Foster youth: supervised independent living placement housing supplement

Existing law establishes the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, under which counties provide payments to foster care providers on behalf of qualified children in foster care. Existing law establishes a schedule of basic rates to be paid for the care and supervision of each foster child, administered by the State Department of Social Services. Existing law also establishes the Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment Program (Kin-GAP) , which provides aid on behalf of eligible children who have a kinship guardianship, and the Approved Relative Caregiver Funding Program (ARC) , which provides payments to approved relative caregivers who are caring for children and nonminor dependents who are ineligible for AFDC-FC payments. Existing law requires a monthly basic rate to be paid for a nonminor dependent placed in a licensed foster family home or with a resource family, or placed in an approved home of a relative or approved home of a nonrelative extended family member, or placed in a supervised independent living placement, as specified. This bill, commencing July 1, 2025, and subject to an appropriation, would create a housing supplement to the basic rate paid for a nonminor dependent placed in a supervised independent living placement, as specified. The bill would require the department to work with the County Welfare Directors Association of California and the Statewide Automated Welfare System (CalSAWS) to develop and implement the necessary system changes to implement the housing supplement. The bill would require the monthly housing supplement payment to be made to the nonminor dependent in one lump sum and prorated based on the number of days in a month the dependent is in a placement. The bill would prohibit an overpayment from being collected on this housing supplement. The bill would require the department to calculate this housing supplement by November 1 of each year and inform county welfare agencies, by means of all-county letters or similar written instructions, by July 1 of the following year of the amount of the supplement. The bill would require the department to report by county, the amount paid to nonminor dependents placed in supervised independent living placements, as specified. Because counties would administer these extended benefits, this 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.