BILL NUMBER: AB 295	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	PASSED THE SENATE  SEPTEMBER 10, 2009
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  SEPTEMBER 11, 2009
	AMENDED IN SENATE  SEPTEMBER 4, 2009
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 1, 2009
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 9, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Ammiano

                        FEBRUARY 17, 2009

   An act to amend Section 16124 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, relating to public social services.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 295, Ammiano. Children: adoption services.
   Existing law requires, upon appropriation by the Legislature of
funds for this purpose, that the State Department of Social Services
establish a 3-year project in 4 counties, including San Francisco and
Los Angeles Counties, and one state district office, and further
requires that funding to those counties from appropriations in the
annual Budget Act be used to provide funding for preadoption and
postadoption services to ensure the successful adoption of a targeted
population of children who have been in foster care 18 months or
more. Existing law requires the department to work with counties to
develop requirements for the project, and to provide information on
the results of the project to the Legislature, by November 30, 2010.
   This bill would extend the availability of funds appropriated for
the specified adoption activities to June 30, 2010, and would also
extend the date for the department to provide the related information
to the Legislature to May 31, 2011.


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

  SECTION 1.  Section 16124 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
   16124.  (a) (1) Upon the appropriation of funds by the Legislature
for the purposes set forth in this section, the State Department of
Social Services shall establish a project in four counties and one
state district office of the department to provide preadoption and
postadoption services to ensure the successful adoption of children
and youth who have been in foster care 18 months or more, are at
least nine years of age, and are placed in an unrelated foster home
or in a group home.
   (2) The participating entities shall include the following:
   (A) City and County of San Francisco.
   (B) County of Los Angeles.
   (C) Two additional counties and one state district office, based
on criteria developed by the department in consultation with the
County Welfare Directors Association, which shall demonstrate
geographic diversity.
   (3) A county that elects to apply for funding pursuant to this
section shall submit an application to the department no later than a
date determined by the department to ensure timely allocation of
funds. The department shall review the applications received, and
select the eligible counties in accordance with this section.
   (b) Each entity identified pursuant to paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a) shall receive funding to provide preadoption and
postadoption services to the adoptive parents and the targeted
population identified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).
   (1) Preadoption and postadoption services for the child and each
family may include, but shall not be limited to, all of the
following:
   (A) Individualized or other recruitment efforts.
   (B) Postadoption services, including respite care.
   (C) Behavioral health services.
   (D) Peer support groups.
   (E) Information and referral services.
   (F) Other locally designed services, as appropriate.
   (G) Relative search efforts.
   (H) Training of adoptive parents, foster youth, or mentoring
families.
   (I) Mediation services.
   (J) Facilitation of siblings in the same placement.
   (K) Facilitation of postadoption contact.
   (L) Engaging youth in permanency decisionmaking.
   (M) Any service or support necessary to resolve any identified
barrier to adoption.
   (2) The services specified in paragraph (1) may be provided
directly by the county, contracted for by the county, or provided
through reimbursement to the family, as approved by the county.
   (c) The amount of funding provided in the appropriation of funds
provided by the annual Budget Act to each county participating in the
project shall be allocated as follows:
   (1) Seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000) to the City
and County of San Francisco.
   (2) One million two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($1,250,000) to
the County of Los Angeles.
   (3) A total of two million dollars ($2,000,000), to be awarded to
the two additional counties and the district office selected pursuant
to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), minus any
funds subtracted by the department for the purpose of administering
the project. The amount of funds provided to the department for
administration of the project, including the costs of collecting and
analyzing data pursuant to subdivision (h) and developing the
information pursuant to subdivision (i), shall not exceed three
hundred thousand dollars ($300,000).
   (4) If the appropriated amount in the annual Budget Act differs
from the total amount specified above, then the funds shall be
distributed in the same proportion as the amounts listed in
paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive.
   (d) Funds shall be allocated to the counties pursuant to
subdivision (c) no later than January 1 of each year, and shall
remain available for expenditure until June 30, 2010.
   (e) (1) The department shall seek approval for any federal
matching funds that may be available to supplement the project.
   (2) The implementation of the project shall not be dependent upon
the receipt of federal funding.
   (3) Project funds shall supplement, and not supplant, existing
federal, state, and local funds, and shall be used only in accordance
with the terms and conditions of the project.
   (4) No expenditure made for services specified in subdivision (b)
may be made to the extent that it renders the family ineligible for
federal adoption assistance.
   (f) The project shall be implemented only upon the adoption of a
resolution adopted by each county board of supervisors.
   (g) The department shall work with the counties to develop the
requirements for the project, including the number of families that
may participate in the project, given the available resources, and
guidelines for data collection, as required by subdivision (h).
   (h) (1) The department shall work with the participating county
and the state district office to analyze the effects of the project.
   (2) Measures assessed by the state and counties shall include, but
shall not be limited to, the following:
   (A) The extent to which the adoptions of the targeted population
identified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) increased as a result
of the project.
   (B) The number of families and children served by the project.
   (C) The type and amount of preadoption and postadoption services
that were provided to children and families under the project.
   (i) The department shall provide information to the Legislature on
the results of the project by May 31, 2011.
   (j) Adoption programs in the project counties shall be encouraged
to create public-private partnerships with private adoption agencies
to maximize their success in improving permanent outcomes for older
foster youth.