Foster care.

(1) Existing law establishes the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge a child to be a dependent of the court under certain circumstances, including when the child suffered, or there is a substantial risk that the child will suffer, serious physical harm, or a parent fails to provide the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical treatment. Existing law establishes the grounds for removal of a dependent child from the custody of his or her parents or guardian, and establishes procedures to determine placement of a dependent child. This bill would, among other things, make various changes to these procedures relating to the placement of dependent children, including revising a prohibition on placement of a child in a home on an emergency basis pending a criminal records exemption to apply only when the person has been convicted of a misdemeanor conviction of specified crimes and waiving a 14-day notice requirement for the placement of a child outside the county when the child and family team has determined that the identified placement is in the best interest of the child, no member of the child and family team objects to the placement, and the child's attorney has been informed of the intended placement and has no objection. (2) Existing law establishes the state-funded Kinship Guardian Assistance Payment (Kin-GAP) program to provide state-funded aid on behalf of a child under 18 years of age and to any eligible youth under 19 years of age who satisfies specified requirements, including that he or she has been residing for at least 6 consecutive months in the approved home of the prospective relative guardian, as specified. Existing law requires termination of eligibility for Kin-GAP upon the termination of the guardianship with a kinship guardian, except if, among other things, there is an alternate guardian, coguardian, or successor guardian who is appointed and is also a kinship guardian, then the alternate guardian, coguardian, or successor guardian shall be entitled to receive Kin-GAP on behalf of the child or youth. Existing law provides an exemption for a new period of six months of placement with the alternate guardian, coguardian, or successor guardian if, among other things, that alternate guardian, coguardian, or successor guardian has been assessed under specified provisions relating to considerations made by a county social worker and court in placing a child with a relative and a state-level criminal records check for emergency placement of a child. This bill would, in order to provide an exemption to the new period of 6 months of placement requirement, also require that the alternate guardian, coguardian, or successor guardian has been assessed by the county welfare department to determine whether he or she, or any other person over 18 years of age living in the home, has ever been convicted of a crime other than a minor traffic violation, as specified. In order to make that determination, the bill would require the county welfare department to require the prospective alternate guardian, coguardian, or successor guardian, and any other person over 18 years of age living in the home, to be fingerprinted and to secure from an appropriate law enforcement agency any criminal record of that person. By imposing new duties on county officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to implement a resource family approval process in all counties and with all foster family agencies. Existing law defines a resource family as an individual or family that has successfully met both home environment assessment standards and permanency assessment criteria, which includes a psychosocial assessment, as specified. Existing law requires a resource family to demonstrate, among other things, an understanding of the safety, permanence, and well-being needs of children who have been victims of child abuse and neglect, and the capacity and willingness to meet those needs, as specified. This bill would make various changes to the resource family approval process by, among other things, revising requirements under which a county may place a child with a resource family applicant who has completed the home environment assessment prior to completion of a permanency assessment, referring to a psychosocial assessment as a family evaluation, clarifying certain hearing proceedings and timelines, and clarifying under which circumstances a resource family approval is required to be forfeited. Existing law provides that there is no fundamental right to approval as a resource family. Existing law prohibits a county from further review of an application if the applicant had a previous application denial by the department or a county within the preceding year, or if the applicant has had a previous rescission, revocation, or exemption denial or exemption rescission by the department or county within the preceding two years, as specified. This bill would further provide that a county is authorized to cease any further review of an application if, after notice to the applicant, the applicant fails to cooperate with the application requirements as specified in the written directives or regulations adopted by the department. The bill would also make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions. Existing law prescribes the responsibilities of the counties and foster family agencies in the resource family approval process, including approving or denying resource family applications, which includes preparing a written evaluation of an applicant's capacity to foster, adopt, and provide legal guardianship of a child based on all of the information gathered through the resource family application and assessment processes. This bill would instead refer to that written evaluation as a written report, would require the written report to be confidential, and would authorize the release of the written report only to specified individuals and entities, including, among others, the applicant or resource family and the county child welfare agency or county probation department. The bill would further prohibit the receiving individuals and entities from further disseminating the written report to any individual or entities, other than those authorized. (4) Existing law, the California Community Care Facilities Act, provides for the licensing and regulation of community care facilities, which is defined to include foster family homes and foster family agencies, by the State Department of Social Services, and provides that the act does not apply to specified facilities, including any home of a relative caregiver or nonrelative extended family member, as specified, and a resource family. The act requires specified proceedings relating to, among other things, the suspension, revocation, or denial of a license, registration, special permit, or certificate of approval, against a foster family home or certified family home of a foster family agency to be confidential and not open to the public. A violation of the act is a misdemeanor. This bill would, among other things, expand the confidentiality of the above-mentioned proceedings to include proceedings against resource families. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would additionally provide that the act does not apply to an occasional short-term babysitter, a respite care provider certified by a county, and an alternative caregiver. The bill would authorize any licensed or certified foster parent, approved relative caregiver, or approved nonrelative extended family member, or approved resource family to arrange for occasional alternative care of their foster child and allow an alternative caregiver to provide care and supervision to the foster child, except as specified, and would require those caregivers to use a reasonable and prudent parent standard in determining and selecting an appropriate alternative caregiver. (5) Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to develop an intensive services foster care program to serve children with specific needs, including intensive treatment and behavioral needs and specialized health care needs, whose needs for safety, permanency, and well-being require a specially trained intensive services foster care resource family and intensive professional and paraprofessional services and supports in order to remain in a home-based setting or to avoid or exit congregate care in a short-term residential therapeutic program, group home, or out-of-state residential center. Existing law defines an intensive services foster care resource family to include a resource family, and until December 31, 2019, a licensed foster family home or a certified family home of a licensed foster family agency, as specified. This bill would, until December 31, 2019, additionally include the approved home of a relative or nonrelative extended family member in the definition of an intensive services foster care resource family. Existing law prescribes specified replacement and ongoing training for intensive services foster care resource families and, for intensive services foster care resource families caring for children with special health care needs, authorizes training hours to be satisfied on an hour-by-hour basis by training specified in other provisions relating to training requirements for the placement of children with special health care needs in foster care. This bill would instead authorize an intensive services foster care resource parent who is also a health care professional to have those training hours satisfied by the training hours necessary to obtain or maintain his or her licensure or certification. (6) The bill would require the State Department of Social Services to adopt regulations necessary to implement these provisions, and would authorize the department to implement and administer the changes made by this bill through all-county letters or similar written instructions until regulations are adopted. (7) 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. (8) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections 1517 and 1517.1 of the Health and Safety Code and Sections 16519.5 and 18360 of the Welfare and Institutions Code proposed by SB 1083 to be operative only if this bill and SB 1083 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 1522 of the Health and Safety Code proposed by AB 1437 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1437 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections 212.5 and 361.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code proposed by AB 3176, and would make an additional conforming change, to be operative only if this bill and AB 3176 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (9) 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for specified reasons.