Foster care: enrichment activities.

Existing law establishes the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge children to be dependents 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 generally provides for the placement of foster youth in various placement settings, and governs the provision of child welfare services. Existing law entitles every child adjudged a dependent of the juvenile court who is placed in foster care with the right to participate in age-appropriate extracurricular, enrichment, and social activities. Existing law requires a county social worker to create a case plan for foster youth within a specified timeframe, and requires the case plan to be developed considering the recommendations of the child and family team in accordance with certain requirements, including, that the case plan identifies specific goals and the appropriateness of the planned services in meeting those goals. Existing law requires a court to review the status of a dependent child in foster care at least once every 6 months until a subsequent dispositional hearing is completed, and requires the court to consider the safety of the child and make certain determinations, including, among other things, the continuing necessity for and appropriateness of the placement, and the extent of the agency's compliance with the case plan in making efforts, as specified, to return the child to a safe home and to complete any steps necessary to finalize their permanent placement. This bill would require a caseworker to discuss enrichment and extracurricular activities with each child or nonminor dependent at the monthly caseworker visits in order to identify potential activities and funding for the activities, and would require specified information regarding the enrichment and extracurricular activities in the case plan. The bill would also require the court to make additional determinations regarding the enrichment and extracurricular activities that the child or nonminor dependent is participating in, among other things. By increasing the duties of county child welfare agencies, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, State Department of Health Care Services, and State Department of Education to develop a plan to maximize and leverage the usage of any available funds to support participation in enrichment activities for children and youth in foster care. The bill would, if the State Department of Health Care Services's application for a federal Medicaid demonstration project, known as the California Behavioral Health Community-Based Continuum Demonstration (CalBH-CBC) , is granted by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, require the State Department of Health Care Services, in collaboration with the State Department of Social Services, to convene a stakeholder workgroup, as specified, to assist in developing how the activity stipend benefit for current and former foster youth and children who have received or are receiving family maintenance services under the project will be implemented. Existing law, the Budget Act of 2022, appropriates $50,000,000 to the State Department of Social Services to allocate funding to county and tribal entities to, among other things, cover costs to facilitate a foster caregiver's and child's participation in child and youth enrichment activities that are not covered by the caregiver-specific rate and that would stabilize the placement or enhance the child's well-being, and requires the department to post a summary report describing participating entities' outcomes and other program information to its internet website and to submit it to the Legislature no later than March 1, 2026. This bill would require the department to additionally include in that summary report information on how those funds were used to support participation in enrichment activities for children and youth in foster care, the impact of this funding on children and youth well-being, and best practices and challenges around the fund usage. 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.