Extended foster care program working group.

Existing law, the California Fostering Connections to Success Act, revises and expands the scope of various programs relating to the provision of cash assistance and other services to and for the benefit of certain foster and adopted children, and other children who have been placed in out-of-home care, including children who receive Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) , Adoption Assistance Program, California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) , and Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment (Kin-GAP) benefits. Among other provisions, the act extends specified foster care benefits to nonminor dependents up to 21 years of age, if specified conditions are met. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to convene a working group to examine the extended foster care program and make recommendations for improvements to the program. The bill would require the working group to submit a report to the Legislature with the recommendations on or before July 1, 2022. The bill would require the working group to include representatives from specified state agencies and stakeholders. The bill would require the working group to evaluate and provide recommendations on the overall functioning of the extended foster care system, and on other specified components of the foster care system, including higher education opportunities, job training, and employment opportunities for nonminor dependents, housing access, and access to health care and mental health services. The bill would require the recommendations to reflect a consensus of the working group, as specified.