Existing law generally provides for the placement of foster youth in various placement settings and governs the provision, through the State Department of Social Services and county welfare departments, of child welfare services, which is defined to mean public social services that are directed toward the accomplishment of specified purposes, including protecting and promoting the welfare of all children, preventing the unnecessary separation of children from their families, and restoring to their families children who have been removed. The California Community Care Facilities Act provides for the licensure and regulation of community care and residential facilities, including certain residential facilities that provide care for foster youth.
Existing law requires the Office of the State Foster Care Ombudsperson to be established in the
department with prescribed powers and duties relating to the management of foster children. Existing law authorizes the ombudsperson, as part of the office’s efforts to resolve complaints related to foster care, to conduct whatever investigation reasonably related to the complaint and to foster care that the ombudsperson deems necessary.
Existing law grants specified rights to all minors and nonminors in foster care, including, among others, the right to receive medical, dental, vision, and mental health services, the right to be informed of these rights in an age- and developmentally appropriate manner, and the right to receive a copy of these rights at specified intervals.
This bill would authorize the State Department of Social Services to appoint a temporary placement manager, as defined, if the department has reason to believe, including pursuant to a complaint investigated by the State Foster Care Ombudsperson, that
an unlicensed residential foster care facility, as defined, is endangering the welfare of foster children or youth in the facility, including, but not limited to, in violation of any of the rights described above. The bill would require the department to issue an initial statement of allegations, followed by a formal statement of allegations that specifies the factual and legal basis for the appointment of a temporary placement manager to operate the facility 60 calendar days after issuance of the formal statement of allegations. The bill would require the appointment of the temporary placement manger to be effective 61 calendar days after the department issues the statement of causes and concerns, and until the temporary placement manager notifies the department, and the department verifies, that appropriate placements have been arranged for all foster children and youth in the facility, as prescribed. The bill would
authorize a residential foster care facility that receives a formal statement of allegations to contest the appointment of a temporary manager by seeking injunctive relief in the superior court sitting in the county in which the facility is located, as specified.
Existing law prohibits an unlicensed community care facility, as defined, from operating in the state, and prohibits a person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation within the state, or state or local public agency, from operating, establishing, managing, conducting, or maintaining a community care facility in this state, without a current, valid community care facility license. Existing law authorizes the department to assess an immediate civil penalty in the amount of $200 per day for a violation of either or both of those prohibitions, as specified.
This bill, notwithstanding those provisions, would assess civil penalties on an
unlicensed residential foster care facility that violates the above prohibitions, in the amount of $500 for each foster child or youth residing in the facility per day of the violation for 60 calendar days after the facility receives the formal statement of allegations. The bill additionally would assess penalties in the amount of $5,000 for each foster child or youth residing in the facility per day of the violation if the person fails to locate appropriate placements for all of the foster children and youth residing in the unlicensed facility within 60 days after receiving the formal statement of allegations. The bill would authorize a facility to appeal the assessment to the director. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations setting forth the appeal procedure, and would require that procedure to include judicial review pursuant to a specified provision.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.