Dependent children of the juvenile court: county responsibilities: Supplemental Security Income Eligibility.

Existing law provides for the placement of certain children in foster care under the custody of the State Department of Social Services and county welfare departments. Existing law establishes the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, under which counties provide payments to foster care providers on behalf of qualified children in foster care. The program is funded by a combination of federal, state, and county funds, with moneys from the General Fund being continuously appropriated to pay for the state's share of AFDC-FC costs. Existing law, the federal Social Security Act, provides for benefits for eligible beneficiaries, including survivorship and disability benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for, among others, blind and disabled children. The act authorizes a person or entity to be appointed as a representative payee for a beneficiary who cannot manage or direct the management of his or her money. Existing law also provides for the State Supplementary Program for the Aged, Blind and Disabled under which State Supplemental Payments (SSP) are made in supplementation of SSI benefits. Existing law requires a county to apply to become a child's representative payee for purposes of these federal benefits during the time the child is placed in foster care, and also requires the county to provide information to the foster youth regarding certain federal requirements when a foster youth who is receiving SSI payments is approaching his or her 18th birthday. Existing law requires a county to screen each foster youth in foster care who is at least 16 years and 6 months of age and not older than 17 years and 6 months of age in order to determine whether the youth is eligible for federal SSI benefits, as specified. Existing law establishes the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which is permitted to adjudge certain children to be dependents of the court under certain circumstances, and prescribes various hearings and other procedures for these purposes. Existing law requires a supplemental report, with specified contents, to be filed in connection with the periodic review of the status of every dependent child in foster care, as specified. Under existing law, the juvenile court, or an appropriate local agency, under certain circumstances, is required to review the status of a child or, on and after January 1, 2012, a nonminor dependent who is in a placement other than the home of a legal guardian, when jurisdiction of the juvenile court has not been dismissed. Existing law requires the reviewing body to make specified determinations in connection with this review. Existing law also prohibits the court from terminating dependency or delinquency jurisdiction over a nonminor dependent who has reached 18 years of age until a hearing is conducted and the department has submitted a report verifying that specified information, documents, and services have been provided to the child. This bill would require a county to notify the child's counsel of its intent to apply to be appointed the child's representative payee, 30 days before making that application, as specified. The bill would authorize the child's attorney to request an accounting of how the child's benefits were expended during the year preceding that request. This bill would revise the requirements applicable to the juvenile court reporting, review, and hearing as described above, to additionally require information to be provided regarding whether a child or nonminor dependent has been screened for eligibility for federal SSI benefits at the appropriate age, whether an application for SSI has been made on behalf of the individual, and the status of any pending SSI application, as specified. By increasing county duties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.