(a) The county plan required by Section 10531 shall include a plan for the provision of substance abuse treatment services. The plan shall describe how the county welfare department and the county alcohol and drug program will collaborate to ensure an effective system is available to provide alcohol and drug services to recipients whose substance abuse creates a barrier to employment. The plan shall be developed in a manner that is consistent with the county’s welfare-to-work program. Substance abuse treatment services shall include evaluation, substance abuse treatment, employment counseling, provision of community service jobs, or other appropriate services.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that substance abuse treatment services for participants shall be provided by the county alcohol and drug program, or by a nonprofit agency under contract with the county alcohol and drug program. If the county welfare department determines that the county alcohol and drug program is unable to provide the needed services, the county department may contract directly with a nonprofit state-licensed narcotic treatment program, residential facility, or certified nonresidential substance abuse program to obtain substance abuse services for a participant.
(c) (1) A participant who is in a job search component of the county’s welfare-to-work program may be directed at any time to an assessment by the job search manager if the county believes that the participant’s substance abuse may limit or preclude his or her satisfactory completion of the job search component.
(2) During the assessment, if the case manager believes that substance abuse will impair the ability of the participant to obtain and retain employment, the case manager shall refer the participant to the county alcohol and drug program for an evaluation and determination of any treatment necessary for the participant’s transition from welfare to work. If the county alcohol and drug program is unable to provide the necessary services, the county may refer the participant to a state-licensed or certified nonprofit agency under contract with the county to perform these services.
(3) If a participant is determined to have a substance abuse problem, based on an evaluation by the county alcohol and drug program or a nonprofit state-licensed narcotic treatment program, residential facility, or certified nonresidential substance abuse program, the case manager shall develop the participant’s welfare-to-work plan based on the results of that evaluation. In that case, the participant’s welfare-to-work plan may include appropriate treatment requirements, including assignment to a substance abuse program.
(4) A recipient of aid under this chapter shall be offered two opportunities to receive substance abuse treatment under subdivision (q) of Section 11322.6, except that the county may offer the recipient additional treatment opportunities.
(5) When a participant’s welfare-to-work plan includes assignment to a treatment program, a case manager may determine that the participant is out of compliance with that plan if, at any time, in consultation with the substance abuse treatment provider, the county determines that the participant has failed or refused to participate in a treatment program without good cause. The assigned treatment program shall be reasonably accessible within the county of residence or a nearby county.
(6) When a case manager determines that a participant in a treatment program as specified in his or her welfare-to-work plan is out of compliance with a program requirement other than participation in a required treatment program, the determination of whether the participant has good cause to be out of compliance shall include consideration of whether the participant’s substance abuse problem caused or substantially contributed to the failure to comply with the program requirements. In this determination, the county shall consult the substance abuse treatment provider as appropriate.
(d) (1) Substance abuse services available under this section may also include the provision of substance abuse evaluation, determination of necessary treatment, and substance abuse treatment for children of CalWORKs recipients who are participating or are required to participate in welfare-to-work activities.
(2) A parent in the assistance unit shall not be sanctioned in connection with her or his child’s refusal or failure to participate in substance abuse services. A child’s refusal or failure to participate in substance abuse services in and of itself does not create a welfare-to-work participation exemption.
(3) The services provided pursuant to paragraph (1) may supplement but shall not duplicate available substance abuse services to the child in the public system. Notwithstanding any other law, these services are not subject to federal financial participation and shall not be claimed or otherwise billed to the Medi-Cal program, a Medi-Cal managed care plan, or a county mental health plan.
(e) A recipient may not participate in a substance abuse treatment program for longer than six months without concurrently participating in a work activity, to be determined by the county and the recipient, in consultation with the treatment provider. However, if the recipient is in a state-licensed residential facility or a certified nonresidential substance abuse program that requires him or her to stay at the program site for a minimum of three hours per day, three days per week, or otherwise not to participate in nonprogram activities, the requirements of the treatment program shall fulfill the recipient’s work activity requirement.
(f) Any funds appropriated by the Legislature for allocation to each county to eliminate barriers to employment due to participants’ substance abuse problems shall be allocated consistent with the formula used to distribute each county’s CalWORKs program allocation and shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, substance abuse treatment funds otherwise available to recipients. It is the intent of the Legislature that these funds be used to develop, expand, or develop and expand programs appropriate for CalWORKs program recipients. It is further the intent of the Legislature that, to the extent possible, these funds be used to maximize federal financial participation through Title XIX of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1396 et seq.).
(g) Each county shall report annually to the state the number of CalWORKs program recipients who receive substance abuse treatment and the extent to which the allocation is sufficient to meet the need for substance abuse services as determined by the county.
(h) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2017.
(i) This section shall remain in effect only until July 1, 2018, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted on or before July 1, 2018, deletes or extends that date.
(Repealed (in Sec. 27) and added by Stats. 2017, Ch. 24, Sec. 28. (SB 89) Effective June 27, 2017. Section operative July 1, 2017, by its own provisions. Repealed as of July 1, 2018, by its own provisions. See later operative version added by Sec. 29 of Stats. 2017, Ch. 24.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018