SECTIONS 11330-11330.11 - California Statutes

WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE

SECTION 11330-11330.11

11330. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the connection
between teenage parenting and long-term welfare dependency has been
well documented by recent social science research. An estimated 60
percent of teenage parents who are currently receiving welfare will
have 10 or more years of dependency on aid. Average time on aid for
teenage parents is significantly longer than for parents who begin
families at an older age.
(b) The Legislature finds that teenage parents who receive
assistance under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program
have unique education, vocational, training, health, and other social
service needs that are not specifically provided for as part of the
Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) program. Research shows that
successful programs that help teenage parents achieve
self-sufficiency contain the following features:
(1) A comprehensive range of health and social services.
(2) Adequate supportive services.
(3) A sympathetic and supportive program atmosphere.
(4) Individual attention, especially regarding education pace and
plan.
(5) An open format and an extended period of program availability.
(6) Caring, nonjudgmental staff.
(7) Strong case management systems, including followup activities
to determine whether a student is progressing in his or her studies.
(c) The Legislature declares that this article is intended to
ensure that the GAIN program does all of the following:
(1) Provide the education and training services needed by teenage
parents to help them earn a high school diploma or its equivalent,
including vocational training and preparation that may be available
through local education agencies.
(2) Link teenagers to other needed health and social services
available in the community.

11330.1. (a) Custodial parents 16 or 17 years of age who are
required to register pursuant to Section 11320.3 shall be required to
participate in the program, subject to both of the following
requirements:
(1) The custodial parent shall participate in the program until
the registrant earns his or her high school diploma or its
equivalent.
(2) The custodial parent shall participate in the program as a
student attending school on a full-time basis, as normally defined by
the program in which the participant enrolls.
(b) For the purposes of this article, "teen" or "teenage parent"
means a custodial parent under 18 years of age, who is required to
register pursuant to Section 11320.3.

11330.2. Counties shall provide education and supportive services
that custodial parents under 18 years of age need to successfully
participate in the GAIN program. The county shall identify the need
of each individual for, and the method of providing, the following
services:
(a) Supportive services, including child care and transportation,
as specified in Section 11323.2. Supportive services shall be limited
to those that are necessary to enable the teenage parent to
participate in the education plan specified in subdivision (a) of
Section 11330.4.
(b) Intensive case management services, as described in Section
11330.5.

11330.3. (a) Participation by a custodial parent under 18 years of
age shall be deferred if the county determines that any of the
services an individual is assessed as needing pursuant to Section
11330.2 are not available.
(b) Participation by a custodial parent under 18 years of age
shall be deferred so long as the individual has a special need that
directly affects his or her ability to attend school or be successful
in earning a high school diploma and the special need cannot be
addressed.

11330.4. (a) Participant contracts required under Section 11325.21
shall include a detailed education plan.
(b) The plan required by this section shall be written by the
local school district, and shall meet all of the following
requirements:
(1) Be developed with the participant in consultation with the
county welfare department.
(2) Describe the education program that the participant shall be
required to follow, including vocational training and preparation
that may be available through local education and training agencies.
(3) Include courses and services that the school district
currently offers to students, including child care, child development
and parenting education, homemaking, or other consumer education and
life skills courses, and counseling and guidance services, as
appropriate for each student.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature that the education plan
described in this section not require additional activities from
school districts beyond those already required when a student who has
dropped out of school indicates a desire to resume attendance.
(d) Involvement of the parents of the teenage parent in the
development of the education plan should be encouraged, if
appropriate.

11330.5. (a) Counties shall provide case management services and
counseling to teenagers as needed to assist their participation in in
the GAIN program. Case management services shall include all of the
following:
(1) Designing a realistic GAIN plan that maximizes the ability of
each client to reach his or her goal.
(2) Providing referrals to appropriate community services needed
to assist the teenage parent's return to school.
(3) Monitoring each client's progress and making the necessary
changes to improve the individual's program.
(4) (A) Acting as a counselor, colleague, and role model so that
each teenage parent has someone to trust and to turn to for advice,
guidance, and ideas.
(B) Case managers should be prepared to provide intensive
counseling during all phases of a teenage parent's progress through
the GAIN program.
(5) Ensuring that each teenage parent understands completely the
consequences of not returning to school as required under this
article.
(b) Counties shall afford case managers assigned to assist teenage
parents under 18 years of age sufficient time to provide the needed
education and supportive services.
(c) (1) Case managers assigned to assist parents under the age of
18 years shall possess an expertise in understanding the education,
training, and other social and health service needs of teenage
parents, as well as the local program that provide these services.
(2) Each county, in conjunction with the department, shall provide
training to persons assigned to work with teenage parents to develop
the expertise required by subparagraph (A).
(d) The county plan required by Section 11320.6 shall describe
the way each county proposes to provide case management services to
teenage parents.

11330.6. (a) Notwithstanding Article 3.2 (commencing with Section
11320), there shall be no limits on the amount of time that a parent
under the age of 18 may participate in the initial education
components of the program in order to achieve a basic level of
literacy or to earn a high school diploma.
(b) Parents who begin participation in the GAIN program before the
age of 18 may continue to receive needed intensive case management
services after the age of 18 until the individual earns a high school
diploma or its equivalent.

11330.7. County welfare departments shall encourage teenage parents
who have received a high school diploma or its equivalent and who
are not mandatory participants pursuant to this article to continue
participation in the GAIN program on a volunteer basis. Counties
shall work with local training providers, including service delivery
areas and community college districts and school districts, to create
training opportunities that meet the needs of teenage parents.

11330.8. (a) Counties may contract for the provision of case
management services, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section
11330.2, and in Section 11330.5, only with public or nonprofit
agencies that administer services under the Adolescent Family Life
Program (Article 1 (commencing with Section 124175) of Chapter 4 of
Part 2 of Division 106 of the Health and Safety Code), school
districts, or other public or nonprofit agencies approved by the
department.
(b) Contracting with an adolescent family life program shall be
deemed to fulfill the case management requirements of subdivision (b)
of Section 11330.2.
(c) If a county chooses to contract out some or all of the case
management services required under this article, the county plan
shall specifically list the reasons for that decision.
(d) If a county chooses to contract for case management services
pursuant to subdivision (a), the county shall maintain one or more
liaison staff members who have expertise in the special needs of
teenage parents.

11330.9. (a) Counties shall develop linkages with local service
providers that serve teenage parents, to the extent that they are
required under subdivision (a) of Section 11320.8.
(b) The county plan required by Sections 11320.6 and 11320.8 shall
specifically describe those required services that are available to
teenage parents, as follows:
(1) An identification of available services to teenagers.
(2) The extent to which these programs are currently serving AFDC
recipients.
(3) The resources that these programs may make available to GAIN
participants.
(4) The linkages established with these programs.
(c) The department shall review each county's plan to determine
both of the following:
(1) Whether the intensity of case management services provided by
the county meets the requirements of subdivision (b) of Section
11330.2.
(2) Whether the requirements specified in Sections 11320.6 and
11320.8 address the availability of services to teenagers.

11330.10. (a) Any participant required to participate pursuant to
Section 11330.1 who is not less than 16 years of age and who is under
18 years of age and fails or refuses to comply with program
requirements, without good cause, in the education program identified
pursuant to the individual education plan and conciliation efforts
as specified in Section 11327.4 have failed to resolve the dispute,
shall be subject to the sanctions imposed by Section 11327.5.
(b) If it is determined that a teenage parent subject to
subdivision (a) has refused or failed to comply with program
requirements without good cause, the county welfare department shall
determine whether the parent is living with his or her own parent,
parents or guardian, or whether the teenage parent is living
independent of any legal guardian.
(c) (1) If the teenage parent is living with his or her own
parent, parents or guardian, the county welfare department shall
notify both the teenage parent and his or her legal guardian of the
teenage parent's failure to comply with program requirements.
(2) The notice required by paragraph (1) shall contain the
telephone number and address of the local welfare rights organization
or legal aid society from which the teenage parent may obtain legal
assistance or representation.
(3) The county welfare department shall permit the legal guardian
of the teenage parent to attend any meetings between the county and
the teenage parent designed to encourage or induce participation from
the noncooperating teenage parent.
(d) (1) If the teenage parent is living independent of a legal
guardian, the county welfare department shall notify the teenage
parent of his or her failure to cooperate with the program.
(2) The notice required by paragraph (1) shall contain the
telephone number and address of the local welfare rights organization
or legal aid society from which the parent may obtain legal
assistance or representation during the conciliation and sanction
process.
(e) Case managers shall do all of the following:
(1) Fully inform teenage parents of the consequences of not
complying with the program.
(2) Make reasonable efforts to reach teenage parents who they
believe are in danger of failing to participate without good cause.
(3) Make reasonable efforts to secure a face-to-face meeting with
a teenage parent before making a good cause determination.
(f) If a teenage parent fails or refuses to comply with program
requirements without good cause, the case manager shall again inform
the client of the consequences of not participating in the program
and shall provide the teenage parent with the telephone number and
address of the local welfare rights organization or legal aid society
should he or she need further assistance.

11330.11. This article shall be operative only during that time
that Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 11331) is not operative.