16600-16605
WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE
SECTION 16600-16605
16600. (a) The department shall administer the Family Preservation and Support Program. The program shall meet the requirements established in Sections 430 to 435, inclusive, of the federal Social Security Act (Subpart 2 (commencing with Section 629) of Part B of subchapter 4 of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States Code). Program functions shall be performed by other agencies as required by law, by delegation of the department, or by cooperative agreements. (b) Notwithstanding Section 10103, the department may retain and not pass on to the counties up to 15 percent of federal Family Preservation and Support Program funds for the purposes of state administrative costs incurred on or after October 1, 1993, including planning, monitoring, evaluation, training and technical assistance, or projects of statewide significance. Funds spent on projects of statewide significance shall be allocated in a way to ensure integration into the needs identified by the receiving counties. The department shall review and prioritize needs identified by counties in determining projects of statewide significance. 16601. (a) Family support services shall include those services that are primarily community-based preventive activities designed to alleviate stress and to promote parental competency and behavior that will increase the ability of families to successfully nurture their children, to enable families to use other resources and opportunities that are available in the community, to create supportive networks that enhance childrearing abilities of parents, and to help compensate for the increased social isolation and vulnerability of families. (b) Family support services include, but are not limited to, an array of activities, such as home visitation, informal interactions in drop-in centers, parent education, information and referral service, family counseling services, respite care for parents and other caregivers, early development screening of children to assess the needs of these children and assistance in obtaining specific services to meet their needs, mentoring, literacy services, and health education for youth and parents. 16602. (a) Notwithstanding Section 16500, each county that chooses to participate in the Family Preservation and Support Program shall establish a local planning body and develop county plans as required by the department. The board of supervisors shall oversee the local planning process and approve each county plan before it is transmitted to the department for approval. (b) Notwithstanding Section 16500, the county welfare department shall act as the county lead administrative agency to carry out the day-to-day planning activities. The county welfare department shall distribute and account for the program funds allocated to the county. 16604. (a) Not less than 50 percent and not more than 75 percent of the program funds spent on services each year by each county shall be spent on family support services. (b) Not less than 25 percent and not more than 50 percent of the program funds spent on services each year by each county shall be spent on family preservation services. 16604.5. When preparing their needs assessments and plans to implement the federal Family Preservation and Support Act (Sections 430 to 435, inclusive, of the Social Security Act (Subpart 2 (commencing with Section 629) of Part B of Subchapter 4 of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States Code), as contained in the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-66)), counties shall consider providing an in-home assessment of substance-exposed infants after release from a hospital, as part of the protocols of Section 123605 of the Health and Safety Code. These assessments may be funded through the Family Preservation and Support program to the extent they are identified in a county's needs assessment and are part of a county's program plan, and federal Family Preservation and Support Act funds are available for this purpose. 16605. (a) The department shall, subject to the availability of funds appropriated therefor, conduct a Kinship Support Services Program that is a grants-in-aid program providing startup and expansion funds for local kinship support services programs that provide community-based family support services to relative caregivers and the children placed in their homes by the juvenile court or who are at risk of dependency or delinquency. Relatives with children in voluntary placements may access services, at the discretion of the county. (b) The Kinship Support Services Program shall create a public-private partnership. A combination of federal, state, county, and private sector resources shall finance the establishment and ongoing operation of the program. (c) The counties that elect to participate in the program shall meet the following conditions and requirements: (1) Have a demonstrated capacity for collaboration and interagency coordination. (2) Have a viable plan for ongoing financial support of the local kinship support services program. (3) Utilize relative caregivers as employees of the program. (4) Have strong and viable public or private agencies to operate the program. (5) Provide to the department the number of relative caretakers residing in the county, and the projected number of relative caretakers to be served. (6) Describe how the county will develop and maintain the necessary community supports. (7) Outline the county's outcome improvement goals for the program. These goals shall include, but shall not be limited to, moving children out of foster care and into the Kinship Guardian Assistance Payment Program (Kin-GAP), or adoption, placement stability, and preventing children from entering foster care. The county shall also agree to measure and report data regarding the Kinship Support Services Program, as required by the department. (d) The Kinship Support Services Program shall demonstrate the use of supportive services provided to relative caregivers and children placed in their homes using a community-based kinship support services model. This model shall provide services to relative caregivers that are aimed at helping to ensure permanent family kinship placements for children who have been placed with them by the juvenile court, and to provide family support services that will eliminate the need for juvenile court jurisdiction and the provision of services by the county welfare department. (e) The program shall provide family support services appropriate for the target populations. These services may include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) Assessment and case management. (2) Social services referral and intervention aimed at maintaining the kinship family unit, for example, housing, homemaker services, respite care, legal services, and day care. (3) Transportation for medical care and educational and recreational activities. (4) Information and referral services. (5) Individual and group counseling in the area of parent-child relationships and group conflict. (6) Counseling and referral services aimed at promoting permanency, including kinship adoption and guardianship. (7) Tutoring and mentoring. (f) The Edgewood Center for Children and Families in San Francisco or any other appropriate agency or individual approved by the department in consultation with the Statewide Kinship Advisory Committee shall provide technical assistance to the Kinship Support Services Program and shall facilitate the sharing of information and resources among the local programs.