(1) Existing law, the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, establishes procedures for the reporting and investigation of suspected child abuse or neglect. The act requires certain professionals, including specified health practitioners and social workers, known as “mandated reporters,” to report known or reasonably suspected child abuse or neglect to a local law enforcement agency or a county welfare or probation department, as specified.

Existing law establishes the California Child Welfare Council to serve as an advisory board responsible for improving the collaboration and processes of the multiple agencies and the courts that serve the children and youth in the child welfare and foster care systems. Existing law requires the council to monitor and report the extent to which child welfare and foster care programs and the courts are responsive to the needs of children in their joint care.

The federal Family First Prevention Services Act provides a state with the option to use certain federal funds to provide mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment services and in-home parent skill-based programs to a child who is a candidate for foster care or a child in foster care who is a pregnant or parenting foster youth, as specified. Existing state law authorizes a county to elect to provide those prevention services by providing a written plan to the State Department of Social Services, which has oversight of the Family First Prevention Services program. Existing law requires the county to consult with other relevant county agencies, as specified, in the development of the plan.

The bill would require each county’s written plan to include the county’s plans to provide information for mandated reporters regarding resources available to support families in their communities, as specified.

(2) Existing federal law establishes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to, on or before July 1, 2025, develop a methodology for estimating the CalFresh participation rate and identifying characteristics of Californians who are eligible for, but not receiving, CalFresh benefits, and to utilize that data to develop informed and targeted outreach strategies.

This bill would delay the deadline by which the department is required to develop that methodology to July 1, 2026, and would also require the department to, on or before July 1, 2027, develop a strategic plan for how the department’s methodology and outreach strategies may be implemented and executed to maximize benefits to those eligible for CalFresh benefits.

(3) Existing law establishes the Home Safe Program, the Bringing Families Home Program, and the Housing and Disability Income Advocacy Program, administered by the State Department of Social Services, to provide certain homelessness- or housing-related assistance or supports to eligible individuals through grant awards to counties or tribes. Under existing law, grantees under the Home Safe Program and the Bringing Families Home Program are required to match the funding on a dollar-for-dollar basis but are exempt from that requirement during specified multiyear periods.

This bill would indefinitely extend the exemption from dollar matching for grantees under the Home Safe Program and the Bringing Families Home Program.

Existing law requires a grantee under the Housing and Disability Income Advocacy Program to seek reimbursement of funds, as specified, and to expend funds received as reimbursement for housing assistance only on additional housing assistance for clients receiving services under the program. Existing law waives the requirement to seek reimbursement of funds through June 30, 2026.

This bill would indefinitely extend the waiver for a program grantee to seek reimbursement, as specified.

(4) 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 a parent fails to provide the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical treatment. Existing law establishes the grounds for removal of a dependent child from the custody of the child’s parents or guardian and establishes procedures to determine placement of a dependent child. Existing law prescribes various hearings, including specified review hearings, and other procedures for these purposes. Existing law requires a child and family team, as defined, to perform specified child and family determination functions. Existing law defines a child and family team meeting as a convening of all or some members of the child and family team and requires a child and family team meeting to conform to specified requirements, including, among others, that a notification be provided to the child or youth, their parent or guardian, and the caregiver upon the scheduling of a meeting, and that the child’s court-appointed educational rights holder be invited to the meeting under certain circumstances.

(5) Existing law establishes a Tiered Rate Structure, as specified, upon which the per child per month rate for every child in foster care would be based. The Tiered Rate Structure is based on the use of the Integrated Practice-Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (IP-CANS) assessment tool, as defined. The Tiered Rate Structure includes 3 components, including an amount paid to the foster care provider for care and supervision of the child, as defined, a strengths building allocation to provide for a child’s strengths building objectives, as identified by the IP-CANS, and an immediate needs allocation to provide for the child’s immediate needs, and would establish 3 payment tiers, as specified. Existing law prescribes various duties of county placing agencies relating to the implementation of the Tiered Rate Structure, including, but not limited to, ensuring completion of IP-CANS assessments for every child and nonminor dependent placed in foster care under the care, custody, and control of the placing agency.

Existing law requires the 3 components of the Tiered Rate Structure to become operative on July 1, 2027, or the date that the State Department of Social Services notifies the Legislature that the California Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform the necessary automation to implement the Tiered Rate Structure, whichever is later.

This bill would instead require all placing agencies, beginning January 1, 2026, to ensure completion of the IP-CANS assessments for every child and nonminor dependent placed in foster care under the care and supervision of the placing agency in accordance with standards and guidelines developed by the State Department of Social Services. The bill would require the IP-CANS assessment to be informed by members of the child and family team, as specified. The bill would require the placing agency to ensure completion of the IP-CANS assessment and entry into the statewide child welfare information system for each child or nonminor dependent within 60 days of their entry or reentry into foster care or within 30 days in the case of an Indian child. The bill would require the placing agency to ensure completion of a new or updated IP-CANS assessment for each child or nonminor dependent at least once every 6 months and more frequently to address the needs or changing circumstances of the child or nonminor dependent as directed by the State Department of Social Services. Under the bill, the components of the Tiered Rate Structure will be effective on the date on which the IP-CANS assessment is completed and entered into the statewide child welfare information system or 60 days after the child enters or reenters foster care, whichever comes first. The bill would require, if the IP-CANS assessment is not completed and entered into the statewide child welfare information system within 60 days of a child’s entry or reentry into foster care, the components of the Tiered Rate Structure to be effective retroactive to 60 days after the child enters or reenters foster care.

The bill would specify the rates to be paid for the components of the Tiered Rate Structure, and require the entry rate to be adjusted, beginning July 1, 2028, as specified. The bill would instead make the 3 components of the Tiered Rate Structure become operative on July 1, 2027, or the date after (1) the State Department of Social Services notifies the Legislature that the California Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform the necessary automation to implement the Tiered Rate Structure and (2) the Legislature makes an appropriation for the express purpose of implementing the Tiered Rate Structure, whichever is later.

Existing law establishes the Immediate Needs Program, to provide an array of integrated services and supports based on the immediate needs, as defined, of children who fall into Tier 2 or Tier 3 of the Tiered Rate Structure, pursuant to the IP-CANS assessment. Existing law requires the immediate needs funding for a child to be based on their tier, as determined by the IP-CANS. Existing law requires each placing agency be provided funding to support the Immediate Needs Program, and the State Department of Social Services is required to utilize a reconciliation process to adjust biannual funding as needed to ensure the placing agency has sufficient funding to provide for the immediate needs of each eligible child or nonminor dependent.

This bill would instead require each placing agency be provided funding consisting of the total amount of Immediate Needs Funding for all eligible children and nonminor dependents in Tiers 2, 3, and 3+ who are under the placing agency’s care and supervision using a methodology developed by the State Department of Social Services, as specified.

(6) Existing law authorizes the State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Health Care Services to issue all-county letters or similar instructions, as specified, to implement specified provisions until regulations are adopted. Existing law requires regulations to be adopted no later than July 1, 2024.

This bill would extend the deadline by which regulations need to be adopted to January 1, 2030. The bill would also authorize the State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Health Care Services to issue all-county letters or similar instructions, as specified, for the purpose of this bill, until regulations are adopted no later than January 1, 2030.

(7) Existing law establishes the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families using federal, state, and county funds. Existing law generally requires a recipient of CalWORKs to participate in welfare-to-work activities as a condition of eligibility. Existing law further specifies the sequence of employment-related activities a welfare-to-work participant is required to undertake, which includes a requirement that the participant receive orientation and appraisal, participate in job search and job club, be referred for assessment and establishment of a welfare-to-work plan, and participate in work activities. Existing law establishes a list of the activities that qualify as welfare-to-work activities for inclusion in the welfare-to-work plan, which includes, among other things, unsubsidized employment, adult basic education, and job skills training directly related to employment. Existing law also requires that necessary supportive services be available to participants in welfare-to-work activities, including transportation costs, which are governed by regional market rates as determined in accordance with regulations established by the State Department of Social Services.

This bill would, among other things, require recipients to receive a combined appraisal and orientation to the welfare-to-work program, as specified, require counties to schedule for certain recipients an assessment that evaluates their strengths and skills, and require counties to regularly review the family assistance plan with the participant. This bill would revise the list of activities that qualify as welfare-to-work activities by, among other things, including barrier removal services, and would also make participation in job search and job club optional. This bill would specify that transportation services may include bus passes, mileage reimbursement, and car ownership programs, among other things, and would also specify that transportation costs include the payment for transporting a participant’s children, as specified. The bill would require all payments for transportation to be advanced to participants, as specified.

Existing law requires the imposition of sanctions, as appropriate, if an individual has failed or refused to comply with program requirements without good cause and conciliation efforts have failed. Existing law requires the termination of the sanction at any point if the noncomplying participant performs the activity or activities that they previously refused to perform.

This bill would instead require the termination of sanctions if the participant indicates to the county verbally or in writing that they want to cure their sanction and begin participating in welfare-to-work activities, or the county verifies or otherwise discovers that the individual is or has been meeting the federally required minimum average number of hours per week of welfare-to-work participation. The bill would prohibit the imposition of sanctions during the first 90 days after an individual is determined eligible for aid, and would require, prior to the imposition of sanctions, the county to verify that the participant had secured childcare.

The bill would make the above-described provisions operative on July 1, 2026, or, if automation is necessary, the later of July 1, 2026, or when the department notifies the Legislature that the California Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform the necessary automation to implement those provisions. The bill would authorize the State Department of Social Services to implement, interpret, or make specific the above-described provisions by means of all-county letters or similar written instructions from the department until regulations are adopted.

Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program.

This bill would provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for the purposes of implementing the bill.

(8) This bill would appropriate $100,000 from the Federal Trust Fund to the State Department of Social Services for child welfare programs.

This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

(10) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.