SECTIONS 16600-16605 - California Statutes

WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE

SECTION 16600-16605

16600. (a) The department shall administer the Family Preservation
and Support Program. The program shall meet the requirements
established in Sections 430 to 435, inclusive, of the federal Social
Security Act (Subpart 2 (commencing with Section 629) of Part B of
subchapter 4 of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States Code).
Program functions shall be performed by other agencies as required by
law, by delegation of the department, or by cooperative agreements.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 10103, the department may retain and
not pass on to the counties up to 15 percent of federal Family
Preservation and Support Program funds for the purposes of state
administrative costs incurred on or after October 1, 1993, including
planning, monitoring, evaluation, training and technical assistance,
or projects of statewide significance. Funds spent on projects of
statewide significance shall be allocated in a way to ensure
integration into the needs identified by the receiving counties. The
department shall review and prioritize needs identified by counties
in determining projects of statewide significance.

16601. (a) Family support services shall include those services
that are primarily community-based preventive activities designed to
alleviate stress and to promote parental competency and behavior that
will increase the ability of families to successfully nurture their
children, to enable families to use other resources and opportunities
that are available in the community, to create supportive networks
that enhance childrearing abilities of parents, and to help
compensate for the increased social isolation and vulnerability of
families.
(b) Family support services include, but are not limited to, an
array of activities, such as home visitation, informal interactions
in drop-in centers, parent education, information and referral
service, family counseling services, respite care for parents and
other caregivers, early development screening of children to assess
the needs of these children and assistance in obtaining specific
services to meet their needs, mentoring, literacy services, and
health education for youth and parents.

16602. (a) Notwithstanding Section 16500, each county that chooses
to participate in the Family Preservation and Support Program shall
establish a local planning body and develop county plans as required
by the department. The board of supervisors shall oversee the local
planning process and approve each county plan before it is
transmitted to the department for approval.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 16500, the county welfare department
shall act as the county lead administrative agency to carry out the
day-to-day planning activities. The county welfare department shall
distribute and account for the program funds allocated to the county.

16604. (a) Not less than 50 percent and not more than 75 percent of
the program funds spent on services each year by each county shall
be spent on family support services.
(b) Not less than 25 percent and not more than 50 percent of the
program funds spent on services each year by each county shall be
spent on family preservation services.

16604.5. When preparing their needs assessments and plans to
implement the federal Family Preservation and Support Act (Sections
430 to 435, inclusive, of the Social Security Act (Subpart 2
(commencing with Section 629) of Part B of Subchapter 4 of Chapter 7
of Title 42 of the United States Code), as contained in the Omnibus
Reconciliation Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-66)), counties shall
consider providing an in-home assessment of substance-exposed infants
after release from a hospital, as part of the protocols of Section
123605 of the Health and Safety Code. These assessments may be funded
through the Family Preservation and Support program to the extent
they are identified in a county's needs assessment and are part of a
county's program plan, and federal Family Preservation and Support
Act funds are available for this purpose.

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 that elect to participate in the program shall
meet the following conditions and requirements:
(1) Have a demonstrated capacity for collaboration and interagency
coordination.
(2) Have a viable plan for ongoing financial support of the local
kinship support services program.
(3) Utilize relative caregivers as employees of the program.
(4) Have strong and viable public or private agencies to operate
the program.
(5) Provide to the department the number of relative caretakers
residing in the county, and the projected number of relative
caretakers to be served.
(6) Describe how the county will develop and maintain the
necessary community supports.
(7) Outline the county's outcome improvement goals for the
program. These goals shall include, but shall not be limited to,
moving children out of foster care and into the Kinship Guardian
Assistance Payment Program (Kin-GAP), or adoption, placement
stability, and preventing children from entering foster care. The
county shall also agree to measure and report data regarding the
Kinship Support Services Program, as required by the department.
(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.