(a) Upon meeting the licensure requirements pursuant to Section 1530.8 of the Health and Safety Code, a county child welfare agency operating a temporary shelter care facility, as defined in Section 1530.8 of the Health and Safety Code, shall comply with this section.
(b) Prior to detaining the child in the temporary shelter care facility, the child welfare agency shall make reasonable efforts, consistent with current law, to place the child with a relative, tribal member, nonrelative extended family member, or in a licensed, certified, approved or tribally approved foster family home or approved resource family. When the child welfare agency has reason to believe that the child is or may be an Indian child, the agency shall make active efforts to comply with the federal Indian Child Welfare Act placement preferences, as required by subdivision (k) of Section 361.31.
(c) A child may be detained or placed in a temporary shelter care facility only for the duration necessary to enable the county placing agency to perform the required assessments and to appropriately place the child.
(d) Upon admission, the temporary shelter care facility shall provide each child with health, mental health, and developmental screenings, as applicable. Commencing when a child is admitted into a temporary shelter care facility, and continuing until the child’s discharge from the facility, the county welfare agency shall continuously strive to identify and place the child in an appropriate licensed or approved home or facility.
(e) The temporary shelter care facility shall ensure that the following services, at a minimum, are identified in the facility’s plan of operation and are available to children detained at the facility:
(1) Medical, developmental, behavioral, and mental health assessments based on the information obtained through the screenings required pursuant to subdivision (d).
(2) Based on the screening, assessments, and other information obtained about the child, identification of the appropriate placement resources that meet the child’s needs.
(3) Trauma-informed services and interventions.
(4) Crisis intervention services.
(5) Care and supervision provided by trauma-informed trained and qualified staff.
(6) Referrals to and coordination with service providers who can meet the medical, developmental, behavioral, or mental health needs of the child identified upon admission.
(7) Educational services to ensure the child’s educational progress, including efforts to maintain the child in his or her school of origin if practical.
(8) Visitation services, including the ability to provide court-ordered, supervised visitation.
(9) Structured indoor and outdoor activities, including recreational and social programs.
(10) Transportation and other forms of support to ensure, to the extent possible, the child’s ability to attend and participate in important milestone events.
(11) Mentorship and peer support-type programs.
(f) (1) In no case shall the detention or placement in a temporary shelter care facility exceed 10 calendar days. For any stay that exceeds 10 calendar days, the child welfare agency shall submit a written report to the department, within 24 hours of an overstay, that shall include a description of the reasons and circumstances for the child’s overstay, and shall be signed by the county child welfare agency director or his or her designee. The department may choose not to issue a citation to the county for a violation of the 10-day placement limit when, based on the information contained in the report, the overstay is reasonable and the county is complying with subdivision (d).
(2) The child welfare agency may permit any child or youth to access assessment and other services described in subdivision (d) or (e) while in an out-of-home placement.
(3) To ensure the protection of children placed in temporary shelter care facilities, the child welfare agency shall separate children placed in temporary shelter care facilities pursuant to subdivision (b) from children returning to the shelter due to a failed placement, when possible, when circumstances warrant that separation. Temporary shelters shall staff as necessary to adequately supervise children to ensure an appropriate environment for all children present.
(g) At the request of the county, the department shall provide technical assistance necessary for the implementation of this section.
(h) The department, in consultation with the counties, shall provide a report to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2021, that shall include the number of children and youth served by temporary shelter care facilities, characteristics of children detained in these facilities, and whether there is a continued need for the licensing and operation of temporary shelter care facilities.
(Added by Stats. 2015, Ch. 773, Sec. 80. (AB 403) Effective January 1, 2016.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018