Child welfare agencies: enforcement.

Existing law delegates to the Department of Child Support Services and local child support agencies the responsibility for collecting and enforcing child support obligations, including child support delinquencies, as defined. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to promulgate regulations for county child welfare departments, including, but not limited to, any case of separation or desertion of a parent from a child that results in foster care assistance payments, payments for a minor child placed in the same home as a minor or nonminor dependent parent, and California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) payments to a caretaker relative of a child who comes within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. Existing law requires those regulations to require the county child welfare department to determine whether it is in the best interests of the child or nonminor to have the case referred to the local child support agency for child support services. Existing law, on or before October 1, 2023, further requires those regulations to require the county child welfare department to presume that the payment of support by the parent is likely to pose a barrier to the proposed reunification. This bill would, on or before January 1, 2025, require the Department of Child Support Services to identify all child support referrals made pursuant to the above-described provisions prior to January 1, 2023. The bill would require the department to direct local child support agencies to cease enforcement of arrearages assigned to the state for the reimbursement of foster care placements and seek modification of child support orders when necessary to eliminate ongoing obligations, including the cancellation of all arrears owed to the state and any accrued interest. The bill would also require the department, on or before June 1, 2024, to implement these provisions by means of departmental letters or similar written instructions. By increasing the duties of the county child welfare department and the local child support agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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 a specified reason.