Assembly Bill No. 808 Foster Youth (Amended in Senate on June 24, 2021)
This bill was introduced by Assembly Member Stone on February 16, 2021. The California Community Care Facilities Act currently oversees the licensing and regulation of community care and residential facilities, such as short-term residential therapeutic programs, under the authority of the State Department of Social Services. Non-compliance with the act is deemed a misdemeanor offense. Moreover, the current legal framework establishes the resource family approval process, streamlining various procedures for licensing foster family homes, certifying foster homes through foster family agencies, approving relatives and nonrelative extended family members as foster care providers, and endorsing guardians and adoptive families. This legislation also mandates specific requirements for resource families, encompassing training standards.
This legislation proposes that the department must license specialized foster homes as residential facilities offering board, care, and supervision through resource parents. The standards for such licensure would be developed in consultation with specific entities and individuals. Specialized foster homes would be obligated to adhere to specified standards, including training requirements applicable to resource families. Completion of training would be a prerequisite for obtaining and retaining licensure. The bill outlines rate standards, incorporating regional rate prerequisites. By January 1, 2023, the department is mandated to enact regulations and determine appropriate provider rates. The bill grants the department the authority to implement these provisions through designated means, including information releases, until official regulations are adopted. As the bill designates a willful violation of its requirements concerning specialized foster homes as a crime, it would impose a state-mandated local program.
The current legal framework defines a "short-term residential therapeutic program" as a residential facility licensed by the department, operated by a public agency or private organization, offering an integrated program of specialized and intensive care and supervision, services and supports, treatment, and short-term, 24-hour care to children, including foster children. This proposed bill mandates that, as a condition for licensure, a short-term residential therapeutic program must provide trauma-informed support and transition services to foster youth during planned or unplanned discharges. By establishing these requirements for such programs, with violations constituting a crime, the bill imposes a state-mandated local program. Additionally, existing law establishes the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, where counties make payments to specific foster care providers on behalf of eligible children in foster care. The department is currently required by law to administer a state system for determining rates within the AFDC-FC program.
This proposed bill aims to render specialized foster homes eligible for inclusion in the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program. By introducing new responsibilities for counties, the bill imposes a state-mandated local program. Existing law sets a rate for 24-hour out-of-home care and supervision provided to children and eligible nonminor dependents who are both consumers of regional center services and beneficiaries of AFDC-FC. The State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Developmental Services, as per existing law, are tasked with establishing objective criteria for counties to determine AFDC-FC eligibility and the corresponding supplement level for children requiring exceptional care and supervision. This bill further mandates the State Department of Social Services, by February 1, 2022, to update its payment guidance to authorize counties to claim federal funding for placements made to a regional center vendored facility.
Current legislation mandates the Secretary of California Health and Human Services and the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish a collaborative interagency resolution team. This team, comprising representatives from specified state departments, is primarily tasked with formulating guidance and offering support and technical assistance to counties concerning children and youth, as well as the associated memoranda of understanding. Under existing law, the team was required, by January 1, 2020, to scrutinize the placement and service alternatives available to county child welfare agencies and county probation departments for these children and youth. Furthermore, the team was obligated to devise and submit recommendations to the Legislature, focusing on identified gaps in placement, necessary services, and the establishment of a centralized process for services.
This proposed bill mandates that the joint interagency resolution team update its prior review and present recommendations to the Legislature by December 31, 2022. The updated review should consider the specific needs and characteristics of youth experiencing unplanned discharges from short-term residential therapeutic programs, as well as youth for whom counties encounter challenges in securing placements and delivering trauma-informed services. The bill also requires the team to articulate a plan for developing trauma-informed, therapeutic programs tailored to in-state youth. Additionally, the joint interagency resolution team is tasked with monitoring and reporting deidentified information regarding youth who have received assistance in preserving or obtaining new intensive therapeutic options, with this information to be posted on the California Health and Human Services Agency's website. To support county child welfare and probation agencies in aiding foster youth facing unplanned discharges or difficulty securing therapeutic programs due to exceptional needs, the bill continuously appropriates $20,000,000 annually from the General Fund to the State Department of Social Services. The allocation to counties will be determined by the department in consultation with the County Welfare Directors Association of California and the Chief Probation Officers of California.
The continuous appropriation established by the bill would cease in the fiscal year following a determination by the joint interagency resolution team regarding sufficient capacity for high-end services and supports for foster youth. The bill necessitates the joint interagency team to supervise the implementation of a statewide request for proposal for services catering to youth with severe mental health and intellectual or developmental disabilities. The team is also required to provide regular status reports on services to the State Department of Social Services, which will be incorporated into a specified report. To support this contractual arrangement, the bill allocates $2,000,000 to the department. Furthermore, the bill mandates the joint interagency resolution team to assemble stakeholders to assess the feasibility of establishing one or more child and family networks of care. These networks would consolidate purchasing power across counties and enhance quality improvement activities to address the needs of children, youth, and families involved or at risk of involvement in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. The team is obligated to submit designated reports to the Legislature as part of this process.
Current legislation generally addresses the placement of foster youth in various settings and regulates the provision of mental health services for them. Among its provisions, the law permits foster youth to be placed in a short-term residential therapeutic program under specific conditions. These conditions include a determination by an interagency placement committee that the youth satisfies certain criteria, such as meeting the medical necessity standards for Medi-Cal specialty mental health services, being assessed as seriously emotionally disturbed, or requiring the level of care uniquely provided by a short-term residential therapeutic program. Additionally, existing law establishes an intensive services foster care program designed to offer specialized programs catering to children with specific requirements, encompassing behavioral and specialized health care needs.
This proposed legislation mandates the collaboration of the State Department of Social Services with the State Department of Health Care Services to establish the Children’s Crisis Continuum Pilot Program. The program's primary objective is to develop treatment options necessary to uphold California's commitment to cease the placement of foster youth with complex needs in out-of-state facilities. The bill outlines a 5-year implementation period for the pilot program. It directs the State Department of Social Services to undertake specific actions, including offering technical assistance to applicants and participating entities, granting awards to participating entities, and formulating a request for proposal process and selection criteria to determine the participants in the pilot program. The selection criteria are required to include various components, such as the submission of a plan of operation by an applicant. The State Department of Social Services is further tasked with competitively selecting counties or regional collaboratives of counties, with proposals for participation due no later than March 1, 2022, and grant funds disbursed by May 1, 2022.
This legislation would mandate participating entities to establish and execute a highly integrated continuum of care tailored for foster youth with elevated acuity mental health needs. This continuum is designed to facilitate the seamless transition of foster youth between various treatment settings and programs, ensuring their appropriate and effective treatment. The bill grants participating entities the authority to adjust or modify any necessary component of the continuum of care based on local needs and circumstances. It further requires the continuum of care, spanning all service settings, to embody specific core program features and service approaches, notably emphasizing highly individualized and trauma-informed services. The bill expresses the Legislature's intent to allocate funds to the State Department of Social Services, through the annual Budget Act or another statute, to administer a grant program providing funding to participating entities throughout the pilot program's duration. Additionally, the bill mandates the department to submit a report on the pilot program to the Assembly Committee on Human Services and the Senate Committees on Human Services within three years of the program's initiation, no later than April 1, 2025, and again within one year after the program concludes. The bill permits the pilot program's implementation through all-county letters or similar instructions and requires any guidance issued under this authorization to be released by January 1, 2022.
Current legislation mandates each county, at its discretion, to formulate a county plan for wraparound services. Furthermore, existing law compels the State Department of Social Services to pursue relevant federal approval to render the maximum number of children benefiting from wraparound services eligible for federal financial participation. The department is also required to amend any pertinent state regulations, as necessary, to remove any constraints on the number of children able to participate in these programs.
This proposed legislation would also mandate the State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Health Care Services, in collaboration with county representatives and other stakeholders, to formulate recommendations for the statewide implementation and expansion of high-fidelity wraparound services.
The current legal framework defines the jurisdiction of the juvenile court and grants authority for the removal of a child under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court from the physical custody of their parent. Additionally, existing law outlines procedures for placing children removed from their parent's physical custody under these provisions. It permits the placement of a child in an out-of-state group home if the juvenile court determines specific conditions are met, such as the unavailability or inadequacy of in-state facilities or programs to meet the minor's needs.
This proposed legislation would prohibit the placement of a minor in an out-of-state group care facility. By July 1, 2021, it mandates the State Department of Social Services to cease all placements in and certifications of out-of-state group care facilities that accept California children placed by county social services agencies or probation departments. The bill includes adjustments to align with this prohibition. According to the California Constitution, the state is obligated to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain state-mandated costs, with established procedures for such reimbursement. However, this bill specifies that no reimbursement is required for reasons outlined in the act. Additionally, the bill appropriates $9,000,000 from the General Fund to the State Department of Developmental Services. This funding is designated for expanding home- and community-based regional center vendored facilities, specifically serving children with intellectual and developmental disabilities in crisis or in need of specialized ongoing care and services.