Family finding and engagement.

Existing law requires the State Department of Social services to allocate certain funds through contracts with community-based providers or entities or through local assistance allocations to counties or Indian tribes that support new or expanded programs, services, practices, and training that builds system capacity and ensures the provision of a high-quality continuum of care that is designed to support foster children in the least restrictive setting that is consistent with a child's permanency plan. Existing law requires recipients of those funds to use the funds for specified purposes, one of which may be building system capacity for intensive, child-specific recruitment, family finding and engagement, and support programs for children with complex needs. This bill would specify that funds appropriated by the Legislature for the purposes of the bill shall be available to fund family finding and engagement techniques to find permanent families and relationship for foster children. The bill would require the department to use those funds to fund contracts with community-based organizations or entities, provide local assistance allocations to counties and Indian tribes, or both, to support new or expanded family finding and engagement programs. The bill would require entities receiving these funds to collect data to track outcomes and show the impact of family finding and engagement. The bill would also require the department to convene a collaborative leadership team to develop certain recommendations relating to family finding and engagement.