California Department of Social Services - State Hearings Division
Notes from the Training Bureau - May 3, 1999

Reference: AB 2773; Public Law 105-89

Effective January 1, 1999, AB 2773 implements provisions of Public Law 105-89. This legislation added several major provisions to the Welfare and Institutions Code (W&IC), the Family Code and the Health and Safety Code that impact provision of child welfare and adoption services. These provisions are summarized in the ACIN. A couple of those provisions are as follows:

The AFSA amends W&IC §10950 to provide prospective adoptive parents the right to a state hearing to appeal the delay or denial of an adoption placement because the family was outside the adoption agency’s jurisdiction. This amendment to §10950 adds to the definition of "recipients" entitled to a state hearing those prospective adoptive families described in the AFSA.

The AFSA also amended W&IC §16120 to permit a child who was originally eligible for federal Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) benefits when adopted, whose adoption is subsequently dissolved, and is adopted again, to remain eligible for AAP as if the prior adoption never occurred.