SECTIONS 10000-10002 - California Statutes

WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE

SECTION 10000-10002

10000. The purpose of this division is to provide for protection,
care, and assistance to the people of the state in need thereof, and
to promote the welfare and happiness of all of the people of the
state by providing appropriate aid and services to all of its needy
and distressed. It is the legislative intent that aid shall be
administered and services provided promptly and humanely, with due
regard for the preservation of family life, and without
discrimination on account of ancestry, marital status, political
affiliation, or any characteristic listed or defined in Section 11135
of the Government Code. That aid shall be so administered and
services so provided, to the extent not in conflict with federal law,
as to encourage self-respect, self-reliance, and the desire to be a
good citizen, useful to society.

10001. The purposes of the public social services for which state
grants-in-aid are made to counties are:
(a) To provide on behalf of the general public, and within the
limits of public resources, reasonable support and maintenance for
needy and dependent families and persons.
(b) To provide timely and appropriate services to assist
individuals develop or use whatever capacity they can maintain or
achieve for self-care or self-support.
(c) To provide protective services to handicapped or deprived
persons subject to social or legal disability, and to children and
others subject to exploitation jeopardizing their present or future
health, opportunity for normal development, or capacity for
independence.

10001.5. (a) In order to carry out the intention of the People of
California that only citizens of the United States and aliens
lawfully admitted to the United States may receive the benefits of
public social services and to ensure that all persons employed in the
providing of those services shall diligently protect public funds
from misuse, the provisions of this section are adopted.
(b) A person shall not receive any public social services to which
he or she may be otherwise entitled until the legal status of that
person has been verified as one of the following:
(1) A citizen of the United States.
(2) An alien lawfully admitted as a permanent resident.
(3) An alien lawfully admitted for a temporary period of time.
(c) If any public entity in this state to whom a person has
applied for public social services determines or reasonably suspects,
based upon the information provided to it, that the person is an
alien in the United States in violation of federal law, the following
procedures shall be followed by the public entity:
(1) The entity shall not provide the person with benefits or
services.
(2) The entity shall, in writing, notify the person of his or her
apparent illegal immigration status, and that the person must either
obtain legal status or leave the United States.
(3) The entity shall also notify the State Director of Social
Services, the Attorney General of California, and the United States
Immigration and Naturalization Service of the apparent illegal
status, and shall provide any additional information that may be
requested by any other public entity.

10002. When an applicant for or recipient of public social services
is incapable of managing his own resources and planning or carrying
out arrangements for his own care and maintenance, and the applicant
or recipient cannot secure the services of a private attorney, if
authorized by the board of supervisors, the county counsel at the
request of the county department, or the district attorney, if a
county counsel does not exist, may initiate and carry out proceedings
for the appointment of a public or private guardian or public or
private conservator, or for changing the form of legal protection
when this is indicated. Costs incurred in such proceedings for the
protection of applicants or recipients, when not available from the
person's own resources, shall be a proper welfare administrative or
service cost, except where a relative engages a private attorney to
accomplish this purpose.