Code Section

16588.  

(a) The State Department of Social Services shall seek all necessary federal approvals to obtain Title IV-E federal financial participation for the prevention services provided under this chapter, including the submission of any necessary state plans or amendments. During the first three years of implementation, in consultation with counties and stakeholders, the department shall annually review the state’s five-year prevention plan and determine whether amendments should be pursued, including, but not limited to, the candidacy population and the evidence-based programs or services included in the state’s prevention plan. Additionally, the department shall consult with tribes during this review process.

(b) A county child welfare agency or county probation department shall not claim Title IV-E federal financial participation for the prevention services under this chapter unless the department has obtained all necessary federal approvals.

(c) (1) A county that elects to provide the prevention services under this chapter shall pay the nonfederal share of the cost for providing these prevention services beyond any state funding provided for this chapter.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the state may contribute a portion of the nonfederal share of cost and implementation costs, subject to an appropriation of state funds. Counties receiving state funds under this paragraph shall submit to the department a comprehensive plan that includes a continuum of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention and intervention strategies and services to support the ability for parents and families to provide safe, stable, and nurturing environments for their children, in accordance with instructions issued by the department. The continuum of services shall include culturally appropriate and responsive services that are tailored to meet the needs of families who are disproportionately represented in the child welfare system, including Native American and Alaskan Native families, families of color, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and plus (LGBTQ+) children or youth. Counties shall promptly notify the department in accordance with instructions issued by the department, of any changes to the comprehensive plan, including, but not limited to, an elimination or reduction of services. During the first year of implementation, a county may utilize state funds under this paragraph to provide the prevention services under this chapter, to provide prevention and intervention services beyond those in the state five-year prevention plan or Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse that fill service gaps, including, but not limited to, culturally responsive services, and for implementation costs by providing a written notice to the department while the county continues to develop its comprehensive plan.

(3) (A) The department, in consultation with the County Welfare Directors Association of California and Chief Probation Officers of California, shall develop an allocation methodology to distribute state funding for the prevention services program established under this chapter.

(B) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), counties shall use state funds allocated pursuant to this chapter for the nonfederal share of cost of prevention services, as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 16586, allowable administrative activities performed for the program, and program implementation costs in accordance with written guidance issued by the department. Counties may also use state funds for the cost for any other prevention services offered pursuant to the comprehensive plan described in this subdivision, in accordance with written guidance issued by the department.

(C) (i) The department may exempt a small county from the requirement to use state funds allocated pursuant to this chapter for the nonfederal share of cost of prevention services, as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 16586. A county for which this requirement is waived shall use state funds allocated pursuant to this chapter for the cost of other prevention services offered pursuant to the county’s comprehensive plan, allowable administrative activities performed for the program, and program implementation costs in accordance with written guidance issued by the department.

(ii) For purposes of this section, “small county” includes all of the following counties: Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Colusa, Del Norte, Glenn, Inyo, Lake, Lassen, Mariposa, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Plumas, San Benito, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, Trinity, and Tuolumne.

(D) Counties shall document and report all prevention services utilizing state funds under this chapter in accordance with written guidance issued by the department.

(4) The department shall consult with Indian tribes to develop an allocation methodology to distribute state funding under this chapter to an Indian tribe, consortium of tribes, or tribal organization that has entered into an agreement with the state pursuant to Section 10553.1 and elects to provide the prevention services under this chapter.

(5) State funds allocated under this chapter shall not supplant funds for existing programs.

(d) A county shall use federal funds received under this chapter to supplement, and not supplant, local and state foster care prevention expenditures used for the maintenance of effort, as described in Section 471(e)(7) of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 671(e)(7)). The department shall provide guidance to counties on expenditures that are to be counted toward the maintenance of effort requirement, consistent with federal guidance on this issue.

(e) A county shall not use local or state foster care prevention expenditures utilized for the state maintenance of effort, as described in Section 471(e)(7) of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 671(e)(7)), for the nonfederal share of the cost of providing prevention services under this chapter for a fiscal year. The department shall provide guidance to counties on expenditures that are to be counted toward the maintenance of effort requirement, consistent with federal guidance on this issue.

(f) (1) For the prevention services under this chapter, a county or tribal Title IV-E agency shall not be considered to be a legally liable third party for purposes of satisfying a financial commitment for the cost of providing those services or programs with respect to any individual for whom that cost would have been paid for from another public or private source but for the enactment of the federal Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-123), except that whenever considered necessary to prevent a delay in the receipt of appropriate early intervention services by a child or family in a timely fashion, funds provided under this chapter may be used to pay a prevention services provider pending reimbursement from the public or private program that is ultimately responsible for payment.

(2) The State Department of Health Care Services, in consultation with the State Department of Social Services, shall develop guidance identifying what prevention services provided under this chapter may be eligible for payment, in part or whole, under the Medi-Cal program. The departments shall develop a model joint written protocol for counties to determine what program is responsible for payment, in part or whole, for a prevention service provided on behalf of a child under this chapter.

(3) A county that elects to provide prevention services under this chapter shall establish a joint written protocol between the child welfare agency, probation department, behavioral health agency, and other appropriate entities for determining what program is responsible for payment, in part or whole, for a prevention service provided on behalf of a child under this chapter. The county shall use the model protocol developed under paragraph (2), or an equivalent approved by the department.

(g) The State Department of Health Care Services may submit a Medicaid state plan amendment, waiver request, or both, to maximize federal financial participation under the Medi-Cal program for the prevention services provided under this chapter. If the State Department of Health Care Services determines that federal approval is necessary in order to receive federal financial participation for the Medi-Cal program for any portion of the prevention services or activities described in this chapter, counties shall not claim these prevention services or activities as Medi-Cal services until the effective date specified in the federal approval obtained by the State Department of Health Care Services.