Foster care: missing children and nonminor dependents.

Existing law establishes the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge a child to be a dependent 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 illness as a result of the failure or inability of their parent or guardian to adequately supervise or protect the child. Existing law requires the court to review the status of every dependent child in foster care periodically, but no less frequently than once every 6 months. Existing law subjects a minor between 12 and 17 years of age, inclusive, who violates any federal, state, or local law or ordinance to, and a minor under 12 years of age who is alleged to have committed specified serious offenses to, the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge the minor to be a ward of the court. Existing law generally provides for the placement of foster youth in various placement settings and governs the provision of child welfare services, as specified. Existing law requires county child welfare agencies and probation departments to develop and implement specific protocols to expeditiously locate any child or nonminor dependent missing from foster care, including, but not limited to, the timeframe for reporting missing youth and the individuals or entities entitled to notice that a youth is missing, and requires the social worker or probation officer to determine the primary factors that contributed to the child or nonminor dependent running away or otherwise being absent from care, among other things. This bill, the Luke Madrigal Act, would, among other things, additionally require the social worker or probation officer, when they receive information that a child receiving child welfare services is absent from foster care to, among other things, engage in ongoing and intensive due diligence efforts, as defined, to locate, place, and stabilize the child, request that the juvenile court schedule a hearing to review the placement and the ongoing and intensive due diligence efforts to locate and return the child, notify specified individuals whose whereabouts are known about the hearing, and prepare, submit, and serve a report at the hearing and any subsequent hearings describing their ongoing and intensive due diligence efforts to locate, place, and stabilize the child. The bill would require the court to consider the safety of the child receiving child welfare services who is absent from foster care to determine the extent of the activities and compliance of the county with the case plan in making ongoing and intensive due diligence efforts to locate and return the child to a safe placement, and to continue to periodically review their case at least every 30 calendars days, as specified. The bill would define "absent from foster care" to mean when the whereabouts of a child receiving child welfare services is unknown to the county child welfare agency or probation department or when the county child welfare agency or probation department has located the child receiving child welfare services in a location not approved by the court that may pose a risk to the child. The bill would also define "child receiving child welfare services" to include a child or nonminor dependent placed in a specified foster care placement or in the home of an emergency caregiver, and dependents, nonminor dependents, wards, and minors who have been taken into temporary custody pursuant to specified provisions and who are in foster care. By increasing the duties of county child welfare agencies and probation departments, this bill would create 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.