Foster Care Placement With Relatives California Senate Bill (SB) 354 (2022): A Policy Analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis project was to conduct a policy analysis of three sections of California Senate Bill (SB) 354, Foster Care Placement with Relatives (2022), specifically: Section 2, which amended Health and Safety Code § 1522; Section 6 which amended Welfare and Institutions Code § 309; and Section 13.3 which amended Welfare and Institutions Code § 16519.5. The bill was sponsored by Senator Nancy Skinner (D), Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D), and Senator Eloise Reyes (D).

This analysis uses a policy analysis framework developed by Brandeis University Heller School of Social Welfare Professor, David G. Gil, and taught in California State University, Long Beach’s Masters in Social Work program. The framework is described in the textbook Social Policy and Social Change: Toward the Creation of Social and Economic Justice. The policy analysis focuses on the policy’s social problem to be addressed, the overt and covert objectives, the underlying values, and the intended and unintended effects. Also presented are implications for social work policy and practice, alternative policies, and the connection to the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics. This thesis project includes a chapter on strengths and limitations of the analysis and lessons learned.