BILL NUMBER: AB 2474	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Beall

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2010

   An act to amend Section 1506 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to community care facilities.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2474, as introduced, Beall. Community care facilities: foster
family agencies.
   Existing law, the California Community Care Facilities Act,
requires any holder of a valid license issued by the State Department
of Social Services to engage in any foster family functions to use
only a certified family home that has been certified by that agency
or a licensed foster family home approved for this use by the
licensing county.
   This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to this
provision.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


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

  SECTION 1.  Section 1506 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
   1506.  (a) (1) Any holder of a valid license issued by the
department that authorizes the licensee to engage in  any
 foster family agency functions, may use only a certified
family home that has been certified by that agency or a licensed
foster family home approved for this use by the licensing county
pursuant to Section 1506.5.
   (2) Any home selected and certified for the reception and care of
children by that licensee shall not, during the time it is certified
and used only by that agency for these placements or care, be subject
to Section 1508. A certified family home may not be concurrently
licensed as a foster family home or as any other licensed residential
facility.
   (3) A child with a developmental disability who is placed in a
certified family home by a foster family agency that is operating
under agreement with the regional center responsible for that child
may remain in the certified family home after the age of 18 years.
The determination regarding whether and how long he or she may remain
as a resident after the age of 18 years shall be made through the
agreement of all parties involved, including the resident, the foster
parent, the foster family agency social worker, the resident's
regional center case manager, and the resident's parent, legal
guardian, or conservator, as appropriate. This determination shall
include a needs and service plan that contains an assessment of the
child's needs to ensure continued compatibility with the other
children in placement. The needs and service plan shall be completed
no more than six months prior to the child's eighteenth birthday. The
assessment shall be documented and maintained in the child's file
with the foster family agency.
   (b) (1) A foster family agency shall certify to the department
that the home has met the department's licensing standards. A foster
family agency may require a family home to meet additional standards
or be compatible with its treatment approach.
   (2) The foster family agency shall issue a certificate of approval
to the certified family home upon its determination that it has met
the standards established by the department and before the placement
of any child in the home. The certificate shall be valid for a period
not to exceed one year. The annual recertification shall require a
certified family home to complete at least 12 hours of structured
applicable training or continuing education. At least one hour of
training during the first six months following initial certification
shall be dedicated to meeting the requirements of paragraph (1) of
subdivision (b) of Section 11174.1 of the Penal Code.
   (3) If the agency determines that the home no longer meets the
standards, it shall notify the department and the local placing
agency.
   (c) The department shall develop licensing regulations
differentiating between foster family agencies that provide treatment
of children in foster families and those that provide nontreatment
services.
   (d) As used in this chapter, "certified family home" means a
family residence certified by a licensed foster family agency and
issued a certificate of approval by that agency as meeting licensing
standards, and used only by that foster family agency for placements.

   (e) (1) Requirements for social work personnel for a foster family
agency shall be a master's degree from an accredited or state
approved graduate school in social work or social welfare, or
equivalent education and experience, as determined by the state
department.
   (2) Persons who possess a master's degree from an accredited or
state approved graduate school in any of the following areas, or
equivalent education and experience, as determined by the state
department, shall be considered to be qualified to perform social
work activities in a foster family agency:
   (A) Marriage, family, and child counseling.
   (B) Child psychology.
   (C) Child development.
   (D) Counseling psychology.
   (E) Social psychology.
   (F) Clinical psychology.
   (G) Educational psychology, consistent with the scope of practice
as described in Section 4986.10 of the Business and Professions Code.

   (H) Education, with emphasis on counseling.
   (f) (1) In addition to the degree specifications in subdivision
(e), all of the following coursework and field practice or
experience, as defined in departmental regulations, shall be required
of all new hires for the position of social work personnel effective
January 1, 1995:
   (A) At least three semester units of field practice at the master'
s level or six months' full-time equivalent experience in a public or
private social service agency setting.
   (B) At least nine semester units of coursework related to human
development or human behavior, or, within the first year of
employment, experience working with children and families as a major
responsibility of the position under the supervision of a supervising
social worker.
   (C) At least three semester units in working with minority
populations or six months of experience in working with minority
populations or training in cultural competency and working with
minority populations within the first six months of employment as a
condition of employment.
   (D) At least three semester units in child welfare or at least six
months of experience in a public or private child welfare social
services setting for a nonsupervisory social worker. A supervising
social worker shall have two years' experience in a public or private
child welfare social services setting.
   (2) (A) Persons who do not meet the requirements specified in
subdivision (e) or (f) may apply for an exception as provided for in
subdivisions (g) and (h).
   (B) Exceptions granted by the department prior to January 1, 1995,
shall remain in effect.
   (3) (A) Persons who are hired as social work personnel on or after
January 1, 1995, who do not meet the requirements listed in this
subdivision shall be required to successfully meet those requirements
in order to be employed as social work personnel in a foster family
agency.
   (B) Employees who were hired prior to January 1, 1995, shall not
be required to meet the requirements of this subdivision in order to
remain employed as social work personnel in a foster family agency.
   (4) Coursework and field practice or experience completed to
fulfill the degree requirements of subdivision (e) may be used to
satisfy the requirements of this subdivision.
   (g) Individuals seeking an exception to the requirements of
subdivision (e) or (f) based on completion of equivalent education
and experience shall apply to the department by the process
established by the department.
   (h) The State Department of Social Services shall be required to
complete the process for the exception to minimum education and
experience requirements described in subdivisions (e) and (f) within
30 days of receiving the exception application of social work
personnel or supervising social worker qualifications from the foster
family agency.
   (i) The department shall review the feasibility of instituting a
licensure category to cover foster homes that are established
specifically to care for and supervise adults with developmental
disabilities, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 4512 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code, to prevent the institutionalization of
those individuals.
   (j) For purposes of this section, "social work personnel" means
supervising social workers as well as nonsupervisory social workers.
   (k) A foster family agency that provides treatment of children in
foster families shall employ one full-time social work supervisor for
every eight social workers or fraction thereof in the agency. This
subdivision shall not be implemented on or after January 1, 2011,
without the enactment of subsequent statutory authorization.