SECTIONS 18200-18207 - California Statutes

WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE

SECTION 18200-18207

18200. The Legislature recognizes the necessity to improve the
administration of public assistance so as to minimize dependency and
reduce the total costs of public welfare services by restorative and
preventive measures, and to expand protective services for children
and adults.
It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this chapter to
provide state assistance to counties to encourage them to establish
demonstration and experimental projects calculated to achieve the
objectives stated in this section and to strengthen, extend, and
improve public welfare services and their administration.
It is also the intent of the Legislature to encourage and aid,
within the limitations of this chapter, organizations of recipients
to conduct demonstration and experimental projects designed to
promote a more effective and efficient system of public aid and
services. The Legislature intends to encourage the participation of
individuals on public assistance to the fullest extent in the
workings of the public welfare program and through this chapter hopes
to provide a mechanism for organized groups of recipients to
mobilize their resources and through concerted and cooperative action
contribute to solutions to the economic, social and personal
problems which tend to prolong dependency.

18201. The department may authorize the payment of state funds to
defray in whole or in part the cost of a project undertaken by the
county department of any county or by the county departments of a
group of counties or by the department in behalf of county
departments generally or by an organized group of recipients, if the
project is consistent with the purpose of this chapter and meets the
criteria established pursuant to Section 18202. Any county shall meet
at least the cost of equipment, supplies, and facilities required by
the staff engaged in carrying out any project approved pursuant to
this chapter, except (1) with respect to those plans submitted by an
organization of recipients, and (2) that state funds may be used to
defray the entire cost of any project which is undertaken by a group
of counties or is directed by the department in behalf of county
departments generally or is directed by a recognized institution of
higher learning. To the extent this section authorizes the department
or a recognized institution of higher learning to undertake and
direct a project in behalf of county departments, the provisions of
Section 18202 shall not apply to such projects.

18202. The department shall develop and publish criteria for the
submission and approval of county plans for projects proposed to be
undertaken pursuant to this chapter. Such criteria shall be so
devised as to encourage and stimulate local efforts to improve staff
performance and to undertake new and experimental activities
specifically designed to increase family responsibility and capacity
for self-care.
Criteria shall include those plans which may be submitted by
organizations of recipients within the county, when in the judgment
of the director, such plans will contribute to increased social
responsibility on the part of the recipients and increased knowledge
concerning the rights and responsibilities of citizens.
In order to qualify for state participation in the cost of any
local project or activity, the county shall submit a plan to the
department which shall provide the following assurances:
(1) The project or activity will be undertaken and directed by the
county welfare department, with the exception of those plans
submitted by an organization of recipients.
(2) None of the state funds will be used to offset or reduce the
amount of county funds currently applied to or budgeted for ongoing
administrative activities and services.
(3) The employment of personnel with qualifications consistent
with the disciplines required by the project, with the exception of
plans submitted by organizations of recipients in which case the
department shall be responsible for evaluative functions.
(4) A system for maintaining records and methods of analyses which
will permit accurate and regular evaluations of the results achieved
by the project or activity.

18203. Among the county projects approved by the department,
priority shall be given to those which involve:
(a) Efforts to minimize as much as possible, within the limits of
state and federal laws, the administrative differences between the
several categories of assistance;
(b) Demonstrations in providing family service programs;
(c) Employment counseling, training, and placement programs for
public assistance recipients;
(d) Extension of rehabilitation and self-care services for
handicapped and incapacitated persons not accepted for services
offered by the Department of Rehabilitation;
(e) Efforts designed to give particular attention to the family
where dependency is associated with illegitimacy, parental behavior,
delinquency, and other family relationship problems;
(f) Coordinated use of medical, psychiatric, and casework services
with public assistance recipients;
(g) Development of caseload management and case classification
programs;
(h) Homemaker services for families and adults;
(i) Protective services for both children and adults;
(j) Projects demonstrating use of preventive services related to
dependency, family breakdown, or personal maladjustment; and
(k) Participation of county departments in community service
programs, particularly in approaches to problems of the
underprivileged presented by recipients from minority groups.

18204. To enable it to conduct and administer experimental projects
to test methods and procedures of administering assistance and
services to recipients of public social services, the department may
waive the enforcement of specific statutory requirements,
regulations, and standards in one or more counties or on a statewide
basis by formal order of the director. The order establishing the
waiver shall provide alternative methods and procedures of
administration, shall not be in conflict with the basic purposes,
coverage, or benefits provided by law, shall not be general in scope
but shall apply only for the duration of such a project and not to
exceed three years, and shall not take effect unless and until the
following conditions have been met:
a. The Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare of the United
States has agreed, for the same project, to waive the public
assistance plan requirements relative to statewide uniformity.
b. A comprehensive plan, including an analysis of the expected
costs, has been published in a newspaper of general circulation and
filed with the Rules Committee of each house of the Legislature.

18205. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, at the
request of a county, after public hearing by the county, the
department may extend an experimental project for in-home supportive
services established pursuant to Section 18204 for an additional
period of time as long as the total duration of the project does not
exceed five years. The extension shall be established by formal order
of the director and shall be subject to all other requirements and
conditions of the initial order establishing the project pursuant to
Section 18204.
(b) In the case of a project subject to subdivision (a) that is
conducted pursuant to a contract between a private provider and a
county, the contract may be renewed for one or more additional terms
provided the combined duration of the initial and extended contract
terms does not exceed five years. A new rate of reimbursement may be
negotiated consistent with the level of available funding.

18205.5. The Director of Child Support Services may, pursuant to
this article, approve county demonstration projects to provide
employment and training services to nonsupporting, noncustodial
parents of children who are recipients of aid under Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3 or Article 5 (commencing
with Section 18241) of Chapter 3.3 of Part 6 or any other public
social service as defined in Section 10051. In a county operating a
demonstration project pursuant to this section, the superior court
may order a nonsupporting, noncustodial parent of a child receiving
aid under Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3 or
Article 5 (commencing with Section 18241) of Chapter 3.3 of Part 6 or
any other public social service as defined in Section 10051 to
participate, as appropriate, in job training, job search, vocational
rehabilitation, and other work activities, as well as in parental
development training. The superior court, county department of child
support services, and the county welfare department, in a
demonstration county, shall all agree to cooperate in the operation
of the demonstration project.

18206. (a) The director shall specify performance and quality
assurance standards to be included in any experimental project for
in-home supportive services undertaken pursuant to Section 18204 or
extended pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 18205.
(b) In the case of a project subject to subdivision (a) of Section
18205 that is conducted pursuant to a contract between a private
provider and a county, the standards shall assure delivery of all
required services at the time the services are needed, including
weekends and nights; establish proper screening, training, and
supervision of persons providing direct services; and institute
frequent periodic quality control audits and utilization review of
all services. These standards shall not be subject to Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.
(c) Quality control audits and utilization review shall be
performed by entities that are independent of the county and the
private contractor. The reports of the quality control audits and
utilization review, excluding client confidential information, shall
be made available to the public. The cost of those quality control
audits and utilization review shall be considered as part of the
county administrative costs for the managed contract.
(d) (1) One year after the effective date of any project for
in-home supportive services established pursuant to Section 18204 or
after the date of extension pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section
18205, the Auditor General shall commission a study to review the
performance of that project. Any independent reviewer designated in
an existing contract may be commissioned to perform the study.
(2) The study shall give special attention to both of the
following:
(A) The health and welfare of the recipients under the project,
including the degree to which all required services have been
delivered, out-of-home placement rates, prompt response to recipient
complaints, and any other issue the director deems relevant.
(B) The cost implications of the project, estimating the potential
for ongoing savings, if any.
(3) The study may include a fiscal audit of the contract.
(e) Projects subject to Section 18204 relating to in-home
supportive services and subject to this section shall, to the
greatest extent possible, permit recipients to select their own
qualified provider of care and set their own service schedule.

18207. Sections 18205 and 18206 shall apply only to experimental
projects for in-home supportive services established pursuant to
Section 18204 that were in existence on July 1, 1994.