Under existing law, the State Department of Social Services licenses foster families, and the department and each county provide assistance to foster parents of low-income children under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program. Existing law requires the department to develop a program, to be administered by the department and county social services departments, for the establishment of foster care homes for children with special health care needs with foster parents trained by health care professionals pursuant to the discharge plan of the facility releasing the child being placed in, or currently in, foster care. Existing law requires each county department of social services to develop a specified plan for foster care placement of children with special health care needs. This bill would clarify that a medically fragile child, as defined, meets the definition of a child with special health care needs for the purposes of these provisions. The bill would require that, when determining the placement of a foster child who is medically fragile, priority consideration be given to placement with a foster parent who is an individual nurse provider, as defined, who provides health services under the federal Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment program, but that this priority consideration be subordinate to the preference granted to a relative of the child, in accordance with federal law.
Sponsored bills
This measure would honor the California Council on Science and Technology for 25 years of service and unbiased advice to the State of California.
This measure would urge the Congress of the United States to enact President Barack Obama's budget proposal to increase funding for preschool and early learning. This measure would also urge the Superintendent of Public Instruction to prepare a plan for making California competitive for future increases in federal funding to preschool and early learning programs.
Existing law establishes the Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program in the California Physician Corps Program within the Health Professions Education Foundation, which provides financial incentives, as specified, to a physician and surgeon for practicing in a medically underserved community. Existing law authorizes the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development to adopt guidelines by regulation and requires the foundation to use guidelines for selection and placement of program applicants. These guidelines provide priority consideration to applicants who meet specified criteria, including that the applicant has 3 years of experience working in medically underserved areas or with medically underserved populations. The guidelines also must seek to place the most qualified applicants in the areas with the greatest need. This bill would delete the requirement that the guidelines seek to place the most qualified applicants in the areas of greatest need. The bill would require the guidelines for the selection and placement of program applicants to include criteria that would give priority consideration to program applicants who have 3 years of experience providing health care services to medically underserved populations or in a medically underserved area, as defined. The bill would require the guidelines to give priority to applicants who agree to practice in those areas and serve a medically underserved population, and would require the guidelines to give priority consideration to applicants from rural communities who agree to practice in a physician owned and operated medical practice setting, as defined. Existing law requires the foundation, in consultation with the Medical Board of California, Office of Statewide Planning and Development, and an advisory committee, to use guidelines developed by the Medical Board of California for selection and placement of applicants until the office adopts other guidelines by regulation. This bill would instead require the foundation and the office to develop guidelines using specified criteria for selection and placement of applicants. Existing law defines "practice setting," for these purposes, to include a community clinic, as defined, a clinic owned and operated by a public hospital and health system, or a clinic owned and operated by a hospital that maintains the primary contract with a county government to fulfill the county's role to serve its indigent population and that is located in a medically underserved area and has at least 50% of its patients from that population. Existing law also defines "practice setting," for these purposes, to include a medical practice located in a medically underserved area and at least 50% of whose patients are from a medically underserved population. This bill would delete the latter definition and instead include a physician owned and operated medical practice setting that provides primary care located in a medically underserved area and has a minimum of 50% of patients who are uninsured, Medi-Cal beneficiaries, or beneficiaries of another publicly funded program that serves patients who earn less than 250% of the federal poverty level, within this definition of "practice setting."
This measure would designate December 4, 2013, as Keeping Kids in School and Out of Court Day.
This measure would designate the interchange at U.S. Route 101 and State Route 200 in the County of Humboldt as the CHP Officer Kenneth E. Marshall Memorial Interchange. The measure would request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost for appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs.
This measure would proclaim October 5, 2013, as California Firefighters Memorial Day.
This measure would recognize September 2013 as Hmong History Month, urge all citizens to join in celebrating the accomplishments of the Hmong people during Hmong History Month, and encourage the people of California to recognize the many talents, achievements, and contributions that the Hmong people make to their communities.
This measure would formally endorse the invaluable work of California's Africana studies programs, and their faculty, staff, and students. The measure would recognize the leadership provided by the beneficiaries of those programs, and would support the continuation of Africana studies programs in California's institutions of higher education.
This measure would designate September 22, 2013, and September 22, 2014, as "California Business Women's Day" and would encourage all Californians to celebrate the occasion with appropriate activities.