SECTIONS 16540-16545 - California Statutes

WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE

SECTION 16540-16545

16540. The California Child Welfare Council is hereby established,
which shall serve as an advisory body responsible for improving the
collaboration and processes of the multiple agencies and the courts
that serve the children and youth in the child welfare and foster
care systems. The council shall monitor and report the extent to
which child welfare and foster care programs and the courts are
responsive to the needs of children in their joint care. The council
shall issue advisory reports whenever it deems appropriate, but in
any event, no less frequently than annually, to the Governor, the
Legislature, the Judicial Council, and the public. A report of the
Child Welfare Council shall, at a minimum, include recommendations
for all of the following:
(a) Ensuring that all state child welfare, foster care, and
judicial funding and services for children, youth, and families is,
to the greatest extent possible, coordinated to eliminate
fragmentation and duplication of services provided to children or
families who would benefit from integrated multiagency services.
(b) Increasing the quality, appropriateness, and effectiveness of
program services and judicial processes delivered to children, youth,
and families who would benefit from integrated multiagency services
to achieve better outcomes for these children, youth, and families.
(c) Promoting consistent program and judicial excellence across
counties to the greatest extent possible while recognizing the
demographic, geographic, and financial differences among the
counties.
(d) Increasing collaboration and coordination between county
agencies, state agencies, federal agencies, and the courts.
(e) Ensuring that all state Title IV-E plans, program improvement
plans, and court improvement plans demonstrate effective
collaboration between public agencies and the courts.
(f) Assisting the Secretary of California Health and Human
Services and the chief justice in formulating policies for the
effective administration of the child welfare and foster care
programs and judicial processes.
(g) Modifying program practices and court processes, rate
structures, and other system changes needed to promote and support
relative caregivers, family foster parents, therapeutic placements,
and other placements for children who cannot remain in the family
home.
(h) Developing data- and information-sharing agreements and
protocols for the exchange of aggregate data across program and court
systems that are providing services to children and families in the
child welfare system. These data-sharing agreements shall allow child
welfare agencies and the courts to access data concerning the
health, mental health, special education, and educational status and
progress of children served by county child welfare systems subject
to state and federal confidentiality laws and regulations. They shall
be developed in tandem with the establishment of judicial case
management systems as well as additional or enhanced performance
measures described in subdivision (b) of Section 16544.
(i) Developing systematic methods for obtaining policy
recommendations from foster youth about the effectiveness and quality
of program services and judicial processes, and ensuring that the
interests of foster youth are adequately addressed in all policy
development.
(j) Implementing legislative enactments in the child welfare and
foster care programs and the courts, and reporting to the Legislature
on the timeliness and consistency of the implementation.
(k) Monitoring the adequacy of resources necessary for the
implementation of existing programs and court processes, and the
prioritization of program and judicial responsibilities.
(l) Strengthening and increasing the independence and authority of
the foster care ombudsperson.
(m) Coordinating available services for former foster youth and
improving outreach efforts to those youth and their families.

16541. The council shall be comprised of the following members:
(a) The Secretary of California Health and Human Services, who
shall serve as cochair.
(b) The Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, or his or
her designee, who shall serve as cochair.
(c) The Superintendent of Public Instruction, or his or her
designee.
(d) The Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, or his or
her designee.
(e) The executive director of the State Board of Education.
(f) The Director of Social Services.
(g) The Director of Health Services.
(h) The Director of Mental Health.
(i) The Director of Alcohol and Drug Programs.
(j) The Director of Developmental Services.
(k) The Director of the Youth Authority.
(l) The Administrative Director of the Courts.
(m) The State Foster Care Ombudsperson.
(n) Four foster youth or former foster youth.
(o) The chairpersons of the Assembly Human Services Committee and
the Assembly Judiciary Committee, or two other Members of the
Assembly as appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
(p) The chairpersons of the Senate Human Services Committee and
the Senate Judiciary Committee, or two other members appointed by the
President pro Tempore of the Senate.
(q) Leaders and representatives of county child welfare, foster
care, health, education, probation, and mental health agencies and
departments, child advocacy organizations; labor organizations,
recognized professional associations that represent child welfare and
foster care social workers, tribal representatives, and other groups
and stakeholders that provide benefits, services, and advocacy to
families and children in the child welfare and foster care systems,
as recommended by representatives of these groups and as designated
by the cochairs.

16541.5. The council shall meet no less frequently than each
quarter of the state fiscal year and at the call of the cochairs, at
a time and location convenient to the public as it may deem
appropriate. All meetings of the council shall be open to the public.
Members shall serve without compensation, with the exception of
foster youth members, who shall be entitled to reimbursement for all
actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their
duties.

16542. The cochairs may appoint committees composed of council
members, experts in specialized fields, foster youth, program
stakeholders, state and county child welfare and foster care staff,
child advocacy organizations, members of the judiciary, foster care
public health nurses, or any combination thereof, to advise the
council on any functions of the council and the services provided
through the child welfare and foster care programs and the courts.
Members of these committees shall receive no compensation from the
state for their services, with the exception of foster youth members,
who shall be entitled to reimbursement for all actual and necessary
expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. The committees
may assemble information and make recommendations to the council, but
shall not exercise any of the powers vested in the council. The
council may seek input from groups and individuals as it deems
appropriate, including, but not limited to, advisory committees, the
judiciary and child welfare and foster care program stakeholders.

16543. Consistent with state and federal law, the council shall
have access to aggregate data and information concerning the child
welfare and foster care systems held by any state or local
department, agency, or court that serves children, youth, and
families receiving child welfare and foster care services subject to
state and federal confidentiality laws and regulations.

16543.5. It is the intent of the Legislature to inspect other state
child welfare and foster care systems over the course of the 2007-08
Legislative Session, for the purpose of examining effective
administrative structures of leadership. It is further the intent of
the Legislature to conduct legislative hearings through the Assembly
Select Committee on Foster Care, and other standing committees, and
to review reports and recommendations of other commissions and
bodies, including the California Blue Ribbon Commission on Foster
Care and the Little Hoover Commission, to determine if a reconfigured
administrative structure would provide statewide leadership and
coordination between departments and agencies, which are essential to
improving outcomes for current and former foster children and youth
throughout the state.

16544. The secretary shall ensure that all of the federal Child and
Family Services Review outcome measures and all of the California
Child and Family Service Review System outcome indicators, along with
any performance goals and federal outcome standards, are clearly
posted on the State Department of Social Service's Internet Web site.
Before any of the federal goals or any of the California Child and
Family Service Review System outcome indicators are added, deleted,
or amended, the secretary shall consult with the Child Welfare
Council and ensure that there has been a public process for the
submission of comments and recommendations.

16545. By April 1, 2008, the Judicial Council shall adopt, through
rules of court, performance measures designed to complement and
promote those measures specified in Section 16544 so that courts are
able to measure their performance and track their own progress in
improving safety, permanency, timeliness, and well-being of children
and to inform decisions about the allocation of court resources. In
adopting performance measures, the Judicial Council shall consult
with the council and the secretary. The performance measures shall be
based on data that is available from current or planned data
collection processes and to the greatest extent possible, shall
ensure uniformity of data reporting.