BILL NUMBER: SB 1946 CHAPTERED 09/29/00 CHAPTER 866 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 29, 2000 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 30, 2000 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 28, 2000 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 25, 2000 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 7, 2000 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 2, 2000 INTRODUCED BY Senator McPherson FEBRUARY 24, 2000 An act to amend Section 16605 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to social services, and making an appropriation therefor. (Approved by Governor September 28, 2000. Filed with Secretary of State September 29, 2000.) I am signing Senate Bill 1946, which, among its provisions, would specify that a county shall not become ineligible for Kinship Support Service Program (KSSP) grant funds due to a reduction in the percentage of relative care placements. However, I am deleting section 2 and 3 of the bill, which would provide a $3 million General Fund appropriation to augment funding for those counties currently eligible to participate in the program in addition to funding an evaluation of the program. Funding for these purposes should be considered in the context of other priorities during the development of the annual state budget. GRAY DAVIS, Governor LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1946, McPherson. Kinship support services. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to conduct a Kinship Support Services Program that is a grants-in-aid program providing startup and expansion funds for local kinship support services programs that provide community-based family support services to kinship caregivers and the children placed in their homes by the juvenile court or who are at risk of dependency or delinquency. Under existing law, the counties participating in the program must meet specified requirements, including the requirement that 40% or more of dependent children in the county be in relative care placements. This bill would prescribe a priority for county participation in the program. The bill would provide, however, that a county shall not become ineligible for grant funds due to a reduction in the percentage of relative care placements. The bill would also require the department to contract for a study of the cost and benefits, and the effectiveness, of the Kinship Support Services Program. This bill would appropriate $2,775,000 from the General Fund to the department to fund the Kinship Support Services Program, including the study required by the bill, and would appropriate $225,000 from the General Fund to the department to fund specified technical assistance to be provided to the program. Appropriation: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 16605 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read: 16605. (a) The department shall, subject to the availability of funds appropriated therefor, conduct a Kinship Support Services Program that is a grants-in-aid program providing startup and expansion funds for local kinship support services programs that provide community-based family support services to relative caregivers and the children placed in their homes by the juvenile court or who are at risk of dependency or delinquency. Relatives with children in voluntary placements may access services, at the discretion of the county. (b) The Kinship Support Services Program shall create a public-private partnership. A combination of federal, state, county, and private sector resources shall finance the establishment and ongoing operation of the program. (c) The counties participating in the program shall meet the following requirements: (1) Have 40 percent or more of dependent children in relative care placements. (2) Have a demonstrated capacity for collaboration and interagency coordination. (3) Have a viable plan for ongoing financial support of the local kinship support services program. (4) Utilize relative caregivers as employees of the program. (5) Have strong and viable public or private agencies to operate the program. (d) The Kinship Support Services Program shall demonstrate the use of supportive services provided to relative caregivers and children placed in their homes using a community-based kinship support services model. This model shall provide services to relative caregivers that are aimed at helping to ensure permanent family kinship placements for children who have been placed with them by the juvenile court, and to provide family support services that will eliminate the need for juvenile court jurisdiction and the provision of services by the county welfare department. (e) The program shall provide family support services appropriate for the target populations. These services may include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) Assessment and case management. (2) Social services referral and intervention aimed at maintaining the kinship family unit, for example, housing, homemaker services, respite care, legal services, and day care. (3) Transportation for medical care and educational and recreational activities. (4) Information and referral services. (5) Individual and group counseling in the area of parent-child relationships and group conflict. (6) Counseling and referral services aimed at promoting permanency, including kinship adoption and guardianship. (7) Tutoring and mentoring. (f) The Edgewood Center for Children and Families in San Francisco or any other appropriate agency or individual approved by the department in consultation with the Statewide Kinship Advisory Committee shall provide technical assistance to the Kinship Support Services Program and shall facilitate the sharing of information and resources among the local programs. (g) For the 2001-02 fiscal year, the department shall give priority in the grants-in-aid program to counties that have participated in the Kinship Support Services Program prior to the 2001-02 fiscal year or to counties that have received technical assistance and training related to that program, but no funding for program services. (h) A county shall not become ineligible for grant funds due to a reduction in the percentage of relative care placements. SEC. 2. The State Department of Social Services shall contract for a study on the cost and benefits, and the effectiveness, of the Kinship Support Services Program, provided for pursuant to Section 16605 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. The department may utilize up to two hundred twenty-five thousand dollars ($225,000) of the appropriation made by subdivision (a) of Section 3 of this act for the purposes of the study required by this section. SEC. 3. In addition to any other funds appropriated for purposes of Section 16605 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the sum of three million dollars ($3,000,000) is appropriated as follows: (a) The sum of two million seven hundred seventy-five thousand dollars ($2,775,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the State Department of Social Services for the purposes of funding the Kinship Support Services Program provided for pursuant to Section 16605 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. (b) The sum of two hundred twenty-five thousand dollars ($225,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the State Department of Social Services for funding the technical assistance to be provided to the Kinship Support Services Program by the Edgewood Center for Children and Families or any other appropriate agency or individual approved by the department in consultation with the Statewide Kinship Advisory Committee, for purposes of Section 16605 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.