BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Senator McGuire, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1997
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|Author: |Mark Stone |
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|Version: |June 21, 2016 |Hearing |June 28, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Mareva Brown |
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Subject: Foster care
SUMMARY
This 261-page bill cleans up elements of AB 403 (Stone, Chapter
773, Statutes of 2015), which implemented the Continuum of Care
Reform effort. Included in this cleanup are changes to the
requirements for mental health certification of a short term
residential treatment center (STRTC) and modifications to
probation placement oversight. It establishes additional
protocols around the Resource Family Approval process, which
moves from a pilot program to a statewide mandate in January
2017. It requires the basic rate paid to all families be the
same regardless of approval process and other changes. This bill
additionally deletes the option to extend the provisional
license of a foster family agency (FFA) or STRTC if it fails to
obtain accreditation within specified time frames and authorizes
the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) to revoke
the license if accreditation is not obtained within 24 months of
licensure. It makes other conforming and technical changes,
including deletion of statutory language that will become
obsolete on January 1, 2017, when this bill is enacted, such as
licensure categories and requirements for group homes.
ABSTRACT
Existing law:
1) Establishes a system of juvenile dependency for children
AB 1997 (Mark Stone) PageB
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who are or are at risk of being physically, sexually or
emotionally abused, being neglected or being exploited to
ensure their safety, protection and physical and emotional
well-being. (WIC 300, et seq.)
2) Requires the state, through CDSS and county welfare
departments, to establish and support a public system of
child welfare services to protect and promote the welfare of
children. (WIC 10600 and 16500)
3) Establishes the category of STRTC, defined as a
residential facility licensed by CDSS and operated by any
public agency or private organization that provides
short-term, specialized, and intensive treatment, and
24-hour care and supervision to children. The care and
supervision provided by a short-term residential treatment
center shall be nonmedical, except as otherwise permitted by
law. (HSC 1502 (a)(18))
4) Provides for licensure of a Foster Family Agency, defined
to mean a public or private agency engaged in the
recruiting, certifying, and training of, and providing
professional support to, foster parents, or in finding homes
or other places for placement for children for temporary or
permanent care, as an alternative to group care. (HSC
1502(a)(4))
5) Establishes California's Medicaid program, Medi-Cal,
though which eligible low-income individuals receive health
care and mental health services, including foster youth,
eligible recipients of the Adoption Assistance Program, and
Kin-Gap. Under Medi-Cal, establishes the federal Early and
Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) program
to provide comprehensive and preventive health services
including specialty mental health services to Medi-Cal
beneficiaries under the age of 21. (WIC 14000 et seq., 42
USC Section 1396 et seq and 42 CFR 435.145.)
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6) Establishes the Resource Family approval process, a
unified, family friendly, and child-centered process to
replace the existing multiple processes for licensing foster
family homes, approving relatives and nonrelative extended
family members as foster care providers, and approving
adoptive families. The process includes a home study,
psychosocial assessment, background check, and other
elements. (WIC 16519.5)
7) Establishes in statute the basic rate for a foster child
and codifies modifications to that rate. (WIC 11461)
8) Restricts the placement of children younger than 6 into a
group home or STRTC, except in specified circumstances and
requires that the child remain no longer than 120 days, with
extensions of 60 days only under specified circumstances and
with written approval of the director or deputy director of
the county child welfare or probation department. Similarly
restricts the placement duration of a child aged 6-12 years
old to a treatment facility for no longer than six months
with written authorization required to extend the stay. (WIC
361.2)
This bill:
Makes changes to the STRTC and FFA structure, licensure and
certification, including:
1) Requires an FFA or STRTC to include with an application a
letter of recommendation from county placing agencies to
identify a need for the program prior to licensure.
2) Requires FFA social workers to meet core competencies to
participate in the assessment and evaluation of an
applicant, as specified, and clarifies that a social worker
may obtain a degree more advanced than a master's degree.
3) Defines the components of an FFA's plan of operation
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including a demonstrated ability to support the needs of
differing children and their families, a demonstrated
ability to provide or obtain treatment services, as
appropriate,
4) Prohibits an FFA from considering an applicant who has had
a denial within the preceding year or a previous rescission,
revocation or exemption denial, but permits an FFA to
continue to review an application if it determines that the
previous denial, rescission or revocation were due to
circumstances that have been corrected or no longer exist.
5) Deletes the ability of an FFA or STRTC to receive a
provisional license in order to obtain accreditation,
provides each FFA with a 24-month window to receive the
accreditation and permits CDSS to revoke licensure if
accreditation is not obtained in that time.
Clarifies the role of the probation department in placing youth
into an STRTC
6) Requires that if a child is placed in an STRTC through the
probation department, and is older than 13 years old, the
chief probation officer must review and approve the
placement if it exceeds 12 months and no less frequently
than every 12 months thereafter.
7) Requires that a court review the placement decision of a
probation department for necessity and appropriateness.
Revises the Resource Family Approval (RFA) Process in the
following ways:
8) Establishes the RFA as the only method to approving homes
within a foster family agency, sunsets provisions that allow
for certification of homes under the prior statute and
requires an FFA to document various aspects of the RFA
process.
9) Requires an FFA to make an announced annual inspection
visit, and authorizes inspection of resource family homes as
often as necessary to ensure the quality of care.
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10) Clarifies that a licensed or certified foster home or
existing approved resource family home shall forfeit its
current licensure, certification or approval concurrent with
its approval as a resource family by an FFA or a county.
11) Requires CDSS to develop a basic rate that ensures that a
child placed in a licensed foster family home, a certified
family home, or with a resource family approved by a county
or foster family agency is eligible for the same basic rate.
12) Clarifies that there is no fundamental right to resource
family approval.
Makes the following changes to Mental Health components
13) Prohibits an STRTC from providing specialty mental health
services without a current mental health program approval
from the county mental health plan or state DHCS, and
requires that a licensed STRTC that has not obtained a
program approval to provide children in its care access to
appropriate mental health services.
14) Authorizes DHCS and county mental health plans to suspend
or revoke a mental health program approval, impose monetary
penalties, place a mental health program on probation or
require a program to prepare and comply with a corrective
action plan.
15) Provides DHCS and county mental health plans with
authority to issue a provisional mental health approval for
up to one year and requires DHCS and CDSS to issue
regulations defining due process for centers that are
seeking to appeal any part of the licensure and program
approval process.
16) Establishes that out-of-state group homes must have a
mental health program approval equivalent to California's to
accept placement of California youth.
17) Clarifies the role of the interagency placement committee
in assessing children for placement in to STRTCs, including
into those facilities that do not have specialty mental
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health treatment components.
18) Removes the requirement for FFAs to obtain a mental health
certification or program approval and deletes references to
treatment throughout the bill.
19) Replaces the requirement that an FFA document how it will
provide treatment services, with the requirement that an FFA
submit a copy of its program statement to all placing
agencies.
Makes technical and other changes including:
20) Requires DHCS and CDSS to identify a dispute resolution
process to address disputed interagency placement committee
assessments or determinations of a child's service need.
FISCAL IMPACT
According to an analysis by the Assembly Committee on
Appropriations, the Governor's 2016-17 Budget includes $182
million ($127 million GF) to continue to implement CCR contained
in AB 403 (Stone, Chapter 773, Statutes of 2015), including all
of the provisions of this bill.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Purpose of the bill:
The author states that while most youth in foster care are
placed with resource families about 3,000 youth live in group
placements, where they often stay for years. These long stays
are problematic because foster youth who live in congregate care
settings are more likely than those who live with families to
suffer a variety of negative short- and long-term outcomes, the
author states. These can include lifelong institutionalized
behaviors, and increased likelihood of involvement with the
criminal justice system as well as low educational attainment.
In 2015, the author carried an Administration-sponsored bill to
implement a Continuum of Care Reform effort, beginning a
multi-year reform process. AB 403 (Stone, Chapter 773, Statutes
of 2015) advanced California's long-standing goal to move away
from the use of long-term group home care by increasing youth
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placement into family settings, strengthening training and
supports for those families and transforming existing group home
care into short term residential treatment centers.
This bill makes numerous technical amendments and policy
clarifications to ensure that stakeholders and the
Administration can most effectively and efficiently implement
provisions of the new law, according to the author.
Child Welfare system
California's county-based child welfare system is designed to
protect children at risk of child abuse and neglect or
exploitation by providing intensive services to families to
allow children to remain in their homes, or by arranging
temporary or permanent placement of the child in the safest and
least restrictive environment possible. Approximately 62,000
children and youth in California are in foster care or roughly 1
in 7 foster children nationwide.
For more than a decade California has implemented prevention and
early intervention efforts to strengthen families and reduce the
number of children in out-of-home foster care placements,
resulting in a decline from more than 100,000 youths in foster
care in 1999 to the current 62,000. About 85 percent were
removed from their families due to neglect, 8 percent due to
physical abuse, and 2 percent due to sexual abuse.<1> The median
length of time California children spent in foster care was
about 15 months, as of 2012.
At the same time the population was declining, there was a
growing national consensus in the field of child welfare that
institutionalized settings should be used sparingly. The
placement of maltreated children in group care settings has been
increasingly viewed as a temporary solution in instances where
emergency or crisis treatment is warranted. Yet, as of January
2015, 48 percent of youth placed in group homes in California
through the child welfare services system had been there more
than two years, and 23 percent had been there more than five
years.
Continuum of Care Reform effort
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<1> "Foster Care in California," Kidsdata.org, February 2016
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In 2012, CDSS convened a working group to recommend changes to
the current rate-setting system, services, and programs serving
children and families in the continuum of foster care settings.
The three-year effort came in response to statutory requirements
in budget trailer bill (SB 1013, Chapter 25, Statutes of 2012),
which mandated the workgroup consider, at a minimum, reforms to
programs provided by Foster Family Agencies and group homes, and
how to ensure the provision of services in family-like settings,
including after care services, when appropriate.
In January 2015, the Department published the "California's
Child Welfare Continuum of Care Reform" report. It outlined an
interdependent approach to improving California's child welfare
system by improving assessments of children and families,
emphasizing home-based family care placements of children and
changing the goals for congregate care placements. "Children
should live in their communities in home-based family care
settings," the report noted. (p. 5) "Through this report's
proposed restructuring of placements and services, children and
youth will be able to receive their necessary services without
being rotated between programs and placements."
The report emphasized that reform efforts cannot focus on
stand-alone innovations, but rather must be an interconnected
system with an array of services for youth and families. It
noted that underpinning the change in service delivery is the
belief that "all children, including those in out-of-home care,
deserve to grow up in families and develop a sense of
community." One recommendation of the report, included in AB
403, was to provide all foster youth with access to a child and
family team - instead of relying solely on a single social
worker - and empowering those child and family teams to utilize
a more consistent assessment tool that identifies the needs of
the child. Another key element was to limit the use of group
care to short-term treatment with targeted mental health
components.
AB 403
AB 403 (Stone, Chapter 773, Statutes of 2015) enacted major
AB 1997 (Mark Stone) PageI
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components of the CCR effort. The bill eliminated the licensure
category of children's group homes and declared Legislative
intent to improve California's child welfare system by using
comprehensive initial child assessments, increasing the use of
and the supports to home-based family care and relying less on
congregate care. The bill targeted the delivery of appropriate
treatment and services to the child regardless of living
arrangement, rather than using the placement setting to drive
decisions about services which historically has caused a child
to "fail upwards" into higher levels of care. Overall, it
emphasized the creation of supports for resource families to
decrease group care.
Short Term Residential Treatment Centers (STRTCs)
AB 403 bill created a new licensure category to replace the
eliminated group home category, effective January 1, 2017. All
STRTCs are required to have national accreditation from an
entity identified by CDSS. The bill permitted two-year
conditional extensions to individual group homes and an interim
rate structure for group homes that were unable to transition to
the new STRTC model within the given time frame.
AB 403 also required that placement of a child into a STRTC is
authorized only when the case plan indicates that placement is
to provide short-term, specialized and intensive treatment for
the child, the case plan specifies the need for, nature of, and
anticipated duration of this treatment. The case plan must
include a plan for transitioning the child to a less restrictive
environment and the projected timeline for doing so. It
required that placements lasting longer than six-months to be
documented and approved by the deputy director or director of
the county child welfare agency. The STRTCs are intended to
replace the existing group homes with the highest rate
classification levels - RCL 13 and 14 - which currently require
certification by DHCS to provide specialty mental health
services.
Under AB 403, STRTCs are permitted to address mental health
treatment in two ways. An STRTC that is certified by DHCS or a
county mental health plan may only accept children who have been
assessed as meeting medical necessity required for specialty
mental health care under the EPSDT program or who have been
assessed as being Seriously Emotionally Disturbed. An STRTC
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without a mental health certification is permitted to be
licensed, however it only is authorized serve children who are
assessed as being seriously emotionally disturbed and meeting
medical necessity criteria for specialty mental health care if
the STRTC arranges for a Medi-Cal eligible child to receive
treatment.
This bill clarifies the process for an STRTC to obtain mental
health approval and makes continued licensure by CDSS contingent
upon obtaining the mental health approval. It permits emergency
placements of youth and children into STRTCs pending further
evaluation. For children with behavioral challenges that are not
diagnosed as needing specialty mental health services by a
county mental health plan, this bill permits an STRTC to remain
licensed and to provide children in its care access to
appropriate mental health services.
Foster Family Agencies (FFAs)
Private Foster Family Agencies are used by county placing
departments for children who require more intensive care than a
typical foster family home, but do not need the intensive
services of a group home, or an STRTC. FFAs recruit, certify and
train foster parents and provide social workers and other
supports to the foster families. There are two types of FFA
programs, "treatment foster care," and "nontreatment foster
care." Treatment foster care is defined as meeting the service
needs of a child that may require a higher level of care, such
as residential placement, if not referred to an FFA. An FFA
providing nontreatment services typically certifies a home for
placement of a child pending the adoption of that child by the
family, according to information on the CDSS website.
AB 403 maintained the licensure category of FFAs, but required
all FFAs to become accredited, mandated new rates be
established, permitted probation departments to place youth into
a certified home of an FFA and permitted mental health
certification for programs that provide intensive services,
according to law.
This bill removes the requirement that an FFA seek and obtain
mental health program approval, however an FFA may still secure
mental health treatment for children living within the FFA's
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foster homes.
Rates
With the establishment of new types of treatment and the new
STRTC category, AB 403 required CDSS to create a new payment
structure for STRTCs and for FFAs, effective January 1, 2017.
These rates were expected to be released in March 2016, however
CDSS was delayed in releasing them and they were unveiled with
the May Revise. In response to stakeholder concerns about the
methodology for creating the rates, the Senate and Assembly
budget committees adopted special reporting language requiring
CDSS to work with stakeholders through the summer of 2016, and
to report back on Aug. 10th the results of those conversations
in order to determine if rate adjustments are necessary.
Resource Family Approval
Prior to AB 403, the Legislature approved and CDSS enacted a
pilot project to combine the review and approval processes of
California's various foster care and adoption programs into a
single approval process, the Resource Family Approval Process.
AB 403 made the pilot statewide, effective January 1, 2017.
This bill clarifies the process for conducting an RFA for a
family member who is sheltering a foster child. The typical RFA
process requires a background check, psychosocial assessment and
home study prior to the placement of a child in a foster home.
However many family placements are done on an emergency basis,
without the ability to establish approval prior to placement.
This bill establishes a process for emergency placement of a
child with a relative, pending final approval through the RFA
process.
Out of state placements
California statute requires that any out-of-state group home
meet at least the same rigorous standards it would have to meet
in California. It requires CDSS or its designee - typically a
county child welfare agency - to perform initial and continuing
inspections of out-of-state group homes in order to either
certify that the out-of-state group home meets all licensure
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standards required of group homes operated in California or that
the department has granted a waiver to a specific licensing
standard upon a finding that there exists no adverse impact to
health and safety. AB 403 mandated that after January 1, 2017,
the licensing standards applicable to out-of-state group homes
be the same as those required of STRTCs, unless the out-of-state
group home is granted an extension or waiver, as specified. In
January 2016, there were 62 youths placed in out-of-state
placements from the child welfare system, and 252 from the
probation, or delinquency, system, as reflected in the chart on
the next page. This bill extends the requirement for mental
health certification to out-of-state placements.
California Department of Social Services
Related legislation:
AB 403 (Stone, Chapter 773, Statutes of 2015) implemented
Continuum of Care Reform (CCR) recommendations to better serve
children and youth in California's child welfare services system
and required statewide implementation of the Resource Family
Approval Process.
SB 1013 (Senate Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 35, Statutes
of 2012) realigned the child welfare services system to
counties, established a moratorium on the licensing of new group
homes, and required the Department of Social Services to convene
a workgroup to discuss and recommend changes to the continuum of
care within child welfare services and how to reform the use of
congregate care.
COMMENTS
This bill continues to be fine-tuned, and will likely see
additional technical changes in the next committee. The
committee recommends the following amendments:
1. Out-of-state: Foster children who are placed out of
state are subject to the same requirements as those placed
in California short-term residential treatment centers.
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Staff therefore recommends clarifying this language, as
follows:
Family Code Section 7911.1
(c) (1) The State Department of Social Services or its designee
shall perform initial and continuing inspection of out-of-state
group homes in order to either certify that the out-of-state
group home meets all licensure standards required of group homes
operated in California or that the department has granted a
waiver to a specific licensing standard upon a finding that
there exists no adverse impact to health and safety.
(2) (A) On and after January 1, 2017, the licensing standards
applicable to out-of-state group homes certified by the
department, as described in paragraph (1), shall be those
required of short-term residential treatment centers operated in
this state, unless the out-of-state group home is granted an
extension pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 11462.04 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code, or has otherwise been granted a
waiver pursuant to this subdivision..
(B) On and after January 1, 2017 , the licensing standards
applicable to out-of-state group homes certified by the
department, as described in paragraph (1), shall also include
an out-of-state group home shall satisfy the licensing standards
for mental health program approval in Section 1562.01 of the
Health and Safety Code . These standards can also be met if the
out-of-state group home has an equivalent mental health program
approval in the state in which it is operating. If an
out-of-state group home cannot meet licensing standards for
equivalent mental health program approval, no children shall be
placed in that facility.
(3) In order to receive certification, the out-of-state group
home shall have a current license, or an equivalent approval, in
good standing issued by the appropriate authority or authorities
of the state in which it is operating.
2. Program approval: The creation of short-term residential
treatment centers requires the collaboration of county
welfare agencies, which are responsible for placement and
oversight of foster children, and county behavioral health
departments, which are responsible for approving both the
AB 1997 (Mark Stone) PageN
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centers for Medi-Cal certification, and the children for
the level of needed services. Staff recommends tracking
both processes to identify problems that may arise:
WIC 1562.01
(a) The department shall license short-term residential
treatment centers, as defined in paragraph (18) of
subdivision (a) of Section 1502, pursuant to this chapter.
A short-term residential treatment center shall comply with
all requirements of this chapter that are applicable to
group homes and to the requirements of this section.
(b) (1) A short-term residential treatment center shall
have national accreditation from an entity identified by
the department pursuant to the process described in
paragraph (5) (6) of subdivision (b) of Section 11462 of
the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(2) A short-term residential treatment center applicant
shall submit documentation of accreditation or application
for accreditation with its application for licensure.
(3) A short-term residential treatment center shall have up
to 24 months from the date of licensure to obtain
accreditation.
(4) A short-term residential treatment center shall provide
documentation to the department reporting its accreditation
status at 12 months and at 18 months after the date of
licensure.
(5) This subdivision does not preclude the department from
requesting additional information from the short-term
residential treatment center regarding its accreditation
status.
(6) The department may revoke a short-term residential
treatment center's license pursuant to Article 5
(commencing with Section 1550) for failure to obtain
accreditation within the timeframes specified in this
subdivision.
(c) (1) A short-term residential treatment center shall
have up to 12 months from the date of licensure to obtain
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in good standing a mental health program approval that
includes a Medi-Cal mental health certification, as set
forth in Sections 4096.5 and 11462.01 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code.
(2) A short-term residential treatment center shall
maintain the program approval described in paragraph (1) in
good standing during their licensure.
(3) The Department shall track the number of licensed
short-term residential treatment centers that were unable
to obtain a mental health program approval and provide that
information annually to the Legislature in the budget
process.
3. Dispute resolution: One significant element of this bill
is the addition of mental health certification or program
approval required for STRTCs. After significant
negotiation, the Departments of Social Services and Health
Care Services and the county welfare and behavioral health
directors have largely agreed upon the approach in this
bill. Still unresolved is a dispute resolution process in
case local entities cannot agree whether to approve a
specific child for specialty mental health treatment. Staff
recommends the following clarification:
WIC 4096
(e)(4) The State Department of Health Care Services and the
State Department of Social Services shall identify a dispute
resolution process currently operated jointly under an
identified ombudsman program of each department to jointly
review a disputed interagency placement committee assessment or
determination made pursuant to subdivision (e). The departments
shall report the identified dispute resolution process to the
policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature no later than
January 1, 2017, and shall track the number of disputes reported
and resolved and provide them to the Legislature annually
through the budget process.
4. Confidential proceedings: This bill requires the closure
of administrative hearings involving foster care providers
who are appealing violations, including those of exclusion
from being around foster children, citations for licensing
AB 1997 (Mark Stone) PageP
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violations and others. While juvenile dependency
proceedings are traditionally closed, the required closure
of administrative hearings broadens this requirement, and
may make confidential the documentation of the
administrative hearings. The stated purpose of these
amendments is to ensure privacy for foster youth who may be
witnesses or victims in these circumstances; however a more
targeted approach has not been evaluated. Given the late
nature of these amendments and the pending questions, staff
recommends deleting the following two sections and
continuing the conversation about confidential proceedings
in subsequent cleanup bills, as follows:
Delete the following:
Section 1551.3 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
A proceeding conducted pursuant to Section 1534, 1551, or
1558 against a foster family home or certified family home
of a foster family agency shall be confidential and not
open to the public in order to preserve the confidential
information of a child in accordance with Section 1536,
Section 11167.5 of the Penal Code, and Sections 827 and
10850 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Notwithstanding
this requirement, an administrative law judge may admit
those persons deemed to have a direct and legitimate
interest in the particular case or the work of the court on
a case-by-case basis and with any admonishments,
limitations, and protective orders as may be necessary to
preserve the confidential nature of the proceedings.
Delete amended sections of 16519.6.
(n) (1) A proceeding conducted pursuant to this section shall
be confidential and not open to the public in order to preserve
the confidential information of a child in accordance with
Sections 827 and 10850, Section 1536 of the Health and Safety
Code, and Section 11167.5 of the Penal Code. Notwithstanding
this requirement, an administrative law judge may admit persons
deemed to have a direct and legitimate interest in the
particular case or the work of the court on a case-by-case basis
and with any admonishments, limitations, and protective orders
as may be necessary to preserve the confidential nature of the
proceedings.
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5. Contracting: This bill requires an STRTC contract with a
county mental health plan for specialty services for the
children in its care. However, this contracting requirement
does not establish rates for the services to be provide, as
is customary. Staff recommends the following clarifying
amendment:
WIC 11462.01.
(a) (1) No later than 12 months following the date of
initial licensure, a short-term residential treatment
center, as defined in subdivision (ad) of Section 11400 of
this code and paragraph (18) of subdivision (a) of Section
1502 of the Health and Safety Code, shall obtain a
contract , subject to an agreement on rates and terms and
conditions, with a county mental health plan to provide
specialty mental health services and demonstrate the
ability to meet the therapeutic needs of each child, as
identified in any of the following:
(A) A mental health assessment.
(B) The child's case plan.
(C) The child's needs and services plan.
(D) Other documentation demonstrating the child has a
mental health need.
(2) A short-term residential treatment center shall comply
with any other mental health program approvals required by
the State Department of Health Care Services or by a county
mental health plan to which mental health program approval
authority has been delegated.
6. Rates: This bill revises the rate-setting mechanism from
one formalized in statute to one set by All County Letter,
without reference to the need for codification. CDSS said
it was not its intent to remove the Legislature's
traditional role in establishing rates by statute. However
the Department's rates for these new levels of care are
still being evaluated, and were released just a month ago
in the Governor's May Revise. The Legislative budget
committees required in Trailer Bill that CDSS continue to
discuss rates with various stakeholders through the summer
and fall. As the rates for current year are the subject of
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ongoing conversations with stakeholders, it is appropriate
to allow rates this year to be therefore set through All
County Letter, however staff recommends clarifying that the
Legislature's role in establishing and codifying rates
through the annual budget process is unchanged going
forward beginning with the budget enacted for 2017-2018, as
follows:
WIC 11460 .
(a) (1) Foster care providers shall be paid a per child per
month rate in return for the care and supervision of the
AFDC-FC child placed with them. The department is
designated the single organizational unit whose duty it
shall be to administer a state system for establishing
rates in the AFDC-FC program. State functions shall be
performed by the department or by delegation of the
department to county welfare departments or Indian tribes,
consortia of tribes, or tribal organizations that have
entered into an agreement pursuant to Section 10553.1.
(2)(A) Foster care providers that care for a child in a
home-based setting described in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (g) of Section 11461, or in a certified home or
an approved resource family of a foster family agency,
shall be paid the per child per month rate as set forth in
paragraph (4) of subdivision (g) of Section 11461.
(B) The basic rate paid to either a certified family home
or an approved resource family by a foster family agency
shall be paid by the agency to the certified family home or
approved resource family from the rate that is paid to the
agency pursuant to Section 11463.
WIC 11461(g)
(4)(A)(i) For the 2016-17 fiscal year , the department shall
develop a basic rate in coordination with the development
of the foster family agency rate authorized in Section
11463 that ensures a child placed in a home-based setting
described in paragraph (1), and a child placed in a
certified family home or with a resource family approved by
a foster family agency, is eligible for the same basic
rate set forth in this paragraph.
(ii)The rates developed pursuant to this paragraph shall
AB 1997 (Mark Stone) PageS
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not be lower than the rates proposed as part of the May
Revision of the Governor's budget in May of 2016.
(iii) A certified family home of a foster family agency
shall be paid the basic rate set forth in this paragraph
only through December 31, 2019 December 31, 2017.
(B) The basic rate paid to either a certified family home
or a resource family approved by a foster family agency
shall be paid by the agency to the certified family home or
approved resource family from the rate that is paid to the
agency pursuant to Section 11463.
(C) The basic rate shall be annually adjusted on July 1 by
the annual percentage change in the California Necessities
Index applicable to the calendar year within which each
July 1 occurs. 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), the annually adjusted basic rates
shall be published annually by all county letter.
(D) (C) 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), the basic rates and the manner in which
they are determined shall be set forth in written
directives until regulations are adopted.
(E) (D) The basic rates set forth in written directives or
regulations pursuant to subparagraph (D) (C) of paragraph
(4) of subdivision (g) shall become inoperative on December
31, 2017, unless a later enacted statute, that becomes
operative on or before December 31, 2017, deletes or
extends the dates on which they become inoperative.
WIC 11462
(c) The department shall establish rates pursuant to
subdivisions (a) and (b) commencing January 1, 2017. The
rate structure shall include an interim rate, a provisional
rate for new short-term residential treatment centers, and
a probationary rate. The department may supplement the rate
with a one-time reimbursement for accreditation fees in an
AB 1997 (Mark Stone) PageT
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amount and manner determined by the department in written
directives.
(1) Initial i nterim rates developed pursuant to this
section shall be effective January 1, 2017 through December
31, 2017, unless a later enacted statute extends them . The
interim rates shall be evaluated and an ongoing payment
structure shall be set no later than January 1, 2020.
( 2) Initial interim rates developed pursuant to this
subdivision shall not be lower than the rates proposed as
part of the May Revision of the Governor's budget in May of
2016.
(3) 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), the initial interim, provisional, and
probationary rates and the manner in which they are
determined shall be set forth in written directives until
regulations are adopted
(4) It is the intent of the Legislature to establish an
ongoing payment structure no later than January 1, 2020.
(2) (5) Consistent with Section 11466.01, for provisional
and probationary rates, the following shall be established:
(A) Terms and conditions, including the duration of the
rate.
(B) An administrative review process for rate
determinations, including denials, reductions, and
terminations.
(C) An administrative review process that includes a
departmental review, corrective action, and a protest with
the department. 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), this process shall be
disseminated by written directive pending the promulgation
of regulations.
PRIOR VOTES
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|Assembly Floor: |80 - |
AB 1997 (Mark Stone) PageU
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| |0 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------+-----|
|Assembly Appropriations Committee: |20 - |
| |0 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------+-----|
|Assembly Human Services Committee: |7 - |
| |0 |
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POSITIONS
Support:
The California Department of Social Services (Sponsor)
The National Association of Social Workers
Oppose:
None.
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