BILL NUMBER: SB 1469	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 30, 2006
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 28, 2006

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Cedillo

                        FEBRUARY 23, 2006

   An act to add Section 14029.5 to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, relating to Medi-Cal eligibility.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1469, as amended, Cedillo   Medi-Cal: eligibility: juvenile
offenders.
   Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is
administered by the State Department of Health Services, and under
which qualified low-income persons receive health care benefits. The
Medi-Cal program is governed, in part, by federal Medicaid
provisions.
   Existing law places specified juvenile offenders  in county
juvenile detention facilities, or  under the jurisdiction of the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile
Facilities, which may include detention in a juvenile facility.
   This bill would require the division  , or a county juvenile
detention facility,  to provide specified information relating
to a ward of the division  or county  who is scheduled to be
released to a parent or guardian to the appropriate county welfare
department, and would require the county to  initiate an
application and  determine the individual's eligibility for the
Medi-Cal program, as specified. The bill would require the division
 or county  to give a parent or guardian the opportunity to
opt out of this eligibility determination.  The bill would
require a county welfare department to provide sufficient
documentation to enable the ward to receive medical care upon his or
her release from custody, as specified. 
   This bill would require the division and the department, in
consultation with designated entities, to collaborate to establish
the protocols and procedures necessary to implement the bill. The
bill would require the department to implement its provisions by
means of all-county letters or similar instructions, and thereafter,
to adopt implementing regulations, as necessary. The bill would
require the department to seek any federal waivers necessary for its
implementation.
   By increasing the duties of counties administering the Medi-Cal
program  and of county juvenile detention facilities  , this
bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
  The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 14029.5 is added to the Welfare and
Institutions Code, to read:
   14029.5.  (a) (1) Immediately following the issuance of an order
scheduling the release date of a ward from  a county juvenile
detention facility, or from  the custody of the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities, into
the custody of his or her parent or guardian, the division  or
county juvenile detention facility  shall provide the
appropriate county welfare department with the ward's name, his or
her scheduled or actual release date, and sufficient information for
the county welfare department to begin the process of determining the
ward's eligibility for benefits under this chapter  , including
contact information for the ward's parent or guardian, if available
 .
   (2) Prior to providing information to the county welfare
department pursuant to this paragraph (1), the division  or
county juvenile detention facility  shall notify the parent or
guardian, in writing, of its intention to submit the information
required by that paragraph to the county welfare department. The
parent or guardian shall be given a reasonable time to opt out of the
Medi-Cal eligibility determination provided for under this section,
in which case the division  or county juvenile detention facility
 shall not comply with paragraph (1).
   (3) For purposes of this section "ward" means a person in the
custody of the division  or a county juvenile detention facility
 .
   (b) (1)  Immediately upon   Within 45 days of
 receipt of the information described in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a), the county welfare department shall  initiate an
application and  determine the individual's eligibility for
benefits under the Medi-Cal  program, and shall initiate an
application for enrollment if the individual satisfies program
eligibility requirements   program  . The county
welfare department shall promptly contact the parent or guardian to
arrange for completion of the application. The county shall expedite
the application of a ward who, according to the information provided
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), is scheduled to be
released in fewer than 45 days.
   (2) If the county welfare department determines that the
individual does not meet the eligibility requirements for the
 full-scope no-cost  Medi-Cal program, the county
welfare department shall forward the individual's information to the
appropriate entity to determine eligibility for the Healthy Families
Program, or other appropriate health coverage program, as determined
by the department.  
   (3) If the county welfare department determines that a ward meets
eligibility requirements for the Medi-Cal program, the county shall
provide sufficient documentation to enable the ward to obtain
necessary medical care upon his or her release from custody. 
   (c) By March 31, 2007, the department and the division, in
consultation with the Parole Services and Community Corrections
Branch of the Division of Juvenile Justice  , the Chief Probation
Officers of California,  and the County Welfare Directors
Association, shall collaborate to establish the protocols and
procedures necessary to implement this section.
   (d) Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of
Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the
department shall implement this section by means of all-county
letters or similar instructions, without taking any further
regulatory action. Thereafter, the department shall adopt
regulations, as necessary, to implement this section in accordance
with the requirements of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340)
of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
   (e) The department shall seek any federal waivers necessary for
the implementation of this section.
  SEC. 2.  If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.