Homeless youth: child welfare services.

Existing law provides that a child may come within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court and become a dependent child of the court in certain cases, including when the child has suffered, or is at substantial risk of suffering, serious physical harm or illness as a result of the willful or negligent failure of the parent or guardian to provide the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical treatment. Existing law prohibits the court, however, from finding that a child is within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court solely due to the lack of an emergency shelter for the family. This bill would provide that a child residing in a runaway and homeless youth shelter may be found to be within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, if that finding is supported by other evidence of abuse or neglect. Existing law requires a social worker who has cause to believe that a child has been abused or neglected to immediately conduct an investigation to determine whether child welfare services should be offered to the family and whether proceedings in the juvenile court should be commenced. As part of that investigation, existing law requires the social worker to interview the child if he or she is 4 years of age or older and is in a foster home, juvenile hall, or other custodial facility. This bill would additionally require the social worker to interview a child who is in a runaway and homeless youth shelter or community care facility as part of that investigation. The bill would also require a social worker who employs team decisionmaking or a similar process to determine whether to commence juvenile court proceedings in a case involving a child who is 12 years of age or older, to include the child in the process, as well as individuals the child identifies as important to him or her. Existing law also requires the social worker, if a person has applied to the social worker to commence proceedings in the juvenile court, to either file a petition in the juvenile court or decide not to proceed further, as specified, within 3 weeks after the application is made. Under existing law, if the social worker fails to file a petition within 3 weeks, the person making the application may apply to the juvenile court to review the social worker's decision. This bill would require the juvenile court to either affirm the decision of the social worker or order him or her to commence juvenile court proceedings within 5 judicial days. By imposing these additional duties on county social workers, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law provides for a system of child welfare services administered by each county, with oversight by the State Department of Social Services. This bill would require the department, in consultation with various entities, to establish a working group to make policy and practice recommendations to the Legislature to ensure that homeless, unaccompanied minors have timely, reliable access to appropriate placements and services through the state's child welfare system. The bill would require the working group to meet no later than April 1, 2015, and to report its recommendations to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2016. Existing law creates the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care program, under which a combination of state, county, and federal funds, including funds provided under Title IV-E of the federal Social Security Act, are used to provide reimbursement to families and facilities providing foster care to eligible children. Existing law establishes the Federal Title IV-E waiver capped allocation demonstration project, which authorizes the State Department of Social Services to conduct a specified foster care demonstration project in up to 20 counties, to allow flexible use of federal and state foster care funds, as specified, based on the terms and conditions of the federal Title IV-E waiver. Existing law establishes homeless youth emergency service pilot projects in the Counties of Los Angeles, Santa Clara, and San Diego, and the City and County of San Francisco. Existing law declares that the purpose of these projects is to examine the condition of homeless youth in major urban areas of this state, and to develop a profile of homeless youth in terms of background and available services, in order to locate these youth, to provide for their emergency survival needs, and to assist them in reunification with their parents or in finding a suitable home. This bill would authorize one or more counties that participate in the Federal Title IV-E waiver capped allocation demonstration project to establish a pilot program, with the approval of the State Department of Social Services, to develop and implement alternative child welfare services to meet the individual needs of homeless youth in order to reduce homelessness among children, and would require each pilot program to conclude no later than July 1, 2019, and would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2020. The bill would authorize each participating county to provide long-term intensive support services to meet the needs of homeless youth, including, among other things, temporary placement in a licensed homeless youth shelter or other age-appropriate placement for 45 days with an extension of 15 days per approval of the county child welfare agency. This bill would require the county child welfare agency, upon temporary placement of a homeless youth into a homeless youth shelter, to provide case management services, to identify appropriate long-term housing placement opportunities and wraparound services for the youth, including placement in a certified transitional housing plus program, and to make a recommendation as to whether the youth should continue to receive long-term intensive support services through the pilot program or whether a petition should be filed to adjudicate the youth to be a dependent child of the court. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to, among other things, conduct an evaluation of the pilot program to determine the effectiveness of the program, and would require the department to submit to the Legislature, no later than January 1, 2019, the results of its evaluation of the program, together with its recommendation as to whether the program should be continued. 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.