Human services.

(1) Existing federal law, the Immigration and Nationality Act, establishes a procedure for classification of certain aliens as special immigrants who have been declared dependent on a juvenile court, and authorizes those aliens who have been granted special immigrant juvenile status to apply for an adjustment of status to that of a lawful permanent resident within the United States. Under federal regulations, state juvenile courts are charged with making a preliminary determination of the child's dependency, as specified. Existing federal regulations define juvenile court to mean a court located in the United States having jurisdiction under state law to make judicial determinations about the custody and care of juveniles. Existing law establishes the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge a minor to be a dependent or ward of the court. Existing law also establishes the jurisdiction of the probate court. Existing law regulates the establishment and termination of guardianships in probate court, and specifies that a guardian has the care, custody, and control of a ward. Existing law establishes the jurisdiction of the family court, which may make determinations about the custody of children. This bill would provide that the superior court, including the juvenile, probate, or family court division of the superior court, has jurisdiction to make judicial determinations regarding the custody and care of juveniles within the meaning of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act. The bill would require the superior court to make an order containing the necessary findings regarding special immigrant juvenile status pursuant to federal law, if there is evidence to support those findings. The bill would require records of these proceedings that are not otherwise protected by state confidentiality laws to remain confidential, and would also authorize the sealing of these records. The bill would require the Judicial Council to adopt any rules and forms needed to implement these provisions. (2) Existing federal law, Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Safe Streets Act of 1968, prohibit national origin discrimination by recipients of federal assistance. The California Constitution provides that a person unable to understand English who is charged with a crime has the right to an interpreter throughout the proceedings. Existing law requires that court interpreters' fees or other compensation be paid by the court in criminal cases, and by the litigants in civil cases, as specified. Existing law requires, in any action or proceeding under specified provisions of the Family Code relating to domestic violence, an interpreter to be provided by the court for a party who does not proficiently speak or understand the English language to interpret the proceedings in a language that the party understands and to assist communication between the party and his or her attorney. This bill would state that existing law and authority to provide interpreters in civil court includes providing an interpreter for a child in a proceeding in which a petitioner requests an order from the superior court to make the findings regarding special immigrant juvenile status. (3) Under existing law, the State Department of Social Services regulates the licensure and operation of various types of facilities, including community care facilities and residential care facilities for the elderly. Existing law authorizes the department to appoint a temporary manager to assume the operation of a community care facility or residential care facility for the elderly for 60 days, subject to extension by the department, when specified circumstances exist. To the extent department funds are used for the costs of the temporary manager or related expenses, existing law requires the department to be reimbursed from the revenues accruing to the facility or to the licensee, and to the extent those revenues are insufficient, requires that the unreimbursed amount constitute a lien upon the asset of the facility or the proceeds from the sale of the facility. Existing law also authorizes the department to apply for a court order appointing a receiver to temporarily operate a community care facility or a residential care facility for the elderly for no more than 3 months, subject to extension by the department, when certain circumstances exist. To the extent that state funds are used to pay for the salary of the receiver or other related expenses, existing law requires the state be reimbursed from the revenues accruing to the facility or to the licensee or the entity related to the license, and to the extent that those revenues are insufficient, requires that the unreimbursed amount constitute a lien on the assets of the facility or the proceeds from the sale of the facility. This bill would instead provide that if the revenues are insufficient to reimburse the department for the costs of the temporary manager, the salary of the receiver, or related expenses, the unreimbursed amount shall constitute grounds for a monetary judgment in civil court and subsequent lien upon the assets of the facility or the proceeds from the sale thereof. The bill would make other related changes to these provisions. The bill would provide that liens placed against the personal and real property of a licensee for reimbursement of funds relating to the receivership be given judgment creditor priority. (4) Existing law requires each county to provide cash assistance and other social services to needy families through the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program using federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant program, state, and county funds. Existing law specifies the amounts of cash aid to be paid each month to CalWORKs recipients. Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program. 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. Under existing law, a child is eligible for AFDC-FC if he or she is placed in the approved home of a relative and is otherwise eligible for federal financial participation in the AFDC-FC payment, as specified. Existing law, beginning January 1, 2015, establishes the Approved Relative Caregiver Funding Option Program in counties choosing to participate, for the purpose of making the amount paid to relative caregivers for the in-home care of children placed with them who are ineligible for AFDC-FC payments equal to the amount paid on behalf of children who are eligible for AFDC-FC payments. Existing law requires that the related child placed in the home meet certain requirements in order to be eligible under the Approved Relative Caregiver Funding Option Program and requires that specified funding be used for the program. This bill would require, for purposes of this program, that the care and placement of the child be the responsibility of the county welfare department or the county probation department. The bill would also, for purposes of funding the program, delete the requirement that the funding of the applicable per-child CalWORKs grant be limited to the federal funds received. (5) Under existing law, foster care providers licensed as group homes have rates established by classifying each group home program and applying a standardized schedule of rates. Existing law prohibits the establishment of a new group home rate or change to an existing rate under the AFDC-FC program, except for exemptions granted by the department on a case-by-case basis. Existing law also limits, for the 2012–13 and 2013–14 fiscal years, exceptions for any program with a rate classification level below 10 to exceptions associated with a program change. This bill would extend that limitation to the 2014–15 fiscal year. (6) Existing law requires each applicant or recipient to assign to the county, as a condition of eligibility for aid paid under CalWORKs, any rights to support from any other person the applicant or recipient may have on his or her own behalf, or on behalf of any other family member for whom the applicant or recipient is applying for or receiving aid, and to cooperate with the county welfare department and local child support agency in establishing the paternity of a child of the applicant or recipient born out of wedlock with respect to whom aid is claimed, and in establishing, modifying, or enforcing a support order with respect to a child of the individual for whom aid is requested or obtained. Existing law exempts from these provisions an assistance unit that excludes any adults pursuant to specified provisions of law, including a provision that makes an individual ineligible for CalWORKs aid if the individual has been convicted in state or federal court for a felony drug conviction, as specified, after December 31, 1997. This bill would provide that if the income for an assistance unit that excludes any adults as described above includes reasonably anticipated income derived from child support, the amount established in specified provisions of law of any amount of child support received each month shall not be considered income or resources and shall not be deducted from the amount of aid to which the assistance unit otherwise would be eligible. (7) Existing law establishes the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, administered by the State Department of Social Services and counties, under which qualified aged, blind, and disabled persons are provided with services in order to permit them to remain in their own homes and avoid institutionalization. Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. Existing law authorizes certain Medi-Cal recipients to receive waiver personal care services, as defined, in order to allow the recipients to remain in their own homes. Existing law requires that in-home supportive services and waiver personal care services be performed by providers within a workweek that does not exceed 66 hours per week, as reduced by a specified net percentage. This bill would, if certain conditions are met, deem a provider authorized to work a recipient's county-approved adjusted hours for the week if the recipient's weekly authorized hours are adjusted and, at the time of adjustment, the recipient currently receives all authorized hours of services from that provider. Existing law also requires the State Department of Health Care Services, if the provider of authorized waiver personal care services cannot provide authorized in-home supportive services to a recipient as a result of the above-described workweek limitation, to work with the recipient to engage additional providers, as necessary. This bill would delete that provision and instead require the State Department of Health Care Services to work with and assist recipients receiving services pursuant to the Nursing Facility/Acute Hospital Waiver who are at or near their individual cost cap to avoid a reduction in the recipient's services that may result because of increased overtime pay for providers. The bill would require the department, as a part of this effort, to consider allowing the recipient to exceed the individual cost cap. The bill would require the department to provide timely information to waiver recipients regarding the steps that will be taken to implement this provision. (8) Existing federal law, the Homeland Security Act of 2002, empowers the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement of the federal Department of Health and Human Services with functions under the immigration laws of the United States with respect to the care of unaccompanied alien children, as defined, including, but not limited to, coordinating and implementing the care and placement of unaccompanied alien children who are in federal custody by reason of their immigration status, including developing a plan to be submitted to Congress on how to ensure that qualified and independent legal counsel is timely appointed to represent the interests of each child, as provided. Existing law designates the State Department of Social Services as the single agency with full power to supervise every phase of the administration of public social services, except health care services and medical assistance. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, subject to the availability of funding, to contract with qualified nonprofit legal services organizations to provide legal services to unaccompanied undocumented minors, as defined, who are transferred to the care and custody of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement and who are present in this state. The bill would require that the contracts awarded meet certain conditions. (9) Existing law authorizes the State Department of Social Services to implement specified provisions of Chapter 29 of the Statutes of 2014 through all-county letters or similar instructions and requires the department to adopt emergency regulations implementing these provisions no later than January 1, 2016. This bill would extend that authorization for all-county letters and similar instructions to additional provisions of Chapter 29 of the Statutes of 2014 that relate to the CalFresh program. (10) This bill would provide that its provisions are severable. (11) Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. (12) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 1569.682 of the Health and Safety Code made by this bill and AB 1899, to take effect if both bills are chaptered and this bill is chaptered last. (13) Item 5180-151-0001 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2014 appropriated $1,435,400,000 to the State Department of Social Services for local assistance for children and adult services, which includes, among other things, increased costs associated with cases of child abuse and neglect and revised federal requirements for child welfare case reviews, and funds for the Commercially Sexually Exploited Children Program. Item 5180-153-0001 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2014 also appropriated $1,901,000 to the State Department of Social Services for local assistance for increased costs associated with revised county collection and reporting activities for cases of child abuse and neglect and revised federal requirements for child welfare case reviews. This bill would revise these items by increasing the appropriation in Item 5180-151-0001 by $1,686,000 for the Commercially Sexually Exploited Children Program, and by reducing the appropriation in Item 5180-153-0001 by $1,686,000. (14) This bill would provide that the continuous appropriation applicable to CalWORKs is not made for purposes of implementing the bill. (15) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.