Pro-Kid Bills for Children’s Movement members to be aware of

Assembly Bill (AB) 291 (Gipson) Teacher Credentialing: Credentialed Educator Apprenticeships  

The state’s educator shortage, already at crisis levels in many schools, continues to directly impact students’ academic progress and social emotional development and stymy state initiatives to implement transitional kindergarten, community schools, and high-quality, equitable math instruction. AB 291 would set the requirements for apprenticeship pathways to becoming a credentialed teacher. Creating teacher apprenticeship programs would reduce the cost of becoming a teacher by providing compensation to teacher candidates, as well as structured mentorship, which are the hallmarks of apprenticeship. These new pathways will help address California’s long-standing teacher shortage while creating opportunities for non-traditional candidates to enter the profession. 

AB 607 (Rodriguez, Celeste) CalWORKs: Home Visiting Program  

California must expand voluntary, evidence-based home visiting programs statewide to ensure these highly effective services reach a larger share of eligible families. AB 607 would extend the CalWORKs Home Visiting Program at least 24 months and would extend the maximum age of the child at the time of enrollment to 36 months of age. The bill would also authorize a voluntary participant whose participation would otherwise be terminated because the participant no longer meets CalWORKs income, eligibility, or need criteria to continue through the duration of the home visiting program or for up to an additional 12 months, whichever is longer. 

AB 224 (Bonta) and Senate Bill (SB) 62 (Menjivar) Health Care Coverage: Essential Health Benefits

These bills would update the benchmark that determines what benefits health insurance companies will be required to cover beginning in 2027. We expect future amendments will add coverage of hearing aids, a critically important benefit especially for the state’s deaf and hard of hearing children. Right now, more than 20,000 children and youth in California use hearing aids, yet their health insurance does not cover them. This lack of coverage has resulted in a developmental emergency, as pediatric experts stress that early access to hearing aids is essential for language, learning, and social development. 

AB 350 (Bonta) Health Care Coverage: Fluoride Treatments

Fluoride varnish is an evidence-based practice that can help to prevent and stop dental cavities from forming or worsen. This bill would expand coverage of fluoride varnish for kids in commercial health plans and allow for non-medical professionals to bill Medi-Cal. Expanding this benefit to commercial health plans will ensure more children receive this service and establishing a reimbursement mechanism for non-medical professionals to bill Medi-Cal will allow these providers (e.g., community health workers) to better serve and reach children in public health settings (e.g., schools). 

AB 916 (Lee) Safer Soap Act 

The use of the antimicrobial chemicals benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium chloride, and chloroxylenol in soaps poses significant risks to children’s health and the environment, as well as contributing to the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance. Children are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of these chemicals, despite CDC and FDA guidance that states that in everyday use, antimicrobial soaps are not more effective than plain soap and could pose serious public health risks. This bill would ban those three ingredients from hand soaps and body washes.

SB 363 (Wiener) Health Care Coverage: Independent Medical Review  

Unfortunately, too many families must fight health plans to get care for their children. Following up on SB 294 (Wiener, 2024), this bill would require plans to publicly report denials of surgical, medical and behavioral health care for all Californians, including children and young people. It would also allow the state to fine health plans that erroneously deny care. 

AB 249 (Ramos) Housing: Homeless Housing, Assistance, And Prevention Program: Youth-Specific Processes and Coordinated Entry Systems

This bill aims to strengthen efforts to address homelessness among youth in California. Under current law, the state has established the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention (HHAP) program to provide funding and support to local communities in tackling homelessness. This bill would build on that by requiring each local agency involved in the program to focus more specifically on the needs of homeless youth. Starting in the 2026-2027 fiscal year, agencies would need to ensure they have systems in place to assess and support homeless youth, including creating youth-specific housing options and consulting with young people who have lived experience of homelessness. The goal is to make sure that youth are prioritized, and their unique needs are met in the broader fight against homelessness. This bill is a step forward in making sure the homeless response system is more inclusive and effective for young people in California. 

AB 689 (Rubio) Foster Youth: Disaster Aid Assistance 

While the state is legally responsible for meeting the needs of children and youth in foster care, disaster-impacted children and youth rarely receive the additional funding needed to cover extra, unexpected costs. AB 689 would establish a statewide Child Welfare Disaster Response Fund that ensures resources are immediately available to disaster-impacted communities to mitigate the urgent needs of children and youth in foster care and their caregivers, including funding for transportation, interim housing, and replacement of essential belongings. 

AB 898 (Bryan) The Family Urgent Response System (FURS) 

The Family Urgent Response System (FURS), consisting of a 24/7 statewide hotline and county mobile response teams, was designed to provide immediate trauma-informed support to young people with lived experience in foster care and caregivers during critical moments. AB 898 would help ensure counties: 1) are permitted to utilize their FURS teams to support families who are receiving family preservation and voluntary or court-ordered family maintenance to prevent entries into foster care; 2) are clear that they have the flexibility to dispatch FURS teams based on local needs and with the approval of children, youth, and caregivers without a state-level hotline call; and 3) revisit their local implementation plan every other year. 

AB 970 (McKinnor) Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting

This bill proposes a pilot program in Los Angeles County to test a new approach to reporting child abuse and neglect. Currently, certain professionals—called “mandated reporters”—are required by law to report suspected child abuse to authorities. Starting in 2026, this pilot would provide mandated reporters with comprehensive training, which may be available to all reporters in the county. The program would also include a tool that will make a recommendation to reporters about whether or not to make a report. If they complete the training, use the tool, and follow its recommendations, they would be considered to have met their reporting duties. This new approach would protect them from legal consequences, including civil or criminal penalties, and potential impacts on their professional licenses, as long as they followed the process correctly. This new approach would be tested through 2028, after which the provisions would be reviewed. The bill aims to improve the reporting process and provide additional support for mandated reporters.  

SB 492 (Menjivar) Youth Housing Bond Fund Act of 2025

In recent years, California has made significant strides in addressing homelessness. Yet far too many youth continue to experience housing instability and homelessness. SB 492 would address the ongoing need to develop housing to support current and former foster youth and youth experiencing or at risk of homelessness by: 1) creating a dedicated funding source, the 2025 Youth Housing Bond Fund, to combat youth homelessness; and 2) allowing both public agencies and community-based organizations with specific youth expertise to apply for the youth bond funds to develop housing and youth center projects specifically for youth.