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SB-1823 Public social services: foster care and adoption.(1997-1998)

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SB1823:v87#DOCUMENT

Senate Bill No. 1823
CHAPTER 733

An act to add Section 11466.24 to, and to add and repeal Section 16122.5 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social services.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  September 22, 1998. Approved by Governor  September 21, 1998. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1823, Kelley. Public social services: foster care and adoption.
Existing law limits the amount the state compensates private adoption agencies for costs for the placement of certain children to $3,500 per child adopted.
This bill would, until July 1, 2001, notwithstanding those limitations, authorize the state, upon request of Sacramento County, to make supplemental payments to private adoption agencies that serve older children or children with special and significant needs whose adoption is unlikely without services from those adoption agencies. The bill would require the requesting county to bear the cost of the supplemental payments.
Existing law provides for the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, under which payments are made to foster care providers on behalf of eligible low-income children.
Under existing law, a procedure is provided for collection of overpayments by foster group homes.
This bill would require each county to collect AFDC-FC overpayments to foster family homes and the homes of the approved homes of relatives or nonrelative legal guardians. By increasing the duties of counties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 11466.24 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

11466.24.
 (a)  In accordance with this section, a county shall collect an overpayment, discovered on or after January 1, 1999, made to a foster family home, an approved home of a relative, or an approved home of a nonrelative legal guardian, for any period of time in which the foster child was not cared for in that home, unless any of the following conditions exist, in which case a county shall not collect the overpayment:
(1)  The cost of the collection exceeds that amount of the overpayment that is likely to be recovered by the county. The cost of collecting the overpayment and the likelihood of collection shall be documented by the county.
(2)  The child was temporarily removed from the home and payment was owed to the provider to maintain the child’s placement.
(3)  The overpayment was exclusively the result of a county administrative error or both the county welfare department and the provider were unaware of the information that would establish that the foster child was not eligible for foster care benefits.
(4)  The provider did not have knowledge of, and did not contribute to, the cause of the overpayment.
(b)  (1)  After notification by a county of an overpayment to a foster family home, an approved home of a relative, or an approved home of a nonrelative legal guardian, and a demand letter for repayment, the foster parent, approved relative, or approved nonrelative legal guardian may request the county welfare department to review the overpayment determination in an informal hearing, or may file with the department a request for a hearing to appeal the overpayment determination. Requesting an informal hearing shall not preclude a payee from seeking a formal hearing at a later date. The county welfare department shall dismiss the overpayment repayment request if it determines the action to be incorrect through an initial review prior to a state hearing, or through a review in an informal hearing held at the request of the foster parent, relative, or nonrelative legal guardian.
(2)  If a review does not result in the dismissal of the overpayment, or a hearing is not requested, or on the 30th day following a formal appeal hearing decision, whichever is later, foster family home overpayment shall be sustained for collection purposes.
(3)  The department shall adopt regulations that ensure that the best interests of the child shall be the primary concern of the county welfare director in any repayment agreement.
(c)  (1)  The department shall develop regulations for recovery of overpayments made to any foster family home, approved home of a relative, or approved home of a nonrelative legal guardian. The regulations shall prioritize collection methods, that shall include voluntary repayment agreement procedures and involuntary overpayment collection procedures. These procedures shall take into account the amount of the overpayment and a minimum required payment amount.
(2)  A county shall not collect an overpayment through the use of an involuntary payment agreement unless a foster family home, an approved home of a relative, or an approved home of a nonrelative legal guardian has rejected the offer of a voluntary overpayment agreement, or has failed to comply with the terms of the voluntary overpayment agreement.
(3)  A county shall not be permitted to collect an overpayment through the offset of payments due to a foster family home, an approved home of a relative, or an approved home of a nonrelative legal guardian unless this method of repayment is requested by the provider in a voluntary repayment agreement, or other circumstances defined by the department by regulation.
(d)  If a provider is successful in its appeal of a collected overpayment, it shall be repaid the collected overpayment plus simple interest based on the Surplus Money Investment Fund.
(e)  A county may not collect interest on the repayment of an overpayment.
(f)  There shall be a one-year statute of limitations from the date upon which the county determined that there was an overpayment.

SEC. 2.

 Section 16122.5 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

16122.5.
 (a)  Notwithstanding the limitations placed on payments in Section 16122, the state may, upon request by Sacramento County, provide supplemental payments to private adoption agencies that serve older children or children with special and significant needs whose adoption is unlikely without services from those adoption agencies. The cost of the supplemental payments shall be borne by the requesting county.
(b)  Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize or permit the displacement of existing county workers.
(c)  This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2001, and, as of January 1, 2002, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2002, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

SEC. 3.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII  B of the California Constitution because this act provides for offsetting savings to local agencies or school districts that result in no net costs to the local agencies or school districts, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.
Notwithstanding Section 17580 of the Government Code, unless otherwise specified, the provisions of this act shall become operative on the same date that the act takes effect pursuant to the California Constitution.