Amended IN Assembly March 19, 2018 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20172018 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 2043Introduced by Assembly Member ArambulaFebruary 06, 2018 An act to add Chapter 5.4 (commencing with Section 16526) to Part 4 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to foster youth.LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTAB 2043, as amended, Arambula. Foster youth: family urgent response system.Existing law, commonly known as Continuum of Care Reform (CCR), states the intent of the Legislature in adopting CCR to improve Californias child welfare system and its outcomes by using comprehensive initial child assessments, increasing the use of home-based family care and the provision of services and supports to home-based family care, reducing the use of congregate care placement settings, and creating faster paths to permanency resulting in shorter durations of involvement in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Existing law, as part of CCR, requires the State Department of Social Services to implement a resource family approval process, which replaces the multiple processes for licensing foster family homes, certifying foster homes by foster family agencies, approving relatives and nonrelative extended family members as foster care providers, and approving guardians and adoptive families.This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would build upon the current CCR implementation effort by establishing a response system, as specified, for caregivers of current or former foster youth who are experiencing emotional, behavioral, or other needs that require immediate support. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to include a statewide hotline in the response system to provide triage and, as appropriate, deploy a mobile and coordinated in-home response.This bill would make legislative findings and declarations, stating the intent of the Legislature in adopting this bill to build upon the current CCR implementation effort. The bill would require the department to establish a statewide hotline, operational no later than January 1, 2020, as the entry point for a state-based Family Urgent Response System, as defined, to respond to calls from caregivers or current or former foster youth when a crisis arises, as specified. The bill would require the hotline to include, among other things, referrals to the county, as specified, for further support and in-person response. The bill would require the department to ensure that data are collected regarding individuals served through the hotline and to publish a report on the departments Internet Web site on January 1, 2021, and annually thereafter, including specified information.This bill would require, no later than January 1, 2020, county child welfare, probation, and behavioral health agencies, in each county, to establish a county-based Family Urgent Response System that includes a mobile response and stabilization team to provide stabilization services for caregivers or current or former foster youth who are experiencing a crisis. The bill would require those agencies to submit a single, coordinated plan to the department, no later than November 1, 2019, describing how the system would meet specified requirements. The bill would authorize those agencies to implement these provisions on a per-county basis or by collaborating with other counties to establish regional, cross-county Family Urgent Response Systems. By creating new duties for county officials relating to foster care services, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.This bill would require the department, in collaboration with the State Department of Health Care Services, no later than March 1, 2019, to issue all necessary guidance for county-based Family Urgent Response Systems established pursuant to this bill.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NOYES Local Program: NOYES Bill TextThe people of the State of California do enact as follows:SECTION 1. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following:(a) Existing law establishes the Continuum of Care Reform (CCR) effort and states the intent of the Legislature to improve Californias child welfare system and its outcomes by using comprehensive initial child assessments, increasing the use of home-based family care and the provision of services and supports to home-based family care, reducing the use of congregate care placement settings, and creating faster paths to permanency resulting in shorter durations of involvement in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.(b) Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that CCR include the timely provision of an array of appropriate services that are coordinated, comprehensive, and community-based, and that children in need of services are identified and assessed promptly and provided services regardless of placement setting, and that child welfare and mental health agencies work together in the provision of coordinated services to these children and youth.(c) Existing law states the intent of the Legislature to reduce the frequency of law enforcement involvement and delinquency petitions arising from incidents at group homes and other facilities licensed to provide residential care to dependent children.(d) It is the intent of the Legislature in adopting this act to build upon the current CCR implementation effort to provide current and former foster youth and their caregivers with immediate and timely services at the moment of crisis. The Legislature expects that those services, provided by a trained and trauma-informed team of practitioners, will prevent placement disruption and separation of the child from his or her caregiver, will reduce contacts with law enforcement and potential entry into the criminal justice system, and will prevent hospitalization and higher-level placement into congregate care.(e) Establishing a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week response system at the state and local levels for caregivers and current or former foster youth who are experiencing emotional, behavioral, or other needs that require immediate support will lead to improved child and family outcomes, will improve retention of current foster caregivers, will help to maintain children and youth in their current living situation, will improve youths emotional disposition, will connect youth and caregivers to existing services in their communities, and will provide youth and caregivers with the tools that they need to heal from trauma and to thrive.SEC. 2. Chapter 5.4 (commencing with Section 16526) is added to Part 4 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read: CHAPTER 5.4. Family Urgent Response System for Caregivers and Youth16526. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:(a) Caregiver means an individual responsible for meeting the daily care and supervision needs of a current or former foster youth.(b) Crisis means an event involving the caregiver and current or former foster youth that causes emotional, physical, or behavioral distress and that, without immediate supports, creates a risk of disruption to the current living situation.(c) Current or former foster youth includes a youth adjudicated under Section 300, 601, or 602 and who is served by a county child welfare agency or probation department, and a youth who has exited foster care to reunification, guardianship, or adoption. A current or former foster youth shall be eligible for services under this chapter until he or she attains 21 years of age.(d) Department means the State Department of Social Services.(e) Family Urgent Response System means a collaborative, timely, in-home, in-person mobile crisis response for purposes of stabilizing the living situation, mitigating the distress of the caregiver or youth, and providing the caregiver and youth with linkages to the existing array of local services.(f) In-home means where the youth and caregiver are located, preferably in the home, or at some other mutually agreeable location.16527. (a) The department shall establish a statewide hotline as the entry point for a state-based Family Urgent Response System, which shall be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to respond to calls from caregivers or current or former foster youth when a crisis arises. All of the following shall be available through this hotline:(1) State hotline workers who are trained for deescalation and conflict resolution telephone response specifically for children impacted by trauma.(2) Referrals to a county-based Family Urgent Response System, established pursuant to Section 16529, for further support and in-person response. Referrals shall occur by one of the following means:(A) A warm hand-off whereby the state hotline worker establishes direct and live connection through a three-way call that includes the caregiver or youth and the county contact.(B) If a direct communication cannot be established pursuant to subparagraph (A), a referral directly to the community- or county-based service and a followup call to ensure a connection to the caregiver or youth occurs.(3) The state hotline worker shall contact the caregiver or youth within 24 hours after the referral required under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (2) to offer additional support if needed.(b) The statewide hotline shall maintain contact information for county-based Family Urgent Response Systems, based on information provided by counties, for referrals to local services, including, but not limited to, county-based mobile response and stabilization teams.(c) The department shall ensure that data are collected regarding individuals served through the statewide hotline and shall publish a report on the departments Internet Web site on January 1, 2021, and annually thereafter, in consultation with stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the County Welfare Directors Association of California and the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California, to include all of the following information:(1) The number of caregivers served through the hotline, separated by placement type and status as a current or former foster caregiver.(2) The number of current and former foster youth served through the hotline, separated by county agency type, current or former foster care status, age, gender, race, and whether the call was made by the caregiver or the youth.(3) The disposition of each call, including, but not limited to, whether mobile response and stabilization services were deployed or a referral was made to other services.(4) Deidentified, aggregated outcome data, including, but not limited to, placement stability, return into foster care, movement from child welfare to juvenile justice, and timeliness to permanency.(d) The department may meet the requirements of this section through contract with an entity with demonstrated experience in working with populations of children who have suffered trauma and with capacity to provide 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week response.(e) The department, in consultation with stakeholders, shall do all of the following:(1) Develop methods and materials for informing the caregivers and current or former foster youth about the statewide hotline.(2) Establish protocols for triage and response.(3) Establish minimum education and training requirements for state hotline workers.(f) The statewide hotline shall be operational no later than January 1, 2020.16528. No later than March 1, 2019, the department, in collaboration with the State Department of Health Care Services, and in consultation with the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California and the County Welfare Directors Association, shall issue all necessary guidance for county-based Family Urgent Response Systems for purposes of this chapter, including, but not limited to, data tracking and claiming of federal funding.16529. (a) County child welfare, probation, and behavioral health agencies, in each county, shall establish a county-based Family Urgent Response System that includes a mobile response and stabilization team for the purpose of providing stabilization services for caregivers or current or former foster youth who are experiencing a crisis.(b) In each county, the county child welfare, probation, and behavioral health agencies shall submit a single, coordinated plan to the department no later than November 1, 2019, that describes how the county-based Family Urgent Response System shall meet the requirements described in subdivision (c). The plan shall also describe all of the following:(1) How the county will track and monitor calls.(2) Data collection efforts, consistent with guidance provided by the department.(3) Transitions from mobile response and stabilization services to ongoing services.(4) Coordination with the child and family team.(5) Process and criteria for determining response.(6) Composition of the responders.(7) Both existing and new services that will be used to support the mobile response and stabilization services.(c) A county-based Family Urgent Response System shall include all of the following:(1) Phone response at the county level that facilitates entry of the caregivers and current or former foster youth to crisis response services.(2) A process for determining when a mobile response and stabilization team will be deployed, or when other services will be used, based on the urgent and critical needs of the caregiver or youth.(3) A mobile response and stabilization team available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.(4) Ability to provide immediate, in-person, face-to-face response preferably within one hour, but not to exceed three hours in extenuating circumstances for urgent needs, or same-day response within 24 hours for nonurgent situations.(5) Utilization of responders with specialized training in trauma of children and the foster care system.(6) Provision of in-home or in-community crisis deescalation, stabilization, and support, including all of the following:(A) Establishing in-person, face-to-face contact with the youth and caregiver.(B) Identifying the underlying causes of, and precursors to, the behavior.(C) Identifying the caregiver interventions attempted.(D) Observing the child and caregiver interaction.(E) Diffusing the immediate situation.(F) Coaching and advising the caregiver to maintain the child in the current living situation.(G) Establishing connections to other county- or community-based supports and services to ensure continuity of care.(H) Following up after the initial face-to-face response, for up to 72 hours, to determine if additional supports or services are needed.(I) Identifying any additional support or ongoing stabilization needs for the family and making a plan for, or referral to, appropriate community services within the county.(d) (1) Each county shall establish a Family Urgent Response System no later than January 1, 2020.(2) The county agencies described in subdivisions (a) and (b) may implement this section on a per-county basis or by collaborating with other counties to establish regional, cross-county Family Urgent Response Systems.SEC. 3. To the extent that this act has an overall effect of increasing the costs already borne by a local agency for programs or levels of service mandated by the 2011 Realignment Legislation within the meaning of Section 36 of Article XIII of the California Constitution, it shall apply to local agencies only to the extent that the state provides annual funding for the cost increase. Any new program or higher level of service provided by a local agency pursuant to this act above the level for which funding has been provided shall not require a subvention of funds by the state or otherwise be subject to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.SECTION 1.It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would build upon the current Continuum of Care Reform implementation effort through the following actions:(a)Establish a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week response system at the state and local levels for caregivers of current or former foster youth who are experiencing emotional, behavioral, or other needs that require immediate support.(b)Include a statewide hotline in the response system to provide triage and, as appropriate, deploy a mobile and coordinated in-home response that includes face-to-face intervention and support to the youth and caregiver.(c)Ensure the response system increases coordination between state and local child welfare and behavioral health systems to stabilize a foster care placement, prevent placement disruptions that often lead to worse outcomes, reduce law enforcement contacts with foster youth, and connect the foster youth and caregiver to existing services in their communities.
Amended IN Assembly March 19, 2018 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20172018 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 2043Introduced by Assembly Member ArambulaFebruary 06, 2018 An act to add Chapter 5.4 (commencing with Section 16526) to Part 4 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to foster youth.LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTAB 2043, as amended, Arambula. Foster youth: family urgent response system.Existing law, commonly known as Continuum of Care Reform (CCR), states the intent of the Legislature in adopting CCR to improve Californias child welfare system and its outcomes by using comprehensive initial child assessments, increasing the use of home-based family care and the provision of services and supports to home-based family care, reducing the use of congregate care placement settings, and creating faster paths to permanency resulting in shorter durations of involvement in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Existing law, as part of CCR, requires the State Department of Social Services to implement a resource family approval process, which replaces the multiple processes for licensing foster family homes, certifying foster homes by foster family agencies, approving relatives and nonrelative extended family members as foster care providers, and approving guardians and adoptive families.This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would build upon the current CCR implementation effort by establishing a response system, as specified, for caregivers of current or former foster youth who are experiencing emotional, behavioral, or other needs that require immediate support. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to include a statewide hotline in the response system to provide triage and, as appropriate, deploy a mobile and coordinated in-home response.This bill would make legislative findings and declarations, stating the intent of the Legislature in adopting this bill to build upon the current CCR implementation effort. The bill would require the department to establish a statewide hotline, operational no later than January 1, 2020, as the entry point for a state-based Family Urgent Response System, as defined, to respond to calls from caregivers or current or former foster youth when a crisis arises, as specified. The bill would require the hotline to include, among other things, referrals to the county, as specified, for further support and in-person response. The bill would require the department to ensure that data are collected regarding individuals served through the hotline and to publish a report on the departments Internet Web site on January 1, 2021, and annually thereafter, including specified information.This bill would require, no later than January 1, 2020, county child welfare, probation, and behavioral health agencies, in each county, to establish a county-based Family Urgent Response System that includes a mobile response and stabilization team to provide stabilization services for caregivers or current or former foster youth who are experiencing a crisis. The bill would require those agencies to submit a single, coordinated plan to the department, no later than November 1, 2019, describing how the system would meet specified requirements. The bill would authorize those agencies to implement these provisions on a per-county basis or by collaborating with other counties to establish regional, cross-county Family Urgent Response Systems. By creating new duties for county officials relating to foster care services, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.This bill would require the department, in collaboration with the State Department of Health Care Services, no later than March 1, 2019, to issue all necessary guidance for county-based Family Urgent Response Systems established pursuant to this bill.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NOYES Local Program: NOYES
Amended IN Assembly March 19, 2018
Amended IN Assembly March 19, 2018
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20172018 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill No. 2043
Introduced by Assembly Member ArambulaFebruary 06, 2018
Introduced by Assembly Member Arambula
February 06, 2018
An act to add Chapter 5.4 (commencing with Section 16526) to Part 4 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to foster youth.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
## LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2043, as amended, Arambula. Foster youth: family urgent response system.
Existing law, commonly known as Continuum of Care Reform (CCR), states the intent of the Legislature in adopting CCR to improve Californias child welfare system and its outcomes by using comprehensive initial child assessments, increasing the use of home-based family care and the provision of services and supports to home-based family care, reducing the use of congregate care placement settings, and creating faster paths to permanency resulting in shorter durations of involvement in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Existing law, as part of CCR, requires the State Department of Social Services to implement a resource family approval process, which replaces the multiple processes for licensing foster family homes, certifying foster homes by foster family agencies, approving relatives and nonrelative extended family members as foster care providers, and approving guardians and adoptive families.This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would build upon the current CCR implementation effort by establishing a response system, as specified, for caregivers of current or former foster youth who are experiencing emotional, behavioral, or other needs that require immediate support. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to include a statewide hotline in the response system to provide triage and, as appropriate, deploy a mobile and coordinated in-home response.This bill would make legislative findings and declarations, stating the intent of the Legislature in adopting this bill to build upon the current CCR implementation effort. The bill would require the department to establish a statewide hotline, operational no later than January 1, 2020, as the entry point for a state-based Family Urgent Response System, as defined, to respond to calls from caregivers or current or former foster youth when a crisis arises, as specified. The bill would require the hotline to include, among other things, referrals to the county, as specified, for further support and in-person response. The bill would require the department to ensure that data are collected regarding individuals served through the hotline and to publish a report on the departments Internet Web site on January 1, 2021, and annually thereafter, including specified information.This bill would require, no later than January 1, 2020, county child welfare, probation, and behavioral health agencies, in each county, to establish a county-based Family Urgent Response System that includes a mobile response and stabilization team to provide stabilization services for caregivers or current or former foster youth who are experiencing a crisis. The bill would require those agencies to submit a single, coordinated plan to the department, no later than November 1, 2019, describing how the system would meet specified requirements. The bill would authorize those agencies to implement these provisions on a per-county basis or by collaborating with other counties to establish regional, cross-county Family Urgent Response Systems. By creating new duties for county officials relating to foster care services, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.This bill would require the department, in collaboration with the State Department of Health Care Services, no later than March 1, 2019, to issue all necessary guidance for county-based Family Urgent Response Systems established pursuant to this bill.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law, commonly known as Continuum of Care Reform (CCR), states the intent of the Legislature in adopting CCR to improve Californias child welfare system and its outcomes by using comprehensive initial child assessments, increasing the use of home-based family care and the provision of services and supports to home-based family care, reducing the use of congregate care placement settings, and creating faster paths to permanency resulting in shorter durations of involvement in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Existing law, as part of CCR, requires the State Department of Social Services to implement a resource family approval process, which replaces the multiple processes for licensing foster family homes, certifying foster homes by foster family agencies, approving relatives and nonrelative extended family members as foster care providers, and approving guardians and adoptive families.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would build upon the current CCR implementation effort by establishing a response system, as specified, for caregivers of current or former foster youth who are experiencing emotional, behavioral, or other needs that require immediate support. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to include a statewide hotline in the response system to provide triage and, as appropriate, deploy a mobile and coordinated in-home response.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations, stating the intent of the Legislature in adopting this bill to build upon the current CCR implementation effort. The bill would require the department to establish a statewide hotline, operational no later than January 1, 2020, as the entry point for a state-based Family Urgent Response System, as defined, to respond to calls from caregivers or current or former foster youth when a crisis arises, as specified. The bill would require the hotline to include, among other things, referrals to the county, as specified, for further support and in-person response. The bill would require the department to ensure that data are collected regarding individuals served through the hotline and to publish a report on the departments Internet Web site on January 1, 2021, and annually thereafter, including specified information.
This bill would require, no later than January 1, 2020, county child welfare, probation, and behavioral health agencies, in each county, to establish a county-based Family Urgent Response System that includes a mobile response and stabilization team to provide stabilization services for caregivers or current or former foster youth who are experiencing a crisis. The bill would require those agencies to submit a single, coordinated plan to the department, no later than November 1, 2019, describing how the system would meet specified requirements. The bill would authorize those agencies to implement these provisions on a per-county basis or by collaborating with other counties to establish regional, cross-county Family Urgent Response Systems. By creating new duties for county officials relating to foster care services, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill would require the department, in collaboration with the State Department of Health Care Services, no later than March 1, 2019, to issue all necessary guidance for county-based Family Urgent Response Systems established pursuant to this bill.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
## Digest Key
## Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:SECTION 1. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following:(a) Existing law establishes the Continuum of Care Reform (CCR) effort and states the intent of the Legislature to improve Californias child welfare system and its outcomes by using comprehensive initial child assessments, increasing the use of home-based family care and the provision of services and supports to home-based family care, reducing the use of congregate care placement settings, and creating faster paths to permanency resulting in shorter durations of involvement in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.(b) Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that CCR include the timely provision of an array of appropriate services that are coordinated, comprehensive, and community-based, and that children in need of services are identified and assessed promptly and provided services regardless of placement setting, and that child welfare and mental health agencies work together in the provision of coordinated services to these children and youth.(c) Existing law states the intent of the Legislature to reduce the frequency of law enforcement involvement and delinquency petitions arising from incidents at group homes and other facilities licensed to provide residential care to dependent children.(d) It is the intent of the Legislature in adopting this act to build upon the current CCR implementation effort to provide current and former foster youth and their caregivers with immediate and timely services at the moment of crisis. The Legislature expects that those services, provided by a trained and trauma-informed team of practitioners, will prevent placement disruption and separation of the child from his or her caregiver, will reduce contacts with law enforcement and potential entry into the criminal justice system, and will prevent hospitalization and higher-level placement into congregate care.(e) Establishing a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week response system at the state and local levels for caregivers and current or former foster youth who are experiencing emotional, behavioral, or other needs that require immediate support will lead to improved child and family outcomes, will improve retention of current foster caregivers, will help to maintain children and youth in their current living situation, will improve youths emotional disposition, will connect youth and caregivers to existing services in their communities, and will provide youth and caregivers with the tools that they need to heal from trauma and to thrive.SEC. 2. Chapter 5.4 (commencing with Section 16526) is added to Part 4 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read: CHAPTER 5.4. Family Urgent Response System for Caregivers and Youth16526. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:(a) Caregiver means an individual responsible for meeting the daily care and supervision needs of a current or former foster youth.(b) Crisis means an event involving the caregiver and current or former foster youth that causes emotional, physical, or behavioral distress and that, without immediate supports, creates a risk of disruption to the current living situation.(c) Current or former foster youth includes a youth adjudicated under Section 300, 601, or 602 and who is served by a county child welfare agency or probation department, and a youth who has exited foster care to reunification, guardianship, or adoption. A current or former foster youth shall be eligible for services under this chapter until he or she attains 21 years of age.(d) Department means the State Department of Social Services.(e) Family Urgent Response System means a collaborative, timely, in-home, in-person mobile crisis response for purposes of stabilizing the living situation, mitigating the distress of the caregiver or youth, and providing the caregiver and youth with linkages to the existing array of local services.(f) In-home means where the youth and caregiver are located, preferably in the home, or at some other mutually agreeable location.16527. (a) The department shall establish a statewide hotline as the entry point for a state-based Family Urgent Response System, which shall be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to respond to calls from caregivers or current or former foster youth when a crisis arises. All of the following shall be available through this hotline:(1) State hotline workers who are trained for deescalation and conflict resolution telephone response specifically for children impacted by trauma.(2) Referrals to a county-based Family Urgent Response System, established pursuant to Section 16529, for further support and in-person response. Referrals shall occur by one of the following means:(A) A warm hand-off whereby the state hotline worker establishes direct and live connection through a three-way call that includes the caregiver or youth and the county contact.(B) If a direct communication cannot be established pursuant to subparagraph (A), a referral directly to the community- or county-based service and a followup call to ensure a connection to the caregiver or youth occurs.(3) The state hotline worker shall contact the caregiver or youth within 24 hours after the referral required under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (2) to offer additional support if needed.(b) The statewide hotline shall maintain contact information for county-based Family Urgent Response Systems, based on information provided by counties, for referrals to local services, including, but not limited to, county-based mobile response and stabilization teams.(c) The department shall ensure that data are collected regarding individuals served through the statewide hotline and shall publish a report on the departments Internet Web site on January 1, 2021, and annually thereafter, in consultation with stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the County Welfare Directors Association of California and the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California, to include all of the following information:(1) The number of caregivers served through the hotline, separated by placement type and status as a current or former foster caregiver.(2) The number of current and former foster youth served through the hotline, separated by county agency type, current or former foster care status, age, gender, race, and whether the call was made by the caregiver or the youth.(3) The disposition of each call, including, but not limited to, whether mobile response and stabilization services were deployed or a referral was made to other services.(4) Deidentified, aggregated outcome data, including, but not limited to, placement stability, return into foster care, movement from child welfare to juvenile justice, and timeliness to permanency.(d) The department may meet the requirements of this section through contract with an entity with demonstrated experience in working with populations of children who have suffered trauma and with capacity to provide 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week response.(e) The department, in consultation with stakeholders, shall do all of the following:(1) Develop methods and materials for informing the caregivers and current or former foster youth about the statewide hotline.(2) Establish protocols for triage and response.(3) Establish minimum education and training requirements for state hotline workers.(f) The statewide hotline shall be operational no later than January 1, 2020.16528. No later than March 1, 2019, the department, in collaboration with the State Department of Health Care Services, and in consultation with the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California and the County Welfare Directors Association, shall issue all necessary guidance for county-based Family Urgent Response Systems for purposes of this chapter, including, but not limited to, data tracking and claiming of federal funding.16529. (a) County child welfare, probation, and behavioral health agencies, in each county, shall establish a county-based Family Urgent Response System that includes a mobile response and stabilization team for the purpose of providing stabilization services for caregivers or current or former foster youth who are experiencing a crisis.(b) In each county, the county child welfare, probation, and behavioral health agencies shall submit a single, coordinated plan to the department no later than November 1, 2019, that describes how the county-based Family Urgent Response System shall meet the requirements described in subdivision (c). The plan shall also describe all of the following:(1) How the county will track and monitor calls.(2) Data collection efforts, consistent with guidance provided by the department.(3) Transitions from mobile response and stabilization services to ongoing services.(4) Coordination with the child and family team.(5) Process and criteria for determining response.(6) Composition of the responders.(7) Both existing and new services that will be used to support the mobile response and stabilization services.(c) A county-based Family Urgent Response System shall include all of the following:(1) Phone response at the county level that facilitates entry of the caregivers and current or former foster youth to crisis response services.(2) A process for determining when a mobile response and stabilization team will be deployed, or when other services will be used, based on the urgent and critical needs of the caregiver or youth.(3) A mobile response and stabilization team available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.(4) Ability to provide immediate, in-person, face-to-face response preferably within one hour, but not to exceed three hours in extenuating circumstances for urgent needs, or same-day response within 24 hours for nonurgent situations.(5) Utilization of responders with specialized training in trauma of children and the foster care system.(6) Provision of in-home or in-community crisis deescalation, stabilization, and support, including all of the following:(A) Establishing in-person, face-to-face contact with the youth and caregiver.(B) Identifying the underlying causes of, and precursors to, the behavior.(C) Identifying the caregiver interventions attempted.(D) Observing the child and caregiver interaction.(E) Diffusing the immediate situation.(F) Coaching and advising the caregiver to maintain the child in the current living situation.(G) Establishing connections to other county- or community-based supports and services to ensure continuity of care.(H) Following up after the initial face-to-face response, for up to 72 hours, to determine if additional supports or services are needed.(I) Identifying any additional support or ongoing stabilization needs for the family and making a plan for, or referral to, appropriate community services within the county.(d) (1) Each county shall establish a Family Urgent Response System no later than January 1, 2020.(2) The county agencies described in subdivisions (a) and (b) may implement this section on a per-county basis or by collaborating with other counties to establish regional, cross-county Family Urgent Response Systems.SEC. 3. To the extent that this act has an overall effect of increasing the costs already borne by a local agency for programs or levels of service mandated by the 2011 Realignment Legislation within the meaning of Section 36 of Article XIII of the California Constitution, it shall apply to local agencies only to the extent that the state provides annual funding for the cost increase. Any new program or higher level of service provided by a local agency pursuant to this act above the level for which funding has been provided shall not require a subvention of funds by the state or otherwise be subject to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.SECTION 1.It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would build upon the current Continuum of Care Reform implementation effort through the following actions:(a)Establish a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week response system at the state and local levels for caregivers of current or former foster youth who are experiencing emotional, behavioral, or other needs that require immediate support.(b)Include a statewide hotline in the response system to provide triage and, as appropriate, deploy a mobile and coordinated in-home response that includes face-to-face intervention and support to the youth and caregiver.(c)Ensure the response system increases coordination between state and local child welfare and behavioral health systems to stabilize a foster care placement, prevent placement disruptions that often lead to worse outcomes, reduce law enforcement contacts with foster youth, and connect the foster youth and caregiver to existing services in their communities.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
## The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following:(a) Existing law establishes the Continuum of Care Reform (CCR) effort and states the intent of the Legislature to improve Californias child welfare system and its outcomes by using comprehensive initial child assessments, increasing the use of home-based family care and the provision of services and supports to home-based family care, reducing the use of congregate care placement settings, and creating faster paths to permanency resulting in shorter durations of involvement in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.(b) Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that CCR include the timely provision of an array of appropriate services that are coordinated, comprehensive, and community-based, and that children in need of services are identified and assessed promptly and provided services regardless of placement setting, and that child welfare and mental health agencies work together in the provision of coordinated services to these children and youth.(c) Existing law states the intent of the Legislature to reduce the frequency of law enforcement involvement and delinquency petitions arising from incidents at group homes and other facilities licensed to provide residential care to dependent children.(d) It is the intent of the Legislature in adopting this act to build upon the current CCR implementation effort to provide current and former foster youth and their caregivers with immediate and timely services at the moment of crisis. The Legislature expects that those services, provided by a trained and trauma-informed team of practitioners, will prevent placement disruption and separation of the child from his or her caregiver, will reduce contacts with law enforcement and potential entry into the criminal justice system, and will prevent hospitalization and higher-level placement into congregate care.(e) Establishing a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week response system at the state and local levels for caregivers and current or former foster youth who are experiencing emotional, behavioral, or other needs that require immediate support will lead to improved child and family outcomes, will improve retention of current foster caregivers, will help to maintain children and youth in their current living situation, will improve youths emotional disposition, will connect youth and caregivers to existing services in their communities, and will provide youth and caregivers with the tools that they need to heal from trauma and to thrive.
SECTION 1. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following:(a) Existing law establishes the Continuum of Care Reform (CCR) effort and states the intent of the Legislature to improve Californias child welfare system and its outcomes by using comprehensive initial child assessments, increasing the use of home-based family care and the provision of services and supports to home-based family care, reducing the use of congregate care placement settings, and creating faster paths to permanency resulting in shorter durations of involvement in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.(b) Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that CCR include the timely provision of an array of appropriate services that are coordinated, comprehensive, and community-based, and that children in need of services are identified and assessed promptly and provided services regardless of placement setting, and that child welfare and mental health agencies work together in the provision of coordinated services to these children and youth.(c) Existing law states the intent of the Legislature to reduce the frequency of law enforcement involvement and delinquency petitions arising from incidents at group homes and other facilities licensed to provide residential care to dependent children.(d) It is the intent of the Legislature in adopting this act to build upon the current CCR implementation effort to provide current and former foster youth and their caregivers with immediate and timely services at the moment of crisis. The Legislature expects that those services, provided by a trained and trauma-informed team of practitioners, will prevent placement disruption and separation of the child from his or her caregiver, will reduce contacts with law enforcement and potential entry into the criminal justice system, and will prevent hospitalization and higher-level placement into congregate care.(e) Establishing a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week response system at the state and local levels for caregivers and current or former foster youth who are experiencing emotional, behavioral, or other needs that require immediate support will lead to improved child and family outcomes, will improve retention of current foster caregivers, will help to maintain children and youth in their current living situation, will improve youths emotional disposition, will connect youth and caregivers to existing services in their communities, and will provide youth and caregivers with the tools that they need to heal from trauma and to thrive.
SECTION 1. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following:
### SECTION 1.
(a) Existing law establishes the Continuum of Care Reform (CCR) effort and states the intent of the Legislature to improve Californias child welfare system and its outcomes by using comprehensive initial child assessments, increasing the use of home-based family care and the provision of services and supports to home-based family care, reducing the use of congregate care placement settings, and creating faster paths to permanency resulting in shorter durations of involvement in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.
(b) Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that CCR include the timely provision of an array of appropriate services that are coordinated, comprehensive, and community-based, and that children in need of services are identified and assessed promptly and provided services regardless of placement setting, and that child welfare and mental health agencies work together in the provision of coordinated services to these children and youth.
(c) Existing law states the intent of the Legislature to reduce the frequency of law enforcement involvement and delinquency petitions arising from incidents at group homes and other facilities licensed to provide residential care to dependent children.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature in adopting this act to build upon the current CCR implementation effort to provide current and former foster youth and their caregivers with immediate and timely services at the moment of crisis. The Legislature expects that those services, provided by a trained and trauma-informed team of practitioners, will prevent placement disruption and separation of the child from his or her caregiver, will reduce contacts with law enforcement and potential entry into the criminal justice system, and will prevent hospitalization and higher-level placement into congregate care.
(e) Establishing a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week response system at the state and local levels for caregivers and current or former foster youth who are experiencing emotional, behavioral, or other needs that require immediate support will lead to improved child and family outcomes, will improve retention of current foster caregivers, will help to maintain children and youth in their current living situation, will improve youths emotional disposition, will connect youth and caregivers to existing services in their communities, and will provide youth and caregivers with the tools that they need to heal from trauma and to thrive.
SEC. 2. Chapter 5.4 (commencing with Section 16526) is added to Part 4 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read: CHAPTER 5.4. Family Urgent Response System for Caregivers and Youth16526. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:(a) Caregiver means an individual responsible for meeting the daily care and supervision needs of a current or former foster youth.(b) Crisis means an event involving the caregiver and current or former foster youth that causes emotional, physical, or behavioral distress and that, without immediate supports, creates a risk of disruption to the current living situation.(c) Current or former foster youth includes a youth adjudicated under Section 300, 601, or 602 and who is served by a county child welfare agency or probation department, and a youth who has exited foster care to reunification, guardianship, or adoption. A current or former foster youth shall be eligible for services under this chapter until he or she attains 21 years of age.(d) Department means the State Department of Social Services.(e) Family Urgent Response System means a collaborative, timely, in-home, in-person mobile crisis response for purposes of stabilizing the living situation, mitigating the distress of the caregiver or youth, and providing the caregiver and youth with linkages to the existing array of local services.(f) In-home means where the youth and caregiver are located, preferably in the home, or at some other mutually agreeable location.16527. (a) The department shall establish a statewide hotline as the entry point for a state-based Family Urgent Response System, which shall be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to respond to calls from caregivers or current or former foster youth when a crisis arises. All of the following shall be available through this hotline:(1) State hotline workers who are trained for deescalation and conflict resolution telephone response specifically for children impacted by trauma.(2) Referrals to a county-based Family Urgent Response System, established pursuant to Section 16529, for further support and in-person response. Referrals shall occur by one of the following means:(A) A warm hand-off whereby the state hotline worker establishes direct and live connection through a three-way call that includes the caregiver or youth and the county contact.(B) If a direct communication cannot be established pursuant to subparagraph (A), a referral directly to the community- or county-based service and a followup call to ensure a connection to the caregiver or youth occurs.(3) The state hotline worker shall contact the caregiver or youth within 24 hours after the referral required under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (2) to offer additional support if needed.(b) The statewide hotline shall maintain contact information for county-based Family Urgent Response Systems, based on information provided by counties, for referrals to local services, including, but not limited to, county-based mobile response and stabilization teams.(c) The department shall ensure that data are collected regarding individuals served through the statewide hotline and shall publish a report on the departments Internet Web site on January 1, 2021, and annually thereafter, in consultation with stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the County Welfare Directors Association of California and the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California, to include all of the following information:(1) The number of caregivers served through the hotline, separated by placement type and status as a current or former foster caregiver.(2) The number of current and former foster youth served through the hotline, separated by county agency type, current or former foster care status, age, gender, race, and whether the call was made by the caregiver or the youth.(3) The disposition of each call, including, but not limited to, whether mobile response and stabilization services were deployed or a referral was made to other services.(4) Deidentified, aggregated outcome data, including, but not limited to, placement stability, return into foster care, movement from child welfare to juvenile justice, and timeliness to permanency.(d) The department may meet the requirements of this section through contract with an entity with demonstrated experience in working with populations of children who have suffered trauma and with capacity to provide 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week response.(e) The department, in consultation with stakeholders, shall do all of the following:(1) Develop methods and materials for informing the caregivers and current or former foster youth about the statewide hotline.(2) Establish protocols for triage and response.(3) Establish minimum education and training requirements for state hotline workers.(f) The statewide hotline shall be operational no later than January 1, 2020.16528. No later than March 1, 2019, the department, in collaboration with the State Department of Health Care Services, and in consultation with the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California and the County Welfare Directors Association, shall issue all necessary guidance for county-based Family Urgent Response Systems for purposes of this chapter, including, but not limited to, data tracking and claiming of federal funding.16529. (a) County child welfare, probation, and behavioral health agencies, in each county, shall establish a county-based Family Urgent Response System that includes a mobile response and stabilization team for the purpose of providing stabilization services for caregivers or current or former foster youth who are experiencing a crisis.(b) In each county, the county child welfare, probation, and behavioral health agencies shall submit a single, coordinated plan to the department no later than November 1, 2019, that describes how the county-based Family Urgent Response System shall meet the requirements described in subdivision (c). The plan shall also describe all of the following:(1) How the county will track and monitor calls.(2) Data collection efforts, consistent with guidance provided by the department.(3) Transitions from mobile response and stabilization services to ongoing services.(4) Coordination with the child and family team.(5) Process and criteria for determining response.(6) Composition of the responders.(7) Both existing and new services that will be used to support the mobile response and stabilization services.(c) A county-based Family Urgent Response System shall include all of the following:(1) Phone response at the county level that facilitates entry of the caregivers and current or former foster youth to crisis response services.(2) A process for determining when a mobile response and stabilization team will be deployed, or when other services will be used, based on the urgent and critical needs of the caregiver or youth.(3) A mobile response and stabilization team available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.(4) Ability to provide immediate, in-person, face-to-face response preferably within one hour, but not to exceed three hours in extenuating circumstances for urgent needs, or same-day response within 24 hours for nonurgent situations.(5) Utilization of responders with specialized training in trauma of children and the foster care system.(6) Provision of in-home or in-community crisis deescalation, stabilization, and support, including all of the following:(A) Establishing in-person, face-to-face contact with the youth and caregiver.(B) Identifying the underlying causes of, and precursors to, the behavior.(C) Identifying the caregiver interventions attempted.(D) Observing the child and caregiver interaction.(E) Diffusing the immediate situation.(F) Coaching and advising the caregiver to maintain the child in the current living situation.(G) Establishing connections to other county- or community-based supports and services to ensure continuity of care.(H) Following up after the initial face-to-face response, for up to 72 hours, to determine if additional supports or services are needed.(I) Identifying any additional support or ongoing stabilization needs for the family and making a plan for, or referral to, appropriate community services within the county.(d) (1) Each county shall establish a Family Urgent Response System no later than January 1, 2020.(2) The county agencies described in subdivisions (a) and (b) may implement this section on a per-county basis or by collaborating with other counties to establish regional, cross-county Family Urgent Response Systems.
SEC. 2. Chapter 5.4 (commencing with Section 16526) is added to Part 4 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
### SEC. 2.
CHAPTER 5.4. Family Urgent Response System for Caregivers and Youth16526. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:(a) Caregiver means an individual responsible for meeting the daily care and supervision needs of a current or former foster youth.(b) Crisis means an event involving the caregiver and current or former foster youth that causes emotional, physical, or behavioral distress and that, without immediate supports, creates a risk of disruption to the current living situation.(c) Current or former foster youth includes a youth adjudicated under Section 300, 601, or 602 and who is served by a county child welfare agency or probation department, and a youth who has exited foster care to reunification, guardianship, or adoption. A current or former foster youth shall be eligible for services under this chapter until he or she attains 21 years of age.(d) Department means the State Department of Social Services.(e) Family Urgent Response System means a collaborative, timely, in-home, in-person mobile crisis response for purposes of stabilizing the living situation, mitigating the distress of the caregiver or youth, and providing the caregiver and youth with linkages to the existing array of local services.(f) In-home means where the youth and caregiver are located, preferably in the home, or at some other mutually agreeable location.16527. (a) The department shall establish a statewide hotline as the entry point for a state-based Family Urgent Response System, which shall be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to respond to calls from caregivers or current or former foster youth when a crisis arises. All of the following shall be available through this hotline:(1) State hotline workers who are trained for deescalation and conflict resolution telephone response specifically for children impacted by trauma.(2) Referrals to a county-based Family Urgent Response System, established pursuant to Section 16529, for further support and in-person response. Referrals shall occur by one of the following means:(A) A warm hand-off whereby the state hotline worker establishes direct and live connection through a three-way call that includes the caregiver or youth and the county contact.(B) If a direct communication cannot be established pursuant to subparagraph (A), a referral directly to the community- or county-based service and a followup call to ensure a connection to the caregiver or youth occurs.(3) The state hotline worker shall contact the caregiver or youth within 24 hours after the referral required under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (2) to offer additional support if needed.(b) The statewide hotline shall maintain contact information for county-based Family Urgent Response Systems, based on information provided by counties, for referrals to local services, including, but not limited to, county-based mobile response and stabilization teams.(c) The department shall ensure that data are collected regarding individuals served through the statewide hotline and shall publish a report on the departments Internet Web site on January 1, 2021, and annually thereafter, in consultation with stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the County Welfare Directors Association of California and the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California, to include all of the following information:(1) The number of caregivers served through the hotline, separated by placement type and status as a current or former foster caregiver.(2) The number of current and former foster youth served through the hotline, separated by county agency type, current or former foster care status, age, gender, race, and whether the call was made by the caregiver or the youth.(3) The disposition of each call, including, but not limited to, whether mobile response and stabilization services were deployed or a referral was made to other services.(4) Deidentified, aggregated outcome data, including, but not limited to, placement stability, return into foster care, movement from child welfare to juvenile justice, and timeliness to permanency.(d) The department may meet the requirements of this section through contract with an entity with demonstrated experience in working with populations of children who have suffered trauma and with capacity to provide 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week response.(e) The department, in consultation with stakeholders, shall do all of the following:(1) Develop methods and materials for informing the caregivers and current or former foster youth about the statewide hotline.(2) Establish protocols for triage and response.(3) Establish minimum education and training requirements for state hotline workers.(f) The statewide hotline shall be operational no later than January 1, 2020.16528. No later than March 1, 2019, the department, in collaboration with the State Department of Health Care Services, and in consultation with the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California and the County Welfare Directors Association, shall issue all necessary guidance for county-based Family Urgent Response Systems for purposes of this chapter, including, but not limited to, data tracking and claiming of federal funding.16529. (a) County child welfare, probation, and behavioral health agencies, in each county, shall establish a county-based Family Urgent Response System that includes a mobile response and stabilization team for the purpose of providing stabilization services for caregivers or current or former foster youth who are experiencing a crisis.(b) In each county, the county child welfare, probation, and behavioral health agencies shall submit a single, coordinated plan to the department no later than November 1, 2019, that describes how the county-based Family Urgent Response System shall meet the requirements described in subdivision (c). The plan shall also describe all of the following:(1) How the county will track and monitor calls.(2) Data collection efforts, consistent with guidance provided by the department.(3) Transitions from mobile response and stabilization services to ongoing services.(4) Coordination with the child and family team.(5) Process and criteria for determining response.(6) Composition of the responders.(7) Both existing and new services that will be used to support the mobile response and stabilization services.(c) A county-based Family Urgent Response System shall include all of the following:(1) Phone response at the county level that facilitates entry of the caregivers and current or former foster youth to crisis response services.(2) A process for determining when a mobile response and stabilization team will be deployed, or when other services will be used, based on the urgent and critical needs of the caregiver or youth.(3) A mobile response and stabilization team available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.(4) Ability to provide immediate, in-person, face-to-face response preferably within one hour, but not to exceed three hours in extenuating circumstances for urgent needs, or same-day response within 24 hours for nonurgent situations.(5) Utilization of responders with specialized training in trauma of children and the foster care system.(6) Provision of in-home or in-community crisis deescalation, stabilization, and support, including all of the following:(A) Establishing in-person, face-to-face contact with the youth and caregiver.(B) Identifying the underlying causes of, and precursors to, the behavior.(C) Identifying the caregiver interventions attempted.(D) Observing the child and caregiver interaction.(E) Diffusing the immediate situation.(F) Coaching and advising the caregiver to maintain the child in the current living situation.(G) Establishing connections to other county- or community-based supports and services to ensure continuity of care.(H) Following up after the initial face-to-face response, for up to 72 hours, to determine if additional supports or services are needed.(I) Identifying any additional support or ongoing stabilization needs for the family and making a plan for, or referral to, appropriate community services within the county.(d) (1) Each county shall establish a Family Urgent Response System no later than January 1, 2020.(2) The county agencies described in subdivisions (a) and (b) may implement this section on a per-county basis or by collaborating with other counties to establish regional, cross-county Family Urgent Response Systems.
CHAPTER 5.4. Family Urgent Response System for Caregivers and Youth16526. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:(a) Caregiver means an individual responsible for meeting the daily care and supervision needs of a current or former foster youth.(b) Crisis means an event involving the caregiver and current or former foster youth that causes emotional, physical, or behavioral distress and that, without immediate supports, creates a risk of disruption to the current living situation.(c) Current or former foster youth includes a youth adjudicated under Section 300, 601, or 602 and who is served by a county child welfare agency or probation department, and a youth who has exited foster care to reunification, guardianship, or adoption. A current or former foster youth shall be eligible for services under this chapter until he or she attains 21 years of age.(d) Department means the State Department of Social Services.(e) Family Urgent Response System means a collaborative, timely, in-home, in-person mobile crisis response for purposes of stabilizing the living situation, mitigating the distress of the caregiver or youth, and providing the caregiver and youth with linkages to the existing array of local services.(f) In-home means where the youth and caregiver are located, preferably in the home, or at some other mutually agreeable location.16527. (a) The department shall establish a statewide hotline as the entry point for a state-based Family Urgent Response System, which shall be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to respond to calls from caregivers or current or former foster youth when a crisis arises. All of the following shall be available through this hotline:(1) State hotline workers who are trained for deescalation and conflict resolution telephone response specifically for children impacted by trauma.(2) Referrals to a county-based Family Urgent Response System, established pursuant to Section 16529, for further support and in-person response. Referrals shall occur by one of the following means:(A) A warm hand-off whereby the state hotline worker establishes direct and live connection through a three-way call that includes the caregiver or youth and the county contact.(B) If a direct communication cannot be established pursuant to subparagraph (A), a referral directly to the community- or county-based service and a followup call to ensure a connection to the caregiver or youth occurs.(3) The state hotline worker shall contact the caregiver or youth within 24 hours after the referral required under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (2) to offer additional support if needed.(b) The statewide hotline shall maintain contact information for county-based Family Urgent Response Systems, based on information provided by counties, for referrals to local services, including, but not limited to, county-based mobile response and stabilization teams.(c) The department shall ensure that data are collected regarding individuals served through the statewide hotline and shall publish a report on the departments Internet Web site on January 1, 2021, and annually thereafter, in consultation with stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the County Welfare Directors Association of California and the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California, to include all of the following information:(1) The number of caregivers served through the hotline, separated by placement type and status as a current or former foster caregiver.(2) The number of current and former foster youth served through the hotline, separated by county agency type, current or former foster care status, age, gender, race, and whether the call was made by the caregiver or the youth.(3) The disposition of each call, including, but not limited to, whether mobile response and stabilization services were deployed or a referral was made to other services.(4) Deidentified, aggregated outcome data, including, but not limited to, placement stability, return into foster care, movement from child welfare to juvenile justice, and timeliness to permanency.(d) The department may meet the requirements of this section through contract with an entity with demonstrated experience in working with populations of children who have suffered trauma and with capacity to provide 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week response.(e) The department, in consultation with stakeholders, shall do all of the following:(1) Develop methods and materials for informing the caregivers and current or former foster youth about the statewide hotline.(2) Establish protocols for triage and response.(3) Establish minimum education and training requirements for state hotline workers.(f) The statewide hotline shall be operational no later than January 1, 2020.16528. No later than March 1, 2019, the department, in collaboration with the State Department of Health Care Services, and in consultation with the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California and the County Welfare Directors Association, shall issue all necessary guidance for county-based Family Urgent Response Systems for purposes of this chapter, including, but not limited to, data tracking and claiming of federal funding.16529. (a) County child welfare, probation, and behavioral health agencies, in each county, shall establish a county-based Family Urgent Response System that includes a mobile response and stabilization team for the purpose of providing stabilization services for caregivers or current or former foster youth who are experiencing a crisis.(b) In each county, the county child welfare, probation, and behavioral health agencies shall submit a single, coordinated plan to the department no later than November 1, 2019, that describes how the county-based Family Urgent Response System shall meet the requirements described in subdivision (c). The plan shall also describe all of the following:(1) How the county will track and monitor calls.(2) Data collection efforts, consistent with guidance provided by the department.(3) Transitions from mobile response and stabilization services to ongoing services.(4) Coordination with the child and family team.(5) Process and criteria for determining response.(6) Composition of the responders.(7) Both existing and new services that will be used to support the mobile response and stabilization services.(c) A county-based Family Urgent Response System shall include all of the following:(1) Phone response at the county level that facilitates entry of the caregivers and current or former foster youth to crisis response services.(2) A process for determining when a mobile response and stabilization team will be deployed, or when other services will be used, based on the urgent and critical needs of the caregiver or youth.(3) A mobile response and stabilization team available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.(4) Ability to provide immediate, in-person, face-to-face response preferably within one hour, but not to exceed three hours in extenuating circumstances for urgent needs, or same-day response within 24 hours for nonurgent situations.(5) Utilization of responders with specialized training in trauma of children and the foster care system.(6) Provision of in-home or in-community crisis deescalation, stabilization, and support, including all of the following:(A) Establishing in-person, face-to-face contact with the youth and caregiver.(B) Identifying the underlying causes of, and precursors to, the behavior.(C) Identifying the caregiver interventions attempted.(D) Observing the child and caregiver interaction.(E) Diffusing the immediate situation.(F) Coaching and advising the caregiver to maintain the child in the current living situation.(G) Establishing connections to other county- or community-based supports and services to ensure continuity of care.(H) Following up after the initial face-to-face response, for up to 72 hours, to determine if additional supports or services are needed.(I) Identifying any additional support or ongoing stabilization needs for the family and making a plan for, or referral to, appropriate community services within the county.(d) (1) Each county shall establish a Family Urgent Response System no later than January 1, 2020.(2) The county agencies described in subdivisions (a) and (b) may implement this section on a per-county basis or by collaborating with other counties to establish regional, cross-county Family Urgent Response Systems.
CHAPTER 5.4. Family Urgent Response System for Caregivers and Youth
CHAPTER 5.4. Family Urgent Response System for Caregivers and Youth
16526. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:(a) Caregiver means an individual responsible for meeting the daily care and supervision needs of a current or former foster youth.(b) Crisis means an event involving the caregiver and current or former foster youth that causes emotional, physical, or behavioral distress and that, without immediate supports, creates a risk of disruption to the current living situation.(c) Current or former foster youth includes a youth adjudicated under Section 300, 601, or 602 and who is served by a county child welfare agency or probation department, and a youth who has exited foster care to reunification, guardianship, or adoption. A current or former foster youth shall be eligible for services under this chapter until he or she attains 21 years of age.(d) Department means the State Department of Social Services.(e) Family Urgent Response System means a collaborative, timely, in-home, in-person mobile crisis response for purposes of stabilizing the living situation, mitigating the distress of the caregiver or youth, and providing the caregiver and youth with linkages to the existing array of local services.(f) In-home means where the youth and caregiver are located, preferably in the home, or at some other mutually agreeable location.
16526. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(a) Caregiver means an individual responsible for meeting the daily care and supervision needs of a current or former foster youth.
(b) Crisis means an event involving the caregiver and current or former foster youth that causes emotional, physical, or behavioral distress and that, without immediate supports, creates a risk of disruption to the current living situation.
(c) Current or former foster youth includes a youth adjudicated under Section 300, 601, or 602 and who is served by a county child welfare agency or probation department, and a youth who has exited foster care to reunification, guardianship, or adoption. A current or former foster youth shall be eligible for services under this chapter until he or she attains 21 years of age.
(d) Department means the State Department of Social Services.
(e) Family Urgent Response System means a collaborative, timely, in-home, in-person mobile crisis response for purposes of stabilizing the living situation, mitigating the distress of the caregiver or youth, and providing the caregiver and youth with linkages to the existing array of local services.
(f) In-home means where the youth and caregiver are located, preferably in the home, or at some other mutually agreeable location.
16527. (a) The department shall establish a statewide hotline as the entry point for a state-based Family Urgent Response System, which shall be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to respond to calls from caregivers or current or former foster youth when a crisis arises. All of the following shall be available through this hotline:(1) State hotline workers who are trained for deescalation and conflict resolution telephone response specifically for children impacted by trauma.(2) Referrals to a county-based Family Urgent Response System, established pursuant to Section 16529, for further support and in-person response. Referrals shall occur by one of the following means:(A) A warm hand-off whereby the state hotline worker establishes direct and live connection through a three-way call that includes the caregiver or youth and the county contact.(B) If a direct communication cannot be established pursuant to subparagraph (A), a referral directly to the community- or county-based service and a followup call to ensure a connection to the caregiver or youth occurs.(3) The state hotline worker shall contact the caregiver or youth within 24 hours after the referral required under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (2) to offer additional support if needed.(b) The statewide hotline shall maintain contact information for county-based Family Urgent Response Systems, based on information provided by counties, for referrals to local services, including, but not limited to, county-based mobile response and stabilization teams.(c) The department shall ensure that data are collected regarding individuals served through the statewide hotline and shall publish a report on the departments Internet Web site on January 1, 2021, and annually thereafter, in consultation with stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the County Welfare Directors Association of California and the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California, to include all of the following information:(1) The number of caregivers served through the hotline, separated by placement type and status as a current or former foster caregiver.(2) The number of current and former foster youth served through the hotline, separated by county agency type, current or former foster care status, age, gender, race, and whether the call was made by the caregiver or the youth.(3) The disposition of each call, including, but not limited to, whether mobile response and stabilization services were deployed or a referral was made to other services.(4) Deidentified, aggregated outcome data, including, but not limited to, placement stability, return into foster care, movement from child welfare to juvenile justice, and timeliness to permanency.(d) The department may meet the requirements of this section through contract with an entity with demonstrated experience in working with populations of children who have suffered trauma and with capacity to provide 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week response.(e) The department, in consultation with stakeholders, shall do all of the following:(1) Develop methods and materials for informing the caregivers and current or former foster youth about the statewide hotline.(2) Establish protocols for triage and response.(3) Establish minimum education and training requirements for state hotline workers.(f) The statewide hotline shall be operational no later than January 1, 2020.
16527. (a) The department shall establish a statewide hotline as the entry point for a state-based Family Urgent Response System, which shall be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to respond to calls from caregivers or current or former foster youth when a crisis arises. All of the following shall be available through this hotline:
(1) State hotline workers who are trained for deescalation and conflict resolution telephone response specifically for children impacted by trauma.
(2) Referrals to a county-based Family Urgent Response System, established pursuant to Section 16529, for further support and in-person response. Referrals shall occur by one of the following means:
(A) A warm hand-off whereby the state hotline worker establishes direct and live connection through a three-way call that includes the caregiver or youth and the county contact.
(B) If a direct communication cannot be established pursuant to subparagraph (A), a referral directly to the community- or county-based service and a followup call to ensure a connection to the caregiver or youth occurs.
(3) The state hotline worker shall contact the caregiver or youth within 24 hours after the referral required under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (2) to offer additional support if needed.
(b) The statewide hotline shall maintain contact information for county-based Family Urgent Response Systems, based on information provided by counties, for referrals to local services, including, but not limited to, county-based mobile response and stabilization teams.
(c) The department shall ensure that data are collected regarding individuals served through the statewide hotline and shall publish a report on the departments Internet Web site on January 1, 2021, and annually thereafter, in consultation with stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the County Welfare Directors Association of California and the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California, to include all of the following information:
(1) The number of caregivers served through the hotline, separated by placement type and status as a current or former foster caregiver.
(2) The number of current and former foster youth served through the hotline, separated by county agency type, current or former foster care status, age, gender, race, and whether the call was made by the caregiver or the youth.
(3) The disposition of each call, including, but not limited to, whether mobile response and stabilization services were deployed or a referral was made to other services.
(4) Deidentified, aggregated outcome data, including, but not limited to, placement stability, return into foster care, movement from child welfare to juvenile justice, and timeliness to permanency.
(d) The department may meet the requirements of this section through contract with an entity with demonstrated experience in working with populations of children who have suffered trauma and with capacity to provide 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week response.
(e) The department, in consultation with stakeholders, shall do all of the following:
(1) Develop methods and materials for informing the caregivers and current or former foster youth about the statewide hotline.
(2) Establish protocols for triage and response.
(3) Establish minimum education and training requirements for state hotline workers.
(f) The statewide hotline shall be operational no later than January 1, 2020.
16528. No later than March 1, 2019, the department, in collaboration with the State Department of Health Care Services, and in consultation with the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California and the County Welfare Directors Association, shall issue all necessary guidance for county-based Family Urgent Response Systems for purposes of this chapter, including, but not limited to, data tracking and claiming of federal funding.
16528. No later than March 1, 2019, the department, in collaboration with the State Department of Health Care Services, and in consultation with the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California and the County Welfare Directors Association, shall issue all necessary guidance for county-based Family Urgent Response Systems for purposes of this chapter, including, but not limited to, data tracking and claiming of federal funding.
16529. (a) County child welfare, probation, and behavioral health agencies, in each county, shall establish a county-based Family Urgent Response System that includes a mobile response and stabilization team for the purpose of providing stabilization services for caregivers or current or former foster youth who are experiencing a crisis.(b) In each county, the county child welfare, probation, and behavioral health agencies shall submit a single, coordinated plan to the department no later than November 1, 2019, that describes how the county-based Family Urgent Response System shall meet the requirements described in subdivision (c). The plan shall also describe all of the following:(1) How the county will track and monitor calls.(2) Data collection efforts, consistent with guidance provided by the department.(3) Transitions from mobile response and stabilization services to ongoing services.(4) Coordination with the child and family team.(5) Process and criteria for determining response.(6) Composition of the responders.(7) Both existing and new services that will be used to support the mobile response and stabilization services.(c) A county-based Family Urgent Response System shall include all of the following:(1) Phone response at the county level that facilitates entry of the caregivers and current or former foster youth to crisis response services.(2) A process for determining when a mobile response and stabilization team will be deployed, or when other services will be used, based on the urgent and critical needs of the caregiver or youth.(3) A mobile response and stabilization team available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.(4) Ability to provide immediate, in-person, face-to-face response preferably within one hour, but not to exceed three hours in extenuating circumstances for urgent needs, or same-day response within 24 hours for nonurgent situations.(5) Utilization of responders with specialized training in trauma of children and the foster care system.(6) Provision of in-home or in-community crisis deescalation, stabilization, and support, including all of the following:(A) Establishing in-person, face-to-face contact with the youth and caregiver.(B) Identifying the underlying causes of, and precursors to, the behavior.(C) Identifying the caregiver interventions attempted.(D) Observing the child and caregiver interaction.(E) Diffusing the immediate situation.(F) Coaching and advising the caregiver to maintain the child in the current living situation.(G) Establishing connections to other county- or community-based supports and services to ensure continuity of care.(H) Following up after the initial face-to-face response, for up to 72 hours, to determine if additional supports or services are needed.(I) Identifying any additional support or ongoing stabilization needs for the family and making a plan for, or referral to, appropriate community services within the county.(d) (1) Each county shall establish a Family Urgent Response System no later than January 1, 2020.(2) The county agencies described in subdivisions (a) and (b) may implement this section on a per-county basis or by collaborating with other counties to establish regional, cross-county Family Urgent Response Systems.
16529. (a) County child welfare, probation, and behavioral health agencies, in each county, shall establish a county-based Family Urgent Response System that includes a mobile response and stabilization team for the purpose of providing stabilization services for caregivers or current or former foster youth who are experiencing a crisis.
(b) In each county, the county child welfare, probation, and behavioral health agencies shall submit a single, coordinated plan to the department no later than November 1, 2019, that describes how the county-based Family Urgent Response System shall meet the requirements described in subdivision (c). The plan shall also describe all of the following:
(1) How the county will track and monitor calls.
(2) Data collection efforts, consistent with guidance provided by the department.
(3) Transitions from mobile response and stabilization services to ongoing services.
(4) Coordination with the child and family team.
(5) Process and criteria for determining response.
(6) Composition of the responders.
(7) Both existing and new services that will be used to support the mobile response and stabilization services.
(c) A county-based Family Urgent Response System shall include all of the following:
(1) Phone response at the county level that facilitates entry of the caregivers and current or former foster youth to crisis response services.
(2) A process for determining when a mobile response and stabilization team will be deployed, or when other services will be used, based on the urgent and critical needs of the caregiver or youth.
(3) A mobile response and stabilization team available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
(4) Ability to provide immediate, in-person, face-to-face response preferably within one hour, but not to exceed three hours in extenuating circumstances for urgent needs, or same-day response within 24 hours for nonurgent situations.
(5) Utilization of responders with specialized training in trauma of children and the foster care system.
(6) Provision of in-home or in-community crisis deescalation, stabilization, and support, including all of the following:
(A) Establishing in-person, face-to-face contact with the youth and caregiver.
(B) Identifying the underlying causes of, and precursors to, the behavior.
(C) Identifying the caregiver interventions attempted.
(D) Observing the child and caregiver interaction.
(E) Diffusing the immediate situation.
(F) Coaching and advising the caregiver to maintain the child in the current living situation.
(G) Establishing connections to other county- or community-based supports and services to ensure continuity of care.
(H) Following up after the initial face-to-face response, for up to 72 hours, to determine if additional supports or services are needed.
(I) Identifying any additional support or ongoing stabilization needs for the family and making a plan for, or referral to, appropriate community services within the county.
(d) (1) Each county shall establish a Family Urgent Response System no later than January 1, 2020.
(2) The county agencies described in subdivisions (a) and (b) may implement this section on a per-county basis or by collaborating with other counties to establish regional, cross-county Family Urgent Response Systems.
SEC. 3. To the extent that this act has an overall effect of increasing the costs already borne by a local agency for programs or levels of service mandated by the 2011 Realignment Legislation within the meaning of Section 36 of Article XIII of the California Constitution, it shall apply to local agencies only to the extent that the state provides annual funding for the cost increase. Any new program or higher level of service provided by a local agency pursuant to this act above the level for which funding has been provided shall not require a subvention of funds by the state or otherwise be subject to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
SEC. 3. To the extent that this act has an overall effect of increasing the costs already borne by a local agency for programs or levels of service mandated by the 2011 Realignment Legislation within the meaning of Section 36 of Article XIII of the California Constitution, it shall apply to local agencies only to the extent that the state provides annual funding for the cost increase. Any new program or higher level of service provided by a local agency pursuant to this act above the level for which funding has been provided shall not require a subvention of funds by the state or otherwise be subject to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
SEC. 3. To the extent that this act has an overall effect of increasing the costs already borne by a local agency for programs or levels of service mandated by the 2011 Realignment Legislation within the meaning of Section 36 of Article XIII of the California Constitution, it shall apply to local agencies only to the extent that the state provides annual funding for the cost increase. Any new program or higher level of service provided by a local agency pursuant to this act above the level for which funding has been provided shall not require a subvention of funds by the state or otherwise be subject to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
### SEC. 3.
It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would build upon the current Continuum of Care Reform implementation effort through the following actions:
(a)Establish a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week response system at the state and local levels for caregivers of current or former foster youth who are experiencing emotional, behavioral, or other needs that require immediate support.
(b)Include a statewide hotline in the response system to provide triage and, as appropriate, deploy a mobile and coordinated in-home response that includes face-to-face intervention and support to the youth and caregiver.
(c)Ensure the response system increases coordination between state and local child welfare and behavioral health systems to stabilize a foster care placement, prevent placement disruptions that often lead to worse outcomes, reduce law enforcement contacts with foster youth, and connect the foster youth and caregiver to existing services in their communities.