justice, Fresh Lifelines for Youth, Human Rights Watch, National Center for Youth Law, San Francisco
• Institute, Youth Alliance, and Youth Justice Coalition. Thank you.

Summary: The committee heard a long agenda of public safety bills, with several measures pulled off calendar and one consent calendar adopted. AB 2419 by Assembly Member Quirk-Silva would extend body-worn cameras to Los Angeles County juvenile probation officers. Supporters said cameras would improve accountability, youth and officer safety, and public trust; opponents argued the bill would not solve deeper problems in juvenile halls and raised concerns about officer discretion, privacy, and labor issues. The bill passed to Appropriations on a roll call vote. AB 1902 by Assembly Member Pellerin, co-sponsored by Santa Cruz County, would revise the juvenile detention extension hearing process in response to the Madison Middleton case. Supporters, including the victim’s mother and county officials, said the bill would clarify jurisdiction, allow continuances, permit hearsay at the probable cause stage, extend the maximum detention period, and better protect the public and victims from repeated trauma. Opponents from public defender, youth justice, and civil liberties groups argued the bill expands civil commitment, reduces review frequency, and could lead to inappropriate adult placement. The committee approved the bill to Appropriations, with some members noting remaining concerns. AB 2052 by Assembly Member Stephanie would allow continuity in prosecution for elder and dependent adult abuse cases, including a limited continuance so the same prosecutor can stay with a case. Supporters said older victims and those with dementia or other impairments benefit from a single point of contact and less repeated trauma; opponents said the bill could undermine speedy-trial rights and was broader than necessary. The bill passed to Judiciary. AB 1588, also by Assembly Member Stephanie, would strengthen sideshow and street takeover enforcement by adding motorcycles and dirt bikes to the law and increasing penalties. Supporters framed it as a public safety and accountability measure, while opponents warned it would expand punishment, surveillance, and fines without addressing root causes; the bill was sent to Transportation on a roll call vote. AB 1753, another Stephanie bill, would tighten firearm relinquishment and protective-order enforcement, expand remote hearing access, and align firearm prohibitions across protective order categories; it passed to Judiciary. The committee also heard AB 1739 by Assembly Member Ward, which would criminalize clergy sexual exploitation when clergy provide therapeutic services, with survivors and advocates testifying in support.

Transcript Highlights:

• Let me—excuse me. 2337 addresses our intervention courts.
• that there are sanctions within intervention court.
• probationers who are participating in intervention court.
• Or have enough violations of intervention court, that judge who has sentenced you into intervention court
• Probationers who are participating in intervention court.

Committee: Joint Judiciary, Division B

Transcript Highlights:

• state plan around attendance, which is directly about our youth, without having the youth engaged.
• </c> share what the role of Minnesota Youth share what the role of Minnesota Youth Council<00:25:50.960
• </c> about our youth without having the youth about our youth without having the youth engaged.<00:26
• While some interventions intervention.
• And yeah, the pilot intervention.

Committee: Senate Education Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• And that is targeting services and interventions for youth that may be running away, habitually truant
• But the youth might be there until they go to final disposition.
• The next level up is high risk, where we could have a youth anywhere from 12 to 18 months.
• And then max risk, we could have that youth in custody up to three years and up to the age of 21.
• So what keeps me up at night... ...intervention. And they're having to call the police.

Summary: The Justice Budget Subcommittee met for an introductory overview of the justice budget and the major agencies within it. Chair Maney explained that the committee would hear broad presentations rather than detailed budget questions, and the first panel included the Department of Juvenile Justice, Department of Corrections, Commission on Offender Review, Department of Law Enforcement, Office of the State Courts Administrator, and the Attorney General’s Office. Each agency described its mission, staffing, budget, and major responsibilities, with repeated emphasis on public safety, rehabilitation, staffing shortages, technology needs, and the importance of mental health services and education in reducing recidivism. Secretary Hall described DJJ’s prevention-to-aftercare continuum, including civil citation, detention, probation, and residential commitment programs, and highlighted reductions in juvenile arrests and commitments. Secretary Dixon said DOC’s biggest issues are staffing, overtime, and inflation, while noting progress in education, reentry, and a low recidivism rate. FDLE Commissioner Glass outlined the agency’s investigative, forensic, intelligence, and protective functions, including work on fentanyl enforcement and crime reporting systems. The State Courts Administrator emphasized the judiciary’s constitutional role, case volume, and challenges in providing interpreters, experts, and technology support. Chief Deputy Attorney General Guard described the office’s litigation, criminal appeals, consumer protection, and opioid recovery work, especially defending state laws and recovering opioid settlement funds. Members then asked questions about prison conditions, immigration enforcement, court filing fees, crime reporting, staffing ratios, and transnational gangs. Agency leaders responded that they were not aware of ICE contracts in some cases, that FDLE works with immigration authorities and detention facilities under existing authority, and that filing fees are a legislative policy decision. The committee also heard from the Justice Administrative Commission, prosecutors, public defenders, guardian ad litem, regional conflict counsel, and capital collateral regional counsel, who focused on indigent representation, dependency and death penalty cases, and persistent staffing and retention problems. No votes were taken, and the meeting concluded after the presentations and questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• Power Is Yours is the youth-led advocacy branch of More Than Words that uplifts youth to speak about
• Power Is Yours is the youth-led advocacy branch of More Than Words that uplifts youth to speak about
• youth advisory board.
• youth advisory board.
• Latino youth are now 3.5 times more likely than a white youth to be the subject of a CRA filing, and

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities

Summary: The Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities held a hybrid hearing on a series of child welfare bills focused on DCF, foster care, mandated reporting, educational records, and family support. Chair Kennedy and Chair Livingstone opened with accessibility and testimony rules, then heard testimony on bills including S.127 on expanding mandated reporters, S.107/H.235 on a Foster Children’s Bill of Rights, S.106/H.228 on transferring foster care review from DCF to the Office of the Child Advocate, H.258/S.125 on an electronic backpack for foster children’s educational records, H.205 on kinship foster care background checks, H.246/H.266 on minimizing trauma in care and protection cases, and S.159 on support for families after sudden unexpected infant death. Supporters of the mandated reporter bill, led by Sen. Feeney and Foxborough advocates, described a local model that trains all adults who work with children and argued the state should scale that approach statewide to improve recognition and reporting of abuse. Testimony on the foster care bills emphasized the need for clearer rights, better notice to children and attorneys, stronger remedies, and independent oversight. Advocates, youth with lived experience, and legal organizations described placement instability, delayed notifications, abuse in care, poor educational continuity, and the need for rights around safety, family contact, culture, language, and access to records. Several witnesses urged that the Foster Children’s Bill of Rights include enforceable court remedies, not just reporting requirements. On the oversight bill, supporters argued DCF should not review its own foster care system and pointed to poor outcomes, high placement instability, and recent investigative reporting as evidence for moving review responsibilities to the Office of the Child Advocate. On the electronic backpack bill, testimony focused on the need for real-time data sharing and a centralized system so schools can receive foster students’ records quickly and support continuity. On the trauma-minimization bill, Rep. Miskin framed the proposal as a set of practical changes to reduce harm during removals and court involvement. On the SUID bill, Sen. Lovely said families should be given information about available grief and support resources after an infant death. No votes were taken during the hearing; the committee primarily received testimony and questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> Tina and Bryden, who is a former Youth Tina and Bryden, who is a former Youth of<00:07:51.360><c
• America holds their Youth of the Year America holds their Youth of the Year competition,<00:08:18.160
• </c><00:08:34.360><c> of</c> Boys and Girls Club of Hawaii Youth of Boys and Girls Club of Hawaii Youth
• </c> competing for for the Youth of the Year. competing for for the Youth of the Year.
• <00:12:19.680><c> chamber</c> youthful exuberance in this chamber youthful exuberance in this chamber

Bills: SB3225 , HCR53 , HCR57 , HCR101 , HB1878 , HB1481 , SCR40 , SCR59 , SCR114 , SCR197 , SCR198 , SR30 , SR107 , SR185 , SR186

Transcript Highlights:

• consideration students from a variety of backgrounds, whether it's students with disabilities or our LGBTQ+ youth

Bills: SB5223 , SB5286 , SB6002 , SB6178 , SB5892 , SB5177 , SB6039 , SB5874 , SB5863 , SB5972 , SB5941 , SB5203 , SB6014 , SB5993 , SB5831 , SB5928 , SB5912 , SB5825 , SB5223 , SB6178 , SB5892 , SB5177 , SB6039 , SB5941 , SB5993 , SB5831 , SB5928 , SB5912 , SB6183 , SB6071 , SB5995 , SB5966 , SB5841 , SB5840 , SB6061 , SB6058 , SB5931 , SB5944 , SB5520 , SB6011 , SB6087 , SB6076 , SB5916 , SB6016 , SB5936 , SB6137 , SB5185 , SB5956 , SB6025 , SB6009 , SB5833 , SB6161 , SB6188 , SB5890 , SB5917 , SB5820 , SB5973 , SJM8015 , SB5816 , SB6136 , SB6091 , SB6024

Keywords: criminal offense, fingerprinting, law enforcement, state regulations, public safety, policing costs, state hospitals, local funding, budget allocation, automated license plate reader, ALPR, license plate recognition, LPR, surveillance, driver privacy, vehicle tracking, location data, law enforcement technology, data retention, audit trail

Transcript Highlights:

• plan, because when you create a behavior intervention plan, it's actually a detailed process.
• And then that drives the behavior intervention plan. I was able to dive deeply into this bill.
• And then that drives the behavior intervention plan. It's an IEP team decision.
• And then that drives the behavior intervention plan. And it's an IEP team decision.
• plan, data with with psychiatric facilities or a structured intervention plan.

Committee: Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education

Transcript Highlights:

• population by 200 youth.
• population by 200 youth.
• population by 200 youth.
• 50 youth.
• these youth local.

Bills: SB 1

Committee: Senate Finance

Summary: The committee heard a Legislative Budget Board presentation and then testimony from the Department of Public Safety on the Article 5 public safety budget. LBB said DPS’s 2026-27 recommendation totals $3.7 billion, down from the prior base, while FTEs rise by 856.7. Major items included increased funding for driver license services and customer support, new trooper funding and recruit schools, crime lab operations, border security, and reductions tied to one-time facility, vehicle, and aircraft spending. The committee also discussed new riders, including one to lapse unused trooper funds and require reporting after recruit schools. Members focused heavily on driver license operations, questioning why prior staffing increases and a prior efficiency study had not solved long wait times, high call abandonment, and appointment delays. DPS and LBB said the agency receives about 22,000 calls per day, answers only about 9 percent, and is seeking more staff plus technology upgrades such as automation, kiosks, and better online processing. Senators also raised concerns about rural access, REAL ID document requirements, and whether the department should rethink its processes rather than simply add employees. DPS leadership then described needs for the Williamson County training academy, additional troopers, Capitol and Alamo security, border operations, aircraft and vehicle replacement, and regional headquarters in El Paso and San Antonio. Members asked about Operation Lone Star costs, overtime, pursuit safety, border crime, oilfield theft, and sexual assault kit and toxicology backlogs. DPS said border deployments remain focused on criminal threats, that overtime is partly driven by deployments and staffing shortages, and that the sexual assault kit backlog is down to 118 cases with a goal of zero by April. The committee later recessed and began the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission budget presentation, where LBB outlined a $115.1 million recommendation and noted ongoing costs for the AIMS technology project.

Transcript Highlights:

• For background, there are a number of legislatively directed efforts related to youth behavioral health
• and local agencies and community partners involved in behavioral health services for children and youth
• , and crisis intervention, strategies for coordinating resources, agencies, and community partners, and
• State law also requires certain reading-related screening and intervention.
• The student connected with a student assistance provider for screening and early intervention.

Bills: HB1796 , SGA9249 , SGA9269 , SGA9244

Committee: Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education

Keywords: school construction, contract indebtedness, school districts, bonding authority, education funding

Transcript Highlights:

• We all share the goal of helping high-needs youth, but when placements outpace local capacity, youth
• We all share the goal of helping high-needs youth, but when placements outpace local capacity, youth
• Reasons for the calls vary and can include violence between the youth, violence between the youth and
• But the youth in these group homes do not.
• These are female youth, female youth. No women present. These are female youth, female youth.

Committee: Senate Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• . interventions. interventions.
• And uh level of intervention possible.
• </c> intervention any longer. intervention any longer.
• 12:23.360><c> care</c> Early intervention and coordinated care Early intervention and coordinated care
• </c><05:20:35.200><c> peer</c> but it also includes family youth peer but it also includes family youth

Committee: House Commerce and Consumer Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• Youth in group homes deserve a voice, and this bill reflects the reality youth have been living.
• Foster youth deserve more than basic supervision.
• The system is broken, and the youth in care need your help.
• Foster youth deserve more than basic supervision.
• These should be... ...interventions, you know, medical interventions, including vaccine, masking.

Bills: HB2035 , HB2086 , HB2434 , HB2611 , HB2732 , HB2733 , HB2830 , HB2923 , HB2932 , HB4004

Committees: Senate Health and Human Services , Senate Senate Health and Human Services COR

Keywords: kinship care, child welfare, foster care, relative placement, child protection, vaccination mandates, mask requirements, public health, government entities, COVID-19, controlled substances, prescription monitoring, opioid crisis, healthcare regulations, patient safety, group homes, children's rights, safety protocols, employee training, mental health

Transcript Highlights:

• Gaps again emerge at 9 to 18 months, and intervention and investment has to start there too.
• This is how we move from short-term interventions to long-term transformation.
• I'm a pediatric interventional cardiologist, which means that I perform heart procedures on children
• We know what policies and interventions work.
• So we know what interventions work. We know what policies work.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses

Summary: The Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Business held its final hearing of the session on H. 5187 and S. 3022, the Enough Act, which would create a grant program to support place-based, cradle-to-career anti-poverty initiatives in high-need communities. Chairs Andy Vargas and Sen. Adam Gómez opened the hearing by thanking committee members and stakeholders, and several lawmakers, including Sen. Sal DiDomenico, Rep. Kate Lipper-Garabedian, and Rep. Antonio Cabral, described the bill as a bottom-up approach that would let local organizations, schools, and community partners direct resources where they are most needed. They emphasized that poverty, housing instability, food insecurity, and chronic absenteeism are interconnected and that the bill is intended to build local “backbone” infrastructure rather than fund isolated programs. A series of educators, school leaders, and nonprofit advocates testified in support, including leaders from Chelsea Public Schools, Bunker Hill Community College, Strategies for Children, AFT Massachusetts, United Way, the Boston Foundation, the New Commonwealth Fund, Give Black Alliance, Eastern Bank Foundation, and the Greater Boston Food Bank. They argued that schools alone cannot overcome the effects of concentrated poverty and pointed to research showing that children arrive at school already affected by poverty-related gaps. Several witnesses described existing local efforts in Chelsea, Boston, New Bedford, Springfield, Haverhill, and Lowell, and said the Enough Act would help coordinate services, align data and goals, and strengthen community voice. Some also noted that the bill could leverage philanthropic and private investment and cited Maryland and Harlem Children’s Zone as models. The hearing also featured testimony from Harlem Children’s Zone CEO Kwame Owusu-Kesse and founder Jeffrey Canada, who said the model has shown that sustained, coordinated supports can reduce the role of luck in children’s outcomes and should be scaled in Massachusetts. Committee members asked about sustainability, funding, and how the bill would interact with existing efforts such as community schools, the Student Opportunity Act, and McKinney-Vento homelessness supports. Witnesses responded that the bill would complement those programs by creating a broader, community-led framework and that long-term sustainability would require public, philanthropic, and private support. No vote was taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> mean go through the intervention mean go through the intervention processes<01:09:17.040><c> doesn't
• </c> about this um in talking with the youth about this um in talking with the youth court<01:19:40.000
• </c><01:19:59.440><c> court</c> to I think there's many youth court to I think there's many youth court
• </c><01:21:50.080><c> bringing</c> doing the intervention process bringing doing the intervention process
• . interventions. interventions.

Committee: Joint Education

Transcript Highlights:

• I appreciate your openness and the dialogue that we had on protecting California's youth.
• absenteeism, youth mental health, violence, and bullying.
• It does not dictate curriculum, instructional practices, or intervention models.
• Department of Education has long recommended early assessment and intervention.
• Allow for interventions earlier on for students who haven't been assessed yet.

Committee: House Education

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><04:15:03.560><c> mental</c> in New Hampshire with um youth mental in New Hampshire with um youth
• </c> just like what is the state of Youth just like what is the state of Youth mental<04:15:55.479><c
• </c><04:16:03.199><c> risk</c> there will be another um youth risk there will be another um youth risk
• </c><04:43:17.638><c> risk</c> there ought to be the youth risk there ought to be the youth risk behavior
• </c> Dartmouth and I serve on the youth Dartmouth and I serve on the youth advisory<05:30:26.520><c>

Summary: The House Education Policy and Administration Committee heard testimony on House Bill 71, which would bar public elementary and secondary schools and higher education facilities from being used as shelters for certain non-citizens, with a stated exception for short-term emergency sheltering of up to 72 hours and for community-wide emergency use. Prime sponsor Rep. Juliet Harvey-Bolia said the bill was modeled on federal and out-of-state proposals and was prompted by examples in New York and Massachusetts where schools or other facilities were used as shelters, causing disruption. She argued the bill does not truly “ban” anything, but instead places a condition on receipt of state funds, and said the fiscal note’s projected loss of federal funding was unsupported and should have been described as undeterminable. Committee members questioned the bill’s scope and practical effects, including whether it would apply to vacant school-owned buildings, schools used during summer, charter schools, and situations where other states send people without advance notice. Harvey-Bolia said vacant buildings not functioning as schools would not be covered, and that the bill would still allow short-term emergency sheltering and community-wide use during weather events. She also said the bill would not prevent remote learning, and that its purpose was to avoid displacing students. Several members pressed her on the fiscal note and whether any federal or state program would actually be at risk; she said she found no evidence that funding would be lost and that DHHS had not identified a real threat. A witness from the New Hampshire Association of School Administrators, Jerry FW, raised practical concerns about who would determine eligibility at a shelter site, how the 72-hour limit would be enforced, and whether the bill would apply to charter schools. He also noted that remote learning is no longer an option in New Hampshire, making one of the bill’s stated concerns less relevant. The discussion also included clarification of the terms “refugee” and “asylum seeker,” with members and the sponsor debating the distinction and whether refugees are vetted. No vote or final committee action was taken in the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• One is the extension of liquidation of $430,000 for the Early Psychosis Intervention Plus program.
• It supports crisis prevention, early intervention, and crisis response strategies.
• I'm a senior ambassador at Two Feathers, a youth leader.
• For many youth, including myself, these programs aren't activities; they are lifelines.
• Hello, my name is Kristen Vang, and I am a youth counselor from Ebasi, East Bay Asian Youth Center of

Summary: The Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Health held an informational hearing on the Governor’s May Revision, focusing first on the Commission on Behavioral Health, then EMSA, and then the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). The Department of Finance said the state faces a third consecutive deficit and that the May Revision includes difficult trade-offs, including proposed eliminations or reversions of some behavioral health and public health funds. The LAO echoed concern about the structural deficit and said it was still awaiting some budget details before offering a full analysis. For the Commission on Behavioral Health, Finance proposed eliminating $20 million in Mental Health Wellness Act funds, arguing the money would help offset General Fund costs and noting future Proposition 1 innovation funding. The commission strongly opposed the cut, saying it would eliminate or delay launch-ready grants for early childhood supports, full-service partnerships, and peer respite, and would eventually end ongoing grant programming. Several advocates and commissioners testified that the funds support underserved communities and that Proposition 1 is not a substitute for the existing programs. The chair asked Finance to look for alternatives, but no vote was taken. EMSA presented mostly technical budget adjustments: increased authority for the California Poison Control System, a correction to EMSIS funding, and a reappropriation for enterprise services and data management. CDPH then reviewed a broader set of May Revision proposals, including reversions from the California Reducing Disparities Project, workforce development, STD prevention, hepatitis C prevention, hospice, and extreme heat funding, as well as a new generative AI pilot for health facility survey reporting. Members raised concerns about cuts to CRDP and gender health equity programs, especially because many grants are mid-contract and serve underserved communities; CDPH said the reversions were part of solving the deficit and that CRDP had been successful, while also clarifying that abortion.ca.gov would not be eliminated. Public comment was overwhelmingly opposed to the CRDP and related cuts, with many speakers describing the programs as life-saving and cost-effective. No formal votes or actions were taken during the hearing.