City of Sacramento
City Council - 5PM Report
915 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814
www.cityofsacramento.org
File ID: 2023-00458 5/2/2023 Consent Item 25.
Approve the City Taking a Formal Position of Support on SB 407 (Wiener) Foster Care Placement: Resources
File ID: 2023-00458
Location: Citywide
Recommendation: Pass a Motion supporting Senate Bill 407 (Wiener).
Contact: Consuelo Hernandez, Director of Governmental Affairs, (916) 808-7395, [email protected], Office of the City Manager; Mateo Ramirez-Mercado, District Director, (916) 808-7339, [email protected], Office of Councilmember Kaplan Presenter: None.
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-SB 407 (Wiener)
Additional Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: SB 407 would require a foster care resource family to demonstrate an understanding of the unique needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or plus (LGBTQ+) and gender-expansive youth, and the capacity and willingness to meet those needs, as specified in current law. The bill would additionally require the family evaluation to include assessing the ability of an applicant to provide care and supervision for LGBTQ+ and gender-expansive youth.
Existing law states that it is the policy of the state that all minors and nonminors in foster care have specified rights. SB 407 would require the state to ensure that county-approved resource families are upholding the rights of a child in foster care and meeting the resource family’s responsibility to safeguard those rights, including the right to have fair and equal access to all available services, placement, care, treatment, and benefits, and to not be subjected to discrimination or harassment on the basis of actual or perceived race, ethnic group identification, ancestry, national origin, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental or physical disability, or HIV status.
SB 407 also would require the department to work with stakeholders, including counties, the California Alliance of Child and Family Services, and LGBTQ+ advocates, to develop standards and a caregiver handbook for caring for LGBTQ+ and gender-expansive youth.
File ID: 2023-00458 5/2/2023 Consent Item 25.
Policy Considerations: Staff was directed to bring to Council a request to support SB 407.
Economic Impacts: Not applicable.
Environmental Considerations: This activity is not subject to CEQA because it does not involve the exercise of discretionary powers by the city, it will not result in a direct or foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and it is not a “project” as defined in Section 15378. (CEQA Guidelines § 15060.)
Sustainability: Not applicable.
Commission/Committee Action: Passed at Law and Legislation Committee on March 4, 2023.
Rationale for Recommendation: Staff was directed to bring to Council a request to support SB 407.
Financial Considerations: None.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 16, 2023
SENATE BILL No. 407
Introduced by Senator Wiener
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Lee and Low)
February 9, 2023
An act to amend Sections 16519.5 and 16519.61 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to foster care.
legislative counsel’s digest
SB 407, as amended, Wiener. Foster care: placement. r esource families.
(1) Existing law generally provides for the placement of foster youth in various placement settings. Existing law pr ovides for the implementation of the resource family approval process and defines a resource family as an individual or family who has successfully met both the home en vironment assessment standar ds and permanency assessment criteria, as specified, necessary for pr oviding care for a child placed by a public or private c hild placement a gency by court order, or voluntarily placed by a par ent or le gal guar dian. Under existing law, the resource family permanency standards include a family evaluation, including, but not limited to, interviews of an applicant, as specified, and a risk assessment.
This bill would r equire a r esource family to demonstr ate an understanding of the unique needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or plus (LGBTQ+) and gender-expansive youth, and the capacity and willingness to meet those needs, as specified. The bill would additionally require the family e valuation to include assessing the ability of an applicant to pr ovide car e and supervision for LGBTQ+ and
98 gender-expansive youth. By cr eating new duties for counties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) Existing law states that it is the policy of the state that all minors and nonminors in foster care have specified rights, including , among others, the right to r eceive medical, dental, vision, and mental health services, the right to be placed in out-of-home care according to their gender identity, regardless of the gender or sex listed in their court or child welfare records, and the right to maintain the privacy of their sexual orientation and g ender identity and e xpression, e xcept as provided. Existing law r equires, as part of the r esource family home environment assessment standards, that an applicant demonstr ate an understanding of the rights of c hildren in car e and the applicant’ s responsibility to safeguard those rights.
This bill would expressly include among those the rights of LGBTQ+ and gender-expansive youth among those rights of which an applicant is required to demonstrate an understanding. The bill would also require the applicant to demonstr ate that under standing thr ough signing a document ac knowledging foster youth rights. To the e xtent this bill would cr eate ne w duties for counties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3) Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to provide ongoing o versight and monitoring of county systems and operations. Existing law requires the department to review an adequate number of county-approved resource families in each county to ensure that approval standards are being properly applied.
This bill would require the department to ensure that county-approved resource families are upholding the rights of a child in foster care and meeting the resource family’s responsibility to safeguard those rights, including the right to have fair and equal access to all available services, placement, car e, tr eatment, and benefits, and to not be subjected to discrimination or har assment on the basis of actual or perceived race, ethnic group identification, ancestry, national origin, color, r eligion, se x, se xual orientation, g ender identity , mental or physical disability, or HIV status. The bill would require the department to work with stakeholders, including counties, the California Alliance of Child and F amily Services, and LGBTQ+ advocates, to de velop standards and a car egiver handbook for caring for LGBTQ+ and gender-expansive youth.
(4) Existing law r equires a county to in vestigate all complaints against a resource family and take action as necessary, including, but 98 — 2 — SB 407
not limited to, in vestigating any incidents r eported about a r esource family indicating that the appr oval standard is not being maintained and inspecting the resource family home.
This bill additionally would require a county to investigate incidents reported about a r esource family not meeting the specific needs of LGBTQ+ and g ender-expansive youth. By cr eating ne w duties for counties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) Existing law authorizes a county or the department to deny a resource family application or rescind the approval of a resource family, and the department to exclude an individual from any resource family home for specified reasons, including conduct that poses a risk or threat to the health and safety , protection, or well-being of a c hild. Existing law requires counties to ensure resource family applicants and resource families have the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to support children in foster care by completing caregiver training.
This bill would expand the application of these provisions to include LGBTQ+ and g ender-expansive children. By creating new duties for counties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (6) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state .
Statutory pr ovisions establish pr ocedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law generally provides for the placement of foster youth in various placement settings, and governs the provision of child welfare services, which is defined to mean public social services that are directed toward the accomplishment of specified purposes, including protecting and promoting the welfare of all children, preventing the unnecessary separation of children from their families, and restoring to their families children who have been removed.
Existing law provides that it is the policy of the state that all minors and nonminors in foster care ha ve specified rights, including, among others, the right to recei ve medical, dental, vision, and mental health services and the right to be informed of these rights in an age and developmentally appropriate manner and to recei ve a cop y of these rights, at specified intervals.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to ensure that LGBTQ foster youth in California are placed in homes that are affirming of LGBTQ identities.
98 SB 407 — 3 —
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no yes. State-mandated local program: no yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
line 1 SECTION 1. The Le gislature finds and declar es all of the line 2 following:
line 3 (a) According to the Univer sity of California, Berk eley, line 4 California Child Welfare Indicators Project, as of October 1, 2022, line 5 there were 53,371 youth in foster care in California. line 6 (b) Youth who identify as lesbian, gay , bisexual, transgender, line 7 questioning, or another diver se identity (LGBTQ+) and line 8 gender-expansive youth are overrepresented in foster care (Human line 9 Rights Campaign, 2015), with at least thr ee studies estimating line 10 about 30 per cent of youth in foster car e identify as LGBTQ+ line 11 (Baams et al., LGBTQ Youth in Unstable Housing and Foster Care line 12 (2019); Matarese et al., The Cuyahoga Youth Count: A Report on line 13 LGBTQ+ Youth Experience in F oster Car e (2021); Sandfort, line 14 Experiences and Well-Being of Sexual and Gender Diverse Youth line 15 in F oster Car e in Ne w York City: Dispr oportionality and line 16 Disparities (2020)).
line 17 (c) Like all young people, LGBTQ+ (including Native American line 18 Two-Spirit) children and youth in foster care need the support of line 19 a nurturing family to help them navigate their teenage years and line 20 grow into healthy adults.
line 21 (d) Foster youth have a right to be placed in out-of-home care line 22 according to their gender identity and the right to have caregivers line 23 that have r eceived instruction on cultur al competency and line 24 sensitivity r elating to se xual orientation, g ender identity and line 25 expression, and best pr actices for pr oviding adequate car e to line 26 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and tr ansgender children in out-of-home line 27 care.
line 28 (e) LGBTQ+ foster youth ar e curr ently being placed in line 29 nonaffirming families that have been appr oved by counties and line 30 the state, causing additional harm and tr auma. According to the line 31 Trevor Project, teens who per ceived parental support r egarding line 32 gender identity were 93 percent less likely to attempt suicide than line 33 youth who did not perceive parents as supportive. 98 — 4 — SB 407
line 1 (f) It is the intent of the Legislature to have LGBTQ+ affirming line 2 resource families for youth in out-of-home car e in county and line 3 foster family agency homes.
line 4 SEC. 2. Section 16519.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code line 5 is amended to read:
line 6 16519.5. (a) The State Department of Social Services, in line 7 consultation with county child welf are agencies, foster parent line 8 associations, and other interested community parties, shall line 9 implement a unified, family friendly, and child-centered resource line 10 family approval process to replace the existing multiple processes line 11 for licensing foster f amily homes, certifying foster homes by line 12 licensed foster family agencies, approving relatives and nonrelative line 13 extended family members as foster care providers, and approving line 14 guardians and adoptive families.
line 15 (b) (1) Counties shall be selected to participate on a voluntary line 16 basis as early implementation counties for the purpose of line 17 participating in the initial de velopment of the appro val process. line 18 Early implementation counties shall be selected according to line 19 criteria de veloped by the department in consultation with the line 20 County Welfare Directors Association of California. In selecting line 21 the fiv e early implementation counties, the department shall line 22 promote diversity among the participating counties in terms of line 23 size and geographic location.
line 24 (2) Additional counties may participate in the early line 25 implementation of the program upon authorization by the line 26 department.
line 27 (3) The State Department of Social Services shall be responsible line 28 for all of the following:
line 29 (A) Selecting early implementation counties, based on criteria line 30 established by the department in consultation with the County line 31 Welfare Directors Association of California.
line 32 (B) Establishing timeframes for participating counties to submit line 33 an implementation plan, enter into terms and conditions for early line 34 implementation participation in the program, train appropriate line 35 staff, and accept applications from resource families. line 36 (C) Entering into terms and conditions for early implementation line 37 participation in the program by counties.
line 38 (4) Counties participating in the early implementation of the line 39 program shall be responsible for all of the following:
line 40 (A) Submitting an implementation plan.
98 SB 407 — 5 —
line 1 (B) Entering into terms and conditions for early implementation line 2 participation in the program.
line 3 (C) Consulting with the county probation department in the line 4 development of the implementation plan.
line 5 (D) Training appropriate staff.
line 6 (E) Accepting applications from resource f amilies within the line 7 timeframes established by the department.
line 8 (5) (A) Approved relati ves and nonrelati ve e xtended f amily line 9 members, licensed foster f amily homes, or appro ved adopti ve line 10 homes that have completed the license or appro val process prior line 11 to statewide implementation of the program shall not be considered line 12 part of the program. The otherwise applicable assessment and line 13 oversight processes shall continue to be administered for families line 14 and facilities not included in the program.
line 15 (B) Upon implementation of the program in a county , that line 16 county shall not accept new applications for the licensure of foster line 17 family homes, the appro val of relative and nonrelative extended line 18 family members, or the appro val of prospecti ve guardians and line 19 adoptive homes.
line 20 (6) The department may w aive regulations that pose a barrier line 21 to the early implementation and operation of this program. The line 22 waiver of a regulation by the department pursuant to this section line 23 applies to only those counties or foster f amily agencies line 24 participating in the early implementation of the program and only line 25 for the duration of the program.
line 26 (7) This subdivision is inoperative on January 1, 2017. line 27 (c) (1) For purposes of this article, “resource family” means an line 28 individual or f amily that has successfully met both the home line 29 environment assessment standards and the permanency assessment line 30 criteria adopted pursuant to subdivision (d) necessary for providing line 31 care for a child placed by a public or pri vate child placement line 32 agency by court order, or voluntarily placed by a parent or le gal line 33 guardian. A resource family shall demonstrate all of the following:
line 34 (A) An understanding of the safety, permanence, and well-being line 35 needs of children who have been victims of child abuse and neglect, line 36 and the capacity and willingness to meet those needs, including line 37 the need for protection, and the willingness to make use of support line 38 resources offered by the agenc y, or a support structure in place, line 39 or both.
98 — 6 — SB 407
line 1 (B) An understanding of children’ s needs and de velopment, line 2 effective parenting skills or kno wledge about parenting, and the line 3 capacity to act as a reasonable, prudent parent in day-to-day line 4 decisionmaking.
line 5 (C) An understanding of the role of the individual or family as line 6 a resource family and the capacity to work cooperatively with the line 7 agency and other service pro viders in implementing the child’ s line 8 case plan.
line 9 (D) The financial ability within the household to ensure the line 10 stability and financial security of the family. This requirement may line 11 be waived for relati ve and nonrelati ve extended family member line 12 resource families on a case-by-case basis. F or purposes of this line 13 subparagraph, there is no minimum income requirement and an line 14 applicant who will rely on the funding described in subdi vision line 15 (l) to meet additional household e xpenses incurred due to the line 16 placement of a child shall not, for this reason, be denied approval line 17 as a resource family.
line 18 (E) (i) An ability and willingness to pro vide a f amily setting line 19 that promotes normal childhood experiences that serves the needs line 20 of the child. child, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, line 21 queer, or plus (LGBTQ+) and gender-expansive youth. line 22 (ii) For purposes of this article, “gender expansive” means an line 23 umbrella term to describe individuals who e xpand notions of line 24 gender expression and identity beyond binary gender norms. line 25 (F) An under standing of the unique needs of LGBTQ+ and line 26 gender-expansive youth, and the capacity and willingness to meet line 27 those needs, including an under standing that sexual orientation, line 28 gender identity and expression can evolve over time, acceptance line 29 of these identities is fundamental to healthy development, and that line 30 should difficulties ar ound these issues arise , that the y agree to line 31 seek out any and all available r esources offered by the county , line 32 foster family a gency, and other of fered resources to meet those line 33 needs.
line 34 (2) For purposes of this article, and unless otherwise specified, line 35 references to a “child” include a “nonminor dependent” and line 36 “nonminor former dependent or ward,” as defined in subdivision line 37 (v) and paragraph (1) of subdivision (aa) of Section 11400. line 38 (3) There is no fundamental right to appro val as a resource line 39 family. Emergency placement of a child pursuant to Section 309, line 40 319, 361.45, or 727.05, or with a resource family applicant pursuant 98 SB 407 — 7 —
line 1 to subdivision (e), does not entitle an applicant to appro val as a line 2 resource family.
line 3 (4) (A) A resource family shall be considered eligible to provide line 4 foster care for children in out-of-home placement and appro ved line 5 for adoption and guardianship.
line 6 (B) (i) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a county may line 7 approve a resource family to care for a specific child, as specified line 8 in the written directi ves or re gulations adopted pursuant to this line 9 section. Child-specific approval shall be considered if the applicant line 10 is a relative or nonrelative extended family member who has an line 11 established and significant relationship with a child or a child is line 12 already placed in the home of the relative or nonrelative extended line 13 family member pursuant to subdi vision (e) or Section 309, 319, line 14 361.45, or 727.05.
line 15 (ii) When child-specific appro val is granted to a relati ve who line 16 has received a criminal records exemption pursuant to clause (iv) line 17 of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (g) of Section line 18 1522 of the Health and Safety Code, the child’ s placement shall line 19 be funded pursuant to Section 11461.3 and the relati ve shall not line 20 be eligible for federal financial participation while the child is line 21 placed with them.
line 22 (iii) In the case of an Indian child for whom the child’s tribe is line 23 not exercising its right to approve a home, the county shall apply line 24 the pre vailing social and cultural standards of the Indian line 25 community to resource family approval for that child, as required line 26 by subdivision (f) of Section 361.31 and the federal Indian Child line 27 Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. Sec. 1901 et seq.). The department line 28 shall eng age in the tribal consultation process and de velop line 29 regulations to implement this clause. Notwithstanding the line 30 rulemaking pro visions of the Administrative Procedure Act line 31 (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of P art 1 of line 32 Division 3 of Title 2 of the Go vernment Code), the department line 33 may implement this clause through all-county letters or other line 34 similar instruction, and pro vide guidance to counties re garding line 35 consistent implementation of this clause.
line 36 (5) For purposes of this article, “resource f amily appro val” line 37 means that the applicant or resource family successfully meets the line 38 home en vironment assessment and permanenc y assessment line 39 standards. This approval is in lieu of a foster family home license line 40 issued pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 1500) of 98 — 8 — SB 407
line 1 Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, a certificate of approval line 2 issued by a licensed foster f amily agenc y, as described in line 3 subdivision (b) of Section 1506 of the Health and Safety Code, line 4 relative or nonrelati ve e xtended f amily member appro val, line 5 guardianship approval, and the adoption home study approval. line 6 (6) Approval of a resource family does not guarantee an initial, line 7 continued, or adoptive placement of a child with a resource family line 8 or with a relative or nonrelative extended family member. Approval line 9 of a resource family does not guarantee the establishment of a legal line 10 guardianship of a child with a resource family. line 11 (7) (A) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusi ve, the line 12 county shall, consistent with Sections 1520.3 and 1558.1 of the line 13 Health and Safety Code, cease any further review of an application line 14 if the applicant has had a pre vious application denial by the line 15 department or a county within the preceding year, or if the applicant line 16 has had a previous rescission, revocation, or exemption denial or line 17 exemption rescission by the department or a county within the line 18 preceding two years.
line 19 (B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the county may continue line 20 to review an application if it has determined that the reasons for line 21 the pre vious denial, rescission, or re vocation were due to line 22 circumstances and conditions that either ha ve been corrected or line 23 are no longer in e xistence. If an indi vidual was excluded from a line 24 resource family home or f acility licensed by the department, the line 25 county shall cease re view of the indi vidual’s application unless line 26 the excluded individual has been reinstated pursuant to subdivision line 27 (g) of Section 16519.6 of this code or pursuant to Section 1569.53, line 28 subdivision (h) of Section 1558, subdivision (h) of Section 1569.58, line 29 or subdivision (h) of Section 1596.8897, of the Health and Safety line 30 Code.
line 31 (C) (i) The county may cease an y further re view of an line 32 application if, after written notice to the applicant, the applicant line 33 fails to complete an application without good faith effort and within line 34 30 days of the date of the notice, as specified in the written line 35 directives or regulations adopted pursuant to this section. line 36 (ii) Clause (i) does not apply if a child is placed with the line 37 applicant pursuant to Section 309, 361.45, 727.05, or paragraph line 38 (1) of subdivision (e) of Section 16519.5.
98 SB 407 — 9 —
line 1 (D) The cessation of an application re view pursuant to this line 2 paragraph does not constitute a denial of the application for line 3 purposes of this section or any other law.
line 4 (E) For purposes of this section, the date of a pre vious denial, line 5 rescission, revocation, exemption denial or exemption rescission, line 6 or exclusion shall be either of the following:
line 7 (i) The effective date of a final decision or order upholding a line 8 notice of action or exclusion order.
line 9 (ii) The date on the notice of the decision to den y, rescind, line 10 revoke, or e xclude if the notice w as not appealed or otherwise line 11 constitutes a final decision.
line 12 (8) A resource family shall meet the approval standards set forth line 13 in this section, and, as applicable, Chapter 6.3 (commencing with line 14 Section 18360) of Part 6, to maintain approval. A resource family line 15 shall comply with the written directi ves or re gulations adopted line 16 pursuant to this section and applicable la ws in order to maintain line 17 approval.
line 18 (9) A resource f amily may be appro ved by a county child line 19 welfare department or a probation department pursuant to this line 20 section or by a foster f amily agency pursuant to Section 1517 of line 21 the Health and Safety Code.
line 22 (10) A resource f amily shall not be licensed to operate a line 23 residential facility, as defined in Section 1502 of the Health and line 24 Safety Code, a residential care f acility for the elderly, as defined line 25 in Section 1569.2 of the Health and Safety Code, or a residential line 26 care facility for persons with chronic life-threatening illnesses, as line 27 defined in Section 1568.01 of the Health and Safety Code, on the line 28 same premises used as the residence of the resource family. line 29 (11) (A) An applicant who withdra ws an application prior to line 30 its appro val or denial may resubmit the application within 12 line 31 months of the withdrawal.
line 32 (B) This paragraph does not preclude a county from requiring line 33 an applicant to complete an application activity, even if that activity line 34 was previously completed.
line 35 (d) (1) The department shall adopt standards pertaining to the line 36 home en vironment and permanenc y assessments of a resource line 37 family.
line 38 (2) Resource family home en vironment assessment standards line 39 shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
98 — 10 — SB 407
line 1 (A) (i) (I) A criminal record clearance of each applicant and line 2 all adults residing in, or re gularly present in, the home, and not line 3 exempted from fingerprinting, as set forth in subdi vision (b) of line 4 Section 1522 of the Health and Safety Code, pursuant to Section line 5 8712 of the F amily Code, utilizing a check of the Child Abuse line 6 Central Index pursuant to Section 1522.1 of the Health and Safety line 7 Code, and receipt of a fingerprint-based state and federal criminal line 8 offender record information search response. The criminal history line 9 information shall include subsequent notifications pursuant to line 10 Section 11105.2 of the Penal Code.
line 11 (II) Consideration of any substantiated allegations of child abuse line 12 or neglect against the applicant and any other adult residing in, or line 13 regularly present in, the home pursuant to Section 1522.1 of the line 14 Health and Safety Code.
line 15 (III) If the criminal records check indicates that the person has line 16 been convicted of an of fense described in subparagraph (A) of line 17 paragraph (2) of subdivision (g) of Section 1522 of the Health and line 18 Safety Code, home approval shall be denied unless the person has line 19 received a criminal records e xemption pursuant to clause (i v) of line 20 subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdi vision (g) of Section line 21 1522 of the Health and Safety Code. If the criminal records check line 22 indicates that the person has been convicted of an offense described line 23 in subparagraph (B) or (D) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (g) of line 24 Section 1522 of the Health and Safety Code, the home shall not line 25 be approved unless a criminal record exemption has been granted line 26 pursuant to subclause (IV).
line 27 (IV) If the resource family parent, applicant, or any other person line 28 specified in subclause (I) has been convicted of a crime other than line 29 an infraction or arrested for an offense specified in subdivision (e) line 30 of Section 1522 of the Health and Safety Code, except for the civil line 31 penalty language, the criminal background check pro visions line 32 specified in subdi visions (d) through (f) of Section 1522 of the line 33 Health and Safety Code shall apply. Exemptions from the criminal line 34 records clearance requirements set forth in this section may be line 35 granted by the department or the county , if that county has been line 36 granted permission by the department to issue criminal record line 37 exemptions pursuant to Section 361.4, using the exemption criteria line 38 currently used for foster care licensing, as specified in subdivision line 39 (g) of Section 1522 of the Health and Safety Code. 98 SB 407 — 11 —
line 1 (V) If it is determined, on the basis of the fingerprint images line 2 and related information submitted to the Department of Justice, line 3 that subsequent to obtaining a criminal record clearance or line 4 exemption from disqualification, the person has been con victed line 5 of, or is a waiting trial for, a se x offense against a minor, or has line 6 been convicted for an of fense specified in Section 243.4, 273a, line 7 273ab, 273d, 273g, or 368 of the Penal Code, or a felon y, the line 8 department or county shall notify the resource f amily to act line 9 immediately to remove or bar the person from entering the resource line 10 family’s home. The department or county , as applicable, may line 11 subsequently grant an e xemption from disqualification pursuant line 12 to subdivision (g) of Section 1522 of the Health and Safety Code. line 13 If the con viction or arrest w as for another crime, the resource line 14 family shall, upon notification by the department or county , act line 15 immediately to either remove or bar the person from entering the line 16 resource family’s home, or require the person to seek an exemption line 17 from disqualification pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 1522 line 18 of the Health and Safety Code. The department or county , as line 19 applicable, shall determine if the person shall be allowed to remain line 20 in the home until a decision on the exemption from disqualification line 21 is rendered.
line 22 (ii) For public foster f amily agencies appro ving resource line 23 families, the criminal records clearance process set forth in clause line 24 (i) shall be utilized.
line 25 (iii) For pri vate foster f amily agencies appro ving resource line 26 families, the criminal records clearance process set forth in clause line 27 (i) shall be utilized, but the Department of Justice shall disseminate line 28 a fitness determination resulting from the federal criminal offender line 29 record information search.
line 30 (B) A home and grounds e valuation to ensure the health and line 31 safety of children.
line 32 (C) In addition to the fore going requirements, the resource line 33 family home environment assessment standards shall require the line 34 following:
line 35 (i) That the applicant demonstrates an understanding of the line 36 rights of children in care and the applicant’ s responsibility to line 37 safeguard those rights. rights, including the rights of LGBTQ+ line 38 and g ender-expansive foster c hildren. The applicant shall line 39 demonstrate that under standing thr ough signing a document 98 — 12 — SB 407
line 1 acknowledging the foster youth rights enumer ated in Section line 2 16001.9.
line 3 (ii) That the total number of children residing in the home of a line 4 resource family shall be no more than the total number of children line 5 the resource family can properly care for, regardless of status, and line 6 shall not e xceed six children, unless e xceptional circumstances line 7 that are documented in the foster child’ s case file exist to permit line 8 a resource f amily to care for more children, including, b ut not line 9 limited to, the need to place siblings together , consistent with line 10 Section 16002.
line 11 (iii) That the applicant understands the applicant’ s line 12 responsibilities with respect to acting as a reasonable and prudent line 13 parent, and maintaining the least restrictive environment that serves line 14 the needs of the child.
line 15 (3) The resource family permanency assessment standards shall line 16 include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
line 17 (A) Caregiver training, as described in subdivisions (g) and (h). line 18 (B) A family evaluation, which shall include, but not be limited line 19 to, interviews of an applicant to assess the applicant’ s personal line 20 history, family dynamic, and need for support or resources, and a line 21 risk assessment. assessment, including assessing the ability to line 22 provide care and supervision for LGBTQ+ and gender-expansive line 23 foster youth.
line 24 (i) When the applicant is a relati ve or nonrelati ve e xtended line 25 family member to an identified child, the f amily evaluation shall line 26 consider the nature of the relationship between the relati ve or line 27 nonrelative extended family member and the child. The relative line 28 or nonrelative extended family member’s expressed desire to only line 29 care for a specific child or children shall not be a reason to den y line 30 the approval.
line 31 (ii) A caregiver risk assessment shall include, but not be limited line 32 to, physical and mental health, alcohol and other substance use line 33 and abuse, family and domestic violence, and the factors listed in line 34 paragraph (1) of subdivision (c).
line 35 (iii) A county may re view and discuss data contained in the line 36 statewide child welfare database with an applicant for purposes of line 37 conducting a f amily e valuation, as specified in the written line 38 directives or regulations adopted pursuant to this section. 98 SB 407 — 13 —
line 1 (C) Completion of any other activities that relate to the ability line 2 of an applicant or a resource f amily to achieve permanency with line 3 a child.
line 4 (4) (A) For a child placed on an emer gency basis pursuant to line 5 Section 309, 361.45, or 727.05, the home environment assessment, line 6 the permanenc y assessment, and the written report shall be line 7 completed within 90 days of the placement, unless good cause line 8 exists based upon the needs of the child.
line 9 (B) If additional time is needed to complete the home line 10 environment assessment or the permanency assessment, the county line 11 shall document the e xtenuating circumstances for the delay and line 12 generate a timeframe for the completion of those assessments. line 13 (C) The county shall report to the department, on a quarterly line 14 basis, the number of families with emergency placements whose line 15 home environment assessment or permanenc y assessment goes line 16 beyond 90 days and summarize the reasons for these delays. line 17 (e) (1) A county may place a child with a resource f amily line 18 applicant who has successfully completed the home environment line 19 assessment prior to completion of a permanency assessment only line 20 if a compelling reason for the placement exists based on the needs line 21 of the child.
line 22 (A) The permanency assessment and the written report described line 23 in paragraph (5) of subdi vision (g) shall be completed within 90 line 24 days of the child’s placement in the home, unless good cause exists. line 25 (B) If additional time is needed to comply with subparagraph line 26 (A), the county shall document the extenuating circumstances for line 27 the delay and generate a timeframe for the completion of the line 28 permanency assessment.
line 29 (C) The county shall report to the department, on a quarterly line 30 basis, the number of applicants for whom the requirements of line 31 subparagraph (A) exceed 90 days and summarize the reasons for line 32 these delays.
line 33 (2) The home environment and permanency assessments, and line 34 the written report described in paragraph (5) of subdi vision (g), line 35 shall be completed within 90 days of a child’ s placement with a line 36 relative or nonrelative extended family member pursuant to Section line 37 309, 361.45, or 727.05, unless good cause exists. line 38 (3) For an y placement made pursuant to this subdi vision, line 39 AFDC-FC funding shall not be a vailable until appro val of the line 40 resource family has been completed.
98 — 14 — SB 407
line 1 (4) A child placed pursuant to this subdivision shall be afforded line 2 all the rights set forth in Section 16001.9.
line 3 (5) This section does not limit the county’s authority to inspect line 4 the home of a resource f amily applicant as often as necessary to line 5 ensure the quality of care provided.
line 6 (6) This subdivision does not limit the county’s obligation under line 7 law to assess and gi ve placement consideration to relati ves and line 8 nonrelative extended family members and to place a child pursuant line 9 to Section 309, 361.3, 361.45, 706.6, or 727.1.
line 10 (f) The State Department of Social Services shall be responsible line 11 for all of the following:
line 12 (1) (A) Until regulations are adopted, administering the program line 13 through the issuance of written directives that shall have the same line 14 force and effect as regulations. Any directive affecting Article 1 line 15 (commencing with Section 700) of Chapter 7 of Division 1 of Title line 16 11 of the California Code of Regulations shall be approved by the line 17 Department of Justice. The directives shall be e xempt from the line 18 rulemaking pro visions of the Administrative Procedure Act line 19 (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of P art 1 of line 20 Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
line 21 (B) Adopting, amending, or repealing, in accordance with line 22 Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 11400) of Part 1 of Division line 23 3 of Title 2 of the Go vernment Code, an y reasonable rules, line 24 regulations, and standards that may be necessary or proper to carry line 25 out the purposes and intent of this article and to enable the line 26 department to exercise the powers and perform the duties conferred line 27 upon it by this section, consistent with the laws of this state. line 28 (2) Approving and requiring the use of a single standard for line 29 resource family approval.
line 30 (3) Adopting and requiring the use of standardized line 31 documentation for the home en vironment and permanenc y line 32 assessments of resource families. families, including documents line 33 for assessing the ability to car e for and supervise LGBTQ+ and line 34 gender-expansive youth. The department shall permit counties to line 35 maintain documentation relating to the resource f amily approval line 36 process in an electronic format.
line 37 (4) Adopting core competencies for county staff to participate line 38 in the assessment and evaluation of an applicant or resource family. line 39 (5) Requiring counties to monitor county-appro ved resource line 40 families, including, but not limited to, both of the following:
98 SB 407 — 15 —
line 1 (A) Investigating complaints regarding resource families. line 2 (B) Developing and monitoring resource family corrective action line 3 plans to correct identified deficiencies and to rescind resource line 4 family approval if compliance with corrective action plans is not line 5 achieved.
line 6 (6) Ongoing oversight and monitoring of county systems and line 7 operations including all of the following:
line 8 (A) Reviewing the county’ s implementation plan and line 9 implementation of the program.
line 10 (B) Reviewing an adequate number of county-approved resource line 11 families in each county to ensure that approval standards are being line 12 properly applied. The
line 13 (i) The review shall include case file documentation and may line 14 include onsite inspection of individual resource families. The line 15 (ii) The re view shall occur on a biennial basis and more line 16 frequently if the department becomes a ware that a county is line 17 experiencing a disproportionate number of complaints ag ainst line 18 individual resource family homes.
line 19 (iii) The r eview shall ensur e that county-appr oved r esource line 20 families are upholding the rights of a c hild in foster car e and line 21 meeting the r esource family’s responsibility to safe guard those line 22 rights, including the right to have fair and equal access to all line 23 available services, placement, care, treatment, and benefits, and line 24 to not be subjected to discrimination or har assment on the basis line 25 of actual or perceived race, ethnic group identification, ancestry, line 26 national origin, color , religion, se x, se xual orientation, g ender line 27 identity, mental or physical disability, or HIV status. line 28 (C) Reviewing county reports of serious complaints and line 29 incidents involving resource families, as determined necessary by line 30 the department. The department may conduct an independent line 31 review of the complaint or incident and change the findings line 32 depending on the results of its investigation.
line 33 (D) Investigating unresolved complaints against counties. line 34 (E) Requiring corrective action of counties that are not in full line 35 compliance with this section.
line 36 (7) Excluding a resource f amily parent, applicant, or other line 37 individual from presence in any resource family home, consistent line 38 with the established standard for an y of the reasons specified in line 39 Section 16519.61. This includes resource families that do not meet line 40 standards for caring for LGBTQ+ and gender-expansive children. 98 — 16 — SB 407
line 1 (8) Implementing due process procedures, including, b ut not line 2 limited to, all of the following:
line 3 (A) Providing a statewide fair hearing process for application line 4 denials, rescissions of appro val, e xclusion actions, or criminal line 5 record e xemption denials or rescissions by a county or the line 6 department.
line 7 (B) Providing an excluded individual with due process pursuant line 8 to Section 16519.6.
line 9 (C) Amending the department’ s applicable state hearing line 10 procedures and regulations or using the Administrative Procedure line 11 Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of P art 1 of line 12 Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), when applicable, line 13 as necessary for the administration of the program. line 14 (9) Working with stakeholders, including counties, the California line 15 Alliance of Child and Family Services, and LGBTQ+ advocates, line 16 to de velop standards and a car egiver handbook for caring for line 17 LGBTQ+ and gender-expansive youth.
line 18 (g) Counties shall be responsible for all of the following:
line 19 (1) Submitting an implementation plan and consulting with the line 20 county probation department in the de velopment of the line 21 implementation plan.
line 22 (2) Complying with the written directives or regulations adopted line 23 pursuant to this section.
line 24 (3) Implementing the requirements for resource family approval line 25 and utilizing standardized documentation established by the line 26 department. A county may maintain documentation relating to the line 27 resource family approval process in an electronic format. line 28 (4) Training appropriate staff, including ensuring staff have the line 29 education and e xperience or core competencies necessary to line 30 participate in the assessment and e valuation of an applicant or line 31 resource family.
line 32 (5) (A) Taking the following actions, as applicable, for any of line 33 the reasons specified in Section 16519.61:
line 34 (i) (I) Approving or den ying resource f amily applications, line 35 including preparing a written report that e valuates an applicant’s line 36 capacity to foster, adopt, and provide legal guardianship of a child line 37 based on all of the information g athered through the resource line 38 family application and assessment processes.
line 39 (II) The applicant’s preference to pro vide a specific le vel of line 40 permanency, including adoption, guardianship, or , in the case of 98 SB 407 — 17 —
line 1 a relative, placement with a fit and willing relative, shall not be a line 2 basis to deny an application.
line 3 (ii) Rescinding approvals of resource families. line 4 (iii) When applicable, referring a case to the department for an line 5 action to e xclude a resource f amily parent, applicant, or other line 6 individual from presence in any resource family home, consistent line 7 with the established standard.
line 8 (iv) Issuing a temporary suspension order that suspends the line 9 resource family approval prior to a hearing when, in the opinion line 10 of the county , ur gent action is needed to protect a child from line 11 physical or mental abuse, abandonment, or an y other substantial line 12 threat to health or safety. The county shall serve the resource family line 13 with the temporary suspension order and a cop y of a vailable line 14 discovery in the possession of the county, including, but not limited line 15 to, affidavits, declarations, names of witnesses, and other evidence line 16 upon which the county relied in issuing the temporary suspension line 17 order. The temporary suspension order shall be serv ed upon the line 18 resource family with a notice of action, and if the matter is to be line 19 heard before the Office of Administrative Hearings, an accusation. line 20 The temporary suspension order shall list the effective date on the line 21 order.
line 22 (v) Granting, denying, or rescinding criminal record exemptions. line 23 (B) Providing a resource family parent, applicant, or individual line 24 who is the subject of a criminal record e xemption denial or line 25 rescission with due process pursuant to Section 16519.6. line 26 (C) Notifying the department of an y decisions den ying an line 27 application for resource family approval, rescinding the approval line 28 of a resource f amily, or denying or rescinding a criminal record line 29 exemption and, if applicable, notifying the department of the results line 30 of an administrative action.
line 31 (6) (A) Updating resource f amily approval biennially and as line 32 necessary to address any changes that have occurred in the resource line 33 family’s circumstances, including, b ut not limited to, mo ving to line 34 a new home location or commencing operation of a family daycare line 35 home, as defined in Section 1596.78 of the Health and Safety Code. line 36 (B) A county shall conduct an announced inspection of a line 37 resource family home during the biennial update, and as necessary line 38 to address any changes specified in subparagraph (A), in order to line 39 ensure that the resource family is conforming to all applicable laws 98 — 18 — SB 407
line 1 and the written directives or regulations adopted pursuant to this line 2 section.
line 3 (7) Monitoring resource families through all of the following:
line 4 (A) Ensuring that social w orkers who identify a condition in line 5 the home that may not meet the appro val standards set forth in line 6 subdivision (d) while in the course of a routine visit to children line 7 placed with a resource family take appropriate action as needed. line 8 (B) Requiring resource families to meet the approval standards line 9 set forth in this section and to comply with the written directi ves line 10 or regulations adopted pursuant to this section, other applicable line 11 laws, and corrective action plans as necessary to correct identified line 12 deficiencies. If corrective action is not completed, as specified in line 13 the plan, the county may rescind the resource family approval. line 14 (C) Requiring resource families to report any incidents consistent line 15 with the reporting requirements pursuant to the written directives line 16 or regulations adopted pursuant to this section. line 17 (D) Inspecting resource family homes as often as necessary to line 18 ensure the quality of care provided.
line 19 (8) (A) Investigating all complaints ag ainst a resource f amily line 20 and taking action as necessary , including, b ut not limited to, line 21 investigating an y incidents reported about a resource f amily line 22 indicating that the approval standard is not being maintained and line 23 inspecting the resource f amily home. This pr ovision includes line 24 investigating incidents r eported about a r esource family not line 25 meeting the specific needs of LGBTQ+ and g ender-expansive line 26 youth.
line 27 (B) The child’s social worker shall not conduct the investigation line 28 into the complaint received concerning a family providing services line 29 pursuant to the standards required by subdivision (d). To the extent line 30 that adequate resources are a vailable, complaints shall be line 31 investigated by a w orker who did not conduct the home line 32 environment assessment or family evaluation or prepare the written line 33 report determining approval of the resource family. line 34 (C) Upon conclusion of the complaint in vestigation, the final line 35 disposition shall be reviewed and approved by a supervising staff line 36 member.
line 37 (D) The department shall be notified of an y serious incidents line 38 or serious complaints or any incident that falls within the definition line 39 of Section 11165.5 of the Penal Code. If those incidents or 98 SB 407 — 19 —
line 1 complaints result in an investigation, the department shall also be line 2 notified as to the status and disposition of that investigation. line 3 (9) Performing corrective action as required by the department. line 4 (10) Assessing county performance in related areas of the line 5 California Child and F amily Services Re view System, and line 6 remedying problems identified.
line 7 (11) Submitting information and data that the department line 8 determines is necessary to study, monitor, and prepare the update line 9 specified in paragraph (7) of subdivision (f).
line 10 (12) Ensuring resource family applicants and resource families line 11 have the necessary kno wledge, skills, and abilities to support line 12 children in foster care car e, including LGBTQ+ and line 13 gender-expansive youth, by completing care giver training. The line 14 training should include a curriculum that supports the role of a line 15 resource family in parenting vulnerable children and should be line 16 ongoing in order to provide resource families with information on line 17 trauma-informed practices and requirements and other topics within line 18 the foster care system.
line 19 (13) Ensuring that a resource f amily applicant completes a line 20 minimum of 12 hours of preappro val care giver training. The line 21 training shall include, b ut not be limited to, all of the follo wing line 22 courses:
line 23 (A) An overview of the child protective and probation systems. line 24 (B) The effects of trauma, including grief and loss, and child line 25 abuse and ne glect, on child de velopment and beha vior, and line 26 methods to behaviorally support children impacted by that trauma line 27 or child abuse and neglect.
line 28 (C) Positive discipline and the importance of self-esteem. line 29 (D) Health issues in foster care.
line 30 (E) Accessing services and supports to address education needs, line 31 physical, mental, and beha vioral health, and substance use line 32 disorders, including culturally relevant services. line 33 (F) The rights of a child in foster care and the resource family’s line 34 responsibility to safeguard those rights, including the right to have line 35 fair and equal access to all a vailable services, placement, care, line 36 treatment, and benefits, and to not be subjected to discrimination line 37 or harassment on the basis of actual or perceived race, ethnic group line 38 identification, ancestry, national origin, color, religion, sex, sexual line 39 orientation, gender identity, mental or physical disability, or HIV line 40 status.
98 — 20 — SB 407
line 1 (G) Cultural needs of children, including instruction on cultural line 2 competency and sensitivity, and related best practices for providing line 3 adequate care for children or youth across diverse ethnic and racial line 4 backgrounds, as well as children or youth identifying as lesbian, line 5 gay, bisexual, or transgender.
line 6 (H) Basic instruction on existing laws and procedures regarding line 7 the safety of foster youth at school.
line 8 (I) Permanence, well-being, and education needs of children. line 9 (J) Child and adolescent de velopment, including se xual line 10 orientation, gender identity, and expression.
line 11 (K) The role of resource f amilies, including w orking line 12 cooperatively with the child welf are or probation agenc y, the line 13 child’s family, and other service providers implementing the case line 14 plan.
line 15 (L) The role of a resource family on the child and family team line 16 as defined in paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 16501. line 17 (M) A resource f amily’s responsibility to act as a reasonable line 18 and prudent parent, as described in subdi vision (c) of Section line 19 1522.44 of the Health and Safety Code, and to pro vide a family line 20 setting that promotes normal childhood experiences and that serves line 21 the needs of the child.
line 22 (N) An o verview of the specialized training identified in line 23 subdivision (h).
line 24 (O) The information described in subdi vision (i) of Section line 25 16521.5. The program may use the curriculum created pursuant line 26 to subdivision (h), and described in subdi vision (i), of Section line 27 16521.5.
line 28 (P) Information on providing care and supervision to children line 29 who have been commercially sexually exploited or who have been line 30 victims of child labor trafficking. F or purposes of this line 31 subparagraph, “information” may include, b ut not be limited to, line 32 informational pamphlets addressing the identification of victims line 33 of commercial sexual exploitation and child labor trafficking and line 34 the pro vision of e xisting resources, including crisis hotline line 35 numbers, survivor and caregiver supports, and contact information line 36 for law enforcement entities.
line 37 (14) Ensuring resource families complete a minimum of eight line 38 hours of caregiver training annually, a portion of which shall be line 39 from subparagraph (M) of paragraph (13) and from one or more line 40 of the other topics listed in paragraph (13).
98 SB 407 — 21 —
line 1 (15) (A) (i) Ensuring that resource f amilies complete line 2 cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training and first aid training, line 3 or demonstrate equi valent certification, no later than 90 days line 4 following resource family approval.
line 5 (ii) A resource family parent who has a certificate of completion line 6 for Basic Life Support (BLS) for health care professionals, or line 7 Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), or a higher standard of line 8 training that certifies CPR, and for whom the certification is line 9 currently active, is exempt from completing the resource f amily line 10 approval CPR training requirement as described in clause (i), upon line 11 demonstrating proof of certification of completion and until the line 12 date the certification expires.
line 13 (iii) A resource family parent who has acti ve and unrestricted line 14 licensure as a health care professional, issued by the Department line 15 of Consumer Affairs or the Emergency Medical Services Authority, line 16 is exempt from completing the resource family approval first aid line 17 training requirement as described in clause (i), upon demonstrating line 18 proof of acti ve and unrestricted licensure and until the date the line 19 licensure expires.
line 20 (B) (i) Ensuring that resource f amilies, prior to e xpiration of line 21 the CPR and first aid certificates, obtain training to remain certified line 22 in CPR and first aid, or demonstrate equivalent certification, and line 23 submit copies of the certificates v erifying completion of the line 24 training.
line 25 (ii) Clause (i) does not apply to first aid training for a resource line 26 family parent who is exempt from the first aid training requirement line 27 pursuant to clause (iii) of subparagraph (A).
line 28 (16) (A) Ensuring that resource families that care for children line 29 who are 10 years of age or older attend, within 12 months of line 30 approval as a resource family, a training on understanding how to line 31 use best practices for pro viding care and supervision to children line 32 who have been commercially sexually exploited or who have been line 33 victims of child labor trafficking. This training shall be survi vor line 34 informed, culturally relevant and appropriate, and address issues line 35 relating to stigma. The training required by this subparagraph shall line 36 address all of the following topics:
line 37 (i) Recognizing indicators of commercial se xual exploitation line 38 and child labor trafficking.
line 39 (ii) Harm reduction.
line 40 (iii) Trauma-informed care.
98 — 22 — SB 407
line 1 (iv) Available county and state resources.
line 2 (v) Perspectives of individuals or families who have experiences line 3 with commercial sexual exploitation and child labor trafficking. line 4 (vi) The dispr oportionate number of LGBTQ+ and line 5 gender-expansive youth who experience exploitation. line 6 (B) The information provided in subparagraph (P) of paragraph line 7 (13) shall also be pro vided during the training described in this line 8 paragraph.
line 9 (C) After completing the training required by subparagraph (A), line 10 a resource family shall not be required to attend training relating line 11 to children who ha ve been commercially se xually e xploited or line 12 who have been victims of child labor trafficking, except as required line 13 pursuant to subdivision (h).
line 14 (D) This section does not prevent an entity from providing the line 15 training specified in this paragraph in person, virtually, by recorded line 16 means, or by any other available means.
line 17 (h) In addition to any training required by this section, a county line 18 may require a resource f amily or applicant to recei ve rele vant line 19 specialized training for the purpose of preparing the resource family line 20 to meet the needs of a particular child in care. This training may line 21 include, but is not limited to, the following:
line 22 (1) Understanding how to use best practices for providing care line 23 and supervision to commercially sexually exploited children and line 24 children who have been victims of child labor trafficking. line 25 (2) Understanding how to use best practices for providing care line 26 and supervision to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender children. line 27 (3) Understanding the requirements and best practices regarding line 28 psychotropic medications, including, b ut not limited to, court line 29 authorization, benefits, uses, side effects, interactions, assistance line 30 with self-administration, misuse, documentation, storage, and line 31 metabolic monitoring of children prescribed psychotropic line 32 medications.
line 33 (4) Understanding the federal Indian Child Welfare Act (25 line 34 U.S.C. Sec. 1901 et seq.), its historical significance, the rights of line 35 children co vered by the act, and the best interests of Indian line 36 children, including the role of the caregiver in supporting culturally line 37 appropriate, child-centered practices that respect Native American line 38 history, culture, retention of tribal membership, and connection to line 39 the tribal community and traditions.
98 SB 407 — 23 —
line 1 (5) Understanding how to use best practices for providing care line 2 and supervision to nonminor dependents.
line 3 (6) Understanding how to use best practices for providing care line 4 and supervision to children with special health care needs. line 5 (7) Understanding the dif ferent permanenc y options and the line 6 services and benefits associated with the options. line 7 (i) This section does not preclude a county from requiring line 8 training in excess of the requirements in this section. line 9 (j) (1) Resource families who move home locations shall retain line 10 their resource f amily status pending the outcome of the update line 11 conducted pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (g). line 12 (2) (A) If a resource family moves from one county to another line 13 county, the department, or the county to which a resource f amily line 14 has moved, shall submit a written request to the Department of line 15 Justice to transfer the individual’s subsequent arrest notification, line 16 as specified in subdivision (h) of Section 1522 of the Health and line 17 Safety Code.
line 18 (B) A request to transfer a subsequent arrest notification shall line 19 contain all prescribed data elements and format protocols pursuant line 20 to a written agreement between the department and the Department line 21 of Justice.
line 22 (3) Subject to the requirements in paragraph (1), the resource line 23 family shall continue to be approved for guardianship and adoption. line 24 This subdivision shall not limit a county, foster family agency, or line 25 adoption agency from determining that the family is not approved line 26 for guardianship or adoption based on changes in the f amily’s line 27 circumstances or family evaluation.
line 28 (k) Implementation of the program shall be contingent upon the line 29 continued availability of federal Social Security Act Title IV-E line 30 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 670) funds for costs associated with placement of line 31 children with resource f amilies assessed and appro ved pursuant line 32 to the program.
line 33 (l) A child placed with a resource f amily is eligible for the line 34 resource f amily basic rate, pursuant to Sections 11460, 11461, line 35 11461.3, and 11463, at the child’s assessed level of care. line 36 (m) Sharing ratios for nonfederal e xpenditures for all costs line 37 associated with activities related to the appro val of relatives and line 38 nonrelative extended family members shall be in accordance with line 39 Section 10101.
98 — 24 — SB 407
line 1 (n) The Department of Justice shall char ge fees sufficient to line 2 cover the cost of initial or subsequent criminal of fender record line 3 information and Child Abuse Central Index searches, processing, line 4 or responses, as specified in this section.
line 5 (o) Except as provided, resource families shall be exempt from line 6 both of the following:
line 7 (1) Licensure requirements established pursuant to the California line 8 Community Care F acilities Act (Chapter 3 (commencing with line 9 Section 1500) of Di vision 2 of the Health and Safety Code) and line 10 all regulations promulgated to implement the act. line 11 (2) Relative and nonrelative extended family member approval line 12 requirements as those appro val requirements e xisted prior to line 13 January 1, 2017.
line 14 (p) (1) Early implementation counties shall be authorized to line 15 continue through December 31, 2016. The program shall be line 16 implemented by each county on or before January 1, 2017. line 17 (2) (A) (i) On and after January 1, 2017, a county to which the line 18 department has delegated its licensing authority pursuant to Section line 19 1511 of the Health and Safety Code shall approve resource families line 20 in lieu of licensing foster family homes.
line 21 (ii) Notwithstanding clause (i), the e xisting licensure and line 22 oversight processes shall continue to be administered for foster line 23 family homes licensed prior to January 1, 2017, or as specified in line 24 subparagraph (C), until the license is re voked or forfeited by line 25 operation of la w pursuant to Section 1517.1 of the Health and line 26 Safety Code.
line 27 (B) (i) On and after January 1, 2017, a county shall appro ve line 28 resource f amilies in lieu of appro ving relati ve and nonrelati ve line 29 extended family members.
line 30 (ii) Notwithstanding clause (i), the e xisting appro val and line 31 oversight processes shall continue to be administered for relatives line 32 and nonrelati ve e xtended f amily members appro ved prior to line 33 January 1, 2017, or as specified in subparagraph (C), until the line 34 approval is revoked or forfeited by operation of la w pursuant to line 35 this section.
line 36 (C) Notwithstanding subparagraph (D), a county shall approve line 37 or deny all applications for foster family home licenses and requests line 38 for relati ve or nonrelati ve e xtended f amily member appro vals line 39 received on or before December 31, 2016, in accordance with line 40 Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 1500) of Di vision 2 of the 98 SB 407 — 25 —
line 1 Health and Safety Code or pro visions providing for the approval line 2 of relatives or nonrelative extended family members, as applicable. line 3 (D) On and after January 1, 2017, a county shall not accept line 4 applications for foster family home licenses or requests to approve line 5 relatives or nonrelative extended family members. line 6 (3) No later than July 1, 2019, each county shall pro vide the line 7 following information to all licensed foster f amily homes and line 8 approved relati ves and nonrelati ve e xtended f amily members line 9 licensed or approved by the county:
line 10 (A) A detailed description of the resource f amily appro val line 11 program.
line 12 (B) Notification that, in order to care for a foster child, resource line 13 family approval is required by December 31, 2020. line 14 (C) Notification that a foster f amily home license and an line 15 approval of a relative or nonrelative extended family member shall line 16 be forfeited by operation of law, as specified in paragraph (8). line 17 (4) The following applies to all licensed foster f amily homes line 18 and approved relative and nonrelative extended family members:
line 19 (A) A licensed foster f amily home or an appro ved relative or line 20 nonrelative extended family member with an appro ved adoptive line 21 home study completed prior to January 1, 2018, shall be deemed line 22 to be a resource family.
line 23 (B) A licensed foster f amily home or an appro ved relative or line 24 nonrelative extended family member who had a child in placement line 25 at any time between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2017, line 26 inclusive, may be appro ved as a resource f amily on the date of line 27 successful completion of a family evaluation.
line 28 (C) A licensed foster f amily home that pro vided line 29 county-authorized respite services at any time between January 1, line 30 2017, and December 31, 2017, inclusi ve, may be appro ved as a line 31 resource family on the date of successful completion of a f amily line 32 evaluation.
line 33 (5) A county may pro vide supportive services to all licensed line 34 foster family homes, relati ves, and nonrelati ve extended family line 35 members with a child in placement to assist with the resource line 36 family transition and to minimize placement disruptions. line 37 (6) (A) In order to appro ve a licensed foster f amily home or line 38 approved relati ve or nonrelati ve e xtended f amily member as a line 39 resource family pursuant to paragraph (4), a county shall submit line 40 a written request to the Department of Justice to transfer an y 98 — 26 — SB 407
line 1 subsequent arrest and Child Abuse Central Index notifications, as line 2 specified in subdi vision (h) of Section 1522 of the Health and line 3 Safety Code.
line 4 (B) A request to transfer a subsequent arrest notification shall line 5 contain all prescribed data elements and format protocols pursuant line 6 to a written agreement between the department and the Department line 7 of Justice.
line 8 (7) An indi vidual who is a member of a resource f amily line 9 approved pursuant to subparagraph (B) or (C) of paragraph (4) line 10 shall be fingerprinted pursuant to Section 8712 of the Family Code line 11 upon filing an application for adoption.
line 12 (8) All foster f amily licenses and appro vals of relati ves and line 13 nonrelative e xtended f amily members shall be forfeited by line 14 operation of law on December 31, 2020, except as provided in this line 15 paragraph or Section 1524 of the Health and Safety Code:
line 16 (A) All licensed foster family homes that did not ha ve a child line 17 in placement or did not provide county-authorized respite services line 18 at any time between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2017, line 19 inclusive, shall forfeit the license by operation of law on January line 20 1, 2018.
line 21 (B) For foster family home licensees and approved relatives or line 22 nonrelative extended family members who have a pending resource line 23 family application on December 31, 2020, the foster family home line 24 license or relati ve and nonrelati ve e xtended f amily member line 25 approval shall be forfeited by operation of la w upon approval as line 26 a resource family. If approval is denied, forfeiture by operation of line 27 law shall occur on the date of completion of an y proceedings line 28 required by law to ensure due process.
line 29 (C) A foster family home license shall be forfeited by operation line 30 of law, pursuant to Section 1517.1 of the Health and Safety Code, line 31 upon approval as a resource family.
line 32 (D) Approval as a relati ve or nonrelati ve e xtended f amily line 33 member shall be forfeited by operation of law upon approval as a line 34 resource family.
line 35 (q) On and after January 1, 2017, all licensed foster f amily line 36 agencies shall approve resource families in lieu of certifying foster line 37 homes, as set forth in Section 1517 of the Health and Safety Code. line 38 (r) The department may establish participation conditions, and line 39 select and authorize foster family agencies that voluntarily submit line 40 implementation plans and revised plans of operation in accordance 98 SB 407 — 27 —
line 1 with requirements established by the department, to appro ve line 2 resource families in lieu of certifying foster homes. line 3 (1) Notwithstanding any other law, a participating foster family line 4 agency shall require resource f amilies to meet and maintain the line 5 resource family approval standards and requirements set forth in line 6 this chapter and in the written directi ves adopted consistent with line 7 the chapter prior to approval and in order to maintain approval. line 8 (2) A participating foster f amily agency shall implement the line 9 resource family approval program pursuant to Section 1517 of the line 10 Health and Safety Code.
line 11 (3) This section does not limit the authority of the department line 12 to inspect, e valuate, or in vestigate a complaint or incident, or line 13 initiate a disciplinary action against a foster family agency pursuant line 14 to Article 5 (commencing with Section 1550) of Chapter 3 of line 15 Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, or to take any action it line 16 may deem necessary for the health and safety of children placed line 17 with the foster family agency.
line 18 (4) The department may adjust the foster f amily agenc y line 19 AFDC-FC rate pursuant to Section 11463 for implementation of line 20 this subdivision.
line 21 (5) This subdivision is inoperative on January 1, 2017. line 22 (s) The department or a county is authorized to obtain any arrest line 23 or conviction records or reports from any court or law enforcement line 24 agency as necessary to the performance of its duties, as provided line 25 in this section or subdivision (e) of Section 1522 of the Health and line 26 Safety Code.
line 27 (t) A resource f amily approved pursuant to this section shall line 28 forfeit its approval concurrent with resource family approval by a line 29 foster family agency.
line 30 SEC. 3. Section 16519.61 of the Welfare and Institutions Code line 31 is amended to read:
line 32 16519.61. A county or the department may den y a resource line 33 family application or rescind the appro val of a resource f amily, line 34 and the department may exclude an individual from any resource line 35 family home, for any of the following reasons:
line 36 (a) Violation of Section 16519.5, the written directi ves or line 37 regulations adopted pursuant to Section 16519.5, or any applicable line 38 law.
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line 1 (b) Aiding, abetting, or permitting the violation of Section line 2 16519.5, the written directives or regulations adopted pursuant to line 3 Section 16519.5, or any applicable law.
line 4 (c) Conduct that poses a risk or threat to the health and safety, line 5 protection, or well-being of a child, including LGBTQ+ and line 6 gender-expansive youth, another individual, or the people of the line 7 State of California.
line 8 (d) The conviction of the resource family applicant, parent, or line 9 associated individual at any time before or during his or her their line 10 approval of a crime described in Section 1522 of the Health and line 11 Safety Code.
line 12 (e) Engaging in acts of financial malfeasance, including, b ut line 13 not limited to, improper use or embezzlement of the mone y or line 14 property of a child, fraudulent appropriation for personal g ain of line 15 money or property , or willful or ne gligent f ailure to pro vide line 16 services.
line 17 (f) Any other reason specified in the written directi ves or line 18 regulations adopted pursuant to Section 16519.5. line 19 SEC. 4. To the e xtent that this act has an o verall ef fect of line 20 increasing the costs already borne by a local agency for programs line 21 or levels of service mandated by the 2011 Realignment Legislation line 22 within the meaning of Section 36 of Article XIII of the California line 23 Constitution, it shall apply to local agencies only to the extent that line 24 the state provides annual funding for the cost incr ease. Any new line 25 program or higher le vel of service pr ovided by a local a gency line 26 pursuant to this act abo ve the le vel for whic h funding has been line 27 provided shall not r equire a subvention of funds by the state or line 28 otherwise be subject to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California line 29 Constitution.
line 30 SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Le gislature to enact line 31 legislation to ensure that LGBTQ foster youth in California are line 32 placed in homes that are affirming of LGBTQ identities.
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