SECTIONS 18986-18986.3 - California Statutes

WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE

SECTION 18986-18986.3

18986. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the
Presley-Brown Interagency Children's Services Act.

18986.1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) According to Policy Analysis of California Education (PACE):
(1) In 1988, California had a population of 7.4 million children;
by the year 2000, the population of California's children will rise
to 8.7 million, a 22-percent increase; California's share of children
increased from one out of nine in the United States to one out of
eight. By 1995, California school enrollment will equal the total
enrollment of the 24 smallest states.
(2) (A) California's children are becoming more linguistically,
culturally, and ethnically diverse. A majority of California's
children are now minorities and the fastest growing are Hispanics and
Asians.
(B) By the year 2000, 42 percent of the children in California
will be Caucasian, 13 percent will be Asian, 36 percent will be
Hispanic, and 9 percent will be Black.
(C) One-fourth of California school children speak a language
other than English at home.
(3) The number of immigrant children in California is the largest
of any state and that number is growing. California receives 27
percent of the nation's immigrants but has only 11 percent of the
nation's population. The experience of immigrants from different
cultures will vary and requires different public policies.
(4) Since 1980, the number of children in poverty in California
has increased 50 percent and is now 23 percent above the national
average. Poverty is associated with numerous problems, including low
educational performance, poor nutrition, child abuse, and
delinquency.
(5) There has been an alarming increase in extremely vulnerable
children. Ten to 15 percent of infants born in public hospitals in
large cities are drug-or alcohol-addicted. These children require
intensive services and are overwhelming California's foster care
capacity.
(6) There have been major changes from the past in female and
teenage work behavior. The high percentage (54 percent) of children
with both parents working means that the quality of child care is
very important. By the year 2000, 60 percent of parents will work
full time. Publicly supported child care, however, covers only 8
percent of the eligible low-income population. The growth in the
number of teenagers working (about 45 percent work 16 hours or more a
week) leaves less time for leisure activities or homework.
(b) There is no adequate comprehensive system for the delivery of
services to children and youth; instead, services to children are
provided by various departments and agencies at both the state and
county levels, often without appropriate collaboration, resulting in
gaps in services and program duplication.
(c) Too often, resources are not available to provide preventive
services to children and families which would alleviate the need for
a more costly response to a later crisis. The current service
delivery system promotes intervention at the latest, most costly, and
least effective point. A greater focus on prevention rather than
intervention maximizes the expenditure of state funds and results in
the provision of more effective services to children.
(d) The facts and trends cited in this section require the state's
major policies and institutions to engage in planning and
coordinating services to meet the needs of the state's growing and
changing population of children and to develop alternative ways of
organizing and allocating resources for services.

18986.2. It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this
chapter, to encourage the development of a comprehensive and
collaborative delivery system of services to children and youths at
the state and local level and to offer fiscal incentives in the form
of waivers and negotiated contracts to encourage collaboration. The
goal of that collaborative system shall be to:
(a) Develop a service delivery plan which emphasizes preventive
and early intervention services that maximize the healthy development
of children and minimize the long-term need for public resources.
(b) Allow for flexibility of expenditures in public funds.
(c) Emphasize local decisionmaking and provide for greater
flexibility to local government in designing delivery systems.
(d) Provide for a continuum of family-centered, child-focused
services through public/private partnerships within the community.
(e) Minimize duplicate administrative systems.
(f) Identify gaps in services to target populations.
(g) Provide case management services to children and families with
multiple needs.
(h) Involve school districts in the planning and delivery of
coordinated services for children.

18986.3. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
shall apply:
(a) "Children's services" means any services provided by any state
or local agency or private entity for the health, safety, or
well-being of minors.
(b) "Council" means an interagency children's services
coordinating council established pursuant to Section 18986.10.
(c) "Secretary of Child Development and Education" means a cabinet
level officer appointed by the Governor.