Partnership and the Politics of Care: Advocates’ Role in Passing and Implementing California’s Law to Extend Foster Care
California’s Fostering Connections to Success Act (commonly known as AB12) was signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on September 30, 2010. As a result of this legislation, as of January 1, 2012, foster youth in California who turn 18 had the right to stay in care until their 20th birthday. Policy overhaul of this type is never easy. In this case it was more remarkable because child welfare advocates and policymakers in California succeeded in passing this legislation despite a recession, a $40 billion dollar state deficit, and an uncertain governor. This report traces the history of the AB12 legislation from when it was first introduced in the California State Assembly, through its passage and signing, and ultimately to its innovative and extensive implementation planning process. Thus, it covers the period of time from December 2008 through December 2011. The aim of this report is to document the California experience, highlighting its successes and challenges, so that other states may benefit, potentially smoothing the legislative and implementation processes there. Beyond telling the story of AB12, this report also focuses on two other issues. The first is detailing the strong role played by a group of stakeholders (e.g., advocates, foundations, county administrators, etc.) in passing this bill and in seeing it through implementation planning. Understanding more about the role of these stakeholders is important for assessing the degree to which their contributions improved upon or detracted from policymaking processes. The other major focus is the degree to which research evidence was used in both the legislative and implementation planning phase. Knowing more about what kind of evidence is most effective in different policymaking scenarios is important if we are to improve policy outcomes.