BILL NUMBER: AB 1948 CHAPTERED 08/30/04 CHAPTER 375 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE AUGUST 30, 2004 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR AUGUST 27, 2004 PASSED THE SENATE JUNE 14, 2004 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY APRIL 19, 2004 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 15, 2004 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 23, 2004 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Aghazarian FEBRUARY 11, 2004 An act to amend Section 740 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to wards. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1948, Aghazarian. Placement of minors: group homes. Existing law authorizes the juvenile court to place a minor who has been adjudged a ward of the court under the care, custody, and control of the probation officer for placement in a licensed community care facility, such as a group home, as specified. This bill would provide that if a minor who has been found to have committed a felony is placed in a licensed group home outside the ward's county of residence, the probation department of the receiving county may disclose to the municipal police department or the sheriff's department of the county in which the group home is located, specified information relating to the minor, the offense committed, and the address of the group home. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 740 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read: 740. (a) Any minor adjudged to be a ward of the court on the basis that he or she is a person described in Section 602 and who is placed in a community care facility shall be placed in a community care facility within his or her county of residence, unless both of the following apply: (1) He or she has identifiable needs requiring specialized care that cannot be provided in a local facility, or his or her needs dictate physical separation from his or her family. (2) The county of residence agrees to pay the placement county the costs of providing services to the minor, pursuant to Section 1566.25 of the Health and Safety Code. (b) (1) Before the placement of a minor adjudged to be a ward of the court on the basis that he or she is a person described in Section 602 in any community care facility outside the ward's county of residence, the probation officer of the county making the placement, or in the case of a Youth Authority ward, the parole officer in charge of his or her case, shall send written notice of the placement, including the name of the ward, the juvenile record of the ward (including any known prior offenses), and the ward's county of residence, to the probation officer of the county in which the community care facility is located; with regard to this requirement, it is the intention of the Legislature that the probation officer of the county making the placement, or in the case of a Youth Authority ward, the parole officer in charge of his or her case, shall make his or her best efforts to send, or to hand deliver, the notice at the same time the placement is made. When such a placement is terminated, the probation officer of the county making the placement, or in the case of a Youth Authority ward, the parole officer in charge of his or her case, shall send notice thereof to any person or agency receiving notification of the placement. (2) When it has been determined that it is necessary for a ward whose board and care is funded through the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care program, to be placed in a county other than the ward's parents' or guardians' county of residence, the specific reason the out-of-county placement is necessary shall be documented in the ward's case plan. If the reason is lack of resources in the sending county to meet the specific needs of the ward, those specific resources needs shall be documented in the case plan. (3) When it has been determined that a ward whose board and care is funded through the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care program, is to be placed out-of-county and that the sending county is to maintain responsibility for supervision and visitation of the ward, the sending county shall develop a plan of supervision and visitation activities to be performed, and shall specify that the sending county is responsible for performing those activities. The sending county shall send to the receiving county a copy of the plan of supervision and visitation, in addition to the notice of placement required in paragraph (1), prior to placement of the ward. If placement occurs on a holiday or weekend, the plan of supervision and visitation and the notice of placement shall be provided to the receiving county on or before the end of the next business day. (4) When it has been determined that a ward whose placement is funded through the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care program, is to be placed out-of-county and the sending county plans that the receiving county shall be responsible for the supervision and visitation of the ward, the sending county shall develop a formal agreement between the sending and receiving counties. The formal agreement shall specify the supervision and visitation to be provided the ward, and shall specify that the receiving county is responsible for providing the supervision and visitation. The formal agreement shall be approved and signed by the sending and receiving counties prior to placement of the ward in the receiving county. Additionally, the notice of placement required by paragraph (1) shall be provided to the receiving county prior to placement of the ward in that county. Upon completion of the case plan, the sending county shall provide a copy of the completed case plan to the receiving county. (5) The probation department of a receiving county that has a group home in which a minor is placed by the probation department of another county, after adjudication of the minor for any felony offense, may disclose to the sheriff of the receiving county or to the municipal police department of the city in which the group home is located, the name of the minor, the felony offense or offenses for which the minor has been adjudicated, and the address of the group home. This information shall be utilized only for law enforcement purposes and may not be utilized in any manner that is inconsistent with the rehabilitative program in which the minor has been placed or with the progress the minor may be making in the placement program. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the information provided by the probation department to a law enforcement agency under this paragraph may be provided to other law enforcement personnel for the limited law enforcement purposes described in this paragraph, but shall otherwise remain confidential. (c) A minor, the parent or guardian of any minor, and counsel representing a minor or the parent or guardian of a minor may petition the juvenile court for the review of any placement decision concerning the minor made by the probation officer pursuant to subdivision (a). The petition shall state the petitioner's relationship to the minor and shall set forth in concise language the grounds on which the review is sought. The court shall order that a hearing shall be held on the petition and shall give prior notice, or cause prior notice to be given, to the persons and by the means as prescribed by Section 776, and, in instances in which the means of giving notice is not prescribed by that section, then by any means as the court prescribes. (d) If a minor is placed in a community care facility out of his or her county of residence and is then arrested and placed in juvenile hall pending a jurisdictional hearing, the county of residence shall pay to the probation department of the county of placement all reasonable costs resulting directly from the minor's stay in the juvenile hall, provided that these costs exceed one hundred dollars ($100). (e) If, as a result of the hearing in subdivision (d), the minor is remanded back to his or her county of residence, the county of residence shall pay to the probation department of the county of placement, in addition to any payment made pursuant to subdivision (d), all reasonable costs resulting directly from transporting the minor to the county of residency, provided that these costs exceed one hundred dollars ($100). (f) Claims made by the probation department in the county of placement, to the county of residence, pursuant to subdivisions (d) and (e), shall be paid within 30 days of the submission of these claims and the probation department in the county of placement shall bear the remaining expense. (g) As used in this section: (1) "Community care facility" shall be defined as provided in Section 1502 of the Health and Safety Code. (2) "Group home" has the same meaning as provided in paragraph (1) of subdivision (g) of Section 80001 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.