The Tribal Foster Care Prevention Program.

Existing law establishes, in order to provide additional funds to eligible Indian tribes that have entered into an agreement with the state pursuant to those provisions, the Tribally Approved Homes Compensation Program to provide funds to recruit and approve homes for the purpose of foster or adoptive placement of an Indian child and the Tribal Dependency Representation Program to provide funds to pay for legal counsel to represent the Indian tribe in a California Indian child custody proceeding.

This bill would establish the Tribal Foster Care Prevention Program to provide funding to assist any federally recognized Indian tribe located in California, or with lands that extend into California, in funding the costs associated with services aimed at preserving families and preventing the entry of children into foster care. The bill would require an Indian tribe that seeks funding for this purpose to submit an annual letter of interest to the department. The bill would require the department, subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act for this purpose, to provide each Indian tribe that enters into a specified agreement and submits a letter of interest an annual allocation. The bill would require an Indian tribe that receives funds to submit a progress report regarding the number of Indian children and their families served to the department on or before September 30 following the close of the fiscal year in which funding was received.

This bill would authorize the department to issue written guidance to implement, interpret, or make specific these provisions without taking any regulatory action.