BILL NUMBER: AB 1758	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 25, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 10, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Ammiano

                        FEBRUARY 8, 2010

   An act to amend Sections 18250, 18251, 18253, 18253.5, 18254,
 and 18255   18255, and 18256.5  of, to
amend the heading of Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 18250) of
Part 6 of Division 9 of, to add Section 18258 to,  to repeal
Section 18256.5 of,  and to repeal and add Section 18256 of,
the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social
services.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1758, as amended, Ammiano. County wraparound services program.
   Under existing law, the State Department of Social Services
administers a pilot project that authorizes a county to develop and
implement a plan for providing wraparound services designed to enable
children who would otherwise be placed in a group home setting to
remain in the least restrictive, most family-like setting possible.
The pilot project also imposes specified evaluation and reporting
requirements for participating counties, and training requirements
for staff in participating counties.
   This bill would remove the designation of this program as a pilot
project and make conforming changes.
   Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, administered by
the State Department of Health Care Services, under which eligible
low-income persons are provided with health care services.
   This bill would also provide that children otherwise categorically
eligible for Medi-Cal benefits without a share of cost due to
receipt of benefits under the AFDC-FC program shall remain eligible
for Medi-Cal benefits during participation in the wraparound services
program.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


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

  SECTION 1.  The heading of Chapter 4 (commencing with Section
18250) of Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code
is amended to read:
      CHAPTER 4.  COUNTY WRAPAROUND SERVICES PROGRAM


  SEC. 2.  Section 18250 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
   18250.  (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that all counties
be authorized to provide children with service alternatives to group
home care through the development of expanded family-based services
programs. These programs shall include individualized or "wraparound"
services, where services are wrapped around a child living with his
or her birth parent, relative, nonrelative extended family member as
defined in Section 362.7, adoptive parent, licensed or certified
foster parent, or guardian. The wraparound services developed under
this section shall build on the strengths of each eligible child and
family and be tailored to address their unique and changing needs.
   (b) It is further the intent of the Legislature that the county
wraparound services program include the following elements:
   (1) Making available to the county the state share of nonfederal
reimbursement for group home placement, minus the state share, if
any, of any concurrent out-of-home placement costs, for children
eligible under this chapter, for the purpose of allowing the county
to develop family-based service alternatives.
   (2) Enabling the county to access all possible sources of federal
funds for the purpose of developing family-based service
alternatives.
   (3) Encouraging collaboration among persons and entities
including, but not limited to, parents, county welfare departments,
county mental health departments, county probation departments,
county health departments, special education local planning agencies,
school districts, and private service providers for the purpose of
planning and providing individualized services for children and their
birth or substitute families.
   (4) Ensuring local community participation in the development and
implementation of wraparound services by county placing agencies and
service providers.
   (5) Preserving and using the service resources and expertise of
nonprofit providers to develop family-based and community-based
service alternatives.
  SEC. 3.  Section 18251 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
   18251.  As used in this chapter:
   (a) "County" means each county participating in an individualized
or wraparound services program.
   (b) "County placing agency" means a county welfare or probation
department, or a county mental health department with respect to
those children placed pursuant to Section 7572.5 of the Government
Code.
   (c) "Eligible child" means a child who is any of the following:
   (1) A child who has been adjudicated as either a dependent or ward
of the juvenile court pursuant to Section 300, 601, or 602 and who
would be placed in a group home licensed by the department at a rate
classification level of 10 or higher.
   (2) A child who would be voluntarily placed in out-of-home care
pursuant to Section 7572.5 of the Government Code.
   (3) A child who is currently, or who would be, placed in a group
home licensed by the department at a rate classification level of 10
or higher.
   (d) "Wraparound services" means community-based intervention
services that emphasize the strengths of the child and family and
includes the delivery of coordinated, highly individualized
unconditional services to address needs and achieve positive outcomes
in their lives.
   (e) "Service allocation slot" means a specified amount of funds
available to the county to pay for an individualized intensive
wraparound services package for an eligible child. A service
allocation slot may be used for more than one child on a successive
basis.
  SEC. 4.  Section 18253 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
   18253.  Each county shall ensure that an evaluation of the
wraparound services program is conducted to determine the cost and
treatment effectiveness of outcomes such as family functioning and
social performance, preventing placement in more restrictive
environments, improving emotional and behavioral adjustments, school
attendance, and stability in the least restrictive school placement
for eligible children. Systems of care outcomes shall be included to
the extent they are applicable to the target population.
  SEC. 5.  Section 18253.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
   18253.5.  Each county shall ensure that staff participating in the
wraparound services program have completed training provided or
approved by the department, on providing individualized wraparound
services.
  SEC. 6.  Section 18254 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
   18254.  (a) Reimbursement rates for wraparound services, under the
wraparound services program, shall be based on the following
factors:
   (1) The average cost of rate classification 10 to 11 in each
county, minus the cost of any concurrent out-of-home placement, for
children who are or would be placed in a rate level 10 or 11 group
home.
   (2) The average cost of rate classification 12 to 14 in each
county, minus the cost of any concurrent out-of-home placement, for
children who are or would be placed in a rate level 12 to 14 group
home.
   (b) The annual maximum limit on funding available for the
wraparound services program authorized by this chapter shall be based
on the average cost, determined pursuant to subdivision (a), for the
number of service allocation slots assigned to each county.
   (c) The department shall reimburse each county, for the purpose of
providing intensive wraparound services, up to 100 percent of the
state share of nonfederal funds, to be matched by each county's share
of cost as established by law, and to the extent permitted by
federal law, up to 100 percent of the federal funds allocated for
group home placements of eligible children, at the rate authorized
pursuant to subdivision (a).
   (d) State and, to the extent permitted by federal law, federal
foster care funds shall remain with the administrative authority of
the county welfare department, which may enter into an interagency
agreement to transfer those funds, and shall be used to provide
intensive wraparound services.
   (e) General Fund costs for the provision of benefits to eligible
children, at rates authorized by subdivision (a), through the
wraparound services program authorized by this chapter, shall not
exceed the costs which would otherwise have been incurred had the
eligible children been placed in a group home.
  SEC. 7.  Section 18255 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
   18255.  Any county that applies to, and is granted approval, by
the department may implement a wraparound services program. The
number of service allocation slots assigned to each county shall be
determined by each county and approved by the department.
  SEC. 8.  Section 18256 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
  SEC. 9.  Section 18256 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
   18256.  The department shall work with the County Welfare
Directors Association of California to identify periodic data
elements to be collected in order to track the impact of the counties'
wraparound services programs on applicable California Child and
Family Services Review System outcome indicators, such as safety,
permanency, and the well-being of the child. 
  SEC. 10.    Section 18256.5 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code is repealed. 
   SEC. 10.    Section 18256.5 of the   Welfare
and Institutions Code   is amended to read: 
   18256.5.   At the end of a county's pilot project, in
  In  order to prevent disruption to  the
child, each child remaining in the pilot project shall continue to
receive all planned services specified in the child's individualized
services plan   a child participating in a wraparound
services program, any county that terminates its wraparound services
program shall ensure the participating child's service needs are met
without disruption  until his or her case is closed.
  SEC. 11.  Section 18258 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
   18258.  A child who is otherwise categorically eligible for
Medi-Cal benefits without a share of cost due to receipt of benefits
under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care
(AFDC-FC) program shall remain eligible for Medi-Cal benefits during
participation in the wraparound services program, provided that the
child remains an eligible child as defined in subdivision (c) of
Section 18251 and is considered temporarily absent from a foster care
placement for which the child remains eligible for AFDC-FC benefits
pursuant to Section 18254. The placement of a child who is
participating in the wraparound services program pursuant to this
chapter in his or her parental home shall not represent a change in
the child's foster care status for purposes of Medi-Cal eligibility,
provided that the child remains an eligible child as defined in
subdivision (c) of Section 18251 and is considered temporarily absent
from a foster care placement for which the child remains eligible
for AFDC-FC benefits pursuant to Section 18254. Medi-Cal eligibility
shall be redetermined, consistent with applicable state law, if the
child is returned to the parental home and AFDC-FC benefits
terminated.