Foster care: placements: database.

Existing law generally provides for the placement of foster youth, and provides for the licensure and regulation by the State Department of Social Services of specified facilities that provide care for foster youth, including foster family agencies and short-term residential therapeutic programs. This bill would require specified placement settings that provide care to dependent children and youth, nonminor dependents, and wards, and other appropriate placements identified by the department, to provide to the department a daily census of available beds and a comprehensive listing of the services provided by the placement setting, as specified. The bill would require the department to create and maintain a database on the department's Internet Web site that would allow county child welfare departments and county probation departments to view the above-mentioned information for the purpose of placing those children, youth, dependents, and wards in placement settings according to the best interests of the child. This bill would require the department, on a biannual basis, to review the information obtained from the database in order to assess for capacity and the availability of services of the placement settings and would require the department to publicly report on its findings on its Internet Web site. The bill would require the department to convene a workgroup of interested stakeholders, as specified, to develop recommendations for the implementation of these provisions, and would require the department, after consultation with the workgroup, to issue an all-county letter on or before May 1, 2018, with specified information about the services in the listing reported by the placement settings. The bill would incorporate references to provisions added by AB 404 that would become operative only if AB 404 is enacted, as specified, and becomes effective on or before January 1, 2018.