Child welfare: domestic violence.

Existing law governs the provision of child welfare services, which is defined to mean public social services that are directed toward the accomplishment of specified purposes, including protecting and promoting the welfare of all children, preventing the unnecessary separation of children from their families, and restoring to their families children who have been removed. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, on or before July 1, 2022, to convene a workgroup to examine the nexus between child welfare and domestic violence and the impacts of child welfare policy on families experiencing domestic violence. The bill would require the membership of the workgroup to include interested parties and stakeholders, as specified, and would require the workgroup, among other things, to examine policies and procedures related to child welfare engagement in cases in which domestic violence is present in a child's home, review best practices and recommendations from research related to child welfare and domestic violence, and identify gaps in the child welfare system in which additional training, oversight, or policy changes may be needed to achieve improved outcomes for children and families experiencing domestic violence. The bill would require the department, on or before December 31, 2022, and based on the findings of the workgroup, to submit a report to the Legislature containing recommendations on ways to improve outcomes for children and families referred to the child welfare system who are experiencing domestic violence.