BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1758
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1758 (Ammiano)
As Amended August 17, 2010
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |74-0 |(April 22, |SENATE: |35-0 |(August 19, |
| | |2010) | | |2010) |
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Original Committee Reference: HUM. S.
SUMMARY : Deletes the pilot program designation for county
wraparound services programs designed to keep children in their
homes with family-based support services as an alternative to
group home placement. Specifically, this bill :
1)Removes "pilot project" references for county wrap-around
services authorized and administered by the Department of
Social Services (DSS).
2)Adds nonrelative extended family members to the list of family
members and guardians eligible for wraparound services.
3)Establishes that a dependent or ward categorically eligible
for Medi-Cal without a share of cost based on receipt of Aid
to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC)
shall remain eligible for Medi-Cal.
4)Requires DSS, with assistance from the County Welfare
Directors Association of California (CWDA), to determine how
to appropriately track the impact of wraparound services
programs in accordance with California Child and Family
Services Review System outcomes.
The Senate amendments make the following modifications
concerning Medi-Cal eligibility for the purposes of the
wraparound services program, which are deemed to be declarative
of existing law:
1)Remove the requirements that a child be considered temporarily
absent from a foster care placement for which the child
remains eligible for AFDC-FC benefits in order to retain
categorical eligibility for Medi-Cal under AFDC-FC or when
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placed with his or her parents during participation in the
wraparound services program.
2)Provide that a child who is categorically eligible for
Medi-Cal benefits shall remain eligible as long as foster care
maintenance payments are made on the child's behalf.
3)Provide that a child who is eligible for Medi-Cal other than
those described in amendment number 2), above, shall remain
eligible for benefits subject to annual Medi-Cal
redetermination.
4)Provide that placement at home without a change in the child's
status as a dependent or ward of the juvenile court shall not
be cause for a redetermination unless necessary to obtain
federal financial participation for Medi-Cal.
5)Provide that Medi-Cal eligibility for a child receiving
wraparound services pursuant to existing law shall be
determined in accordance with applicable standards,
methodologies, and procedures under existing law.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the wrap-around services pilot project
administered by DSS in authorized counties that elect to
provide tailored community based support services to families
of children who would otherwise be placed in a group home.
Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 18250.
2)Defines eligible children as dependents or wards of the
juvenile court or a child who would be voluntarily placed in a
group home. WIC Section 18251.
3)Defines "wrap-around services" as community-based
interventions designed to emphasize the strengths of the child
and family through coordinated and individualized services to
address their needs and achieve positive outcomes. WIC
Section 18251.
4)Requires reimbursement for wraparound services not to exceed
the cost of placement in a group home. WIC Section 18253.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill deleted the pilot program
designation for county wraparound services programs designed to
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keep children in their homes with family-based support services
as an alternative to group home placement.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee
analysis, likely very minor costs, to the extent that eligible
youth were mistakenly denied coverage.
COMMENTS : The purpose of the wraparound services pilots in
California was to allow counties to provide family-centered
service alternatives to group homes with tailored social and
other support services designed to meet each individual family's
needs. To be eligible for wraparound services, children must be
a dependent or ward at risk of placement in a group home with a
Rate Classification Level (RCL) of 10 to 14, or they must be
voluntarily placed in out-of-home care. Use of the wraparound
services approach has increased since it started as a one county
pilot and, according to DSS, as of October 2009, 43 counties
across California operated wraparound services programs.
Wraparound services must be cost-neutral to the state by law.
According to one of the co-sponsors, the City and County of San
Francisco, "Establishing permanency for children in foster care
through reunification, adoption or legal guardianship is one of
the federally mandated outcomes measures for the child welfare
system. An appropriate intermediate goal for some children is
to step down from a high-level institutional placement to a more
home-like placement setting?state and county funds that would
otherwise have been used to pay for the more costly group home
placement are redirected to fund comprehensive and intensive
social, therapeutic, behavioral and health services."
Analysis Prepared by : Michelle Doty Cabrera / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089 FN:
0006260