BILL NUMBER: SB 1078 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 15, 2008
INTRODUCED BY Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review
JANUARY 10, 2008
An act relating to the Budget Act of 2008.
An act to amend Sections 8206.1, 8222, 8223, 8357, and 8447 of, and
to add Section 8275.5 to, the Education Code, to amend Sections 9205,
17560, and 17706 of, and to amend, repeal, and add Sections 8807,
8808, 8810, and 8820 of, the Family Cod e, to amend
Sections 1522, 1596.871, 11758.42, 11758.421, and 11758.46 of the
Health and Safety Code, and to amend Sections 10082, 10823, 11320.32,
11402.6, 11453, 12201, 12305.82, 12317, 14021.6, 14124.93, and 18939
of, to add Sections 10080.5 and 10553.15 to, to add Chapter 10.1
(commencing with Section 15525) to Part 3 of Division 9 of, and to
repeal Section 10083 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating
to human services, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect
immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1078, as amended, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review.
Budget Act of 2008. Human services.
The Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the
State Department of Education, provides that children up to 13 years
of age are eligible, with certain requirements, for child care and
development services. Existing law provides for child care
alternative payment programs, the purpose of which is to provide for
parental choice in child care. Under existing law, payments by
alternative payment programs to licensed child care providers cannot
exceed the applicable market rate ceiling. Existing law requires an
alternative payment program to reimburse a child care provider in
accordance with an annual market survey, to be conducted by an entity
contracting with the department, at a rate not to exceed ceilings
prescribed by statute.
Existing law contains requirements governing the provision of
child care services to recipients of the California Work Opportunity
and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program. Under these
provisions, the above-described reimbursement mechanism applicable to
the alternative payment programs is also used for providers of child
care to CalWORKs recipients.
This bill would, instead, require, commencing March 1, 2009, the
regional market rate ceilings to be established at the 85th
percentile of the 2007 regional market rate survey for that region,
and would make conforming changes. The bill would require the market
rate surveys to be conducted on a biennial rather than annual basis.
The bill would prohibit a family receiving CalWORKs cash aid from
being charged a family fee.
Existing law requires reimbursement for alternative payment
programs to include the cost of child care, plus administrative and
support services. Under existing law, the total cost for
administrative and support services is not permitted to exceed
23.4567% of the direct cost of care payments to child care providers.
This bill would instead provide that the administrative and
support services costs would not be permitted to exceed 19% of the
total contract amount.
Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to
collaborate with the Secretary for Education and the Secretary of
Health and Human Services, with the advice and assistance of the
Child Development Programs Advisory Committee, in the development of
the state plan required pursuant to the federal Child Care and
Development Fund, prior to submitting or reporting on that plan to
the federal Secretary of Health and Human Services.
This bill would require the State Department of Education to
develop an expenditure plan, the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF)
Plan that sets forth the final priorities for child care, as
specified. The bill would require the department to release a draft
of the CCDF Plan by February 1 of the year the plan is due to the
federal government, and to commence a 30-day comment period that
would include at least one hearing and the opportunity for written
comments. The bill would require the department to provide the
revised CCDF Plan to designated committees of the Legislature, prior
to the May budget revisions.
This bill would require the State Department of Education to
promote full utilization of child care and development funds and
match available unused funds with identified service needs. The bill
would require the department to arrange interagency adjustments
between different contractors with the same type of contract under
specified circumstances.
Existing law governs independent adoptions, which are defined to
mean adoptions in which neither the State Department of Social
Services nor an agency licensed by that department is a party to or
joins in the adoption petition. Existing law defines an adoption
service provider and a delegated county adoption agency for purposes
of these provisions and sets forth the duties of these entities with
respect to independent adoptions. Among other duties, an adoption
service provider advises each birth parent of his or her rights and,
if it is desired, provides counseling. In addition, existing law
requires the department or the delegated county adoption agency to
investigate proposed adoptions, accept the consent of and information
provided by birth parents to the adoption, and file specified
reports with the court.
Existing law governing independent adoptions authorizes certain
persons to adopt a child by filing a petition, pursuant to
provisions, as specified, including interviews by the department of
the petitioners and all persons from whom consent is required and
whose addresses are known. When a petition for the adoption of a
child is filed under the provisions governing independent adoptions,
existing law requires the petitioner to pay a nonrefundable fee to
the department or the delegated county adoption agency for the cost
of investigating the adoption petition.
Existing law prescribes the use of the revenues produced by the
fees collected and authorizes the department or the delegated county
adoption agency to waive or reduce those fees under certain
conditions.
This bill, commencing October 1, 2008, would revise the time frame
for interviews in an independent adoption. It would also revise the
provision requiring the payment of a fee in connection with an
adoption petition, as described above, to require 50% of the fee to
be paid at the time the petition is filed with the court, and the
balance to be paid no later than a date determined by the department
or delegated county adoption agency. The bill would also increase the
applicable fee amounts, and revise related provisions with respect
to investigative reports by the department and delegated county
adoption agencies, and appeals by birth parents or petitioners. The
bill would also revise the provisions authorizing the department or
the delegated county adoption agency to waive or reduce the fees
associated with filing the adoption petition, to delete the
department's authority to waive the fee in its entirety, and to limit
the amount to which the fee may be reduced, to $500, if the
prospective adoptive parents are very low income.
This bill would authorize the State Department of Social Services
to implement the provisions of the bill relating to independent
adoptions by all county letters, pending the adoption of emergency
regulations.
Existing law contains various provisions, which became effective
January 1, 2007, relating to the disclosure of personal information
between adoptees and their biological siblings.
This bill would delay implementation of the above provisions until
July 1, 2010. The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature
that counties already implementing some or all of these provisions
continue to do so, to the extent possible.
This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to
meet with stakeholders prior to legislative subcommittee hearings in
2009 to determine ways that the process for the Independent
Adoptions Program can be simplified and streamlined, and provide an
update on those discussions during the 2009 subcommittee hearings, as
specified. The bill would require the department to provide an
update during the 2009 legislative subcommittee hearings regarding
the degree to which fee collections have improved as a result of the
statutory changes made by the bill.
Existing federal law provides for allocation of federal funds
through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
block grant program to eligible states. Existing law provides for the
California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs)
program under which, through a combination of state and county funds
and federal funds received through the TANF program, each county
provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income
families.
Existing law requires the Department of Child Support Services to
create a program establishing an arrears collection enhancement
process, until July 1, 2008, pursuant to which the department may
accept offers in compromise of child support arrears and accrued
interest owed to the state for reimbursement of aid paid under the
CalWORKs program. Under existing law, the Director of Child Support
Services is authorized to delegate to the administrator of a local
child support agency the authority to compromise child support
arrears, up to $5,000, as specified.
This bill would revise the arrears collection enhancement process
by, among other things, designating it as a compromise of arrears
program, and revising the powers and duties of the director with
respect to the operation of the program. The bill would require the
director to allow a local child support agency administrator to
compromise an amount of child support up to $5,000, and would permit
the director to delegate additional authority to compromise up to an
amount determined by the director to support the effective
administration of the program. This bill would also eliminate related
consultation and reporting requirements. The bill would eliminate
the termination date of the program extending it indefinitely,
thereby increasing county duties and imposing a state-mandated local
program.
Existing law requires the Department of Child Support Services,
beginning July 1, 2000, to pay to each county a child support
incentive for child support collections. Additionally, effective July
1, 2000, existing law provides that the 10 counties with the best
performance standards shall receive an additional 5% of the state's
share of the counties' collections that are used to reduce or repay
aid that is paid under the CalWORKs program. Existing law requires
the counties to use the additional funds for specified child support
related activities. Existing law suspends the payment of this
additional 5% for the 2002-03 to 2007-08, inclusive, fiscal years.
This bill would extend the suspension of the 5% payment through
the 2011-12 fiscal year.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is
administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, and
under which qualified low-income persons receive health care
services. Existing law requires the Department of Child Support
Services to provide payments to the local child support agency of $50
per case for obtaining 3rd-party health coverage or insurance of
beneficiaries, to the extent that funds are appropriated in the
Budget Act. Under existing law, these payments are suspended for the
2003-04 to 2007-08, inclusive, fiscal years.
This bill would extend the suspension of payments to local child
support agencies through the 2011-12 fiscal year.
This bill would require the Department of Child Support Services
to provide more comprehensive data from the state hearing pilot
project that demonstrates that the pilot has reduced reduce state
hearings, a breakdown of how the pilot's revised hearing process
results in the estimated savings to state hearing costs, and trailer
bill language to codify the new hearing process.
Under existing law, the State Department of Social Services
regulates the licensure and operation of community care facilities,
residential care facilities for the elderly, child day care centers,
and family day care homes. Existing law requires the department to
conduct annual unannounced visits to these facilities under
designated circumstances. Existing law further requires the
department to conduct annual unannounced visits to no less than 20%
of the remaining facilities, based on a random sampling methodology
developed by the department. If the total citations issued by the
department exceed the previous year's by 10%, existing law requires
the department to increase the random sample by 10% the following
year for years after the 2007-08 fiscal year, and authorizes the
department to request additional resources for this purpose.
This bill would suspend the requirement that the department
increase these random samples by 10% for the 2008-09 and 2009-10
fiscal years, and would require the department to submit trailer bill
language to the Legislature on or before February 1, 2010, to
reflect appropriate indicators to trigger an increase in unannounced
random sample visits, as specified.
Existing law requires a criminal record check of applicants for a
license, special permit, or certificate of approval for a foster
family home or certified family home, and other persons, including
nonclients who reside in those homes and staff and employees.
Existing law imposes similar requirements with respect to issuing
licenses, permits, or certificates of approval for persons to operate
or provide direct care services in a child care center or family
child care home. Under these provisions, an application is required
to be denied, unless the Director of Social Services grants an
exemption, if it is found that the applicant or any of the other
designated persons has been convicted of prescribed crimes. Existing
law prohibits the Department of Justice or the State Department of
Social Services, except during specified fiscal years, from charging
a fee for fingerprinting an applicant to provide foster care or child
care services to 6 or fewer children or to obtain a family day care
license in connection with these criminal record check provisions.
This bill would extend the exemption from the prohibition against
charging a fee for fingerprinting applicants, through the 2008-09 and
2009-10 fiscal years.
Existing law requires the State Department of Alcohol and Drug
Programs to establish a narcotic replacement therapy dosing fee for
methadone and levoalphacetylmethadol (LAAM), and requires narcotic
treatment programs to be reimbursed for the ingredient costs of
methadone and LAAM dispensed to beneficiaries under the Medi-Cal
program. Existing law requires reimbursement for narcotic replacement
therapy dosing and ancillary services to be based on a per capita
uniform monthly reimbursement rate for each individual patient, as
established by the department, in consultation with the State
Department of Health Care Services.
This bill would, instead, require this rate to be determined on a
daily rather than monthly basis, as specified, and would make various
conforming changes.
Existing law makes the Department of Child Support Services,
through the Franchise Tax Board as its agent, responsible for
procuring, developing, implementing, and maintaining the operation of
the California Child Support Automation System in all California
counties. Existing law gives the Franchise Tax Board various
responsibilities in this regard.
This bill would transfer all duties and authority of the Franchise
Tax Board with respect to the California Child Support Automation
System to the Department of Child Support Services, as specified. It
would, however, permit the department to enter into an interagency
agreement with the board to continue to have the board perform any
services necessary for support of the system, on January 1, 2009, or
upon federal notification that the California Child Support
Automation System is implemented in all jurisdictions, whichever is
later.
Existing law authorizes the Director of Social Services to enter
into an agreement, in accordance with specified federal law, with any
California Indian tribe or any out-of-state Indian tribe regarding
the care and custody of Indian children and jurisdiction over Indian
child custody proceedings. Under existing law, these agreements
include provision of child welfare services and Aid to Families with
Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) payments, as specified.
This bill, in addition, would authorize the director to provide
funding to Indian health clinics to provide substance abuse and
mental health services, and other related services authorized under
the CalWORKs program to CalWORKs applicants and recipients and Tribal
TANF applicants and recipients living in California.
Existing law requires the Office of Systems Integration in the
State Department of Social Services to implement a statewide
automated welfare system for 6 specified public assistance programs,
and requires statewide implementation of the system to be achieved
through 4 designated county consortia.
This bill, notwithstanding existing requirements, would require
the office to migrate the 35 counties that currently use the Interim
Statewide Automated Welfare System into the C-IV system, in
accordance with a specified timeline.
Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to
administer a voluntary Temporary Assistance Program (TAP), to provide
cash assistance and other benefits to specified current and future
CalWORKs recipients who meet the exemption criteria for participation
in welfare-to-work activities, and are not single parents who have a
child under one year of age. Existing law requires that the TAP
commence on or before April 1, 2009.
This bill would postpone initial implementation of the TAP to
April 1, 2010.
Existing law establishes the schedule of maximum aid payments
under the CalWORKs program, and provides for the annual adjustment of
these payments, as specified. Existing law provides that the
adjustment to the maximum aid payment would be effective October 1,
2008, for the 2008-09 fiscal year, and would take effect on July 1,
2009, for the 2009-10 fiscal year.
This bill would delete the provisions establishing the effective
dates for the adjustment to the maximum aid payment in the 2008-09
and 2009-10 fiscal years, and instead would suspend the adjustment in
the 2008-09 fiscal year.
Existing law, under the AFDC-FC program, requires foster care
providers licensed as group homes to have rates established by the
State Department of Social Services only if the group home is
organized and operated on a nonprofit basis, except as specified.
Existing law permits certain children with developmental disabilities
or other special needs to be placed in for-profit facilities, under
specified conditions.
This bill would delay implementation of the provisions authorizing
placement of those children in for-profit facilities, until July 1,
2010.
Existing law provides for the State Supplementary Program for the
Aged, Blind and Disabled (SSP), which requires the State Department
of Social Services to contract with the United States Secretary of
Health and Human Services to make payments to SSP recipients to
supplement supplemental security income (SSI) payments made available
pursuant to the federal Social Security Act. Under existing law,
benefit payments under the SSP program are calculated by establishing
the maximum level of nonexempt income and federal SSI and state SSP
benefits for each category of eligible recipient. The state SSP
payment is the amount, when added to the nonexempt income and SSI
benefits available to the recipient, which would be required to
provide the maximum benefit payment.
Existing state law provides, except in certain calendar years, for
the annual adjustment of the total level of combined state and
federal benefits as established by statutory schedule to reflect
changes in the cost of living, as defined. Existing law provides
that, for the 2008 calendar year, the annual adjustment would be
effective October 1, 2008, and commencing with the 2009 calendar year
and thereafter, the annual adjustment would be effective June 1 of
that calendar year, and further provides that in any calendar year in
which no cost-of-living adjustment is made to the payment schedules,
there shall be a pass along of any cost-of-living increases in
federal SSI benefits.
This bill would, instead, suspend the annual cost-of-living
adjustment for the 2008 and 2009 calendar years.
Existing law provides for the county-administered In-Home
Supportive Services (IHSS) program, under which qualified aged,
blind, and disabled persons are provided with services in order to
permit them to remain in their own homes and avoid
institutionalization. Existing law permits services to be provided
under the IHSS program either through the employment of individual
providers, a contract between the county and an entity for the
provision of services, the creation by the county of a public
authority, or a contract between the county and a nonprofit
consortium.
Existing law authorizes the State Department of Health Care
Services to investigate fraud in the provision or receipt of
supportive services, and requires counties to refer instances of
suspected fraud to that department for investigation.
This bill, notwithstanding any other provision of law, would
authorize a county to investigate suspected fraud in connection with
the provision or receipt of supportive services, with respect to an
overpayment of $500 or less.
Under existing law, personal care services provided to a qualified
individual who is eligible for Medi-Cal benefits are a Medi-Cal
covered benefit. Personal care services are also a covered benefit
under the In-Home Supportive Services program.
Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to
procure and implement a new Case Management Information and
Payrolling System (CMIPS) for the IHSS program and Personal Care
Services Program, establishes the components of the new system, and
requires the state to begin a fair and open competitive procurement
for the new system by August 31, 2004.
This bill would additionally require the new CMIPS to strengthen
fraud prevention and detection, as well as to reduce overpayments.
The bill would provide that program requirements shall include, but
shall not be limited to, the ability to readily identify out-of-state
providers, recipient hospital stays that are 5 days or longer, and
excessive hours paid to a single provider, and to match recipient
information with death reports. The bill would provide that this
functionality shall be available by April 1, 2010, and implemented
statewide by July 1, 2011.
Existing law authorizes the State Department of Alcohol and Drug
Programs to enter into a Medi-Cal Drug Treatment Program contract
with each county for the provision of services within the county
service area. Existing law requires the State Department of Alcohol
and Drug Programs to prepare amendments to the Medi-Cal state plan to
obtain reimbursement for Drug Medi-Cal services and provides for the
computation of the maximum allowable rates for the Medi-Cal Drug
Treatment Program.
This bill would make technical revisions to the provisions
relating to the Medi-Cal Drug Treatment Program reimbursement rates,
as specified.
Existing law provides for the Food Stamp Program, under which food
stamps are allocated by each county in accordance with federal
requirements. Under existing law, the Food Stamp Program is
administered at the state level by the State Department of Social
Services.
This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to
establish a Work Incentive Nutritional Supplement (WINS) program,
under which each county would be required to provide a $40 monthly
additional food assistance benefit for each eligible food stamp
household, as defined. The bill would require the
state to pay the counties 100% of the cost
of WINS benefits, using funds that qualify for the state's TANF
maintenance of effort requirements, as specified. The bill would
prohibit WINS benefits from being paid before October 1, 2009, and
would require full implementation of the program on or before April
1, 2010.
The bill would authorize the director to implement the WINS
program by all-county letters, pending the adoption of emergency
regulations.
The bill would require the department to convene a workgroup on or
before December 1, 2008, comprised of designated representatives, to
consider the progress of the WINS automation effort in tandem with a
pre-assistance employment readiness system (PAERS) program and any
other program options that may provide offsetting benefits to the
caseload reduction credit in the CalWORKs program. The bill would
prohibit full implementation of the WINS program until the workgroup
is convened.
By requiring counties to perform additional duties, this bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to
establish and supervise a county- or county consortia-administered
program to provide cash assistance to aged, blind, and disabled legal
immigrants who are not citizens and who successfully complete an
application process. Existing law requires any person found by the
department to be eligible for federal Supplemental Security Income
(SSI) benefits to be required to apply for those benefits. Existing
law, until July 1, 2009, requires the department to require counties
with a base caseload of 70 or more, and to encourage other counties,
to establish an advocacy program to assist applicants and recipients
of aid under these provisions in applying for SSI benefits, as
provided.
This bill would extend operation of the advocacy program to July
1, 2011. By extending county duties, the 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.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact
statutory changes relating to the Budget Act of 2008.
Vote: majority 2/3 . Appropriation:
no. Fiscal committee: no yes .
State-mandated local program: no yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 8206.1 of the
Education Code is amended to read:
8206.1. (a) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall
collaborate with the Secretary for Education and the Secretary of
Health and Human Services, with the advice and assistance of the
Child Development Programs Advisory Committee, in the development of
the state plan required pursuant to the federal Child Care and
Development Fund, prior to submitting or reporting on that plan to
the federal Secretary of Health and Human Services.
(b) (1) For purposes of this section, "Child Care and Development
Fund" has the same meaning as in Section 98.2 of Title 45 of the Code
of Federal Regulations.
(2) For the purposes of this section, "collaborate" means to
cooperate with and to consult with.
(c) As required by federal law, the State Department of Education
shall develop an expenditure plan that sets forth the final
priorities for child care. The department shall coordinate with the
State Department of Social Services, the California Children and
Families Commission, and other stakeholders, including the Department
of Finance, to develop the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)
Plan. On or before February 1 of the year that the CCDF Plan is due
to the federal government, the department shall release a draft of
the plan. The department shall then commence a 30-day comment period
that shall include at least one hearing and the opportunity for
written comments. Prior to the May budget revision, the department
shall provide the revised CCDF Plan to the chairs of the committees
of each house of the Legislature that consider appropriations, and
shall provide a report on the plan to the committees in each house of
the Legislature that consider the annual Budget Act appropriation.
SEC. 2. Section 8222 of the Education
Code is amended to read:
8222. (a) Payments made by alternative payment programs shall not
exceed the applicable market rate ceiling. Alternative payment
programs may expend more than the standard reimbursement rate for a
particular child. However, the aggregate payments for services
purchased by the agency during the contract year shall not exceed the
assigned reimbursable amount as established by the contract for the
year. No agency may make payments in excess of the rate charged to
full-cost families. This section does not preclude alternative
payment programs from using the average daily enrollment adjustment
factor for children with exceptional needs as provided in Section
8265.5.
(b) Alternative payment programs shall reimburse licensed child
care providers in accordance with an annual a
biennial market rate survey pursuant to Section 8447
, at a rate not to exceed the ceilings established pursuant to
statute Section 8357 .
(c) An alternative payment program shall reimburse a licensed
provider for child care of a subsidized child based on the rate
charged by the provider to nonsubsidized families, if any, for the
same services, or the rates established by the provider for
prospective nonsubsidized families. A licensed child care provider
shall submit to the alternative payment program a copy of the
provider's rate sheet listing the rates charged, and the provider's
discount or scholarship policies, if any, along with a statement
signed by the provider confirming that the rates charged for a
subsidized child are equal to or less than the rates charged for a
nonsubsidized child.
(d) An alternative payment program shall maintain a copy of the
rate sheet and the confirmation statement.
(e) A licensed child care provider shall submit to the local
resource and referral agency a copy of the provider's rate sheet
listing rates charged, and the provider's discount or scholarship
policies, if any, and shall self-certify that the information is
correct.
(f) Each licensed child care provider may alter rate levels for
subsidized children once per year and shall provide the alternative
payment program and resource and referral agency with the updated
information pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (e), to reflect any
changes.
(g) A licensed child care provider shall post in a prominent
location adjacent to the provider's license at the child care
facility the provider's rates and discounts or scholarship policies,
if any.
(h) An alternative payment program shall verify provider rates
no less frequently than once a year by randomly selecting
10 percent of licensed child care providers serving subsidized
families. The purpose of this verification process is to confirm that
rates reported to the alternative payment programs reasonably
correspond to those reported to the resource and referral agency and
the rates actually charged to nonsubsidized families for equivalent
levels of services. It is the intent of the Legislature that the
privacy of nonsubsidized families shall be protected in implementing
this subdivision.
(i) The department shall develop regulations for addressing
discrepancies in the provider rate levels identified through the rate
verification process in subdivision (h).
SEC. 3. Section 8223 of the Education
Code is amended to read:
8223. The reimbursement for alternative payment programs shall
include the cost of child care paid to child care providers plus the
administrative and support services costs of the alternative payment
program. The total cost for administration and support services shall
not exceed an amount equal to 23.4567 19
percent of the direct cost-of-care payments to child
care providers total con tract amount
. The administrative costs shall not exceed the costs allowable for
administration under federal requirements.
SEC. 4. Section 8275.5 is added to the
Education Code , to read:
8275.5. The State Department of Education shall promote full
utilization of child care and development funds and match available
unused funds with identified service needs. Notwithstanding the
requirements of Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100) of Division 2
of the Public Contract Code, the department shall arrange interagency
adjustments between different contractors with the same type of
contract when both agencies mutually agree to a temporary transfer of
funds for the balance of the fiscal year.
SEC. 5. Section 8357 of the Education
Code is amended to read:
8357. (a) The cost of child care services provided under this
article shall be governed by regional market rates. Recipients of
child care services provided pursuant to this article shall be
allowed to choose the child care services of licensed child care
providers or child care providers who are, by law, not required to be
licensed, and the cost of that child care shall be reimbursed by
counties or agencies that contract with the State Department of
Education if the cost is within the regional market rate. For
purposes of this section, "regional market rate" means care costing
no more than 1.5 market standard deviations above the mean cost of
care for that region. Beginning March 1, 2009, the regional
market rate ceilings shall be established at the 85th
percentile of the 2007 regional market rate survey for that region.
For the 2008-09 and 2009-10 fiscal years, the 85th percentile
ceilings of the 2007 regional market rate survey for that region
shall remain in effect.
(b) Reimbursement to child care providers shall not exceed the fee
charged to private clients for the same service.
(c) Reimbursement shall not be made for child care services when
care is provided by parents, legal guardians, or members of the
assistance unit.
(d) A child care provider located on an Indian reservation or
rancheria and exempted from state licensing requirements shall meet
applicable tribal standards.
(e) For purposes of this section, "reimbursement" means a direct
payment to the provider of child care services, including license
exempt-providers. If care is provided in the home of the recipient,
payment may be made to the parent as the employer, and the parent
shall be informed of his or her concomitant legal and financial
reporting requirements. To allow time for the development of the
administrative systems necessary to issue direct payments to
providers, for a period not to exceed six months from the effective
date of this article, a county or an alternative payment agency
contracting with the State Department of Education may reimburse the
cost of child care services through a direct payment to a recipient
of aid rather than to the child care provider.
(f) Counties and alternative payment programs shall not be bound
by the rate limits described in subdivision (a) when there are, in
the region, no more than two child care providers of the type needed
by the recipient of child care services provided under this article.
SEC. 6. Section 8447 of the Education
Code is amended to read:
8447. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that greater
efficiencies may be achieved in the execution of state subsidized
child care and development program contracts with public and private
agencies by the timely approval of contract provisions by the
Department of Finance, the Department of General Services, and the
State Department of Education and by authorizing the State Department
of Education to establish a multiyear application, contract
expenditure, and service review as may be necessary to provide timely
service while preserving audit and oversight functions to protect
the public welfare.
(b) (1) The Department of Finance and the Department of General
Services shall approve or disapprove annual contract funding terms
and conditions, including both family fee schedules and regional
market rate schedules that are required to be adhered to by contract,
and contract face sheets submitted by the State Department of
Education not more than 30 working days from the date of submission,
unless unresolved conflicts remain between the Department of Finance,
the State Department of Education, and the Department of General
Services. The State Department of Education shall resolve conflicts
within an additional 30 working day time period. Contracts and
funding terms and conditions shall be issued to child care
contractors no later than June 1. Applications for new child care
funding shall be issued not more than 45 working days after the
effective date of authorized new allocations of child care moneys.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), for the 2006-07
2008- 09 fiscal year, the State
Department of Education shall implement the regional market rate
schedules based upon the county aggregates, as determined by the
Regional Market survey conducted in 2005. The regional
market rate schedules shall be implemented no later than 90 days
after the enactment of the 2006 Budget Act 2007
.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), for the 2006-07 fiscal year,
the State Department of Education shall update the family fee
schedules by family size, based on the 2005 state median income
survey data for a family of four. The family fee schedule used during
the 2005-06 fiscal year shall remain in effect. However, the
department shall adjust the family fee schedule for families that are
newly eligible to receive or will continue to receive services under
the new income eligibility limits. The family fees shall not exceed
10 percent of the family's monthly income.
(4) It is the intent of the Legislature to fully fund the third
stage of child care for f ormer CalWORKs
recipients.
(c) With respect to subdivision (b), it is the intent of the
Legislature that the Department of Finance annually review contract
funding terms and conditions for the primary purpose of ensuring
consistency between child care contracts and the child care budget.
This review, shall include evaluating any proposed changes to
contract language or other fiscal documents to which the contractor
is required to adhere, including those changes to terms or conditions
that authorize higher reimbursement rates, that modify related
adjustment factors, that modify administrative or other service
allowances, or that diminish fee revenues otherwise available for
services, to determine if the change is necessary or has the
potential effect of reducing the number of full-time equivalent
children that may be served.
(d) Alternative payment child care systems, as set forth in
Article 3 (commencing with Section 8220), shall be subject to the
rates established in the Regional Market Rate Survey of California
Child Care Providers for provider payments. The State Department of
Education shall contract to conduct and complete the annual
a Regional Market Rate Survey no more
frequently than once every two years, consistent with federal
regulations, with a goal of completion by March 1.
(e) By March 1 of each year, the Department of Finance shall
provide to the State Department of Education the State Median Income
amount for a four-person household in California based on the best
available data. The State Department of Education shall adjust its
fee schedule for child care providers to reflect this updated state
median income.
(f) Notwithstanding the June 1 date specified in subdivision (b),
changes to the regional market rate schedules and fee schedules may
be made at any other time to reflect the availability of accurate
data necessary for their completion, provided these documents receive
the approval of the Department of Finance. The Department of Finance
shall review the changes within 30 working days of submission and
the State Department of Education shall resolve conflicts within an
additional 30 working day period. Contractors shall be given adequate
notice prior to the effective date of the approved schedules. It is
the intent of the Legislature that contracts for services not be
delayed by the timing of the availability of accurate data needed to
update these schedules.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no family
receiving CalWORKs cash aid may be charged a family fee.
SEC. 7. Section 8807 of the Family Code
is amended to read:
8807. (a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c), within
180 days after the filing of the petition, the department or
delegated county adoption agency shall investigate the proposed
independent adoption and submit to the court a full report of the
facts disclosed by its inquiry with a recommendation regarding the
granting of the petition.
(b) If the investigation establishes that there is a serious
question concerning the suitability of the petitioners or the care
provided the child or the availability of the consent to adoption,
the report shall be filed immediately.
(c) In its discretion, the court may allow additional time for the
filing of the report, after at least five days' notice to the
petitioner or petitioners and an opportunity for the petitioner or
petitioners to be heard with respect to the request for additional
time.
(d) If a petitioner is a resident of a state other than
California, an updated and current homestudy report, conducted and
approved by a licensed adoption agency or other authorized resource
in the state in which the petitioner resides, shall be reviewed and
endorsed by the department or delegated county adoption agency, if
the standards and criteria established for a homestudy report in the
other state are substantially commensurate with the homestudy
standards and criteria established in California adoption
regulations.
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until October 1,
2008, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 8. Section 8807 is added to the
Family Code , to read:
8807. (a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c), within
180 days after receiving 50 percent of the fee, the department or
delegated county adoption agency shall investigate the proposed
independent adoption and, after the remaining balance of the fee is
paid, submit to the court a full report of the facts disclosed by its
inquiry with a recommendation regarding the granting of the
petition.
(b) If the investigation establishes that there is a serious
question concerning the suitability of the petitioners, the care
provided to the child, or the availability of the consent to
adoption, the report shall be filed immediately.
(c) In its discretion, the court may allow additional time for the
filing of the report, after at least five days' notice to the
petitioner or petitioners and an opportunity for the petitioner or
petitioners to be heard with respect to the request for additional
time.
(d) If a petitioner is a resident of a state other than
California, an updated and current homestudy report, conducted and
approved by a licensed adoption agency or other authorized resource
in the state in which the petitioner resides, shall be reviewed and
endorsed by the department or delegated county adoption agency, if
the standards and criteria established for a homestudy report in the
other state are substantially commensurate with the homestudy
standards and criteria established in California adoption
regulations.
(e) This section shall become operative on October 1, 2008.
SEC. 9. Section 8808 of the Family Code
is amended to read:
8808. The department or delegated county adoption agency shall
interview the petitioners and all persons from whom consent is
required and whose addresses are known as soon as possible and, in
the case of residents of this state, within 45 working days,
excluding legal holidays, after the filing of the adoption petition.
The interview with the placing parent or parents shall include, but
not be limited to, discussion of any concerns or problems that the
parent has with the placement and, if the placing parent was not
interviewed as provided in Section 8801.7, the content required in
that interview. At the interview, the agency shall give the parent an
opportunity to sign either a statement revoking the consent, or a
waiver of the right to revoke consent, as provided in Section 8814.5.
In order to facilitate these interviews, at the same time the
petition is filed with the court, the petitioners shall file with the
district office of the department or with the delegated county
adoption agency responsible for the investigation of the adoption, a
copy of the petition together with the names, addresses, and
telephone numbers of all parties to be interviewed, if known.
This section shall become operative on January 1, 1995
remain in effect only until October 1, 2008, and as of
that date is repealed .
SEC. 10. Section 8808 is added to the
Family Code , to read:
8808. (a) The department or delegated county adoption agency
shall interview the petitioners within 45 working days, excluding
legal holidays, after the filing of the adoption petition.
(b) The department or delegated county adoption agency shall
interview all persons from whom consent is required and whose
addresses are known as soon as 50 percent of the fee has been paid to
the department or delegated county adoption agency. The interview
with the placing parent or parents shall include, but not be limited
to, discussion of any concerns or problems that the parent has with
the placement and, if the placing parent was not interviewed as
provided in Section 8801.7, the content required in that interview.
At the interview, the agency shall give the parent an opportunity to
sign either a statement revoking the consent, or a waiver of the
right to revoke consent, as provided in Section 8814.5.
(c) In order to facilitate the interview described in this
section, at the same time the petition is filed with the court, the
petitioners shall file with the district office of the department or
with the delegated county adoption agency responsible for the
investigation of the adoption, a copy of the petition together with
50 percent of the fee, and the names, addresses, and telephone
numbers of all parties to be interviewed, if known.
(d) This section shall become operative on October 1, 2008.
SEC. 11. Section 8810 of the Family
Code is amended to read:
8810. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, whenever
a petition is filed under this chapter for the adoption of a child,
the petitioner shall pay a nonrefundable fee to the department or to
the delegated county adoption agency for the cost of investigating
the adoption petition. Payment shall be made to the department or
delegated county adoption agency, within 40 days of the filing of the
petition, for an amount as follows:
(1) For petitions filed on and after July 1, 2003, two thousand
nine hundred fifty dollars ($2,950).
(2) For petitioners who have a valid preplacement evaluation at
the time of filing a petition pursuant to Section 8811.5, seven
hundred seventy-five dollars ($775) for a postplacement evaluation
pursuant to Sections 8806 and 8807.
(b) Revenues produced by fees collected by the department pursuant
to subdivision (a) shall be used, when appropriated by the
Legislature, to fund only the direct costs associated with the state
program for independent adoptions. Revenues produced by fees
collected by the delegated county adoption agency pursuant to
subdivision (a) shall be used by the county to fund the county
program for independent adoptions.
(c) The department or delegated county adoption agency may only
waive, or reduce the fee when the prospective adoptive parents are
low income, according to the income limits published by the
Department of Housing and Community Development, and making the
required payment would be detrimental to the welfare of an adopted
child. The department shall develop additional guidelines to
determine the financial criteria for waiver or reduction of the fee
under this subdivision.
(d) This section shall remain in effect only until October 1,
2008, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 12. Section 8810 is added to the
Family Code , to read:
8810. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, whenever
a petition is filed under this chapter for the adoption of a child,
the petitioner shall pay a nonrefundable fee to the department or to
the delegated county adoption agency for the cost of investigating
the adoption petition. Fifty percent of the payment shall be made to
the department or delegated county adoption agency at the time the
adoption petition is filed, and the remaining balance shall be paid
no later than the date determined by the department or the delegated
county adoption agency in an amount as follows:
(1) For petitions filed on and after October 1, 2008, four
thousand five hundred dollars ($4,500).
(2) For petitioners who have a valid preplacement evaluation at
the time of filing a petition pursuant to Section 8811.5, one
thousand five hundred fifty dollars ($1,550) for a postplacement
evaluation pursuant to Sections 8806 and 8807.
(b) Revenues produced by fees collected by the department pursuant
to subdivision (a) shall be used, when appropriated by the
Legislature, to fund only the direct costs associated with the state
program for independent adoptions. Revenues produced by fees
collected by the delegated county adoption agency pursuant to
subdivision (a) shall be used by the county to fund the county
program for independent adoptions.
(c) The department or delegated county adoption agency may reduce
the fee, to no less than five hundred dollars ($500) when the
prospective adoptive parents are very low income, according to the
income limits published by the Department of Housing and Community
Development, and making the required payment would be detrimental to
the welfare of an adopted child. The department shall develop
additional guidelines regarding income and assets to determine the
financial criteria for reduction of the fee under this subdivision.
(d) This section shall become operative on October 1, 2008.
SEC. 13. Section 8820 of the Family
Code is amended to read:
8820. (a) The birth parent or parents or the petitioner may
appeal in either of the following cases:
(1) If for a period of 180 days from the date of filing the
adoption petition or upon the expiration of any extension of the
period granted by the court, the department or delegated county
adoption agency fails or refuses to accept the consent of the birth
parent or parents to the adoption.
(2) In a case where the consent of the department or delegated
county adoption agency is required by this chapter, if the department
or agency fails or refuses to file or give its consent to the
adoption.
(b) The appeal shall be filed in the court in which the adoption
petition is filed. The court clerk shall immediately notify the
department or delegated county adoption agency of the appeal and the
department or agency shall, within 10 days, file a report of its
findings and the reasons for its failure or refusal to consent to the
adoption or to accept the consent of the birth parent or parents.
(c) After the filing of the report by the department or delegated
county adoption agency, the court may, if it deems that the welfare
of the child will be promoted by that adoption, allow the signing of
the consent by the birth parent or parents in open court or, if the
appeal is from the refusal of the department or delegated county
adoption agency to consent thereto, grant the petition without the
consent.
(d) This section shall remain in effect only
until October 1, 2008, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 14. Section 8820 is added to the
Family Code , to read:
8820. (a) The birth parent or parents or the petitioner may
appeal in either of the following cases:
(1) If for a period of 180 days from the date of paying 50 percent
of the fee, or upon the expiration of any extension of the period
granted by the court, the department or delegated county adoption
agency fails or refuses to accept the consent of the birth parent or
parents to the adoption.
(2) In a case where the consent of the department or delegated
county adoption agency is required by this chapter, if the department
or agency fails or refuses to file or give its consent to the
adoption after full payment has been received.
(b) The appeal shall be filed in the court in which the adoption
petition is filed. The court clerk shall immediately notify the
department or delegated county adoption agency of the appeal and the
department or agency shall, within 10 days, file a report of its
findings and the reasons for its failure or refusal to consent to the
adoption or to accept the consent of the birth parent or parents.
(c) After the filing of the report by the department or delegated
county adoption agency, the court may, if it deems that the welfare
of the child will be promoted by that adoption, allow the signing of
the consent by the birth parent or parents in open court or, if the
appeal is from the refusal of the department or delegated county
adoption agency to consent thereto, grant the petition without the
consent.
(d) This section shall become operative on October 1, 2008.
SEC. 15. Section 9205 of the Family
Code is amended to read:
9205. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the department or
adoption agency that joined in the adoption petition shall release
the names and addresses of siblings to one another if both of the
siblings have attained 18 years of age and have filed the following
with the department or agency:
(1) A current address.
(2) A written request for contact with any sibling whose existence
is known to the person making the request.
(3) A written waiver of the person's rights with respect to the
disclosure of the person's name and address to the sibling, if the
person is an adoptee.
(b) Upon inquiry and proof that a person is the sibling of an
adoptee who has filed a waiver pursuant to this section, the
department or agency may advise the sibling that a waiver has been
filed by the adoptee. The department or agency may charge a
reasonable fee, not to exceed fifty dollars ($50), for providing the
service required by this section.
(c) An adoptee may revoke a waiver filed pursuant to this section
by giving written notice of revocation to the department or agency.
(d) The department shall adopt a form for the request authorized
by this section. The form shall provide for an affidavit to be
executed by a person seeking to employ the procedure provided by this
section that, to the best of the person's knowledge, the person is
an adoptee or sibling of an adoptee. The form also shall contain a
notice of an adoptee's rights pursuant to subdivision (c) and a
statement that information will be disclosed only if there is a
currently valid waiver on file with the department or agency. The
department may adopt regulations requiring any additional means of
identification from a person making a request pursuant to this
section as it deems necessary.
(e) The department or agency may not solicit the execution of a
waiver authorized by this section. However, the department shall
announce the availability of the procedure authorized by this
section, utilizing a means of communication appropriate to inform the
public effectively.
(f) Notwithstanding the age requirement described in subdivision
(a), an adoptee or sibling who is under 18 years of age may file a
written waiver of confidentiality for the release of his or her name,
address, and telephone number pursuant to this section provided
that, if an adoptee, the adoptive parent consents, and, if a sibling,
the sibling's legal parent or guardian consents. If the sibling is
under the jurisdiction of the dependency court and has no legal
parent or guardian able or available to provide consent, the
dependency court may provide that consent.
(g) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (e), an adoptee or
sibling who seeks contact with the other for whom no waiver is on
file may petition the court to appoint a confidential intermediary.
If the sibling being sought is the adoptee, the intermediary shall be
the department or licensed adoption agency that provided adoption
services as described in Section 8521 or 8533. If the sibling being
sought was formerly under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, but
is not an adoptee, the intermediary shall be the department, the
county child welfare agency that provided services to the dependent
child, or the licensed adoption agency that provided adoption
services to the sibling seeking contact, as appropriate. If the court
finds that the licensed adoption agency that conducted the adoptee's
adoption is unable, due to economic hardship, to serve as the
intermediary, then the agency shall provide all records related to
the adoptee or the sibling to the court and the court shall appoint
an alternate confidential intermediary. The court shall grant the
petition unless it finds that it would be detrimental to the adoptee
or sibling with whom contact is sought. The intermediary shall have
access to all records of the adoptee or the sibling and shall make
all reasonable efforts to locate and attempt to obtain the consent of
the adoptee, sibling, or adoptive or birth parent, as required to
make the disclosure authorized by this section. The confidential
intermediary shall notify any located adoptee, sibling, or adoptive
or birth parent that consent is optional, not required by law, and
does not affect the status of the adoption. If that individual denies
the request for consent, the confidential intermediary shall not
make any further attempts to obtain consent. The confidential
intermediary shall use information found in the records of the
adoptee or the sibling for authorized purposes only, and may not
disclose that information without authorization. If contact is sought
with an adoptee or sibling who is under 18 years of age, the
confidential intermediary shall contact and obtain the consent of
that child's legal parent before contacting the child. If the sibling
is under 18 years of age, under the jurisdiction of the dependency
court, and has no legal parent or guardian able or available to
provide consent, the intermediary shall obtain that consent from the
dependency court. If the adoptee is seeking information regarding a
sibling who is known to be a dependent child of the juvenile court,
the procedures set forth in subdivision (b) of Section 388 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code shall be utilized. If the adoptee is
foreign born and was the subject of an intercountry adoption as
defined in Section 8527, the adoption agency may fulfill the
reasonable efforts requirement by utilizing all information in the
agency's case file, and any information received upon request from
the foreign adoption agency that conducted the adoption, if any, to
locate and attempt to obtain the consent of the adoptee, sibling, or
adoptive or birth parent. If that information is neither in the
agency's case file, nor received from the foreign adoption agency, or
if the attempts to locate are unsuccessful, then the agency shall be
relieved of any further obligation to search for the adoptee or the
sibling.
(h) For purposes of this section, "sibling" means a biological
sibling, half-sibling, or step-sibling of the adoptee.
(i) Implementation of the amendments made to this section by
Chapter 386 of the Statutes of 2006 shall be delayed until July 1,
2010. It is the intent of the Legislature that counties that are
already implementing some or all of the changes made to Section 9205
of the Family Code by Chapter 386 of the Statutes of 2006 shall
continue to implement these provisions, to the extent possible.
SEC. 16. Section 17560 of the Family
Code is amended to read:
17560. (a) The department shall create a program
establishing an arrears collection enhancement process
establish and operate a statewide compromise of arrears program
pursuant to which the department may accept offers in
compromise of child support arrears and interest accrued thereon owed
to the state for reimbursement of aid paid pursuant to Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code. The program shall operate uniformly
across California and shall take into consideration the needs of the
children subject to the child support order and the obligor's ability
to pay.
(b) If the obligor owes current child support, the offer in
compromise shall require the obligor to be in compliance with the
current support order for a set period of time before any arrears and
interest accrued thereon may be compromised.
(c) Absent a finding of good cause, or a determination by the
director that it is in the best interest of the state to do
otherwise, any offer in compromise entered into pursuant to
this section shall be rescinded, all compromised liabilities shall be
reestablished notwithstanding any statute of limitations that
otherwise may be applicable, and no portion of the amount offered in
compromise may be refunded, if either of the following occurs:
(1) The department or local child support agency determines that
the obligor did any of the following acts regarding the offer in
compromise:
(A) Concealed from the department or local child support agency
any income, assets, or other property belonging to the obligor or any
reasonably anticipated receipt of income, assets, or other property.
(B) Intentionally received, withheld, destroyed, mutilated, or
falsified any information, document, or record, or intentionally made
any false statement, relating to the financial conditions of the
obligor.
(2) The obligor fails to comply with any of the terms and
conditions of the offer in compromise.
(d) Pursuant to subdivision (k) of Section 17406, in no event may
the administrator, director, or director's designee within the
department, accept an offer in compromise of any child support
arrears owed directly to the custodial party unless that party
consents to the offer in compromise in writing and participates in
the agreement. Prior to giving consent, the custodial party shall be
provided with a clear written explanation of the rights with respect
to child support arrears owed to the custodial party and the
compromise thereof.
(e) Subject to the requirements of this section, the director
may shall delegate to the administrator
of a local child support agency the authority to compromise an
amount of child support arrears that does not exceed
up to five thousand dollars ($5,000) .
Only the director or his or her designee may compromise child support
arrears in excess of five thousand dollars ($5,000) ,
and may delegate additional authority to compromise up to an amount
determined by the director to support the effective administration of
the offers in compromise program .
(f) For an amount to be compromised under this section, the
following conditions shall exist:
(1) (A) The administrator, director or director's designee within
the department determines that acceptance of an offer in compromise
is in the best interest of the state and that the compromise amount
equals or exceeds what the state can expect to collect for
reimbursement of aid paid pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with
Section 11200) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code in the absence of the compromise, based on the
obligor's ability to pay.
(B) Acceptance of an offer in compromise shall be deemed to be in
the best interest of the state, absent a finding of good cause to the
contrary, with regard to arrears that accrued as a result of a
decrease in income when an obligor was a reservist or member of the
National Guard, was activated to United States military service, and
failed to modify the support order to reflect the reduction in
income. Good cause to find that the compromise is not in the best
interest of the state shall include circumstances in which the
service member's failure to seek, or delay in seeking, the
modification were not reasonable under the circumstances faced by the
service member. The director, no later than 90 days after the
effective date of the act adding this subparagraph, shall establish
rules that compromise, at a minimum, the amount of support that would
not have accrued had the order been modified to reflect the reduced
income earned during the period of active military service.
(2) Any other terms and conditions that the director establishes
that may include, but may not be limited to, paying current support
in a timely manner, making lump-sum payments, and paying arrears in
exchange for compromise of interest owed.
(3) The obligor shall provide evidence of income and assets,
including, but not limited to, wage stubs, tax returns, and bank
statements and as necessary to
establish all of the following:
(A) That the amount set forth in the offer in compromise of
arrears owed is the most that can be expected to be paid or collected
from the obligor's present assets or income.
(B) That the obligor does not have reasonable prospects of
acquiring increased income or assets that would enable the obligor to
satisfy a greater amount of the child support arrears than the
amount offered, within a reasonable period of time.
(C) That the obligor has not withheld payment of child support in
anticipation of the offers in compromise program.
(g) A determination by the administrator, director or the director'
s designee within the department that it would not be in the best
interest of the state to accept or rescind an offer in
compromise in satisfaction of child support arrears shall be final
and not subject to the provisions of Chapter 5 (commencing with
Section 17800) of Division 17, or subject to judicial review.
(h) Any offer in compromise entered into pursuant to this section
shall be filed with the appropriate court. The local child support
agency shall notify the court if the compromise is rescinded pursuant
to subdivision (c).
(i) Any compromise of child support arrears pursuant to this
section shall maximize to the greatest extent possible the state's
share of the federal performance incentives paid pursuant to the
Child Support Performance and Incentive Act of 1998 and shall comply
with federal law.
(j) The department shall ensure uniform application of this
section across the state.
(k) The department shall consult with the Franchise Tax Board in
the development of the program established pursuant to this section.
(l) The department shall report to the Legislature on the results
of the program established pursuant to this section no later than
January 1, 2008.
(m) This section shall remain in effect only until July 1, 2008,
and as of that date is repealed unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before July 1, 2008, deletes or extends that date. A local
child support agency shall honor repayment schedules for the
compromise program beyond June 30, 2008, in order to allow for
successful completion of the compromise agreements.
SEC. 17. Section 17706 of the Family
Code is amended to read:
17706. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage
counties to elevate the visibility and significance of the child
support enforcement program in the county. To advance this goal,
effective July 1, 2000, the counties with the 10 best performance
standards pursuant to clause (ii) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph
(2) of subdivision (b) of Section 17704 shall receive an additional 5
percent of the state's share of those counties' collections that are
used to reduce or repay aid that is paid pursuant to Article 6
(commencing with Section 11450) of Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 9
of the Welfare and Institutions Code. The counties shall use the
increased recoupment for child support-related activities that may
not be eligible for federal child support funding under Part D of
Title IV of the Social Security Act, including, but not limited to,
providing services to parents to help them better support their
children financially, medically, and emotionally.
(b) The operation of subdivision (a) shall be suspended for the
2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07, and
2007-08 , 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, and 2011- 12
fiscal years.
SEC. 18. Section 1522 of the Health and
Safety Code is amended to read:
1522. The Legislature recognizes the need to generate timely and
accurate positive fingerprint identification of applicants as a
condition of issuing licenses, permits, or certificates of approval
for persons to operate or provide direct care services in a community
care facility, foster family home, or a certified family home of a
licensed foster family agency. Therefore, the Legislature supports
the use of the fingerprint live-scan technology, as identified in the
long-range plan of the Department of Justice for fully automating
the processing of fingerprints and other data by the year 1999,
otherwise known as the California Crime Information Intelligence
System (CAL-CII), to be used for applicant fingerprints. It is the
intent of the Legislature in enacting this section to require the
fingerprints of those individuals whose contact with community care
clients may pose a risk to the clients' health and safety. An
individual shall be required to obtain either a criminal record
clearance or a criminal record exemption from the State Department of
Social Services before his or her initial presence in a community
care facility.
(a) (1) Before issuing a license or special permit to any person
or persons to operate or manage a community care facility, the State
Department of Social Services shall secure from an appropriate law
enforcement agency a criminal record to determine whether the
applicant or any other person specified in subdivision (b) has ever
been convicted of a crime other than a minor traffic violation or
arrested for any crime specified in Section 290 of the Penal Code,
for violating Section 245 or 273.5, of the Penal Code, subdivision
(b) of Section 273a of the Penal Code, or, prior to January 1, 1994,
paragraph (2) of Section 273a of the Penal Code, or for any crime for
which the department cannot grant an exemption if the person was
convicted and the person has not been exonerated.
(2) The criminal history information shall include the full
criminal record, if any, of those persons, and subsequent arrest
information pursuant to Section 11105.2 of the Penal Code.
(3) Except during the 2003-04 , 2004-05, 2005-06,
2006-07, and 2007-08 fiscal years through the 2009-
10 fiscal years, inclusive , neither the Department
of Justice nor the State Department of Social Services may charge a
fee for the fingerprinting of an applicant for a license or special
permit to operate a facility providing nonmedical board, room, and
care for six or less children or for obtaining a criminal record of
the applicant pursuant to this section.
(4) The following shall apply to the criminal record information:
(A) If the State Department of Social Services finds that the
applicant, or any other person specified in subdivision (b), has been
convicted of a crime other than a minor traffic violation, the
application shall be denied, unless the director grants an exemption
pursuant to subdivision (g).
(B) If the State Department of Social Services finds that the
applicant, or any other person specified in subdivision (b) is
awaiting trial for a crime other than a minor traffic violation, the
State Department of Social Services may cease processing the
application until the conclusion of the trial.
(C) If no criminal record information has been recorded, the
Department of Justice shall provide the applicant and the State
Department of Social Services with a statement of that fact.
(D) If the State Department of Social Services finds after
licensure that the licensee, or any other person specified in
paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), has been convicted of a crime other
than a minor traffic violation, the license may be revoked, unless
the director grants an exemption pursuant to subdivision (g).
(E) An applicant and any other person specified in subdivision (b)
shall submit fingerprint images and related information to the
Department of Justice for the purpose of searching the criminal
records of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in addition to the
criminal records search required by this subdivision. If an applicant
and all other persons described in subdivision (b) meet all of the
conditions for licensure, except receipt of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation's criminal offender record information search response
for the applicant or any of the persons described in subdivision (b),
the department may issue a license if the applicant and each person
described in subdivision (b) has signed and submitted a statement
that he or she has never been convicted of a crime in the United
States, other than a traffic infraction, as defined in paragraph (1)
of subdivision (a) of Section 42001 of the Vehicle Code. If, after
licensure, the department determines that the licensee or any other
person specified in subdivision (b) has a criminal record, the
license may be revoked pursuant to Section 1550. The department may
also suspend the license pending an administrative hearing pursuant
to Section 1550.5.
(F) The State Department of Social Services shall develop
procedures to provide the individual's state and federal criminal
history information with the written notification of his or her
exemption denial or revocation based on the criminal record. Receipt
of the criminal history information shall be optional on the part of
the individual, as set forth in the agency's procedures. The
procedure shall protect the confidentiality and privacy of the
individual's record, and the criminal history information shall not
be made available to the employer.
(G) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the department is
authorized to provide an individual with a copy of his or her state
or federal level criminal offender record information search response
as provided to that department by the Department of Justice if the
department has denied a criminal background clearance based on this
information and the individual makes a written request to the
department for a copy specifying an address to which it is to be
sent. The state or federal level criminal offender record information
search response shall not be modified or altered from its form or
content as provided by the Department of Justice and shall be
provided to the address specified by the individual in their written
request. The department shall retain a copy of the individual's
written request and the response and date provided.
(b) (1) In addition to the applicant, this section shall be
applicable to criminal convictions of the following persons:
(A) Adults responsible for administration or direct supervision of
staff.
(B) Any person, other than a client, residing in the facility.
(C) Any person who provides client assistance in dressing,
grooming, bathing, or personal hygiene. Any nurse assistant or home
health aide meeting the requirements of Section 1338.5 or 1736.6,
respectively, who is not employed, retained, or contracted by the
licensee, and who has been certified or recertified on or after July
1, 1998, shall be deemed to meet the criminal record clearance
requirements of this section. A certified nurse assistant and
certified home health aide who will be providing client assistance
and who falls under this exemption shall provide one copy of his or
her current certification, prior to providing care, to the community
care facility. The facility shall maintain the copy of the
certification on file as long as care is being provided by the
certified nurse assistant or certified home health aide at the
facility. Nothing in this paragraph restricts the right of the
department to exclude a certified nurse assistant or certified home
health aide from a licensed community care facility pursuant to
Section 1558.
(D) Any staff person, volunteer, or employee who has contact with
the clients.
(E) If the applicant is a firm, partnership, association, or
corporation, the chief executive officer or other person serving in
like capacity.
(F) Additional officers of the governing body of the applicant, or
other persons with a financial interest in the applicant, as
determined necessary by the department by regulation. The criteria
used in the development of these regulations shall be based on the
person's capability to exercise substantial influence over the
operation of the facility.
(2) The following persons are exempt from the requirements
applicable under paragraph (1):
(A) A medical professional as defined in department regulations
who holds a valid license or certification from the person's
governing California medical care regulatory entity and who is not
employed, retained, or contracted by the licensee if all of the
following apply:
(i) The criminal record of the person has been cleared as a
condition of licensure or certification by the person's governing
California medical care regulatory entity.
(ii) The person is providing time-limited specialized clinical
care or services.
(iii) The person is providing care or services within the person's
scope of practice.
(iv) The person is not a community care facility licensee or an
employee of the facility.
(B) A third-party repair person or similar retained contractor if
all of the following apply:
(i) The person is
hired for a defined, time-limited job.
(ii) The person is not left alone with clients.
(iii) When clients are present in the room in which the
repairperson or contractor is working, a staff person who has a
criminal record clearance or exemption is also present.
(C) Employees of a licensed home health agency and other members
of licensed hospice interdisciplinary teams who have a contract with
a client or resident of the facility and are in the facility at the
request of that client or resident's legal decisionmaker. The
exemption does not apply to a person who is a community care facility
licensee or an employee of the facility.
(D) Clergy and other spiritual caregivers who are performing
services in common areas of the community care facility or who are
advising an individual client at the request of, or with the
permission of, the client or legal decisionmaker, are exempt from
fingerprint and criminal background check requirements imposed by
community care licensing. This exemption does not apply to a person
who is a community care licensee or employee of the facility.
(E) Members of fraternal, service, or similar organizations who
conduct group activities for clients if all of the following apply:
(i) Members are not left alone with clients.
(ii) Members do not transport clients off the facility premises.
(iii) The same organization does not conduct group activities for
clients more often than defined by the department's regulations.
(3) In addition to the exemptions in paragraph (2), the following
persons in foster family homes, certified family homes, and small
family homes are exempt from the requirements applicable under
paragraph (1):
(A) Adult friends and family of the licensed or certified foster
parent, who come into the home to visit for a length of time no
longer than defined by the department in regulations, provided that
the adult friends and family of the licensee are not left alone with
the foster children. However, the licensee, acting as a reasonable
and prudent parent, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of
Section 362.04 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, may allow his
or her adult friends and family to provide short-term care to the
foster child and act as an appropriate occasional short-term
babysitter for the child.
(B) Parents of a foster child's friends when the foster child is
visiting the friend's home and the friend, licensed or certified
foster parent, or both are also present. However, the licensee,
acting as a reasonable and prudent parent, may allow the parent of
the foster child's friends to act as an appropriate short-term
babysitter for the child without the friend being present.
(C) Individuals who are engaged by any licensed or certified
foster parent to provide short-term care to the child for periods not
to exceed 24 hours. Caregivers shall use a reasonable and prudent
parent standard in selecting appropriate individuals to act as
appropriate occasional short-term babysitters.
(4) In addition to the exemptions specified in paragraph (2), the
following persons in adult day care and adult day support centers are
exempt from the requirements applicable under paragraph (1):
(A) Unless contraindicated by the client's individualized program
plan (IPP) or needs and service plan, a spouse, significant other,
relative, or close friend of a client, or an attendant or a
facilitator for a client with a developmental disability if the
attendant or facilitator is not employed, retained, or contracted by
the licensee. This exemption applies only if the person is visiting
the client or providing direct care and supervision to the client.
(B) A volunteer if all of the following applies:
(i) The volunteer is supervised by the licensee or a facility
employee with a criminal record clearance or exemption.
(ii) The volunteer is never left alone with clients.
(iii) The volunteer does not provide any client assistance with
dressing, grooming, bathing, or personal hygiene other than washing
of hands.
(5) (A) In addition to the exemptions specified in paragraph (2),
the following persons in adult residential and social rehabilitation
facilities, unless contraindicated by the client's individualized
program plan (IPP) or needs and services plan, are exempt from the
requirements applicable under paragraph (1): a spouse, significant
other, relative, or close friend of a client, or an attendant or a
facilitator for a client with a developmental disability if the
attendant or facilitator is not employed, retained, or contracted by
the licensee. This exemption applies only if the person is visiting
the client or providing direct care and supervision to that client.
(B) Nothing in this subdivision shall prevent a licensee from
requiring a criminal record clearance of any individual exempt from
the requirements of this section, provided that the individual has
client contact.
(6) Any person similar to those described in this subdivision, as
defined by the department in regulations.
(c) (1) Subsequent to initial licensure, any person specified in
subdivision (b) and not exempted from fingerprinting shall, as a
condition to employment, residence, or presence in a community care
facility, be fingerprinted and sign a declaration under penalty of
perjury regarding any prior criminal convictions. The licensee shall
submit fingerprint images and related information to the Department
of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, through the
Department of Justice, for a state and federal level criminal
offender record information search, or to comply with paragraph (1)
of subdivision (h), prior to the person's employment, residence, or
initial presence in the community care facility. These fingerprint
images and related information shall be sent by electronic
transmission in a manner approved by the State Department of Social
Services and the Department of Justice for the purpose of obtaining a
permanent set of fingerprints, and shall be submitted to the
Department of Justice by the licensee. A licensee's failure to submit
fingerprints to the Department of Justice or to comply with
paragraph (1) of subdivision (h), as required in this section, shall
result in the citation of a deficiency and the immediate assessment
of civil penalties in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100) per
violation per day for a maximum of five days, unless the violation is
a second or subsequent violation within a 12-month period in which
case the civil penalties shall be in the amount of one hundred
dollars ($100) per violation for a maximum of 30 days, and shall be
grounds for disciplining the licensee pursuant to Section 1550. The
department may assess civil penalties for continued violations as
permitted by Section 1548. The fingerprint images and related
information shall then be submitted to the Department of Justice for
processing. Upon request of the licensee, who shall enclose a
self-addressed stamped postcard for this purpose, the Department of
Justice shall verify receipt of the fingerprints.
(2) Within 14 calendar days of the receipt of the fingerprint
images, the Department of Justice shall notify the State Department
of Social Services of the criminal record information, as provided
for in subdivision (a). If no criminal record information has been
recorded, the Department of Justice shall provide the licensee and
the State Department of Social Services with a statement of that fact
within 14 calendar days of receipt of the fingerprint images.
Documentation of the individual's clearance or exemption shall be
maintained by the licensee and be available for inspection. If new
fingerprint images are required for processing, the Department of
Justice shall, within 14 calendar days from the date of receipt of
the fingerprints, notify the licensee that the fingerprints were
illegible, the Department of Justice shall notify the State
Department of Social Services, as required by Section 1522.04, and
shall also notify the licensee by mail, within 14 days of electronic
transmission of the fingerprints to the Department of Justice, if the
person has no criminal history recorded. A violation of the
regulations adopted pursuant to Section 1522.04 shall result in the
citation of a deficiency and an immediate assessment of civil
penalties in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100) per violation
per day for a maximum of five days, unless the violation is a second
or subsequent violation within a 12-month period in which case the
civil penalties shall be in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100)
per violation for a maximum of 30 days, and shall be grounds for
disciplining the licensee pursuant to Section 1550. The department
may assess civil penalties for continued violations as permitted by
Section 1548.
(3) Except for persons specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision
(b), the licensee shall endeavor to ascertain the previous employment
history of persons required to be fingerprinted under this
subdivision. If it is determined by the State Department of Social
Services, on the basis of the fingerprint images and related
information submitted to the Department of Justice, that the person
has been convicted of, or is awaiting trial for, a sex offense
against a minor, or has been convicted for an offense specified in
Section 243.4, 273a, 273d, 273g, or 368 of the Penal Code, or a
felony, the State Department of Social Services shall notify the
licensee to act immediately to terminate the person's employment,
remove the person from the community care facility, or bar the person
from entering the community care facility. The State Department of
Social Services may subsequently grant an exemption pursuant to
subdivision (g). If the conviction or arrest was for another crime,
except a minor traffic violation, the licensee shall, upon
notification by the State Department of Social Services, act
immediately to either (A) terminate the person's employment, remove
the person from the community care facility, or bar the person from
entering the community care facility; or (B) seek an exemption
pursuant to subdivision (g). The State Department of Social Services
shall determine if the person shall be allowed to remain in the
facility until a decision on the exemption is rendered. A licensee's
failure to comply with the department's prohibition of employment,
contact with clients, or presence in the facility as required by this
paragraph shall be grounds for disciplining the licensee pursuant to
Section 1550.
(4) The department may issue an exemption on its own motion
pursuant to subdivision (g) if the person's criminal history
indicates that the person is of good character based on the age,
seriousness, and frequency of the conviction or convictions. The
department, in consultation with interested parties, shall develop
regulations to establish the criteria to grant an exemption pursuant
to this paragraph.
(5) Concurrently with notifying the licensee pursuant to paragraph
(3), the department shall notify the affected individual of his or
her right to seek an exemption pursuant to subdivision (g). The
individual may seek an exemption only if the licensee terminates the
person's employment or removes the person from the facility after
receiving notice from the department pursuant to paragraph (3).
(d) (1) Before issuing a license, special permit, or certificate
of approval to any person or persons to operate or manage a foster
family home or certified family home as described in Section 1506,
the State Department of Social Services or other approving authority
shall secure from an appropriate law enforcement agency a criminal
record to determine whether the applicant or any person specified in
subdivision (b) has ever been convicted of a crime other than a minor
traffic violation or arrested for any crime specified in subdivision
(c) of Section 290 of the Penal Code, for violating Section 245 or
273.5, subdivision (b) of Section 273a or, prior to January 1, 1994,
paragraph (2) of Section 273a of the Penal Code, or for any crime for
which the department cannot grant an exemption if the person was
convicted and the person has not been exonerated.
(2) The criminal history information shall include the full
criminal record, if any, of those persons.
(3) Neither the Department of Justice nor the State Department of
Social Services may charge a fee for the fingerprinting of an
applicant for a license, special permit, or certificate of approval
described in this subdivision. The record, if any, shall be taken
into consideration when evaluating a prospective applicant.
(4) The following shall apply to the criminal record information:
(A) If the applicant or other persons specified in subdivision (b)
have convictions that would make the applicant's home unfit as a
foster family home or a certified family home, the license, special
permit, or certificate of approval shall be denied.
(B) If the State Department of Social Services finds that the
applicant, or any person specified in subdivision (b) is awaiting
trial for a crime other than a minor traffic violation, the State
Department of Social Services or other approving authority may cease
processing the application until the conclusion of the trial.
(C) For the purposes of this subdivision, a criminal record
clearance provided under Section 8712 of the Family Code may be used
by the department or other approving agency.
(D) To the extent required by federal law, an applicant for a
foster family home license or for certification as a family home, and
any other person specified in subdivision (b), shall submit a set of
fingerprint images and related information to the Department of
Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, through the
Department of Justice, for a state and federal level criminal
offender record information search, in addition to the criminal
records search required by subdivision (a).
(5) Any person specified in this subdivision shall, as a part of
the application, be fingerprinted and sign a declaration under
penalty of perjury regarding any prior criminal convictions or
arrests for any crime against a child, spousal or cohabitant abuse
or, any crime for which the department cannot grant an exemption if
the person was convicted and shall submit these fingerprints to the
licensing agency or other approving authority.
(6) (A) The foster family agency shall obtain fingerprint images
and related information from certified home applicants and from
persons specified in subdivision (b) and shall submit them directly
to the Department of Justice by electronic transmission in a manner
approved by the State Department of Social Services and the
Department of Justice. A foster family home licensee or foster family
agency shall submit these fingerprint images and related information
to the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, through the Department of Justice, for a state and
federal level criminal offender record information search, or to
comply with paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) prior to the person's
employment, residence, or initial presence in the foster family home
or certified family home. A foster family agency's failure to submit
fingerprint images and related information to the Department of
Justice, or comply with paragraph (1) of subdivision (h), as required
in this section, shall result in a citation of a deficiency, and the
immediate civil penalties of one hundred dollars ($100) per
violation per day for a maximum of five days, unless the violation is
a second or subsequent violation within a 12-month period in which
case the civil penalties shall be in the amount of one hundred
dollars ($100) per violation for a maximum of 30 days, and shall be
grounds for disciplining the licensee pursuant to Section 1550. A
violation of the regulation adopted pursuant to Section 1522.04 shall
result in the citation of a deficiency and an immediate assessment
of civil penalties in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100) per
violation per day for a maximum of five days, unless the violation is
a second or subsequent violation within a 12-month period in which
case the civil penalties shall be in the amount of one hundred
dollars ($100) per violation for a maximum of 30 days, and shall be
grounds for disciplining the foster family agency pursuant to Section
1550. A licensee's failure to submit fingerprint images and related
information to the Department of Justice, or comply with paragraph
(1) of subdivision (h), as required in this section, may result in
the citation of a deficiency and immediate civil penalties of one
hundred dollars ($100) per violation. A licensee's violation of
regulations adopted pursuant to Section 1522.04 may result in the
citation of a deficiency and an immediate assessment of civil
penalties in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100) per violation.
The State Department of Social Services may assess penalties for
continued violations, as permitted by Section 1548. The fingerprint
images shall then be submitted to the Department of Justice for
processing.
(B) Upon request of the licensee, who shall enclose a
self-addressed envelope for this purpose, the Department of Justice
shall verify receipt of the fingerprints. Within five working days of
the receipt of the criminal record or information regarding criminal
convictions from the Department of Justice, the department shall
notify the applicant of any criminal arrests or convictions. If no
arrests or convictions are recorded, the Department of Justice shall
provide the foster family home licensee or the foster family agency
with a statement of that fact concurrent with providing the
information to the State Department of Social Services.
(7) If the State Department of Social Services finds that the
applicant, or any other person specified in subdivision (b), has been
convicted of a crime other than a minor traffic violation, the
application shall be denied, unless the director grants an exemption
pursuant to subdivision (g).
(8) If the State Department of Social Services finds after
licensure or the granting of the certificate of approval that the
licensee, certified foster parent, or any other person specified in
paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), has been convicted of a crime other
than a minor traffic violation, the license or certificate of
approval may be revoked by the department or the foster family
agency, whichever is applicable, unless the director grants an
exemption pursuant to subdivision (g). A licensee's failure to comply
with the department's prohibition of employment, contact with
clients, or presence in the facility as required by paragraph (3) of
subdivision (c) shall be grounds for disciplining the licensee
pursuant to Section 1550.
(e) The State Department of Social Services may not use a record
of arrest to deny, revoke, or terminate any application, license,
employment, or residence unless the department investigates the
incident and secures evidence, whether or not related to the incident
of arrest, that is admissible in an administrative hearing to
establish conduct by the person that may pose a risk to the health
and safety of any person who is or may become a client. The State
Department of Social Services is authorized to obtain any arrest or
conviction records or reports from any law enforcement agency as
necessary to the performance of its duties to inspect, license, and
investigate community care facilities and individuals associated with
a community care facility.
(f) (1) For purposes of this section or any other provision of
this chapter, a conviction means a plea or verdict of guilty or a
conviction following a plea of nolo contendere. Any action that the
State Department of Social Services is permitted to take following
the establishment of a conviction may be taken when the time for
appeal has elapsed, when the judgment of conviction has been affirmed
on appeal, or when an order granting probation is made suspending
the imposition of sentence, notwithstanding a subsequent order
pursuant to Sections 1203.4 and 1203.4a of the Penal Code permitting
the person to withdraw his or her plea of guilty and to enter a plea
of not guilty, or setting aside the verdict of guilty, or dismissing
the accusation, information, or indictment. For purposes of this
section or any other provision of this chapter, the record of a
conviction, or a copy thereof certified by the clerk of the court or
by a judge of the court in which the conviction occurred, shall be
conclusive evidence of the conviction. For purposes of this section
or any other provision of this chapter, the arrest disposition report
certified by the Department of Justice, or documents admissible in a
criminal action pursuant to Section 969b of the Penal Code, shall be
prima facie evidence of the conviction, notwithstanding any other
provision of law prohibiting the admission of these documents in a
civil or administrative action.
(2) For purposes of this section or any other provision of this
chapter, the department shall consider criminal convictions from
another state or federal court as if the criminal offense was
committed in this state.
(g) (1) After review of the record, the director may grant an
exemption from disqualification for a license or special permit as
specified in paragraphs (1) and (4) of subdivision (a), or for a
license, special permit, or certificate of approval as specified in
paragraphs (4) and (5) of subdivision (d), or for employment,
residence, or presence in a community care facility as specified in
paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) of subdivision (c), if the director has
substantial and convincing evidence to support a reasonable belief
that the applicant and the person convicted of the crime, if other
than the applicant, are of good character as to justify issuance of
the license or special permit or granting an exemption for purposes
of subdivision (c). Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision,
an exemption may not be granted pursuant to this subdivision if the
conviction was for any of the following offenses:
(A) (i) An offense specified in Section 220, 243.4, or 264.1,
subdivision (a) of Section 273a or, prior to January 1, 1994,
paragraph (1) of Section 273a, Section 273d, 288, or 289, subdivision
(c) of Section 290, or Section 368 of the Penal Code, or was a
conviction of another crime against an individual specified in
subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 of the Penal Code.
(ii) Notwithstanding clause (i), the director may grant an
exemption regarding the conviction for an offense described in
paragraph (1), (2), (7), or (8) of subdivision (c) of Section 667.5
of the Penal Code, if the employee or prospective employee has been
rehabilitated as provided in Section 4852.03 of the Penal Code, has
maintained the conduct required in Section 4852.05 of the Penal Code
for at least 10 years, and has the recommendation of the district
attorney representing the employee's county of residence, or if the
employee or prospective employee has received a certificate of
rehabilitation pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
4852.01) of Title 6 of Part 3 of the Penal Code.
(B) A felony offense specified in Section 729 of the Business and
Professions Code or Section 206 or 215, subdivision (a) of Section
347, subdivision (b) of Section 417, or subdivision (a) of Section
451 of the Penal Code.
(2) The department may not prohibit a person from being employed
or having contact with clients in a facility on the basis of a denied
criminal record exemption request or arrest information unless the
department complies with the requirements of Section 1558.
(h) (1) For purposes of compliance with this section, the
department may permit an individual to transfer a current criminal
record clearance, as defined in subdivision (a), from one facility to
another, as long as the criminal record clearance has been processed
through a state licensing district office, and is being transferred
to another facility licensed by a state licensing district office.
The request shall be in writing to the State Department of Social
Services, and shall include a copy of the person's driver's license
or valid identification card issued by the Department of Motor
Vehicles, or a valid photo identification issued by another state or
the United States government if the person is not a California
resident. Upon request of the licensee, who shall enclose a
self-addressed envelope for this purpose, the State Department of
Social Services shall verify whether the individual has a clearance
that can be transferred.
(2) The State Department of Social Services shall hold criminal
record clearances in its active files for a minimum of two years
after an employee is no longer employed at a licensed facility in
order for the criminal record clearance to be transferred.
(3) The following shall apply to a criminal record clearance or
exemption from the department or a county office with
department-delegated licensing authority:
(A) A county office with department-delegated licensing authority
may accept a clearance or exemption from the department.
(B) The department may accept a clearance or exemption from any
county office with department-delegated licensing authority.
(C) A county office with department-delegated licensing authority
may accept a clearance or exemption from any other county office with
department-delegated licensing authority.
(4) With respect to notifications issued by the Department of
Justice pursuant to Section 11105.2 of the Penal Code concerning an
individual whose criminal record clearance was originally processed
by the department or a county office with department-delegated
licensing authority, all of the following shall apply:
(A) The Department of Justice shall process a request from the
department or a county office with department-delegated licensing
authority to receive the notice only if all of the following
conditions are met:
(i) The request shall be submitted to the Department of Justice by
the agency to be substituted to receive the notification.
(ii) The request shall be for the same applicant type as the type
for which the original clearance was obtained.
(iii) The request shall contain all prescribed data elements and
format protocols pursuant to a written agreement between the
department and the Department of Justice.
(B) (i) On or before January 7, 2005, the department shall notify
the Department of Justice of all county offices that have
department-delegated licensing authority.
(ii) The department shall notify the Department of Justice within
15 calendar days of the date on which a new county office receives
department-delegated licensing authority or a county's delegated
licensing authority is
rescinded.
(C) The Department of Justice shall charge the department, a
county office with department-delegated licensing authority, or a
county child welfare agency with criminal record clearance and
exemption authority, a fee for each time a request to substitute the
recipient agency is received for purposes of this paragraph. This fee
shall not exceed the cost of providing the service.
(5) (A) A county child welfare agency with authority to secure
clearances pursuant to Section 16504.5 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code and to grant exemptions pursuant to Section 361.4
of the Welfare and Institutions Code may accept a clearance or
exemption from another county with criminal record and exemption
authority pursuant to these sections.
(B) With respect to notifications issued by the Department of
Justice pursuant to Section 11105.2 of the Penal Code concerning an
individual whose criminal record clearance was originally processed
by a county child welfare agency with criminal record clearance and
exemption authority, the Department of Justice shall process a
request from a county child welfare agency with criminal record and
exemption authority to receive the notice only if all of the
following conditions are met:
(i) The request shall be submitted to the Department of Justice by
the agency to be substituted to receive the notification.
(ii) The request shall be for the same applicant type as the type
for which the original clearance was obtained.
(iii) The request shall contain all prescribed data elements and
format protocols pursuant to a written agreement between the State
Department of Social Services and the Department of Justice.
(i) The full criminal record obtained for purposes of this section
may be used by the department or by a licensed adoption agency as a
clearance required for adoption purposes.
(j) If a licensee or facility is required by law to deny
employment or to terminate employment of any employee based on
written notification from the state department that the employee has
a prior criminal conviction or is determined unsuitable for
employment under Section 1558, the licensee or facility shall not
incur civil liability or unemployment insurance liability as a result
of that denial or termination.
(k) The State Department of Social Services may charge a fee for
the costs of processing electronic fingerprint images and related
information.
(l) Amendments to this section made in the 1999 portion of the
1999-2000 Regular Session shall be implemented commencing 60 days
after the effective date of the act amending this section in the 1999
portion of the 1999-2000 Regular Session, except that those
provisions for the submission of fingerprints for searching the
records of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall be implemented
90 days after the effective date of that act.
SEC. 19. Section 1596.871 of the Health
and Safety Code is amended to read:
1596.871. The Legislature recognizes the need to generate timely
and accurate positive fingerprint identification of applicants as a
condition of issuing licenses, permits, or certificates of approval
for persons to operate or provide direct care services in a child
care center or family child care home. It is the intent of the
Legislature in enacting this section to require the fingerprints of
those individuals whose contact with child day care facility clients
may pose a risk to the children's health and safety. An individual
shall be required to obtain either a criminal record clearance or a
criminal record exemption from the State Department of Social
Services before his or her initial presence in a child day care
facility.
(a) (1) Before issuing a license or special permit to any person
to operate or manage a day care facility, the department shall secure
from an appropriate law enforcement agency a criminal record to
determine whether the applicant or any other person specified in
subdivision (b) has ever been convicted of a crime other than a minor
traffic violation or arrested for any crime specified in subdivision
(c) of Section 290 of the Penal Code, for violating Section 245 or
273.5, subdivision (b) of Section 273a or, prior to January 1, 1994,
paragraph (2) of Section 273a of the Penal Code, or for any crime for
which the department cannot grant an exemption if the person was
convicted and the person has not been exonerated.
(2) The criminal history information shall include the full
criminal record, if any, of those persons, and subsequent arrest
information pursuant to Section 11105.2 of the Penal Code.
(3) Except during the 2003-04 , 2004-05, 2005-06,
2006-07, and 2007-08 fiscal years through 2009-
10 fiscal years, inclusive , neither the Department of
Justice nor the department may charge a fee for the fingerprinting of
an applicant who will serve six or fewer children or any family day
care applicant for a license, or for obtaining a criminal record of
an applicant pursuant to this section.
(4) The following shall apply to the criminal record information:
(A) If the State Department of Social Services finds that the
applicant or any other person specified in subdivision (b) has been
convicted of a crime, other than a minor traffic violation, the
application shall be denied, unless the director grants an exemption
pursuant to subdivision (f).
(B) If the State Department of Social Services finds that the
applicant, or any other person specified in subdivision (b), is
awaiting trial for a crime other than a minor traffic violation, the
State Department of Social Services may cease processing the
application until the conclusion of the trial.
(C) If no criminal record information has been recorded, the
Department of Justice shall provide the applicant and the State
Department of Social Services with a statement of that fact.
(D) If the State Department of Social Services finds after
licensure that the licensee, or any other person specified in
paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), has been convicted of a crime other
than a minor traffic violation, the license may be revoked, unless
the director grants an exemption pursuant to subdivision (f).
(E) An applicant and any other person specified in subdivision (b)
shall submit fingerprint images and related information to the
Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
through the Department of Justice, for a state and federal level
criminal offender record information search, in addition to the
search required by subdivision (a). If an applicant meets all other
conditions for licensure, except receipt of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation's criminal history information for the applicant and
persons listed in subdivision (b), the department may issue a license
if the applicant and each person described by subdivision (b) has
signed and submitted a statement that he or she has never been
convicted of a crime in the United States, other than a traffic
infraction as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section
42001 of the Vehicle Code. If, after licensure, the department
determines that the licensee or person specified in subdivision (b)
has a criminal record, the license may be revoked pursuant to Section
1596.885. The department may also suspend the license pending an
administrative hearing pursuant to Section 1596.886.
(b) (1) In addition to the applicant, this section shall be
applicable to criminal convictions of the following persons:
(A) Adults responsible for administration or direct supervision of
staff.
(B) Any person, other than a child, residing in the facility.
(C) Any person who provides care and supervision to the children.
(D) Any staff person, volunteer, or employee who has contact with
the children.
(i) A volunteer providing time-limited specialized services shall
be exempt from the requirements of this subdivision if this person is
directly supervised by the licensee or a facility employee with a
criminal record clearance or exemption, the volunteer spends no more
than 16 hours per week at the facility, and the volunteer is not left
alone with children in care.
(ii) A student enrolled or participating at an accredited
educational institution shall be exempt from the requirements of this
subdivision if the student is directly supervised by the licensee or
a facility employee with a criminal record clearance or exemption,
the facility has an agreement with the educational institution
concerning the placement of the student, the student spends no more
than 16 hours per week at the facility, and the student is not left
alone with children in care.
(iii) A volunteer who is a relative, legal guardian, or foster
parent of a client in the facility shall be exempt from the
requirements of this subdivision.
(iv) A contracted repair person retained by the facility, if not
left alone with children in care, shall be exempt from the
requirements of this subdivision.
(v) Any person similar to those described in this subdivision, as
defined by the department in regulations.
(E) If the applicant is a firm, partnership, association, or
corporation, the chief executive officer, other person serving in
like capacity, or a person designated by the chief executive officer
as responsible for the operation of the facility, as designated by
the applicant agency.
(F) If the applicant is a local educational agency, the president
of the governing board, the school district superintendent, or a
person designated to administer the operation of the facility, as
designated by the local educational agency.
(G) Additional officers of the governing body of the applicant, or
other persons with a financial interest in the applicant, as
determined necessary by the department by regulation. The criteria
used in the development of these regulations shall be based on the
person's capability to exercise substantial influence over the
operation of the facility.
(H) This section does not apply to employees of child care and
development programs under contract with the State Department of
Education who have completed a criminal record clearance as part of
an application to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, and who
possess a current credential or permit issued by the commission,
including employees of child care and development programs that serve
both children subsidized under, and children not subsidized under, a
State Department of Education contract. The Commission on Teacher
Credentialing shall notify the department upon revocation of a
current credential or permit issued to an employee of a child care
and development program under contract with the State Department of
Education.
(I) This section does not apply to employees of a child care and
development program operated by a school district, county office of
education, or community college district under contract with the
State Department of Education who have completed a criminal record
clearance as a condition of employment. The school district, county
office of education, or community college district upon receiving
information that the status of an employee's criminal record
clearance has changed shall submit that information to the
department.
(2) Nothing in this subdivision shall prevent a licensee from
requiring a criminal record clearance of any individuals exempt from
the requirements under this subdivision.
(c) (1) (A) Subsequent to initial licensure, any person specified
in subdivision (b) and not exempted from fingerprinting shall, as a
condition to employment, residence, or presence in a child day care
facility be fingerprinted and sign a declaration under penalty of
perjury regarding any prior criminal conviction. The licensee shall
submit fingerprint images and related information to the Department
of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, through the
Department of Justice, or to comply with paragraph (1) of subdivision
(h), prior to the person's employment, residence, or initial
presence in the child day care facility.
(B) These fingerprint images for the purpose of obtaining a
permanent set of fingerprints shall be electronically submitted to
the Department of Justice in a manner approved by the State
Department of Social Services and to the Department of Justice, or to
comply with paragraph (1) of subdivision (h), as required in this
section, shall result in the citation of a deficiency, and an
immediate assessment of civil penalties in the amount of one hundred
dollars ($100) per violation per day for a maximum of five days,
unless the violation is a second or subsequent violation within a
12-month period in which case the civil penalties shall be in the
amount of one hundred dollars ($100) per violation for a maximum of
30 days, and shall be grounds for disciplining the licensee pursuant
to Section 1596.885 or Section 1596.886. The State Department of
Social Services may assess civil penalties for continued violations
permitted by Sections 1596.99 and 1597.62. The fingerprint images and
related information shall then be submitted to the department for
processing. Within 14 calendar days of the receipt of the fingerprint
images, the Department of Justice shall notify the State Department
of Social Services of the criminal record information, as provided in
this subdivision. If no criminal record information has been
recorded, the Department of Justice shall provide the licensee and
the State Department of Social Services with a statement of that fact
within 14 calendar days of receipt of the fingerprint images. If new
fingerprint images are required for processing, the Department of
Justice shall, within 14 calendar days from the date of receipt of
the fingerprint images, notify the licensee that the fingerprints
were illegible.
(C) Documentation of the individual's clearance or exemption shall
be maintained by the licensee, and shall be available for
inspection. When live-scan technology is operational, as defined in
Section 1522.04, the Department of Justice shall notify the
department, as required by that section, and notify the licensee by
mail within 14 days of electronic transmission of the fingerprints to
the Department of Justice, if the person has no criminal record. Any
violation of the regulations adopted pursuant to Section 1522.04
shall result in the citation of a deficiency and an immediate
assessment of civil penalties in the amount of one hundred dollars
($100) per violation per day for a maximum of five days, unless the
violation is a second or subsequent violation within a 12-month
period in which case the civil penalties shall be in the amount of
one hundred dollars ($100) per violation for a maximum of 30 days,
and shall be grounds for disciplining the licensee pursuant to
Section 1596.885 or Section 1596.886. The department may assess civil
penalties for continued violations, as permitted by Sections 1596.99
and 1597.62.
(2) Except for persons specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision
(b), the licensee shall endeavor to ascertain the previous employment
history of persons required to be fingerprinted under this
subdivision. If it is determined by the department, on the basis of
fingerprints submitted to the Department of Justice, that the person
has been convicted of a sex offense against a minor, an offense
specified in Section 243.4, 273a, 273d, 273g, or 368 of the Penal
Code, or a felony, the State Department of Social Services shall
notify the licensee to act immediately to terminate the person's
employment, remove the person from the child day care facility, or
bar the person from entering the child day care facility. The
department may subsequently grant an exemption pursuant to
subdivision (f). If the conviction was for another crime except a
minor traffic violation, the licensee shall, upon notification by the
State Department of Social Services, act immediately to either (1)
terminate the person's employment, remove the person from the child
day care facility, or bar the person from entering the child day care
facility; or (2) seek an exemption pursuant to subdivision (f). The
department shall determine if the person shall be allowed to remain
in the facility until a decision on the exemption is rendered. A
licensee's failure to comply with the department's prohibition of
employment, contact with clients, or presence in the facility as
required by this paragraph shall result in a citation of deficiency
and an immediate assessment of civil penalties by the department
against the licensee, in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100) per
violation per day for a maximum of five days, unless the violation
is a second or subsequent violation within a 12-month period in which
case the civil penalties shall be in the amount of one hundred
dollars ($100) per violation for a maximum of 30 days, and shall be
grounds for disciplining the licensee pursuant to Section 1596.885 or
1596.886.
(3) The department may issue an exemption on its own motion
pursuant to subdivision (f) if the person's criminal history
indicates that the person is of good character based on the age,
seriousness, and frequency of the conviction or convictions. The
department, in consultation with interested parties, shall develop
regulations to establish the criteria to grant an exemption pursuant
to this paragraph.
(4) Concurrently with notifying the licensee pursuant to paragraph
(3), the department shall notify the affected individual of his or
her right to seek an exemption pursuant to subdivision (f). The
individual may seek an exemption only if the licensee terminates the
person's employment or removes the person from the facility after
receiving notice from the department pursuant to paragraph (3).
(d) (1) For purposes of this section or any other provision of
this chapter, a conviction means a plea or verdict of guilty or a
conviction following a plea of nolo contendere. Any action that the
department is permitted to take following the establishment of a
conviction may be taken when the time for appeal has elapsed, when
the judgment of conviction has been affirmed on appeal, or when an
order granting probation is made suspending the imposition of
sentence, notwithstanding a subsequent order pursuant to Sections
1203.4 and 1203.4a of the Penal Code permitting the person to
withdraw his or her plea of guilty and to enter a plea of not guilty,
or setting aside the verdict of guilty, or dismissing the
accusation, information, or indictment. For purposes of this section
or any other provision of this chapter, the record of a conviction,
or a copy thereof certified by the clerk of the court or by a judge
of the court in which the conviction occurred, shall be conclusive
evidence of the conviction. For purposes of this section or any other
provision of this chapter, the arrest disposition report certified
by the Department of Justice, or documents admissible in a criminal
action pursuant to Section 969b of the Penal Code, shall be prima
facie evidence of conviction, notwithstanding any other provision of
law prohibiting the admission of these documents in a civil or
administrative action.
(2) For purposes of this section or any other provision of this
chapter, the department shall consider criminal convictions from
another state or federal court as if the criminal offense was
committed in this state.
(e) The State Department of Social Services may not use a record
of arrest to deny, revoke, or terminate any application, license,
employment, or residence unless the department investigates the
incident and secures evidence, whether or not related to the incident
of arrest, that is admissible in an administrative hearing to
establish conduct by the person that may pose a risk to the health
and safety of any person who is or may become a client. The State
Department of Social Services is authorized to obtain any arrest or
conviction records or reports from any law enforcement agency as
necessary to the performance of its duties to inspect, license, and
investigate community care facilities and individuals associated with
a community care facility.
(f) (1) After review of the record, the director may grant an
exemption from disqualification for a license or special permit as
specified in paragraphs (1) and (4) of subdivision (a), or for
employment, residence, or presence in a child day care facility as
specified in paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) of subdivision (c) if the
director has substantial and convincing evidence to support a
reasonable belief that the applicant and the person convicted of the
crime, if other than the applicant, are of good character so as to
justify issuance of the license or special permit or granting an
exemption for purposes of subdivision (c). However, an exemption may
not be granted pursuant to this subdivision if the conviction was for
any of the following offenses:
(A) An offense specified in Section 220, 243.4, or 264.1,
subdivision (a) of Section 273a or, prior to January 1, 1994,
paragraph (1) of Section 273a, Section 273d, 288, or 289, subdivision
(c) of Section 290, or Section 368 of the Penal Code, or was a
conviction of another crime against an individual specified in
subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 of the Penal Code.
(B) A felony offense specified in Section 729 of the Business and
Professions Code or Section 206 or 215, subdivision (a) of Section
347, subdivision (b) of Section 417, or subdivision (a) or (b) of
Section 451 of the Penal Code.
(2) The department may not prohibit a person from being employed
or having contact with clients in a facility on the basis of a denied
criminal record exemption request or arrest information unless the
department complies with the requirements of Section 1596.8897.
(g) Upon request of the licensee, who shall enclose a
self-addressed stamped postcard for this purpose, the Department of
Justice shall verify receipt of the fingerprint images.
(h) (1) For the purposes of compliance with this section, the
department may permit an individual to transfer a current criminal
record clearance, as defined in subdivision (a), from one facility to
another, as long as the criminal record clearance has been processed
through a state licensing district office, and is being transferred
to another facility licensed by a state licensing district office.
The request shall be in writing to the department, and shall include
a copy of the person's driver's license or valid identification card
issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles, or a valid photo
identification issued by another state or the United States
government if the person is not a California resident. Upon request
of the licensee, who shall enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope
for this purpose, the department shall verify whether the individual
has a clearance that can be transferred.
(2) The State Department of Social Services shall hold criminal
record clearances in its active files for a minimum of two years
after an employee is no longer employed at a licensed facility in
order for the criminal record clearances to be transferred.
(3) The following shall apply to a criminal record clearance or
exemption from the department or a county office with
department-delegated licensing authority:
(A) A county office with department-delegated licensing authority
may accept a clearance or exemption from the department.
(B) The department may accept a clearance or exemption from any
county office with department-delegated licensing authority.
(C) A county office with department-delegated licensing authority
may accept a clearance or exemption from any other county office with
department-delegated licensing authority.
(4) With respect to notifications issued by the Department of
Justice pursuant to Section 11105.2 of the Penal Code concerning an
individual whose criminal record clearance was originally processed
by the department or a county office with department-delegated
licensing authority, all of the following shall apply:
(A) The Department of Justice shall process a request from the
department or a county office with department-delegated licensing
authority to receive the notice, only if all of the following
conditions are met:
(i) The request shall be submitted to the Department of Justice by
the agency to be substituted to receive the notification.
(ii) The request shall be for the same applicant type as the type
for which the original clearance was obtained.
(iii) The request shall contain all prescribed data elements and
format protocols pursuant to a written agreement between the
department and the Department of Justice.
(B) (i) On or before January 7, 2005, the department shall notify
the Department of Justice of all county offices that have
department-delegated licensing authority.
(ii) The department shall notify the Department of Justice within
15 calendar days of the date on which a new county office receives
department-delegated licensing authority or a county's delegated
licensing authority is rescinded.
(C) The Department of Justice shall charge the department or a
county office with department-delegated licensing authority a fee for
each time a request to substitute the recipient agency is received
for purposes of this paragraph. This fee shall not exceed the cost of
providing the service.
(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the department may
provide an individual with a copy of his or her state or federal
level criminal offender record information search response as
provided to that department by the Department of Justice if the
department has denied a criminal background clearance based on this
information and the individual makes a written request to the
department for a copy specifying an address to which it is to be
sent. The state or federal level criminal offender record information
search response shall not be modified or altered from its form or
content as provided by the Department of Justice and shall be
provided to the address specified by the individual in his or her
written request. The department shall retain a copy of the individual'
s written request and the response and date provided.
SEC. 20. Section 11758.42 of the Health
and Safety Code is amended to read:
11758.42. (a) For purposes of this chapter, "LAAM" means
levoalphacetylmethadol.
(b) (1) The department shall establish a narcotic replacement
therapy dosing fee for methadone and LAAM.
(2) In addition to the narcotic replacement therapy dosing fee
provided for pursuant to paragraph (1), narcotic treatment programs
shall be reimbursed for the ingredient costs of methadone or LAAM
dispensed to Medi-Cal beneficiaries. These costs may be determined on
an average daily dose of methadone or LAAM, as set forth by the
department, in consultation
with the State Department of Health Care Services.
(c) Reimbursement for narcotic replacement therapy dosing and
ancillary services provided by narcotic treatment programs shall be
based on a per capita uniform statewide monthly
daily reimbursement rate for each individual patient, as
established by the department, in consultation with the State
Department of Health Care Services. The uniform statewide
monthly daily reimbursement rate for
narcotic replacement therapy dosing and ancillary services shall be
based upon, where available and appropriate, all of the following:
(1) The outpatient rates for the same or similar services under
the fee-for-service Medi-Cal program.
(2) Cost report data.
(3) Other data deemed reliable and relevant by the department.
(4) The rate studies completed pursuant to Section 54 of Assembly
Bill 3483 of the 1995-96 Regular Session of the Legislature.
(d) The uniform statewide monthly daily
reimbursement rate for ancillary services shall not exceed, for
individual services or in the aggregate, the outpatient rates for
the same or similar services under the fee-for-service Medi-Cal
program.
(e) The uniform statewide monthly daily
reimbursement rate shall be established after consultation with
narcotic treatment program providers and county alcohol and drug
program administrators.
(f) Reimbursement for narcotic treatment program services shall be
limited to those services specified in state law and state and
federal regulations governing the licensing and administration of
narcotic treatment programs. These services shall include, but are
not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Admission, physical evaluation, and diagnosis.
(2) Drug screening.
(3) Pregnancy tests.
(4) Narcotic replacement therapy dosing.
(5) Intake assessment, treatment planning, and counseling
services. Frequency of counseling or medical psychotherapy, outcomes,
and rates shall be addressed through regulations adopted by the
department. For purposes of this paragraph, these services include,
but are not limited to, substance abuse services to pregnant and
postpartum Medi-Cal beneficiaries.
(g) Reimbursement under this section shall be limited to claims
for narcotic treatment program services at the uniform statewide
monthly daily reimbursement rate for
these services. These rates shall be exempt from the requirements of
Section 14021.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(h) (1) Reimbursement to narcotic treatment program providers
shall be limited to the lower of either the uniform statewide
monthly daily reimbursement rate,
pursuant to subdivision (c), or the provider's usual and customary
charge to the general public for the same or similar service.
(2) (A) Reimbursement paid by a county to a narcotic treatment
program provider for services provided to any person subject to
Section 1210.1 or 3063.1 of the Penal Code, and for which the
individual client is not liable to pay, does not constitute a usual
and customary charge to the general public for the purposes of this
section.
(B) Subparagraph (A) does not constitute a change in, but is
declaratory of, existing law.
(i) Reimbursement for narcotic treatment program services
provided by narcotic treatment program providers shall, if the
patient receives less than a full month of services, be prorated to
the daily cost per patient, based on the annual cost per patient and
a 365-day year. No program shall be reimbursed for services
not rendered to or received by a patient of a narcotic treatment
program.
(j) Reimbursement for narcotic treatment program services provided
to substance abusers shall be administered by the department and
counties electing to participate in the program. Utilization and
payment for these services shall be subject to federal
medicaid Medicaid and state utilization and
audit requirements.
SEC. 21. Section 11758.421 of the
Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
11758.421. (a) (1) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(A) Medical treatment for indigent patients who are not eligible
for Medi-Cal is essential to protecting the public health.
(B) The Legislature supports the adoption of standardized and
simplified forms and procedures in order to promote the drug
treatment of indigent patients who are not eligible for Medi-Cal.
(C) Providers should not be required by the state to subsidize the
medical treatment provided to indigent patients who are not eligible
for Medi-Cal.
(D) The Legislature supports the therapeutic value of indigent
patients who are not eligible for Medi-Cal contributing some level of
fees for drug treatment services in order to support the goals of
those drug treatment services.
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section
to encourage narcotic treatment program providers to serve indigent
patients who are not eligible for Medi-Cal. It is also the intent of
the Legislature that the State Department of Alcohol and Drug
Programs allow narcotic treatment program providers to charge
therapeutic fees for providing drug treatment to indigent patients
who are not eligible for Medi-Cal if the providers establish a fee
scale that complies with the documentation requirements established
pursuant to this section and federal law.
(b) (1) The Legislature recognizes that narcotic treatment program
providers are reimbursed for controlled substances provided under
the Medi-Cal Drug Treatment Program, also known as Drug Medi-Cal
(Chapter 3.4 (commencing with Section 11758.40)), and pursuant to
federal law at a rate that is the lower of the per capita uniform
statewide monthly daily reimbursement
or Drug Medi-Cal rate, or the provider's usual and customary charge
to the general public for the same or similar services.
(2) It furthers the intent of the Legislature to ensure that
narcotic treatment programs in the state are able to serve indigent
clients and that there is an exception to the reimbursement
requirements described in paragraph (1), as the federal law has been
interpreted by representatives with the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services. Pursuant to this exception, if a narcotic
treatment program provider who is serving low-income non-Drug
Medi-Cal clients complies with a federal requirement for the
application of a sliding indigency scale, the reduced charges under
the sliding indigency scale shall not lower the provider's usual and
customary charge determination for purposes of Medi-Cal
reimbursement.
(c) A licensed narcotic treatment program provider that serves
low-income non-Drug Medi-Cal clients shall be deemed in compliance
with federal and state law, for purposes of the application of the
exception described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), and avoid
audit disallowances, if the provider implements a sliding indigency
scale that meets all of the following requirements:
(1) The maximum fee contained in the scale shall be the provider's
full nondiscounted, published charge and shall be at least the rate
that Drug Medi-Cal would pay for the same or similar services
provided to Drug Medi-Cal clients.
(2) The sliding indigency scale shall provide for an array of
different charges, based upon a client's ability to pay, as measured
by identifiable variables. These variables may include, but need not
be limited to, financial information and the number of dependents of
the client.
(3) Income ranges shall be in increments that result in a
reasonable distribution of clients paying differing amounts for
services based on differing abilities to pay.
(4) A provider shall obtain written documentation that supports an
indigency allowance under the sliding indigency scale established
pursuant to this section, including a financial determination. In
cases where this written documentation cannot be obtained, the
provider shall document at least three attempts to obtain this
written documentation from a client.
(5) The provider shall maintain all written documentation that
supports an indigency allowance under this section, including, if
used, the financial evaluation form set forth in Section 11758.425.
(6) Written policies shall be established and maintained that set
forth the basis for determining whether an indigency allowance may be
granted under this section and establish what documentation shall be
requested from a client.
(d) In developing the sliding indigency scale, a narcotic
treatment program provider shall consider, but need not include, any
or all of the following components:
(1) Vertically, the rows would reflect increments of family or
household income. There would be a sufficient number of increments to
allow for differing charges, such as a six hundred dollar ($600)
increase per interval.
(2) Horizontally, the columns would provide for some other
variable, such as family size, in which case, the columns would
reflect the number of people dependent on the income, including the
client.
(3) Each row, except the first and last rows, would contain at
least two different fee amounts and each of the columns, four or more
in number, would contain at least six different fee amounts.
(4) The cells would contain an array of fees so that no fee would
be represented in more than 25 percent of the cells.
(e) A narcotic treatment program provider that uses the financial
evaluation form instructions and financial form set forth in Section
11758.425 in obtaining written documentation that supports an
indigency allowance as required under paragraph (4) of subdivision
(c) shall be deemed in compliance with that paragraph.
SEC. 22. Section 11758.46 of the Health
and Safety Code is amended to read:
11758.46. (a) For purposes of this section, "Drug Medi-Cal
services" means all of the following services, administered by the
department, and to the extent consistent with state and federal law:
(1) Narcotic treatment program services, as set forth in Section
11758.42.
(2) Day care rehabilitative services.
(3) Perinatal residential services for pregnant women and women in
the postpartum period.
(4) Naltrexone services.
(5) Outpatient drug-free services.
(b) Upon federal approval of a federal medicaid
Medicaid state plan amendment authorizing federal
financial participation in the following services, and subject to
appropriation of funds, "Drug Medi-Cal services" shall also include
the following services, administered by the department, and to the
extent consistent with state and federal law:
(1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 14132.90 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code, day care habilitative services, which,
for purposes of this paragraph, are outpatient counseling and
rehabilitation services provided to persons with alcohol or other
drug abuse diagnoses.
(2) Case management services, including supportive services to
assist persons with alcohol or other drug abuse diagnoses in gaining
access to medical, social, educational, and other needed services.
(3) Aftercare services.
(c) (1) Annually, the department shall publish procedures for
contracting for Drug Medi-Cal services with certified providers and
for claiming payments, including procedures and specifications for
electronic data submission for services rendered.
(2) The department, county alcohol and drug program
administrators, and alcohol and drug service providers shall automate
the claiming process and the process for the submission of specific
data required in connection with reimbursement for Drug Medi-Cal
services, except that this requirement applies only if funding is
available from sources other than those made available for treatment
or other services.
(d) A county or a contractor for the provision of Drug Medi-Cal
services shall notify the department, within 30 days of the receipt
of the county allocation, of its intent to contract, as a component
of the single state-county contract, and provide certified services
pursuant to Section 11758.42, for the proposed budget year. The
notification shall include an accurate and complete budget proposal,
the structure of which shall be mutually agreed to by county alcohol
and drug program administrators and the department, in the format
provided by the department, for specific services, for a specific
time period, and including estimated units of service, estimated rate
per unit consistent with law and regulations, and total estimated
cost for appropriate services.
(e) (1) Within 30 days of receipt of the proposal described in
subdivision (d), the department shall provide, to counties and
contractors proposing to provide Drug Medi-Cal services in the
proposed budget year, a proposed multiple-year contract, as a
component of the single state-county contract, for these services, a
current utilization control plan, and appropriate administrative
procedures.
(2) A county contracting for alcohol and drug services shall
receive a single state-county contract for the net negotiated amount
and Drug Medi-Cal services.
(3) Contractors contracting for Drug Medi-Cal services shall
receive a Drug Medi-Cal contract.
(f) (1) Upon receipt of a contract proposal pursuant to
subdivision (d), a county and a contractor seeking to provide
reimbursable Drug Medi-Cal services and the department may begin
negotiations and the process for contract approval.
(2) If a county does not approve a contract by July 1 of the
appropriate fiscal year, in accordance with subdivisions (c) to (e),
inclusive, the county shall have 30 additional days in which to
approve a contract. If the county has not approved the contract by
the end of that 30-day period, the department shall contract directly
for services within 30 days.
(3) Counties shall negotiate contracts only with providers
certified to provide reimbursable Drug Medi-Cal services and that
elect to participate in this program. Upon contract approval by the
department, a county shall establish approved contracts with
certified providers within 30 days following enactment of the annual
Budget Act. A county may establish contract provisions to ensure
interim funding pending the execution of final contracts,
multiple-year contracts pending final annual approval by the
department, and, to the extent allowable under the annual Budget Act,
other procedures to ensure timely payment for services.
(g) (1) For counties and contractors providing Drug Medi-Cal
services, pursuant to approved contracts, and that have accurate and
complete claims, reimbursement for services from state General Fund
moneys shall commence no later than 45 days following the enactment
of the annual Budget Act for the appropriate state fiscal year.
(2) For counties and contractors providing Drug Medi-Cal services,
pursuant to approved contracts, and that have accurate and complete
claims, reimbursement for services from federal medicaid
Medicaid funds shall commence no later than 45
days following the enactment of the annual Budget Act for the
appropriate state fiscal year.
(3) The State Department of Health Care Services and
the department shall develop methods to ensure timely payment of Drug
Medi-Cal claims.
(4) The State Department of Health Care Services, in
cooperation with the department, shall take steps necessary to
streamline the billing system for reimbursable Drug Medi-Cal
services, to assist the department in meeting the billing provisions
set forth in this subdivision.
(h) The department shall submit a proposed interagency agreement
to the State Department of Health Care Services by May 1
for the following fiscal year. Review and interim approval of all
contractual and programmatic requirements, except final fiscal
estimates, shall be completed by the State Department of Health
Care Services by July 1. The interagency agreement shall not
take effect until the annual Budget Act is enacted and fiscal
estimates are approved by the State Department of Health Care
Services. Final approval shall be completed within 45 days of
enactment of the Budget Act.
(i) (1) A county or a provider certified to provide reimbursable
Drug Medi-Cal services, that is contracting with the department,
shall estimate the cost of those services by April 1 of the fiscal
year covered by the contract, and shall amend current contracts, as
necessary, by the following July 1.
(2) A county or a provider, except for a provider to whom
subdivision (j) applies, shall submit accurate and complete cost
reports for the previous state fiscal year by November 1, following
the end of the state fiscal year. The department may settle cost for
Drug Medi-Cal services, based on the cost report as the final
amendment to the approved single state-county contract.
(j) Certified narcotic treatment program providers, that are
exclusively billing the state or the county for services rendered to
persons subject to Section 1210.1 of the Penal Code, Section 3063.1
of the Penal Code, or Section 11758.42 shall submit accurate and
complete performance reports for the previous state fiscal year by
November 1 following the end of that state fiscal year. A provider to
which this subdivision applies shall estimate its budgets using the
uniform state monthly daily
reimbursement rate. The format and content of the performance reports
shall be mutually agreed to by the department, the County Alcohol
and Drug Program Administrators Association of California, and
representatives of the treatment providers.
SEC. 23. Section 10080.5 is added to the
Welfare and Institutions Code , to read:
10080.5. All duties and authority of the Franchise Tax Board
under this chapter are hereby transferred to the department. The
department shall succeed to and replace the Franchise Tax Board in
any agreement entered into by the board as the agent of the
department. Any agency between the department and the Franchise Tax
Board created by any other provision of this chapter is hereby
terminated. However, the department and the Franchise Tax Board shall
enter into an interagency agreement pursuant to this section to
continue any services necessary to be provided by the Franchise Tax
Board for the ongoing support of the California Child Support
Automation System. The interagency agreement may provide for the
transfer of staff from the Franchise Tax Board upon federal
notification that the single, statewide California Child Support
Automation System is implemented in all jurisdictions, or on January
1, 2009, whichever is later.
SEC. 24. Section 10082 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code is amended to read:
10082. (a) The department, through the Franchise Tax Board as its
agent, shall be responsible for procuring, in accordance
with Section 10083, developing, implementing, and
maintaining the operation of the California Child Support Automation
System in all California counties. This project shall, to the extent
feasible, use the same sound project management practices that the
Franchise Tax Board has developed in successful tax automation
efforts. The single statewide system shall be operative in all
California counties and shall also include the State Case Registry,
the State Disbursement Unit and all other necessary data bases and
interfaces. The system shall provide for the sharing of all data and
case files, standardized functions across all of the counties, timely
and accurate payment processing and centralized payment disbursement
from a single location in the state. The system may be built in
phases with payments contingent on acceptance of agreed upon
deliverables. As appropriate, additional payments may be made to the
vendors for predefined levels of higher performance once the system
is in operation.
(b) All ongoing interim automation activities apart from the
procurement, development, implementation, and maintenance of the
California Child Support Automation System, including Year 2000
remediation efforts and system conversions, shall remain with the
department, and shall not be the responsibility of the Franchise Tax
Board. However, the department shall ensure that all interim
automation activities are consistent with the procurement,
development, implementation, and maintenance of the California Child
Support Automation System by the Franchise Tax Board through
the project charter described in Section 10083 and through
continuous consultation.
(c) The department shall seek, at the earliest possible date, all
federal approvals and waivers necessary to secure financial
participation and system design approval of the California Child
Support Automation System.
(d) The department shall seek federal funding for the maintenance
and operation of all county child support automation systems until
the time that the counties transition to the California Child Support
Automation System.
(e) The department shall direct local child support agencies, if
it determines it is necessary, to modify their current automation
systems or change to a different system, in order to meet the goal of
statewide automation.
(f) Notwithstanding any state policies, procedures, or guidelines,
including those set forth in state manuals, all state agencies shall
cooperate with the Franchise Tax Board
department to expedite the procurement, development,
implementation, and operation of the California Child Support
Automation System and shall delegate to the Franchise Tax
Board, to the fullest extent possible, all functions including
acquisition authority as provided in Section 12102 of the Public
Contract Code, that may assist the Franchise Tax Board .
All state agencies shall give review processes affecting the single
statewide automation system their highest priority
and expedite these review processes.
(g) The Franchise Tax Board shall employ the expertise needed for
the successful and efficient implementation of the single statewide
child support automation system and, therefore, shall be provided
three Career Executive Assignment Level 2 positions, and may enter
into personal services agreements with one or more persons, at the
prevailing market rates for the kind or quality of services
furnished, provided the agreements do not cause the net displacement
of civil service employees.
(h) All funds appropriated to the Franchise Tax Board for purposes
of this chapter shall be used in a manner consistent with the
authorized budget without any other limitations.
(i) The department and the Franchise Tax Board shall consult with
local child support agencies and child support advocates on the
implementation of the single statewide child support automation
system.
(j) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Administrative
Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1
of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), through December
31, 2000, the department may implement the applicable provisions of
this chapter through family support division letters or similar
instructions from the director.
(2) The department may adopt regulations to implement this chapter
in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of
the Government Code. The adoption of any emergency regulation filed
with the Office of Administrative Law on or before January 1, 2003,
shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, and safety or general
welfare. These emergency regulations shall remain in effect for no
more than 180 days.
SEC. 25. Section 10083 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code is repealed.
10083. (a) The Franchise Tax Board, as agent for the department,
shall develop a procurement plan that employs, where appropriate,
techniques proven to be successful in the Franchise Tax Board's
previous technology efforts and incorporates where possible best
practices from other government jurisdictions. The procurement plan
shall consider the events and circumstances that contributed to the
failure of the SACSS system and incorporate a strategy for avoiding
the repetition of those events and circumstances and shall consider
the findings and recommendations made by the Bureau of State Audits
in its evaluation of the failure of the SACSS system.
(b) Prior to procurement, the department and the Franchise Tax
Board shall develop a project charter that shall be approved by the
Executive Officer and Director of the Franchise Tax Board, the
director of the department, and the Secretary of the California
Health and Human Services Agency. The project charter shall include
governance structure, business requirements, project scope,
performance measures, contract authority, and all other elements the
department and the Franchise Tax Board deem necessary to successfully
manage the procurement, development, implementation, and operation
of the California Child Support Automation System.
(c) The procurement plan, subject to federal approval, shall
include, but not be limited to elements, that accomplish the
following tasks:
(1) Provide for full and open competition among qualified vendors.
Vendors shall be prequalified based on factors such as successful
past performance and implementation of similar systems in other
government jurisdictions.
(2) Specify business outcomes to be achieved, not the solution to
be provided.
(3) Allow a period of confidential discussion and discovery to
develop and refine potential solutions to best meet the business
needs.
(4) Maximize the potential for competition and reduce time for
implementation by phasing in the project to the greatest extent
possible.
(5) Structure the plan to maintain maximum vendor commitment to
project success and minimize risk to the state by sharing risk with
the private sector.
(6) Utilize "best value" evaluation methods, which means to select
the solution based upon achieving the best solution based on
business performance measures not necessarily the lowest price.
(7) Consider the future ability of the selected system to
provide enhancements that will improve long-term effectiveness of
child support management.
(8) Base payments to the vendors primarily on achieving predefined
performance measures.
(d) The California Child Support Automation System shall
incorporate technology that can be readily enhanced and modernized
for the expected system life. In selecting the new system,
consideration shall be given to the extent to which the candidate
systems employ open architectures and standards.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the department, or
the Franchise Tax Board, or its designee may contract with existing
child support consultants to provide their current and related
services and project management through the life of the child support
automation project to help meet legislative timeframes, consistent
with the requirements of Article 7 of the California Constitution.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the procurements
for all design, development, implementation, maintenance, and
operation of the California Child Support Automation System and any
bid protest conducted under this chapter shall be subject to the
following procedures:
(1) The Executive Officer of the Franchise Tax Board, or his or
her designee, may consider and decide initial protests. A decision
regarding initial protests shall be final.
(2) A contract may be entered into pending a final decision on a
protest. The protest shall not prevent the commencement of work in
accordance with the terms of the contract awarded.
(3) Protests shall be limited to participating bidders.
(4) A protest shall be filed within five days of the posting of
the notice of the award. The Department of General Services shall
review a protest within seven days of the filing date. If the
Department of General Services finds that a protest is clearly
insufficient on its face, entirely without merit, or outside the
scope of permissible protest, it may make a final disposition of the
protest.
(5) The Director of General Services shall issue a ruling within a
period not to exceed 45 days from the date the protest is filed.
(6) Grounds to protest under this section shall be limited to
violations of the solicitation procedures resulting in the protestant'
s proposal not being selected. These grounds shall be stated in the
solicitation document with the protest procedures.
(7) Any bidder that has filed a protest that is determined by the
Department of General Services to be clearly insufficient on its
face, entirely without merit, or outside the scope of permissible
protest shall not be eligible to participate in solicitations
conducted under this section.
(g) To protect public confidence in the integrity of the
procurements described in this section, the State Auditor shall
monitor the evaluation and selection process and must certify that
the evaluation was based on the evaluation criteria contained in the
solicitation document, that the vendor or vendors were chosen
according to the selection methodology in the solicitation document
and that both of these activities were carried out without bias or
favoritism toward any bidder.
SEC. 26. Section 10553.15 is added to the
Welfare and Institutions Code , to read:
10553.15. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
director may provide funding to Indian health clinics to provide
substance abuse and mental health treatment services, and other
related services authorized under the CalWORKs program to CalWORKs
applicants and recipients and Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) applicants and recipients living in California.
SEC. 27. Section 10823 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code , as amended by Section 22 of
Chapter 78 of the Statutes of 2005, is amended to read:
10823. (a) (1) The Office of Systems Integration shall implement
a statewide automated welfare system for the following public
assistance programs:
(A) The CalWORKs program.
(B) The Food Stamp Program.
(C) The Medi-Cal Program.
(D) The foster care program.
(E) The refugee program.
(F) County medical services programs.
(2) Statewide implementation of the statewide automated welfare
system for the programs listed in paragraph (1) shall be achieved
through no more than four county consortia, including the Interim
Statewide Automated Welfare System Consortium, and the Los Angeles
Eligibility, Automated Determination, Evaluation, and Reporting
System.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), the Office of Systems
Integration shall migrate the 35 counties that currently use the
Interim Statewide Automated Welfare System into the C-IV system
within the following timeline:
(A) Complete Migration System Test and begin User Acceptance
Testing on or before June 30, 2009.
(B) Complete implementation in at least five counties by February
28, 2010.
(C) Complete implementation in at least 14 additional counties on
or before May 31, 2010.
(D) Complete implementation in all 35 counties on or before August
31, 2010.
(E) Decommission the Interim Statewide Automated Welfare System on
or before January 31, 2011.
(b) Nothing in subdivision (a) transfers program policy
responsibilities related to the public assistance programs specified
in subdivision (a) from the State Department of Social Services or
the State Department of Health Services to the Office of Systems
Integration.
(c) On February 1 of each year, the Office of Systems Integration
shall provide an annual report to the appropriate committees of the
Legislature on the statewide automated welfare system implemented
under this section. The report shall address the progress of state
and consortia activities and any significant schedule, budget, or
functionality changes in the project.
SEC. 28. Section 11320.32 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:
11320.32. (a) The department shall administer a voluntary
Temporary Assistance Program (TAP) for current and future CalWORKs
recipients who meet the exemption criteria for work participation
activities set forth in Section 11320.3, and are not single parents
who have a child under the age of one year. Temporary Assistance
Program recipients shall be entitled to the same assistance payments
and other benefits as recipients under the CalWORKs program. The
purpose of this program is to provide cash assistance and other
benefits to eligible families without any federal restrictions or
requirements and without any adverse impact on recipients. The
Temporary Assistance Program shall commence no later than April 1,
2009 2010 .
(b) CalWORKs recipients who meet the exemption criteria for work
participation activities set forth in subdivision (b) of Section
11320.3, and are not single parents with a child under the age of one
year, shall have the option of receiving grant payments, child care,
and transportation services from the Temporary Assistance Program.
The department shall notify all CalWORKs recipients and applicants
meeting the exemption criteria specified in subdivision (b) of
Section 11320.3, except for single parents with a child under the age
of one year, of their option to receive benefits under the Temporary
Assistance Program. Absent written indication that these recipients
or applicants choose not to receive assistance from the Temporary
Assistance Program, the department shall enroll CalWORKs recipients
and applicants into the program. However, exempt volunteers shall
remain in the CalWORKs program unless they affirmatively indicate, in
writing, their interest in enrolling in the Temporary Assistance
Program. A Temporary Assistance Program recipient who no longer meets
the exemption criteria set forth in Section 11320.3 shall be
enrolled in the CalWORKs program.
(c) Funding for grant payments, child care, transportation, and
eligibility determination activities for families receiving benefits
under the Temporary Assistance Program shall be funded with General
Fund resources that do not count toward the state's maintenance of
effort requirements under clause (i) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph
(7) of subdivision (a) of Section 609 of Title 42 of the United
States Code, up to the caseload level equivalent to the amount of
funding provided for this purpose in the annual Budget Act.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that recipients shall have
and maintain access to the hardship exemption and the services
necessary to begin and increase participation in welfare-to-work
activities, regardless of their county of origin, and that the number
of recipients exempt under subdivision (b) of Section 11320.3 not
significantly increase due to factors other than changes in caseload
characteristics. All relevant state law applicable to CalWORKs
recipients shall also apply to families funded under this section.
Nothing in this section modifies the criteria for exemption in
Section 11320.3.
(e) To the extent that this section is inconsistent with federal
regulations regarding implementation of the Deficit Reduction Act of
2005, the department may amend the funding structure for exempt
families to ensure consistency with these regulations, not later than
30 days after providing written notification to the chair of the
Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the chairs of the appropriate
policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature.
SEC. 29. Section 11402.6 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code is amended to read:
11402.6. (a) The federal government has provided the state with
the option of including in its state plan children placed in a
private facility operated on a for-profit basis.
(b) For children for whom the county placing agency has exhausted
all other placement options, notwithstanding subdivision (h) of
Section 11400 and subject to Section 15200.5, a child who is
otherwise eligible for federal financial participation in the AFDC-FC
payment shall be eligible for aid under this chapter when the child
is placed in a for-profit child care institution and meets all of the
following criteria, which shall be clearly documented in the county
welfare department case file:
(1) The child has extraordinary and unusual special behavioral or
medical needs that make the child difficult to place, including, but
not limited to, being medically fragile, brittle diabetic, having
severe head injuries, a dual diagnosis of mental illness and
substance abuse or a dual diagnosis of developmental delay and mental
illness.
(2) No other comparable private nonprofit facility or public
licensed residential care home exists in the state that is willing to
accept placement and is capable of meeting the child's extraordinary
special needs.
(3) The county placing agency has demonstrated that no other
alternate placement option exists for the child.
(4) The child has a developmental disability and is eligible for
both federal AFDC-FC payments and for regional center services.
(c) Federal financial participation shall be provided pursuant to
Section 11402 for children described in subdivision (a) subject to
all of the following conditions, which shall be clearly documented in
the county welfare department case file.
(1) The county placing agency enters into a performance based
placement agreement with the for-profit facility to ensure the
facility is providing services to improve the safety, permanency, and
well-being outcomes of the placed children pursuant to Section
10601.2.
(2) The county placing agency will require the facility to ensure
placement in the child's community to the degree possible to enhance
ongoing connections with the child's family and to promote the
establishment of lifelong connections with committed adults.
(3) The county placing agency monitors and reviews the facility's
outcome performance indicators every six months.
(4) In no event shall federal financial participation in this
placement exceed a 12-month period.
(5) Payments made under this section shall not be made on behalf
of any more than five children in a county at any one time.
(6) Payments made under this section shall be made pursuant to
Sections 4684 and 11464, and only to a group home that is an approved
vendor of a regional center.
(d) This section shall be implemented only during a federal fiscal
year in which the department determines that no restriction on
federal matching AFDC-FC payment exists.
(e) As used in this section, "child care institution" means a
nondetention facility that has been licensed in accordance with the
California Community Care Facilities Act, Chapter 3 (commencing with
Section 1500) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, and that
has a licensed capacity not exceeding 25 children.
(f) The county placing agency shall review and report to the
juvenile court at every six-month case plan update if this placement
remains appropriate and necessary and what the plan is for discharge
to a less restrictive placement.
(g) Notwithstanding subdivision (d) or any other provision of law,
this section shall not be implemented before July 1, 2010.
SEC. 30. Section 11453 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code is amended to read:
11453. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (c), the amounts set
forth in Section 11452 and subdivision (a) of Section 11450 shall be
adjusted annually by the department to reflect any increases or
decreases in the cost of living. These adjustments shall become
effective July 1 of each year, unless otherwise specified by the
Legislature. For the 2000-01 fiscal year to the 2003-04 fiscal year,
inclusive, these adjustments shall become effective October 1 of each
year. The cost-of-living adjustment shall be calculated by the
Department of Finance based on the changes in the California
Necessities Index, which as used in this section means the weighted
average changes for food, clothing, fuel, utilities, rent, and
transportation for low-income consumers. The computation of annual
adjustments in the California Necessities Index shall be made in
accordance with the following steps:
(1) The base period expenditure amounts for each expenditure
category within the California Necessities Index used to compute the
annual grant adjustment are:
Food............................... $ 3,027
Clothing (apparel and upkeep)...... 406
Fuel and other utilities........... 529
Rent, residential.................. 4,883
Transportation..................... 1,757
Total............................ $10,602
(2) Based on the appropriate components of the Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers, as published by the United States
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, the percentage
change shall be determined for the 12-month period ending with the
December preceding the year for which the cost-of-living adjustment
will take effect, for each expenditure category specified in
subdivision (a) within the following geographical areas: Los
Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, San Francisco-Oakland, San Diego, and, to
the extent statistically valid information is available from the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, additional geographical areas within the
state which include not less than 80 percent of recipients of aid
under this chapter.
(3) Calculate a weighted percentage change for each of the
expenditure categories specified in subdivision (a) using the
applicable weighting factors for each area used by the State
Department of Industrial Relations to calculate the California
Consumer Price Index (CCPI).
(4) Calculate a category adjustment factor for each expenditure
category in subdivision (a) by (1) adding 100 to the applicable
weighted percentage change as determined in paragraph (2) and (2)
dividing the sum by 100.
(5) Determine the expenditure amounts for the current year by
multiplying each expenditure amount determined for the prior year by
the applicable category adjustment factor determined in paragraph
(4).
(6) Determine the overall adjustment factor by dividing (1) the
sum of the expenditure amounts as determined in paragraph (4) for the
current year by (2) the sum of the expenditure amounts as determined
in subdivision (d) for the prior year.
(b) The overall adjustment factor determined by the preceding
computation steps shall be multiplied by the schedules established
pursuant to Section 11452 and subdivision (a) of Section 11450 as are
in effect during the month of June preceding the fiscal year in
which the adjustments are to occur and the product rounded to the
nearest dollar. The resultant amounts shall constitute the new
schedules which shall be filed with the Secretary of State.
(c) (1) No adjustment to the maximum aid payment set forth in
subdivision (a) of Section 11450 shall be made under this section for
the purpose of increasing the benefits under this chapter for the
1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, and
1997-98 fiscal years, and through October 31, 1998, to reflect any
change in the cost of living. For the 1998-99 fiscal year, the cost
of living adjustment that would have been provided on July 1, 1998,
pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be made on November 1, 1998. No
adjustment to the maximum aid payment set forth in subdivision (a) of
Section 11450 shall be made under this section for the purpose of
increasing the benefits under this chapter for the 2005-06 and
2006-07 fiscal years to reflect any change in the cost-of-living.
Elimination of the cost-of-living adjustment pursuant to this
paragraph shall satisfy the requirements of Section 11453.05, and no
further reduction shall be made pursuant to that section.
(2) No adjustment to the minimum basic standard of adequate care
set forth in Section 11452 shall be made under this section for the
purpose of increasing the benefits under this chapter for the 1990-91
and 1991-92 fiscal years to reflect any change in the cost of
living.
(3) In any fiscal year commencing with the 2000-01 fiscal year to
the 2003-04 fiscal year, inclusive, when there is any increase in tax
relief pursuant to the applicable paragraph of subdivision (a) of
Section 10754 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, then the increase
pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section shall occur. In any
fiscal year commencing with the 2000-01 fiscal year to the 2003-04
fiscal year, inclusive, when there is no increase in tax relief
pursuant to the applicable paragraph of subdivision (a) of Section
10754 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, then any increase pursuant to
subdivision (a) of this section shall be suspended.
(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (3), an adjustment to the maximum
aid payments set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 11450 shall be
made under this section for the 2002-03 fiscal year, but the
adjustment shall become effective June 1, 2003.
(5) No adjustment to the maximum aid payment set forth in
subdivision (a) of Section 11450 shall be made under this section for
the purpose of increasing benefits under this chapter for the
2007-08 and 2008- 09 fiscal year
years .
(d) For the 2004-05 fiscal year, the adjustment to the maximum aid
payment set forth in subdivision (a) shall be suspended for three
months commencing on the first day of the first month following the
effective date of the act adding this subdivision.
(e) For the 2008-09 fiscal year, the adjustment to the maximum aid
payment set forth in subdivision (a) shall be effective October 1,
2008. For the 2009-10 fiscal year, the adjustment to the maximum aid
payment set forth in subdivision (a) shall take effect on July 1,
2009.
(f)
(e) Adjustments for subsequent fiscal years pursuant to
this section shall not include any adjustments for any fiscal year in
which the cost of living was suspended pursuant to subdivision (c).
SEC. 31. Section 12201 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code is amended to read:
12201. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (d), the payment
schedules set forth in Section 12200 shall be adjusted annually to
reflect any increases or decreases in the cost of living. Except as
provided in subdivision (e), these adjustments shall become effective
January 1 of each year. The cost-of-living adjustment shall be based
on the changes in the California Necessities Index, which as used in
this section shall be the weighted average of changes for food,
clothing, fuel, utilities, rent, and transportation for low-income
consumers. The computation of annual adjustments in the California
Necessities Index shall be made in accordance with the following
steps:
(1) The base period expenditure amounts for each expenditure
category within the California Necessities Index used to compute the
annual grant adjustment are:
Food............................... $ 3,027
Clothing (apparel and upkeep)...... 406
Fuel and other utilities........... 529
Rent, residential............ 4,883
Transportation..................... 1,757
-----------
Total............................ $10,602
(2) Based on the appropriate components of the Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers, as published by the United States
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, the percentage
change shall be determined for the 12-month period which ends 12
months prior to the January in which the cost-of-living adjustment
will take effect, for each expenditure category specified in
paragraph (1) within the following geographical areas: Los
Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, San Francisco-Oakland, San Diego, and, to
the extent statistically valid information is available from the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, additional geographical areas within the
state which include not less than 80 percent of recipients of aid
under this chapter.
(3) Calculate a weighted percentage change for each of the
expenditure categories specified in subdivision (a) using the
applicable weighting factors for each area used by the State
Department of Industrial Relations to calculate the California
Consumer Price Index (CCPI).
(4) Calculate a category adjustment factor for each expenditure
category in paragraph (1) by (1) adding 100 to the applicable
weighted percentage change as determined in paragraph (2) and (2)
dividing the sum by 100.
(5) Determine the expenditure amounts for the current year by
multiplying each expenditure amount determined for the prior year by
the applicable category adjustment factor determined in paragraph
(4).
(6) Determine the overall adjustment factor by dividing (1) the
sum of the expenditure amounts as determined in paragraph (4) for the
current year by (2) the sum of the expenditure amounts as determined
in paragraph (4) for the prior year.
(b) The overall adjustment factor determined by the preceding
computational steps shall be multiplied by the payment schedules
established pursuant to Section 12200 as are in effect during the
month of December preceding the calendar year in which the
adjustments are to occur, and the product rounded to the nearest
dollar. The resultant amounts shall constitute the new schedules for
the categories given under subdivisions (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f),
and (g) of Section 12200, and shall be filed with the Secretary of
State. The amount as set forth in subdivision (h) of Section 12200
shall be adjusted annually pursuant to this section in the event that
the secretary agrees to administer payment under that subdivision.
The payment schedule for subdivision (i) of Section 12200 shall be
computed as specified, based on the new payment schedules for
subdivisions (a), (b), (c), and (d) of Section 12200.
(c) The department shall adjust any amounts of aid under this
chapter to insure that the minimum level required by the Social
Security Act in order to maintain eligibility for funds under Title
XIX of that act is met.
(d) (1) No adjustment shall be made under this section for the
1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2006
and 2007 , 2007, 2008, and 2009
calendar years to reflect any change in the cost of living.
Elimination of the cost-of-living adjustment pursuant to this
paragraph shall satisfy the requirements of Section 12201.05, and no
further reduction shall be made pursuant to that section.
(2) Any cost-of-living adjustment granted under this section for
any calendar year shall not include adjustments for any calendar year
in which the cost of living was suspended pursuant to paragraph (1).
(e) For the 2003 calendar year, the adjustment required by this
section shall become effective June 1, 2003.
(f) For the 2005 calendar year, the adjustment required by this
section shall become effective April 1, 2005.
(g) (1) For the 2008 calendar year, the annual adjustment
required by this section shall be effective October 1, 2008.
(2) Commencing with the
2009 2010 calendar year and in each
calendar year thereafter, the annual adjustment required
by this section shall be effective June 1 of that calendar year.
(3)
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (2)
(1) , the pass along of federal benefits provided for in
Section 12201.05 shall be effective on January 1 of each calendar
year.
SEC. 32. Section 12305.82 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:
12305.82. (a) In addition to its existing authority under the
Medi-Cal program, the State Department of Health Care
Services shall have the authority to investigate fraud in the
provision or receipt of supportive services. Counties
Except as provided in subdivision (c), a county
shall refer instances of suspected fraud in the provision or receipt
of supportive services to the State Department of Health Care
Services, which shall investigate all suspected fraud. The
department, the State Department of Health Care
Services, and county quality
assurance staff shall work together as appropriate to coordinate
activities to detect and prevent fraud by supportive services
providers and recipients in accordance with federal and state laws
and regulations, including applicable due process requirements, to
take appropriate administrative action relating to suspected fraud in
the provision or receipt of supportive services, and to refer
suspected criminal offenses to appropriate law enforcement agencies
for prosecution.
(b) If the State Department of Health Care Services
concludes that there is reliable evidence that a supportive services
provider has engaged in fraud in connection with the provision or
receipt of supportive services, the State Department of Health
Care Services shall notify the department, the county, and the
county's public authority or nonprofit consortium, if any, of that
conclusion.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county may
investigate suspected fraud in connection with the provision or
receipt of supportive services, with respect to an overpayment of
five hundred dollars ($500) or less.
SEC. 33. Section 12317 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code is amended to read:
12317. (a) The State Department of Social Services shall be
responsible for procuring and implementing a new Case Management
Information and Payroll System (CMIPS) for the In-Home Supportive
Services Program and Personal Care Services Program (IHSS/PCSP). This
section shall not be interpreted to transfer any of the IHSS/PCSP
policy responsibilities from the State Department of Social Services
or the State Department of Health Care Services.
(b) At a minimum, the new system shall provide case management,
payroll, and management information in order to support the
IHSS/PCSP, and shall do all of the following:
(1) Provide current and accurate information in order to manage
the IHSS/PCSP caseload.
(2) Calculate accurate wage and benefit deductions.
(3) Provide management information to monitor and evaluate the
IHSS/PCSP.
(4) Coordinate benefits information and processing with the
California Medicaid Management Information System.
(c) The new system shall be consistent with current state and
federal laws, shall incorporate technology that can be readily
enhanced and modernized for the expected life of the system, and, to
the extent possible, shall employ open architectures and standards.
(d) By August 31, 2004, the State Department of Social Services
shall begin a fair and open competitive procurement for the new
CMIPS. All state agencies shall cooperate with the State Department
of Social Services and the California Health and Human Services
Agency Data Center to expedite the procurement, design, development,
implementation, and operation of the new CMIPS.
(e) The State Department of Social Services, with any necessary
assistance from the State Department of Health Care
Services, shall seek all federal approvals and waivers necessary to
secure federal financial participation and system design approval of
the new system.
(f) The new CMIPS shall include features to strengthen fraud
prevention and detection, as well as to reduce overpayments. Program
requirements shall include, but shall not be limited to, the ability
to readily identify out-of-state providers, recipient hospital stays
that are five days or longer, and excessive hours paid to a single
provider, and to match recipient information with death reports. This
functionality shall be available by April 1, 2010, and implemented
statewide by July 1, 2011.
SEC. 34. Section 14021.6 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code is amended to read:
14021.6. (a) For the fiscal years prior to fiscal year 2004-05,
and subject to the requirements of federal law, the maximum allowable
rates for the Medi-Cal Drug Treatment Program shall be determined by
computing the median rate from available cost data by modality from
the fiscal year that is two years prior to the year for which the
rate is being established.
(b) (1) For the fiscal year 2007-08, and subsequent fiscal years,
and subject to the requirements of federal law, the maximum allowable
rates for the Medi-Cal Drug Treatment Program shall be determined by
computing the median rate from the most recently completed cost
reports, by specific service codes that are consistent with the
federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996
(42 U.S.C. Sec. 300gg).
(2) For the fiscal years 2005-06 and 2006-07, if the State
Department of Health Care Services and the State
Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs determine that
reasonably reliable and complete cost report data are available, the
methodology specified in this subdivision shall be applied to either
or both of those years. If reasonably reliable and complete cost
report data are not available, the State Department of Health
Care Services and the State Department of Alcohol
and Drug Programs shall establish rates for either or both of those
years based upon the usual, customary, and reasonable charge for the
services to be provided, as these two departments may determine in
their discretion. This subdivision is not intended to modify
subdivision (k) of Section 11758.46 of the Health and Safety Code,
that requires certain providers to submit performance reports.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), for the 1996-97 fiscal year,
the rates for nonperinatal outpatient methadone maintenance services
shall be set at the rate established for the 1995-96 fiscal year.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the maximum allowable rate
for group outpatient drug free services shall be set on a per person
basis. A group shall consist of a minimum of four and a maximum of 10
individuals, at least one of which shall be a Medi-Cal eligible
beneficiary.
(e) The department shall develop individual and group rates for
extensive counseling for outpatient drug free treatment, based on a
50-minute individual or a 90-minute group hour, not to exceed the
total rate established for subdivision (d).
(f) The department may adopt regulations as necessary to implement
subdivisions (a), (b), and (c), or to implement cost containment
procedures. These regulations may be adopted as emergency regulations
in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of
Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. The adoption
of these emergency regulations shall be deemed an emergency necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and
safety, or general welfare.
SEC. 35. Section 14124.93 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:
14124.93. (a) The Department of Child Support Services shall
provide payments to the local child support agency of fifty dollars
($50) per case for obtaining third-party health coverage or insurance
of beneficiaries, to the extent that funds are appropriated in the
annual Budget Act.
(b) A county shall be eligible for a payment if the county obtains
third-party health coverage or insurance for applicants or
recipients of Title IV-D services not previously covered, or for whom
coverage has lapsed, and the county provides all required
information on a form approved by both the Department of Child
Support Services and the State Department of Health Care Services.
(c) Payments to the local child support agency under this section
shall be suspended for the 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07,
and 2007-08 , 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, and
2011-12 fiscal years.
SEC. 36. Chapter 10.1 (commencing with Section
15525) is added to Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code , to read:
CHAPTER 10.1. WORK INCENTIVE NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENT
15525. (a) The State Department of Social Services shall
establish a Work Incentive Nutritional Supplement (WINS) program
pursuant to this section.
(b) Under the WINS program established pursuant to subdivision
(a), each county shall provide a forty dollar ($40) per month
additional food assistance benefit for each eligible food stamp
household, as defined in subdivision (d).
(c) The state shall pay to the counties 100 percent of the cost of
WINS benefits, using funds that qualify for the state's maintenance
of effort requirements under Section 609(a)(7)(B)(i) of Title 42 of
the United States Code.
(d) For purposes of this section, an "eligible food stamp
household" is a household that meets all of the following criteria:
(1) Receives benefits pursuant to Chapter 10 (commencing with
Section 18900) of Part 6.
(2) Has no household member receiving CalWORKs benefits pursuant
to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200).
(3) Contains at least one child under 18 years of age, unless the
household contains a child who meets the requirements of Section
11253.
(4) Has at least one parent or caretaker relative determined to be
"work eligible" as defined in Section 261.2(n) of Title 45 of the
Code of Federal Regulations and Section 607 of Title 42 of the United
States Code.
(5) Meets the federal work participation hours requirement set
forth in Section 607 of Title 42 of the United States Code for
subsidized or unsubsidized employment, and provides documentation
that the household has met the federal work requirements.
(e) (1) In accordance with federal law, federal food stamp
benefits (Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 18900) of Part 6),
federal supplemental security income benefits, state supplemental
security program benefits, public social services, as defined in
Section 10051, and county aid benefits (Part 5 (commencing with
Section 17000)), shall not be reduced as a consequence of the receipt
of the WINS benefit paid under this chapter.
(2) Benefits paid under this chapter shall not count toward the
federal 60-month time limit on aid as set forth in Section 608(a)(7)
(A) of Title 42 of the United States Code. Payment of WINS benefits
shall not commence before October 1, 2009, and full implementation of
the program shall be achieved on or before April 1, 2010.
(f) (1) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the
Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code and
Section 10554), until emergency regulations are filed with the
Secretary of State pursuant to paragraph (2), the State Department of
Social Services may implement this section through all-county
letters or similar instructions from the director. The director may
provide for individual county phase-in of this section to allow for
the orderly implementation based upon standards established by the
director, including the operational needs and requirements of the
counties. Implementation of the automation process changes shall
include issuance of an all-county letter or similar instructions to
counties by March 1, 2009.
(2) The department may adopt regulations to implement this
chapter. The initial adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation
authorized by this section is deemed to address an emergency, for
purposes of Sections 11346.1 and 11349.6 of the Government Code, and
the department is hereby exempted for that purpose from the
requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 11346.1 of the Government
Code. After the initial adoption, amendment, or repeal of an
emergency regulation pursuant to this paragraph, the department may
request approval from the Office of Administrative Law to readopt the
regulation as an emergency regulation pursuant to Section 11346.1 of
the Government Code.
(g) (1) The department shall not fully implement this section
until the department convenes a workgroup of advocates, legislative
staff, county representatives, and other stakeholders to consider the
progress of the WINS automation effort in tandem with a
pre-assistance employment readiness system (PAERS) program and any
other program options that may provide offsetting benefits to the
caseload reduction credit in the CalWORKs program. The department
shall convene this workgroup on or before December 1, 2008.
(2) A PAERS program shall be considered in light of current and
potential federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
statutes and regulations and how other states with pre-assistance or
other caseload offset options are responding to federal changes.
(3) The consideration of program options shall include, but not
necessarily be limited to, the potential impacts on helping clients
to obtain self-sufficiency, increasing the federal work participation
rate, increasing the caseload reduction credit, requirements and
efficiency of county administration, and the well-being of CalWORKs
recipients.
(4) If the workgroup concludes that adopting a PAERS program or
other program option pursuant to this section would, on balance, be
favorable for California and its CalWORKs recipients, the department,
in consultation with the workgroup, shall prepare a proposal by
March 31, 2009, for consideration during the regular legislative
budget subcommittee process in 2009.
(5) To meet the requirements of this subdivision, the department
may use its TANF reauthorization workgroups.
SEC. 37. Section 18939 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code is amended to read:
18939. (a) Any person who is found to be eligible for federally
funded SSI by the department shall be required to apply for SSI
benefits. An individual may continue to receive benefits under this
article if he or she fully cooperates in the application and
administrative appeal process of the Social Security Administration.
An individual shall continue to be eligible to receive benefits under
this article if he or she receives an unfavorable decision from the
Social Security Administration.
(b) (1) The State Department of Social Services shall require
counties with a base caseload of recipients of aid under this chapter
of 70 or more to establish an advocacy program to assist applicants
and recipients of aid under this chapter in the application process
for the SSI program. The department shall encourage counties with a
base caseload of recipients of aid under this chapter of 69 or less
to establish a similar advocacy program. Counties may, at their
option, contract to provide any or all of the required advocacy
services.
(2) The department shall provide assistance to counties in their
efforts to implement an SSI advocacy program (SSIAP) for applicants
and recipients of aid under this chapter.
(c) The State Department of Social Services shall ensure that its
Disability Evaluation Division (DED) expedites the disability
evaluations for applicants and recipients of aid under this chapter
by utilizing its existing case records sharing procedures to ensure
that information from previous DED evaluations for the Medi-Cal
program are shared expeditiously with the federal component of the
division that is adjudicating the SSI disability application.
(d) The State Department of Social Services shall reimburse
counties for legal fees incurred by attorneys or other authorized
representatives during the appeals phase of the SSI application
process only when the county demonstrates that the legal
representative successfully secures approval of SSI benefits. The
legal fees for each case shall not exceed twice the difference
between the maximum monthly individual payment under this chapter and
the maximum monthly SSP payment.
(e) The department shall report to the Legislature, by July 1,
2007, on the outcomes of county SSI advocacy programs, including the
numbers of cases that transitioned to SSI and the amount of savings
realized through the transfers.
(f) Subdivisions (b) to (e), inclusive, of this section shall
become inoperative on July 1, 2009 2011
.
SEC. 38. (a) On or before January 10, 2009, the
Department of Child Support Services shall provide to the Legislature
both of the following:
(1) More comprehensive data from the state hearing pilot project
that demonstrates that the pilot project has reduced state hearings.
(2) A breakdown of how the pilot project's revised hearing process
results in the estimated savings to state hearing costs.
(b) On or before February 1, 2009, the Department of Child Support
Services shall provide the appropriate committees of the Legislature
with trailer bill language to codify the new state hearing process.
SEC. 39. Clause (ii) of subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 1534 of, paragraph (2) of
subdivision (c) of Section 1569.33 of, paragraph (2) of subdivision
(c) of Section 1597.09 of, and paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of
Section 1597.55a of, the Health and Safety Code shall be suspended
for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 fiscal years. The State Department of
Social Services shall submit trailer bill language to the Legislature
on or before February 1, 2010, that reflects appropriate indicators
to trigger an increase in the number of facilities for which the
department conducts annual unannounced random sample visits. The
department shall work with legislative staff, the Legislative Analyst'
s Office, and interested stakeholders to develop the indicators. The
department shall provide an update to the Legislature on its progress
pursuant to this section at the 2009-10 budget hearings.
SEC. 40. The State Department of Social Services
shall do both of the following:
(a) Meet with stakeholders prior to legislative budget
subcommittee hearings in 2009 to determine ways that the process for
the Independent Adoptions Program can be simplified and streamlined,
including whether the fee amounts are appropriate, and provide an
update on those discussions, with any recommendations from the
department, during the 2009 subcommittee hearings.
(b) Provide an update during the 2009 legislative budget
subcommittee hearings regarding the degree to which fee collections
have improved as a result of the statutory changes made by Section
8808 of the Family Code, as added by this act, and the impact of the
new fees on the number of independent adoptions.
SEC. 41. (a) Notwithstanding the rulemaking
provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of
the Government Code and Section 10554), until emergency regulations
are filed with the Secretary of State pursuant to subdivision (b),
the State Department of Social Services may implement Sections 8807,
8808, 8810, and 8820 of the Family Code, as amended and added by this
act through all-county letters or similar instructions from the
Director of Social Services.
(b) The department may adopt regulations to implement Sections
8807, 8808, 8810, and 8820 of the Family Code, as amended and added
by this act. The initial adoption, amendment, or repeal of a
regulation authorized by this section is deemed to address an
emergency, for purposes of Sections 11346.1 and 11349.6 of the
Government Code, and the department is hereby exempted for that
purpose from the requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 11346.1
of the Government Code. After the initial adoption, amendment, or
repeal of an emergency regulation pursuant to this section, the
department may request approval from the Office of Administrative Law
to readopt the regulation as an emergency regulation pursuant to
Section 11346.1 of the Government Code.
SEC. 42. 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.
SEC. 43. This act is an urgency statute necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety
within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go
into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to implement the necessary statutory changes to implement
the Budget Act of 2008 at the earliest possible time, it is
necessary for this act to take effect immediately.
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact statutory changes relating to the Budget Act of 2008.