California Welfare and Institutions Code CHAPTER 5 - State Child Welfare Services

• Section 16500.
  The state, through the department and county welfare departments, shall establish and support a public system of statewide child welfare services to be developed as...
• Section 16500.1.
  (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to use the strengths of families and communities to serve the needs of children who are alleged to...
• Section 16500.5.
  (a) (1) The Legislature hereby declares its intent to encourage the continuity of the family unit by:(A) (i) Providing family preservation services.(ii) For purposes of this subdivision, “family preservation services”...
• Section 16500.51.
  (a) In addition to participation in the program provided for under Section 16500.5, Solano and Alameda Counties may, on a two-year project basis, and subject to...
• Section 16500.55.
  Any county that participates in the program pursuant to this section on or after the effective date of the act which amends this section in...
• Section 16500.65.
  (a) In addition to the three programs authorized under Section 16500.5, Contra Costa County may implement a family preservation and reunification program. The program shall be...
• Section 16500.8.
  (a) The department shall, in consultation with counties, seek additional federal revenues to finance the family preservation activities described in Section 16500.7. Those revenue sources shall...
• Section 16500.9.
  The department shall establish one full-time position, within the office of the director, to assist counties in complying with the federal Indian Child Welfare Act...
• Section 16501.
  (a) (1) As used in this chapter, “child welfare services” means public social services that are directed toward the accomplishment of any or all of the following...
• Section 16501.01.
  (a) A county may arrange for respite care for a child or nonminor dependent supervised by the county, which may be provided by any of the...
• Section 16501.1.
  (a) (1) The Legislature finds and declares that the foundation and central unifying tool in child welfare services is the case plan.(2) The Legislature further finds and declares...
• Section 16501.15.
  As used in subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 16501.1, a home or setting that is “safe” means that the home or setting is free...
• Section 16501.16.
  In addition to the assurances required to be included in a case plan pursuant to paragraph (8) of subdivision (g) of Section 16501.1, a case...
• Section 16501.2.
  (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(1) Safety, stability, and the permanence of families in the child welfare system are of paramount importance.(2) Ongoing assessments...
• Section 16501.25.
  (a) For the purposes of this section, “teen parent” means a child who has been adjudged to be a dependent child or ward of the court...
• Section 16501.26.
  (a) For the purposes of this section, “nonminor dependent parent” means a nonminor dependent as described in subdivision (v) of Section 11400, residing in a supervised...
• Section 16501.27.
  (a) For purposes of Section 16501.26, a person who wishes to become an identified responsible adult to a nonminor dependent parent shall comply with all of...
• Section 16501.28.
  Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of...
• Section 16501.3.
  (a) The State Department of Social Services shall establish and maintain a program of public health nursing in the child welfare services program that meets the...
• Section 16501.35.
  (a) On or before September 29, 2016, county child welfare agencies and probation departments shall implement policies and procedures that require social workers and probation officers...
• Section 16501.4.
  In order to ensure the oversight of psychotropic medications that are prescribed for children pursuant to Section 369.5 or 739.5, all of the following shall...
• Section 16501.45.
  (a) To ensure compliance with federal reporting requirements, including those of Public Law 113-183, the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act, the State Department of...
• Section 16501.5.
  (a) In order to protect children and effectively administer and evaluate California’s Child Welfare Services and Foster Care programs, the department shall implement a single statewide...
• Section 16501.6.
  (a) It is the intent of the Legislature for the State Department of Social Services to enhance the Child Welfare Services Case Management System to include...
• Section 16501.7.
  (a) On or before December 1, 2005, the State Department of Social Services shall develop, and provide to the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee,...
• Section 16501.8.
  Social workers shall make reasonable efforts to collect and update necessary data regarding a child’s incarcerated parent or parents.The Legislature encourages the Department of Justice,...
• Section 16501.9.
  (a) (1) The Legislature hereby finds and declares the Child Welfare Services-New System (CWS-NS) is the most important system in the state for child welfare services staff...
• Section 16502.
  The child welfare services authorized by this chapter shall be established in any county or combination of counties when a plan which includes financing of...
• Section 16502.5.
  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county board of supervisors may receive and review any records in the custody of the juvenile court or...
• Section 16503.
  (a) Subsequent to completion of the hearing conducted pursuant to Section 366.26, the agency responsible for placement and care of a minor, or, on or after...
• Section 16503.5.
  (a) A placing agency shall provide a caregiver placement agreement to the child’s or nonminor dependent’s caregiver at the time of the child’s placement with that...
• Section 16504.
  (a) Any child reported to the county child welfare services department to be endangered by abuse, neglect, or exploitation shall be eligible for initial intake and...
• Section 16504.5.
  (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 11105 of the Penal Code, a child welfare agency may secure from an appropriate governmental...
• Section 16504.6.
  The State Department of Social Services shall evaluate a request from an Indian tribe to exempt a crime that is exemptible under Section 1522 of...
• Section 16504.7.
  (a) Upon request by a county child welfare agency, the department shall provide a list identifying each person who has received a criminal records exemption pursuant...
• Section 16506.
  Family maintenance services shall be provided or arranged for by county welfare department staff in order to maintain the child in his or her own...
• Section 16507.
  (a) Family reunification services shall be provided or arranged for by county welfare department staff in order to reunite the child separated from his or her...
• Section 16507.2.
  Prior to entering into a voluntary placement agreement with a parent or guardian, the social worker shall make every attempt to keep the family together...
• Section 16507.3.
  (a) Beginning on October 1, 1982, child welfare services for children placed voluntarily after January 1, 1982, shall be limited to a period not to exceed...
• Section 16507.4.
  (a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, voluntary family reunification services shall be provided without fee to families who qualify, or would qualify if application...
• Section 16507.5.
  (a) When a minor is separated or is in the process of being separated from the minor’s family under the provisions of a voluntary placement agreement,...
• Section 16507.6.
  If a minor has been voluntarily placed with the county welfare department subsequent to January 1, 1982, for out-of-home placement by his or her parents...
• Section 16507.7.
  Each agency or entity, except for a community college, which offers a parenting course as part of a family maintenance or family reunification effort for...
• Section 16508.
  Permanent placement services shall be provided or arranged for by county welfare department staff for children who cannot safely live with their parents and are...
• Section 16508.1.
  (a) For every child who is in foster care, or who enters foster care, on or after January 1, 1999, and has been in foster care...
• Section 16508.2.
  It is the intent of the Legislature to establish additional alternatives to foster care placements. Therapeutic day services is an alternative which has been shown...
• Section 16509.
  Cultural and religious child-rearing practices and beliefs which differ from general community standards shall not in themselves create a need for child welfare services unless...
• Section 16509.1.
  No child who in good faith is under treatment solely by spiritual means through prayer in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized...
• Section 16509.2.
  The physical or mental incapacity, or both, in itself, of a parent or a child, shall not result in a presumption of need for child...
• Section 16511.
  This chapter shall not be construed to give the department or county welfare departments any law enforcement powers.Nothing in this chapter shall be construed in...
• Section 16512.
  (a) The department shall report every third year, commencing in 1989, to the Legislature on the operation and progress of the child welfare services program.(b) The report...
• Section 16513.
  Anyone participating in good faith in the making of a report pursuant to this chapter shall have immunity from any liability, civil or criminal, that...
• Section 16513.2.
  Funding of this chapter is subject to the provisions of Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 10100).(Added by renumbering Section 16513 (as added by Stats. 1978,...
• Section 16513.5.
  Any party to a dependency proceeding may bring a motion before the juvenile court to have a social worker removed from the case. The juvenile...
• Section 16514.
  (a) A child or nonminor who has been voluntarily placed, adjudged a dependent child of the juvenile court pursuant to Section 300, or as to whom...
• Section 16516.
  (a) No social worker or probation officer acting as an officer of the court for purposes of this chapter shall, directly or indirectly, lobby for, act...
• Section 16516.5.
  (a) Notwithstanding any other law or regulation, all foster children who are placed in group homes by county welfare departments or county probation departments shall be...
• Section 16516.6.
  (a) When a county social worker or probation officer makes a regular visit with a child in any licensed, certified, or approved foster home, the regular...
• Section 16517.
  (a) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to accomplish both of the following:(A) To prevent the unnecessary separation of children from their families because of homelessness...
• Section 16517.5.
  (a) A social worker or probation officer acting as an officer of the court shall not make an out-of-home placement of a dependent or ward of...
• Section 16518.
  The State Department of Social Services, in consultation with county placement agencies, foster care providers, and other interested community parties, shall establish criteria to be...
• Section 16519.
  The Legislature finds and declares the following:(a) Safety, permanency, and well-being are crucial for the more than 82,000 California children in foster care, and are paramount...

Last modified: October 22, 2018