AB 1838, as amended, Ting. Foster care: infant supplement.
Existing law establishes the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, under which counties provide payments to foster care providers on behalf of qualified children in foster care. Existing law establishes a schedule of basic rates to be paid for the care and supervision of each foster child. Existing law also establishes the Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment Program (Kin-GAP), which provides aid on behalf of eligible children who are placed in the home of a relative caretaker. Existing law prohibits the rate paid under the Kin-GAP program from exceeding the basic foster family home rate paid to caregivers under the AFDC-FC program.
Existing law requires, when a child is living with a parent who receives AFDC-FC or Kin-GAP benefits, that the rate paid to the foster care provider on behalf of the parent include an additional amount, known as an infant supplement, for the care and supervision of the child. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to adopt a uniform rate for the infant supplement for each category of eligible licensed community care facility. Existing law also requires that the infant supplement payment for a child living with a teen parent in a whole family foster home be equal to the basic foster family home rate.
This bill would require that the infant supplement payment be equal to the basic foster family home rate for any child living with a dependent or nonminor dependent parent whose caretaker receives AFDC-FC, Kin-Gap, or Approved Relative Caregiver Funding Option Program benefits. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations by July 1, 2017, setting forth new infant supplement rates for a child in a group home placement, short-term residential treatment facility, or in THP-Plus Foster Care. The bill would also make a pregnant minor or nonminor dependent eligible for the infant supplement for a specified period before the expected date of birth, subject to a verification of pregnancy. Because counties would administer these extended benefits, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 11465 of the Welfare and Institutions
2Code is amended to read:
(a) (1) When a child is living with a dependent or
4nonminor dependent parent and the caretaker receives AFDC-FC
5begin delete orend deletebegin insert benefits,end insert Kin-GAP benefits, or benefits pursuant to Section
611461.3, on behalf of the parent, the rate shall include a supplement
7for the care and supervision of each child in an amount equal to
8the basic rate for children placed in a licensed or approved home
9as specified in subdivisions (a) to (d), inclusive, and subdivision
10(g), of Section 11461.
11(2) The rate paid to a nonminor
dependent parent residing in a
12supervised independent living placement, as defined in
subdivision
13(w) of Section 11400, shall include the supplement described in
14paragraph (1).
P3 1(3) On or before July 1, 2017, the department shall adopt
2regulations setting forth new supplement rates to cover the cost of
3the care and supervision of a child who is living with a parent in
4a group home placement, short-term residential treatment facility,
5or in THP-Plus Foster Care.
6(b) (1) The caregiver for a minor or nonminor dependent living
7in a whole family foster home, as defined in Section 11400, shall
8provide the county child welfare agency or probation department
9with a copy of the shared responsibility plan developed pursuant
10to Section 16501.25 and shall advise the county child welfare
11agency or probation department of any subsequent changes to
the
12plan. Once the plan has been completed and provided to the
13appropriate agencies, the payment made pursuant to this section
14shall be increased by an additional two hundred dollars ($200) per
15month to reflect the increased care and supervision while he or
16she is placed in the whole family foster home.
17(2) A nonminor dependent parent residing in a supervised
18independent living placement, as defined in subdivision (w) of
19Section 11400, who develops a written parenting support plan
20pursuant to Section 16501.26, shall provide the county child
21welfare agency or probation department with a copy of the plan
22and shall advise the county child welfare agency or probation
23department of any subsequent changes to the plan. The payment
24made pursuant to this section shall be increased by an additional
25two hundred dollars ($200) per month after all
of the following
26have been satisfied:
27(A) The plan has been completed and provided to the appropriate
28county agency.
29(B) The plan has been approved by the appropriate county
30agency.
31(C) The county agency has determined that the identified
32responsible adult meets the criteria specified in Section 16501.27.
33(3) A Kin-GAP relative who, immediately prior to entering the
34Kin-GAP program, was designated as a whole family foster home
35shall receive the same payment amounts for the care and
36supervision of a child who is living with a teen parent they received
37in foster care as a whole family foster home.
38(c) The rate paid for a pregnant minor or nonminor dependent,
39for the month in which the birth is anticipated and for the six-month
40period immediately prior to the month in which the birth is
P4 1anticipated, shall include the amount that would otherwise be paid
2to cover the care and supervision of a child, if born, under this
3section. Any amount paid pursuant to this subdivision shall be
4used to meet the specialized needs of the pregnant minor or
5nonminor dependent and to properly prepare for the needs of the
6infant. Verification of pregnancy is a condition of eligibility for
7aid under this subdivision.
To the extent that this act has an overall effect of
9increasing the costs already borne by a local agency for programs
10or levels of service mandated by the 2011 Realignment Legislation
11within the meaning of Section 36 of Article XIII of the California
12Constitution, it shall apply to local agencies only to the extent that
13the state provides annual funding for the cost increase. Any new
14program or higher level of service provided by a local agency
15pursuant to this act above the level for which funding has been
16provided shall not require a subvention of funds by the state nor
17otherwise be subject to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
18Constitution.
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