Adoption Assistance Program: tribal court order.

Existing law establishes the Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) , administered by the State Department of Social Services, to benefit children residing in foster homes by providing the stability and security of permanent homes. Existing law requires the department or the county, whichever is responsible for determining the child's AAP eligibility, to assess the needs of the child and the circumstances of the family, with the amount of a cash benefit being determined based on those factors. Existing law requires the department, county adoption agency, or licensed adoption agency to inform the prospective adoptive family regarding the county responsible for providing financial aid to the adoptive family in the determined amount. Under existing law, a child is eligible for AAP benefits if certain criteria are met, including, among others, that adoptive placement without financial assistance is unlikely because of certain special needs, and that it has been determined that the child cannot or should not be returned to the home of the child's parents as evidenced by any of certain circumstances. Under existing law, those circumstances include, among others, a court order terminating parental rights, a signed relinquishment, or, in the case of a tribal customary adoption, the court has given full faith and credit to a tribal customary adoption order, as specified. This bill would add, as a qualifying circumstance for purposes of those AAP benefits, a final order of adoption issued by the tribal court of the child's tribe, in the case of an Indian child who was a dependent of the juvenile court immediately prior to the transfer of the Indian child's case. The bill would authorize the department to implement the provisions relating to all of those qualifying circumstances through all-county letters or similar written instructions until regulations are adopted. Because the bill would expand the qualifying circumstances under the above-described criteria for AAP benefits, thereby creating new duties for counties, 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.