Existing law authorizes a minor to be adjudged a dependent child or a ward of the juvenile court under specified circumstances. Existing law authorizes the juvenile court to retain jurisdiction over a ward or a dependent child until they attain 21 years of age. Existing law, the California Fostering Connections to Success Act (the act), also authorizes a nonminor who has not yet attained 21 years of age and who exited foster care at or after the age of majority, to petition the court to resume dependency jurisdiction or to assume transition jurisdiction, as described.
This bill would state the Legislature’s intent to support transition-age youth in accessing available supports and services offered through the act and, among other things, that the State Department of Social Services consider stakeholder input on the feasability of collecting
additional data to better understand the population currently accessing extended foster care. The bill would require the department to report to the Legislature and stakeholders, during the 2021–22 budget process, a detailed list of current data fields and types of information related to entry into foster care and reentry into extended foster care for youths 16 to 21 years of age, inclusive, collected as a result of calls to county hotlines and a summary of which types of data collection may be implemented in the existing child welfare data system and the types that can be included in subsequent data system updates on specified data collection points.
Existing law provides aid and services to children placed in out-of-home care through various social service programs, including Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC). Under existing law, a nonminor dependent, defined to mean a person between 18 and 21 years of age who is still within the
jurisdiction or transitional jurisdiction of the juvenile court under specified placement and care responsibility and who has a transitional independent living case plan, continues to be eligible for AFDC-FC benefits until 21 years of age.
This bill would require a nonminor dependent who is participating in a transitional independent living case plan, and who is not in an approved housing placement for more than 2 consecutive months during the period covered by the transitional independent living case plan as a result of a lack of available housing, to remain eligible for AFDC-FC benefits following the nonminor’s 21st birthday for a period of time equivalent to the lack of approved housing. By imposing a higher level of service on county officials, 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.