13309.
(a) The department shall create a facilities liaison position within its immigration services unit to assist state-licensed group homes, short-term residential therapeutic programs (STRTPs), foster family agencies, and resource families that serve undocumented immigrant youth in connecting with appropriate supports and services, including, but not limited to, legal services, mental health assessments and services, and public benefits.(b) When appropriate, the facilities liaison shall assist in arranging a meeting for identified unaccompanied undocumented minors with a qualified organization that has received a grant to provide legal services to unaccompanied undocumented minors.
(c) The facilities liaison shall work with county child welfare agencies, county human services agencies, and other appropriate county agencies to identify services and supports available to group homes, STRTPs, foster family agency licensees, and approved resource families that provide care to undocumented youth and shall connect licensees to those services and supports.
(d) The facilities liaison shall work to identify other state and local resources beneficial to ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of undocumented youth, and shall connect group homes, STRTPs, foster family agencies, and approved resource families serving these youth to those resources.
(e) The facilities liaison, in order to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of undocumented youth placed in state-licensed facilities, shall regularly communicate with the department’s Community Care Licensing Division about any complaints or particular licensing concerns regarding group homes, STRTPs, foster family agencies, and resource families that house undocumented youth in order to help address any concerns through referral to appropriate services and supports.
(f) The liaison position is not intended to supplant any existing obligation on counties, or to duplicate services already being provided, but instead to support access to those services and supports.
(g) The department, in consultation with other appropriate state departments and representatives of county agencies and the entities named in subdivision (a) that serve undocumented immigrant youth, shall develop and issue guidance for counties, licensees, and other providers, as applicable, regarding the provision of services to undocumented immigrant youth and their caregivers.